Bulova Devil Diver: On The Verge Of Greatness

The diver is undoubtedly one of the pinnacles of every watch collection. From a humble Casio MRW200-H to a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, almost every watch enthusiast has a respectable or at least functional dive watch in their assortment of timepieces.

When I first started collecting watches, I thought the pinnacle of affordable divers was the Bulova Oceanographer Devil Diver, specifically the 96B322, also known as the "Special Edition". I'm not entirely sure why this specific reference is a "special edition", as it isn't number 236 out of a run of 1000 or was made to celebrate anything, as far as I know.

A reissue of a dive watch initially made in the late 60s and early 70s, the Devil Diver is a watch not quite like any other. It, along with the Seiko 6105-8119, became a favorite of American soldiers during the Vietnam War due to both having superior water resistance and build quality to their issued timepieces, which were often way more fragile and less water resistant. It will surprise you (or maybe not, idk), then, that the Devil Diver is ISO-6425 compliant, meaning it's a proper diver's watch. In spite of how wacky this watch is, I like how Bulova went out of their way to make sure at least one of their divers actually was ISO rated. This, of course, means that all the hands are lumed, along with the 12 o'clock bezel marker. It also has a 120-click unidirectional count-up bezel, a boxed sapphire crystal, and is reasonably shock resistant.

Measuring in at 46.2mm (with the crown, about 44 without) and a thickness of 14.6mm, the watch, on paper, seems to wear like one of those "Russian divers" Invicta loves to talk about so much. However, the Oceanographer's length is 1 centimeter shorter than its diameter with the crown, meaning it wears pretty well despite its rather sizable diameter.

The Devil Diver oozes vintage charm and an unconventional design philosophy that's unique to the watch. The fantastically lumed indices, for instance, are set onto the dial like diamonds, and the cyclops for the date is on the underside of the sapphire crystal, which also has blue AR coating. The matte green sniper dial pops, which allows for much greater visibility than more traditional dial colors, like black and gray. It also allows for the dial's text to be easily legible, where you can read that the Oceanographer is water resistant to 666 feet-which, as one might've guessed, is how this watch got its name. Bulova also used their vintage logo, which is actually applied to the dial instead of just being printed.

The quality of the watch is surprising and refreshing, given that Bulova is commonly dismissed as a "mall brand" these days, on the same level as fashion watches from Michael Kors and Fossil. But Bulova is much more capable than that; they currently make some of the most innovative quartz movements in the industry, after all. Everything on the Devil Diver is aligned and feels robust, something that can't necessarily be said of more popular brands like Seiko, especially in the case of the former. The bezel action is very smooth with no signs of play, and the watch has a good weight to it; any timepiece that has a 44mm case diameter that's made out of 316L stainless steel will definitely demand a wrist presence. The crown is grippy and easy to manipulate, and the winding feels smooth, albeit unspectacular.

The President-style bracelet is also pretty high quality. It feels weighty, and it comes with a push button deployant clasp and even a diver's extension, although I'm not entirely sure what sort of professional diver would choose the Oceanographer out of all the ISO rated diver's watches on the market today. Given that the lugs are 20mm, you also have quite a few options in regards to what straps you can use.

The bracelet, or rather how it integrates with the case, is one of the most prominent flaws of the watch. There’s little to no room to get to the spring bars, and the lugs aren’t drilled, so actually getting the bracelet off is pretty challenging. Getting it back on is even harder; regardless of what you do, you WILL end up scratching the lugs at some point due to the lack of room, which is what’s happened with my Devil Diver.

And despite the fact that Bulova wants $795 for the Oceanographer, they only put a Miyota 821A inside of it. While the 8000 family of movements are great in a budget-oriented mechanical watch-like a Starking or even a Timex Navi Harbor XL-Bulova’s three jenkem bottles, nine lines of coke and 48 worthless NFTs deep if they think they can charge that much for a watch with that movement. It costs more than a Seiko King Turtle, which has everything the Devil Diver has AND a superior movement for $170 less at MSRP. Granted, I did get mine from Jomashop for about $400, but the SRPE03 is still cheaper by about $30 on the gray market. I don’t understand what in the ever-loving fuck Bulova was thinking when they decided to use the 821A in an $800 watch. At that point they’re brushing up against the likes of Tissot and Hamilton, and they’re well past Seiko and Orient in this price range. If they’re going to charge that much for the Oceanographer, they should use the Miyota 9015, which actually does go toe-to-toe with ETA and Sellita movements.

As such, the Devil Diver is a watch you really have to want if you wish to buy it new, even on the gray market. Looking at it logically there’s way better options for you in the market, both from established watchmakers and microbrands. But, much like the Devil Diver itself, you can have lots of fun if you don’t take yourself (or watchmaking) too seriously, and just want a dive watch that’s equally capable as it is eccentric and bohemian.