The first watches appeared in 16th-century Europe, having evolved from spring-driven clocks, which were popular in the 15th century. These early designs were more portable than their predecessors, but they weren’t close to the wrist-worn devices we love and use today. Since then, the average watch has gone through many iterations, including the “quartz crisis” in the 1980s when quartz watches became incredibly popular. But beautiful, timeless designs were around long before then. Bulova’s first watch debuted in the 1920s to commemorate the first trans-Atlantic flight, made in 1927 by Charles Lindbergh. That original watch was called the Lone Eagle.
Ever since, Bulova has been moving the needle forward in innovative watch designs, functions, and achievements. One such design from the brand, the Super Seville Day-Date, was a classic firstborn in the 1970s, which is now being reborn with modern technology. Don’t worry, collectors; the design stays the same, but the engine inside that controls the movement is getting an upgrade. In light of that, the managing director at Bulova, Michael Benavente, spoke with The Manual’s expert interviewer, Dan Gaul, about all things Bulova brand and watch, including the new re-release of the Super Seville series. Let’s see what they had to say about the iconic brand and designs.
Exploring the classic Bulova style: The Super Seville is back, baby
Anyone who was around in the 1970s — and loved watches — will remember this watch.
“Bulova had an amazing way of tackling classic watches, integrating bracelets, which were always very popular, even as far back as the ’60s. This particular watch really resonated with consumers right when it came out in the early ’70s,” Benavente says. “We made various versions of it. We made the TV-shaped version, which is coming out right now as we speak, and then we made a traditional round-case version. They both hearken to that style that was really so popular at that time. What’s happening now with the new re-release is really exciting.”
Benavente notes that it’s been a particularly long time since watch enthusiasts have seen a re-release of this particular watch. “There’s a whole new generation of people we’re speaking to now that have never seen this watch,” he says. “It’s new to them, for sure. Then, the old timers like me — the baby boomers — this is nostalgia. Going back and seeing some of these favorites come back is a lot of fun.”
Gaul comments how it’s nice to have another opportunity to buy a collectible watch that was a fan favorite, especially new and not secondhand. He’s right; it can be difficult to find older designs, but more importantly, in working condition. Benavente agrees but also explains that releases, like the new Super Seville watch, are about more than just relying on legacy designs.
“You know, brands, including ours, have been criticized over years, when we do these kind of re-releases,” Benavente admits. “You’ll read comments, and people will talk about ‘Oh, it’s lazy’ or ‘It’s just easy to rely on some old designs and bring them back,’ but, in fact, speaking to a lot of enthusiasts and collectors, it’s a very positive thing for them because you can’t buy [the classic] stuff. Like the Super Seville is an example. You may get lucky and find a couple of pieces out there in the world that are working, but there are many you can buy that are not working; you have to try to restore them; you have to try to get a new movement [mechanism], and that’s not for everyone. So, if you want something out of the box that is warrantied and working and you get that really cool old style, there’s a whole consumer base that [is] clamoring for that.”
It is a fine balance between choosing beloved legacy designs to bring back or coming up with something new that’s still as desirable. With the Super Seville series, it’s clear Bulova has found the right concoction.
“[Bulova is] a very, very culturally-rich — Americana culturally-rich — brand.”
When asked what key design elements have been retained from the original Super Seville — and why those elements were important to retain — Benavente says that Bulova tries to stay close to the original design.
“A lot of that aesthetic is important to us,” he explains. “One of the things we like to also look at is how can we change the movement or the engine inside of the watch? In this particular case, we decided to marry this retro design with a very modern movement that’s proprietary to Bulova, which is our Precisionist movement. That is really the best of both worlds. You get that old vintage look, and then you get a modern machine inside of this watch.”
This modernization will also help with the watch’s longevity.
“This particular movement didn’t exist back then,” Benavente says. “It’s really a groundbreaking movement, and it’s only, at this point, about 14 years old, so it’s still quite new, a modern movement inside of this classic structure. It really brings both worlds together. The movement that we’re using now, the Precisionist, is super accurate. It’s plus or minus five seconds a month, which is a highly accurate watch.”
