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Bulova 98B452 Shelby Racer Chronograph Watch - Limited Edition - W09399
Ref. 98B452
Sits in Bulova’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Bulova watches we list, which start at £125.
Price range £125 to £1,250 across 95 Bulova watches in stock.The brief for this watch was precise: mark Bulova's 150th anniversary with something that could only exist as a collaboration. Shelby American supplied the subject — the 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 — and the bullhead case orientation did the rest, relocating the crown and chronograph pushers to twelve o'clock exactly as a handheld racetrack stopwatch would have them. Limited to 7,500 numbered pieces, it sits within the Archive Series and carries Carroll Shelby's signature on the caseback alongside individual numbering. The bullhead format means the pushers fall naturally under the thumb when the wrist is raised, which changes how the chronograph actually gets used — it is not an awkward reach but an intuitive press. The blue and white rubber strap echoes the Shelby racing livery without requiring any translation, and the Cobra logo in the right-hand register ties the dial to the car rather than just to the colour. At 127 grams and 43mm, this sits with presence on the wrist. The NN10 Precisionist movement vibrates at 262 kHz — eight times the frequency of standard quartz — which is what allows the chronograph hand to sweep continuously and the timing to resolve to 1/1000th of a second. That resolution is not decorative: it is the difference between a racing instrument and a watch that merely looks like one.
- Reference
- 98B452
- Brand
- Bulova
- Case size
- 43mm
- Case thickness
- 13mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Fixed tachymeter
- Movement
- Quartz
- Calibre
- NN10 Precisionist
- Functions
- Chronograph, Tachymeter
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap
- Strap colour
- Two-tone
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- F.Hinds
Additional specifications
- 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 6 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (4,361), Stainless Steel Watches (2,892), Chronograph Watches (1,144), Blue Dial Watches (814), Two-Tone Watches (445) and Limited Edition Watches (180).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
Strengths
- 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
- 43mm sits at the larger end
Bulova 98B452 Shelby Racer alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 98B452 | VDB020014 | H37512131 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £995 | £899 | £990 |
| Case size | 43mm | 44mm | 44mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 100m |
| Movement | Quartz | Quartz | Quartz |
| Strap | Rubber strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| This watch | 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?
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.
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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