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Bulova 96K118 Shelby Racer Daytona Coupe Watch - Limited Edition - W09421
Ref. 96K118
Sits in Bulova’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Bulova watches we list, which start at £100.
Price range £100 to £995 across 100 Bulova watches in stock.The Bulova and Shelby partnership has produced a handful of pieces, but this one anchors itself to a specific moment in motorsport history: the 50th anniversary of the aluminium-bodied Daytona Coupe, the car that Carroll Shelby built to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. The design logic runs directly from car to watch — the mirror-polished dial echoes the Daytona's raw aluminium panels, the three sub-dials lift their proportions from the dashboard gauges, and the split-finish bracelet repeats the car's twin racing stripes. The Shelby Cobra logo sits at the base sub-dial, and the glass caseback carries etched Bulova and Daytona Coupe marks, so the connection is stated front and back. The movement deserves attention: Bulova's NP20 runs at 262 kHz rather than the 32 kHz standard for quartz, which produces a sweeping chronograph hand that reads much more like a mechanical register than a stepping one. At 40.5mm on a 22mm lug it wears like a proper sports chronograph, though prospective buyers should know it is a substantial watch on the wrist — confirmed at 173g, which is appreciably heavy for the case size. The dual-finish bracelet and included leather strap give the choice of a dressed-down version that sits rather differently. Each watch is numbered from a production run understood to be in the low thousands, and comes boxed with a 1/24-scale silver-plated Daytona Coupe — a collector's piece in its own right.
- Reference
- 96K118
- Brand
- Bulova
- Case size
- 40mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Aluminium
- Case shape
- Cushion
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Fixed tachymeter
- Movement
- Quartz
- Calibre
- NP20
- Functions
- Chronograph, Tachymeter
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- F.Hinds
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 50mm
- Warranty
- 3 years
Learn more about Bulova
Joseph Bulova, a Bohemian immigrant, opened a jewellery shop on Maiden Lane in New York in 1875 and moved into watch manufacturing in the early twentieth century, building a plant in Sag Harbor and later a substantial operation in Queens.
Bulova's instinct for firsts was commercial as much as technical. It ran the first national advertisement for a watch brand in 1926, broadcast the first radio commercial in American history — a time announcement — in 1926, and aired the first television commercial ever broadcast in 1941, paying nine dollars for the slot.
The engineering came too. The Accutron of 1960 replaced the balance wheel with a tuning fork vibrating at 360 Hz, driven electronically. It was accurate to within a minute a month, far beyond mechanical watches, and it hummed rather than ticked. NASA used Accutron timing mechanisms in spacecraft, and one was left on the Moon in the equipment package of Apollo 11.
Bulova also made an enormous contribution to American war production, supplying military timing devices, and founded a school of watchmaking for disabled veterans.
The company was acquired by Citizen in 2008. Modern collections include the Precisionist, with a high-frequency quartz movement producing a smooth sweeping seconds hand, and reissues of the Accutron and the 1970s Computron.
- 1875
- Joseph Bulova opens his New York shop.
- 1941
- Airs the first television commercial in history.
- 1960
- The Accutron tuning fork movement is released.
- 1969
- An Accutron timer is left on the Moon by Apollo 11.
- 2008
- Acquired by Citizen.
Also in 5 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (4,868), Chronograph Watches (1,199), Silver Dial Watches (715), Limited Edition Watches (197) and Tonneau & Cushion Watches (133).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- 40mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Bulova's more premium watches
Bulova 96K118 Shelby Racer Daytona alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 96K118 | FC-270N4P6B | BMM0A10881 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £995 | £995 | £990 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 60m | 50m |
| Movement | Quartz | Quartz | Quartz |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for diving.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
Yes. It is quartz, so expect a battery change every two to three years at a jeweller.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedWhat size strap does it take?
22mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 50mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 40mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
F.Hinds is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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