Kollektion: Bulova Marine Star Watches

Bulova Marine Star watches

Marine Star is Bulova’s sports line, a name that goes back decades at the brand. Today it is organized in series: Series A is home to the 44mm automatics rated to 200 metres, Series B to the 44mm quartz chronographs and three-hand watches at 100 metres, and Series C to the 45mm chronographs with a ratcheted bezel, rated to 200 metres.

Series A: the automatics

The Series A automatics have an angular steel case, a screw-down crown and a glass caseback onto the movement. Calibre 82S5 winds itself as you wear it, with about 42 hours of reserve and a small seconds dial whose hand stops when you pull the crown, for setting to the second. Choose a steel bracelet or a rubber strap, in silver tone, gold tone or rose gold tone; the Marine Star 98A302 is the blue dial on steel. Series A also includes a quartz chronograph on rubber and a black three-hand quartz with diamond accents on the dial, both rated to 100 metres.

Series B: chronographs and three-hands

The Series B chronographs are 44mm, with a rotating ring for elapsed time and a screw-back case, on a strap or a bracelet. Calibre 6S20 times to a twentieth of a second for up to 60 minutes, with a small seconds hand and a calendar. The three-hand Series B has a sunray dial, luminous hands and markers, and a polished steel bracelet with a fold-over clasp, on a quartz calendar movement. The 41mm E1 Miami chronographs bring sapphire crystal and a rubber strap to the same series.

Series C and the Precisionist

Series C chronographs are 45mm, with a glass insert on a ratcheted rotating bezel, a domed crystal, a screw-back case and the same 1/20-second chronograph, rated to 200 metres. The Marine Star 96B426 is the Precisionist in the family: a 43mm three-hand with a calendar, under sapphire crystal, also at 200 metres. Bulova’s Precisionist quartz vibrates at 262 kHz, far faster than a standard quartz crystal, and its seconds hand sweeps instead of ticking.

Heritage and Marc Anthony

The Marine Star Heritage chronograph is 42.8mm, on Bulova’s high-precision quartz, with a one-way rotating bezel, sapphire crystal, a screw-back case and 200 metres of water resistance. The Marc Anthony Marine Star comes from Bulova’s collaboration with the singer: a 45mm automatic on calibre 82S5, with a blue dial with diamond accents, on a steel bracelet.

Size and weight

Marine Stars are big, solid watches, and the strap changes how they feel more than anything else. By Bulova’s figures, a Series A automatic weighs about 220 g on its steel bracelet and about 123 g on rubber. A Series B chronograph is about 182 g on steel and 105 g on rubber, and a Series C chronograph 200 to 210 g on its bracelet. If you’re between two, the rubber strap is the lighter everyday choice, and the bracelet the one that goes with a jacket.

Questions

Is the Marine Star a dive watch? Bulova rates the line to 100 or 200 metres. By Citizen’s published chart, the one we follow for every brand, both ratings cover swimming and snorkelling, not scuba diving. For a watch built and rated for scuba, look at the Citizen Promaster Dive watches.

How do I use the chronograph? The pusher at 2 o’clock starts and stops the timing and the one at 4 o’clock resets it, on most models. Our guide on how to read a chronograph explains the subdials. For more chronographs across brands, see our men’s chronograph watches.

Automatic or quartz? Choose a Series A automatic if you want a mechanical movement and a view of it through the caseback. Choose a quartz chronograph or the Precisionist if you want precise time and a stopwatch, with a battery change every few years.