Today we are going to be discussing the more modern version of the Bulova Royal Oak. This watch is yet another homage to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is an exceedingly popular watch style that has spawned many homages and copies. This watch is a high end Swiss luxury sports watch that became popular when it was first released in 1972. These watches sell on the higher end of the thousands of dollars range.
Hence why we have homages. Homages offer a much cheaper and affordable luxury alternative for the average person. With that in mind, this is not the first Bulova Royal Oak homage.
Bulova originally came out with a Royal Oak Homage back in 1979. Even though that was a homage, it is still a collectors item among watch enthusiasts, and sells for thousands of dollars when you can get your hands on one. Not quite as expensive as an authentic Royal Oak, but still pretty pricey.
Now fast forward to 2016, and Bulova releases a modern watch with that uncanny style of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. It is highly stylish and affordable. This is the model we will be looking at today! We are going to be taking a look at the overall build quality, design, features, and pricing of this beautiful looking homage.
Bulova Royal Oak Review (2016 Model)
Quick Look
- quartz movement
- mineral dial window
- date window
- luminous hands and markers
- water resistant 100 meters
The first thing we are going to be looking at here is the basic specs of this watch.
Specs
- Display Type: This watch has an analog display.
- Movement Type: It utilizes Japanese quartz movement.
- Case Size: The case is 44 millimeters in diameter, and 10 millimeters thick.
- Band Size: The band is 10.25 inches in length, and 22 millimeters wide.
Now we can move onto the actual build of the watch.
Build Quality
This Bulova Royal Oak is made of stainless steel. Both the case and band are both stainless steel. The dial window is made of mineral crystal. These are the average materials that you will find makes up most watches.
It is water resistant 100 meters (330 feet). This amount of water resistance is sufficient for swimming, showering, and snorkeling, however, it is not suitable for diving.
Overall, the build quality is nothing spectacular. It is a pretty standard build that you would find in just about any watch. You won’t find any sapphire dial windows or automatic movement here. This is about as standard as it gets. That’s not really a bad thing either, considering this watch is not overly expensive.
Next, we’ll take a look at the design.
Design & Style
No doubt your interest in this watch lies in its uncanny resemblance to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. Well, the signature octagonal shape is present here. It has the 2 bolts at each of the 4 corners around the bezel. This watch is silver colored, with a black dial and silver/white hands. The Bulova Brand name is centered at the top of the dial beneath the 12 o’clock position. I do like the polish, and glossy shimmer this watch seems to display.
What you will notice immediately that is unique to this model is the diamond styled markers. The diamond styled markers are found at the 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 o’clock marks. They add a unique and sophisticated flair to the otherwise familiar design. The 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions just have regular pointers though. Aside from that, there is a date window located next to the 3 o’clock position.
Onto the band, you will find that this Bulova Royal Oak doesn’t have the same industrial, tank like angular band found on the original Royal Oak, and its many homages. Instead, it has a band with a much less rigid look. This band is more similar to what you might find on some of Casio’s retro models, albeit with a much less flat look. I prefer the more standard Royal Oak type band to this one though.
For the most part, the watch looks good. It sticks to the basic design structure of the Royal Oak, while adding some uniqueness with the diamond markings.
Next, we’ll take a look at the features.
Features
Don’t expect to find any advanced features with this type of watch. Most luxury watches don’t have a whole lot of added features, as they are more focused on the intricacies of design and movement. As with actual luxury watches, the homages also don’t have a whole lot of extra features either.
The Bulova Royal Oak does have luminous hands and markers, which is helpful for reading the watch in darker areas. Aside from that, there is the calendar date window. And that’s pretty much it for the features on this watch.
The last thing we are going to be looking into is the pricing structure of this watch.
Pricing
This is a fairly affordable mid-priced watch, although prices will vary depending on where you get it from. Now even though it’s not by any means expensive, I do think that it could be just a little bit cheaper considering it doesn’t have a more premium build to it.
After all, the Feice Royal Oak is in a similar price range, and that one comes with a sapphire dial window. But anyway, I can’t really complain about the price, as it matches the general price range you will find in most other homages of this nature.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that the Bulova Royal Oak is a fine offering when it comes to Audemars Piguet Royal Oak alternatives. This one is produced from a very well known and established brand, and the overall quality is more than acceptable for the asking price.
There is not a whole lot I can say negative about this one, other than that it could have had a sapphire dial window. That alone is pretty minor though. The look and style alone is enough to warrant a purchase.
Anyway, that’s it for our look into the Bulova Royal Oak! If you want to see more of our reviews of watches and watch brands, you can take a look at some of those here
