Value In Vintage With The Bulova Wrist Alarm Watch
Hunting for vintage watches is a wonderful pursuit, but it can be full of pitfalls. A mechanical object that is decades old can have all sorts of problems that may be hard to diagnose from an online listing. That is why many of the vintage watches I like to peruse in my spare time are not particularly expensive. I call these “value in vintage” watches. Today, we’re looking at one of my favorites, the Bulova Wrist Alarm. This is an intriguing option for those looking for a mechanical wristwatch with an alarm complication.
Vintage alarm watches
I have long been interested in mechanical alarm watches. This complication had its heyday in the 1950s through the 1960s, with notable examples like the Vulcain Cricket and Tudor Advisor.
The Vulcain Cricket made a name for itself as the watch worn by multiple US presidents over the years. There are now modern production versions as Vulcain was brought back to life in 2002 after falling victim to the Quartz Crisis in the 20th century. The vintage Tudor Advisor, coming from the Hans Wilsdorf stable, has seen steady price increases since the successful reinvigoration of the brand in the early and mid-2010s. Tudor also produced a modern (albeit quite different) version, the Heritage Advisor.
Searching further afield
There are also a host of other examples from the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Citizen, and Nivada Grenchen, just to name a few. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, in particular, is a beautiful watch that probably deserves a separate feature one day. Vintage examples of many of these watches are increasingly expensive, though, so my search has continued for something affordable and quirky.
That was until the last month or so when I discovered that a friend and fellow watch enthusiast owned an example of a watch with a mechanical wrist alarm. The manufacturer is Bulova, which had a heyday in the 1960s. While the Bulova Wrist Alarm often falls under the radar in vintage circles, the various versions still retain the panache of something like a Vulcain Cricket or Tudor Advisor.
The Bulova Wrist Alarm watch
As many of you probably already know, Bulova has an incredible history as a manufacturer. Founded by Mr. Joseph Bulova in New York in 1875, the brand was behind such notable watches as the Accutron. This was the world’s first fully electronic watch using tuning-fork-based technology, and it debuted all the way back in 1960. Now owned by the Citizen Group, Bulova continues to make heritage-inspired watches but not something like the Wrist Alarm we are looking at today.
This watch has a relatively simple but elegant 34mm stainless steel case with handsome tapering lugs. The facets on these lugs are sharp, which suggests the case has been either lightly polished or never polished at all. Either way, the case is a thing of simple beauty. The watch is also relatively slim at just over 10mm thick, though some of this is the acrylic crystal. Inside is the manually wound Bulova caliber 11 AERC. The movement provides an alarm function, and the example my friend has keeps time quite well, perhaps just edging out of COSC specifications (we don’t know when it was last serviced).
A mix of great design and function
Bulova produced a large number of different examples of the Wrist Alarm with a mix of hands, cases, and dials. This particular example has beautiful dauphine hands. They are filled with long-expired tritium luminous material. One of the best features of the watch, besides the hum of its mechanical alarm function, is the alarm hand. This wavy hand is adjusted using the top crown, and it shines blue when light hits the watch. This hand also has a red tip, adding another dash of color. I love how this design shows all the space-age quirkiness of the 1960s.
But the best feature of the Bulova Wrist Alarm is the alarm function, of course. Imagine my excitement when my friend showcased this feature when I sat down to spend time with the watch. There is something quite enchanting about mechanical alarm watches, perhaps because the concept is quite anachronistic (but somewhat romantic) now.
Seeking a watch with a whale on the dial
The other component to the design of these Bulova Wrist Alarm watches is that some, like this one, come with the image of a whale on the dial. If I were to pick up an example, I would certainly pursue one of these dial variants. Why? Because the idea of owning a vintage watch with a whale on the dial is just plain fun.
After spending some time with this Bulova Wrist Alarm, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to start researching prices on the secondary market. What I discovered was surprising. The price of a vintage Bulova Wrist Alarm in decent condition is in the €400–800 price range. I feel that this is particularly good value when we consider the heritage of Bulova. Combine that with the capability and quirkiness of an alarm function and throw in the playfulness of many of the designs, and the Bulova Wrist Alarm is quite tempting indeed.
Concluding thoughts
Spending time with the Bulova Wrist Alarm has given me a genuine appreciation for vintage Bulova as a whole. The brand has a very interesting back catalog and one that is worth further investigation. To be honest, I have not explored Bulova very deeply thus far. That needs to change. The other element to consider is that the brand’s golden age represents an era in watchmaking that exuded confidence. By this, I mean it was being bold with designs and looking forward. It’s wonderful to connect with some of that gold dust by spending time with this vintage Bulova Wrist Alarm.
But what do you think, Fratelli? Is there a particular vintage Bulova watch I should look into or perhaps a vintage alarm watch that I should research? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I look forward to reading them.
