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Bulova 98A345 Maquina Automatic White Rubber Strap Watch - W09416
Ref. 98A345
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 £1,250 across 120 Bulova watches in stock.The Maquina sits in Bulova's more experimental corner — a line built around the angular tonneau form at a time when most of the market defaults to round. The case here is a genuine departure: a sculptural, asymmetric shell in black PVD that reads less like a conventional watch and more like something designed with a brief to ignore convention entirely. At 40mm wide and 47mm lug to lug, it wears larger than those numbers suggest on their own, partly because the tonneau shape distributes its presence across the wrist differently to a round case. The skeleton aperture at the centre puts the 21-jewel automatic directly in view — the grooved white hour ring frames it without crowding it, and the red seconds hand gives the eye something to follow through the open dial. White HNBR rubber sits against the black case with deliberate contrast rather than coordination; it is a choice that commits to the watch's own logic. The strap compound itself is worth noting: HNBR resists heat and environmental degradation considerably better than standard rubber, which matters on a watch this visually assertive — it would be a shame for the strap to age poorly while the PVD case holds.
- Reference
- 98A345
- Brand
- Bulova
- Collection
- Maquina
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 13.37mm
- Lug width
- 12mm
- Case material
- Black PVD
- Case shape
- Tonneau
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Functions
- Skeleton dial
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap
- Strap colour
- White
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- F.Hinds
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47mm
- Power reserve
- 42 hours
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 7 collections
This watch appears in the Bulova Maquina range (5), Stainless Steel Watches (3,600), Automatic Watches (1,904), Silver Dial Watches (816), Automatic Watches Under £500 (401), Skeleton Watches (356) and Tonneau & Cushion Watches (146).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 40mm suits most wrists
- 47mm lug-to-lug keeps the 40mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Bulova's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Bulova 98A345 Maquina alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 98A345 | SSA459J1 | T1584072203100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £499 | £500 | £450 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40.5mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Rubber strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 42 hours | 41 hours | 80 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
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?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 42 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
12mm. 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 47mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16cm (6¼ 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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