Bulova

Lunar Pilot

Name: Bulova Lunar Pilot
Brand: Bulova
Availability: InStock

45mm

Low $300

Median $347

High $417

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The Bulova Lunar Pilot takes its shape from the privately owned Bulova chronograph worn on the Moon during Apollo 15 in 1971, but its modern generations trade the original’s mechanical movement for high-frequency quartz. Long chronograph pushers, a tachymeter scale and three recessed registers connect the family; case size and the presence—or absence—of a date window separate its main branches.

The modern Lunar Pilot arrived in 2016 with a 45mm case, a black dial and a date tucked between four and five o’clock. Its quartz movement runs at 262 kHz, and the sweeping chronograph seconds hand gives elapsed timing a different character from the usual one-tick-per-second quartz display. Strap and bracelet versions offer distinct takes on that broad, instrument-like case.

The 43.5mm generation, introduced in 2023, removes the date and brings the dimensions closer to the Apollo-era watch. Alongside black-dial versions, a white dial with blue registers makes this smaller branch easy to distinguish. The Lunar Pilot Meteorite adds a dial whose natural crystalline pattern varies from watch to watch.

MovementQuartz

Case Size45mm

Water Resistance50m

Lug Width20mm

What owners love

The high-frequency quartz movement is genuinely accurate in everyday use; owners often report very little drift over months of wear. The central chronograph seconds hand also sweeps much more smoothly than you might expect from a quartz chronograph.
The Apollo 15 connection is a big part of why owners keep enjoying it, rather than just a story that helped sell them the watch. The dial layout and distinctive elongated pushers give it a recognizable character, even though this is a modern quartz watch rather than a reproduction of the original movement.

Common Criticisms

The 45mm versions wear large, with long lugs that make the fit more demanding than the diameter alone suggests. Owners with smaller wrists often find the lug span, rather than the thickness, is what makes it awkward.
The lume is a recurring disappointment: it is usable initially, but owners often wish it stayed bright longer. The excellent daytime readability does not translate into equally strong visibility through the night.