Bulova A-15 Pilot - Stud or Dud?

It's something distinct, I really like the triple crowns. I guess it looks enormous on the wrist with that big and busy dial..

I love the look, but not the Miyota 8K series movement inside.

They've been around for awhile. Interesting and unusual take on elapsed time/second time zone complication. Available for much less than the "sale" price on the Bulova site..

Agreed, watches with inner bezels in general tend to wear bigger. But I think for a pilots watch thats not a bad thing. Super usefull too having dual time and a minute timer with separate bezel dials.

To @foghorn point though, they can be found cheaper. That aside, what is the right price for a Miyota 8K movement? I consider them only slightly worse than 4R/NH series movements; but maybe Im wrong there? 

Seiko watches are clearly overpriced if you ask many enthusiasts, yet we still buy them lol. Why should Bulova be different?

I agree with it's a lot to pay for what's inside

Solid watch. 

I think they are cool and i think it might have some history behind it

I just received my A-15 in the mail yesterday and wore it (... am still wearing it) all day today. Like many other watches in Bulova's catalogue, especially those in the Archive series, the A-15 over-performs at its price point.

The dial looks even better in person, with surprising intricacy and subtle detail. The strap, moreover, is extremely high quality, soft leather, one of the best straps I've experienced—and I almost never prefer leather to steel. The time-elapsed bezel and 2nd-time-zone bezel were already useful for everyday activities: timing a long walk and keeping track of my partner's evening on the east coast.

My only criticisms, which others have noted elsewhere, are the somewhat lackluster lume (though the lume's blue color is stellar) and the fact that the 2- and 4-o'clock pushers don't have any kind of locking mechanism. (I don't mind the Miyota movement.) Other than that, I'm already extremely happy with the purchase, despite my initial skepticism.

TLDR: The A-15 over-delivers for its price point, despite a couple flaws.

This is all relative, but the Seiko 4R at under $400 feels reasonable for me. Beyond that and it has to be something quite special, like the new Seiko 5 GMT.

Approaching $1,000 I would expect to get the Seiko 6R. Which is a very uncomfortable spot, because a whole world of Swiss watches start to become attainable at that budget.

Ultimately it's a personal decision. Have you tried it on your wrist? Are there other watches that you're considering?

It costs under 300 in Jomashop. For this price it's a nice watch. For 556 on Bulova site - not so much

This piece looks good but for me it lacks a bit of pop. How about the Bulova Oceanographer Devil Diver? It looks more interesting because of the unusual orange dial.

Too busy for me.

I quite like mine. It is a bit on the larger size, but not too big.

I am a Bulova fan and have a number of their watches, including a Hack, an Oceanographer, and a Computron.

The A-15. like the Hack or the MIL SHIPS is part of Bulova's hidden vintage inspired military watches collection. Those familiar with Bulova know that they exist but there is no official grouping and these watch don't have a separate section on the brand web site so it's a bit difficult to find them.

I still can't understand why most people think that Miyota 8 series is inferior to Seiko 4R series. In my humble experience with both movements, Miyota is more accurate and much more consistent. And there are a lot of accounts on the forums about that. Yes, the unidirectional rotor, is louder, but that was never a big problem for me.  

Have not tried it. To be honest I dont own any Bulova's so my point of reference is limited. I know other Bulova owners and they seem happy with their watches though.

As others have said Bulovas typically sell well below MSRP if you shop around. So this is a $400 watch really. And again to your point you can get a Swiss movement when youre in the $1k range, but that also doesnt compare to a 6R IMHO.

Again, there are many brands out there selling Miyota and Chinese movements in $500-1k watches (look at Baltic). We complain, but we buy them nonetheless. Im not a Bulova fan boy, but to be fair they have heritage and serious legitimacy. So treating them different just seems like a double standard to me.

I like it but I probably wouldn't wear it. Kinda busy dial for me. 

Actually at $400 it looks reasonable, especially considering the features. Not a lot of Seikos have a sapphire crystal at that price! The throwback to an old Bulova pilot watch design is a nice bonus story.

But you won't know how you really feel about the watch until you've tried it on. Brand heritage and technical specs mean squat if the watch wears horribly on your wrist.

Completely agree.

Its also a matter of what some consider convention. Pilot watches are traditionally bigger for legibility purposes, as are dive watches. The fact they come in sizes below 40mm these days is more for fashion purposes IMO, which is totally fine (and convenient). Same can be said for dress watches larger than 38mm, its just not the old convention.

In other words how it looks and wears is more subjective and a better way to decide if you like a watch. The rest I think is otherwise comparable with the price segment.

Like the look of that Bulova!

Cheers!