Besides the accuracy, Benavente also discussed a unique but relatively new feature in the Super Seville’s re-release: The quartz mechanism.
“The other feature of the watch is that the second-hand sweeps and has a very smooth, fluid motion. Because we have a quartz that is vibrating at 262kHz. So, on the dial of the watch, you’ll see 262, and that stands for the vibration inside of the quartz mechanism,” he says.
Deconstructing modern but timeless watch designs
Throughout the interview, the two keep coming back to the idea of classic, timeless designs, which is fitting. The Super Seville may look older or inspired by the original design, but it also incorporates modern mechanics. The 8-jewel quartz mechanism is remarkably accurate, as Benavente explained, but also more resistant to temperature changes.
For a brief moment, the tables are turned, and the interviewer becomes the interviewee as Gaul is asked about his favorite wristwatch.
He holds up the watch he’s wearing currently: “It’s this watch right here. It’s an Omega Seamaster, and I bought it — I was in my 20s when I got my first job out of college. I ended up getting a job at Microsoft, and my wife, at the time my fiance, said you have to celebrate this with…a watch because it’s a special occasion. I had never bought a watch, let alone it freaked me out to spend that much money on a watch back then. But I still have it; I think it’s a classic design. It’s not big and bulky. It works well with a long-sleeve shirt or anything like that. It’s classy.”
“It’s very versatile. It’s sporty, it’s dress-up, you can wear it dressed up or dressed down. It’s a great watch,” Benavente agrees.
That leads to more discussions about the brand and its major successes, particularly in some of the latest designs hitting the market.
“Our best-selling watch internationally, worldwide is the Lunar Pilot.”
“In terms of the re-releases or Archive series, they’ve been met with a lot of enthusiasm,” Benavente says. “Our best-selling watch internationally worldwide is the Lunar Pilot. It’s now a collection where we have done limited editions. We still have three watches that we sell every day that are just part of the Lunar Pilot collection. But we’ll pulse in and out some limited editions within that family like we just did, [at the] beginning of this year, the Meteorite dial watch.”
He explains that every “Meteorite watch is [truly] unique” because the hand dials are individually and custom-made, including cut by hand. No one will ever have the same watch within that series as a result, they’re all different.
“That was a rounding success. Just about sold out — I think we only have a couple hundred pieces left worldwide,” he says.
Benavente also says that thanks to modern tech, such as social media, he can actually have open dialogue with collectors and enthusiasts about the watches and the experiences they provide. Most of the time, he sees “really constructive comments” and they do listen and take in the advice, guidance, and suggestions from the community.
“We want to put out a product that everybody is gonna be excited about. We’re here at the Empire State Building, and we’re in our own bubble sometimes, so it’s good to have the external input,” Benavente says.
He also explains that sometimes, it’s not possible to do what the community requests because certain technologies may not be available or in use any longer. It’s more of a hardware or technology bottleneck than a refusal to support beloved designs.
Bulova: Making a world of difference for over a century
Closing on a high note, Gaul asks if there’s anything we should know about the brand that we didn’t before, and Benavente drops a bombshell. The brand has had a direct hand in cultural Americana movements for as long as it has been around.
“The one thing about Bulova, beyond being a watchmaker, is that it had so many cultural moments in the United States,” he says. “I would say it’s one of the most fascinating things about working on Bulova over the past nine years. We were the world’s first television commercial ever in 1941. We were the first radio commercial ever, in 1926. We were at the Beatles opening tour in the United States.”
Some pretty big moments to be a part of there, especially those cutting-edge media moments — knowing Bulova was the first television or radio commercial is mind-boggling.
“[We’re] a very, very culturally-rich — Americana culturally-rich — brand,” he says.
As always, we highly recommend watching the full interview for more. It’s interesting to hear about watches and timeless designs from someone who’s been in the industry for such a long time.
