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A little over fifty years ago, Bulova became the only watch brand to accidentally land on the moon. The Apollo 15 mission of 1971, NASA’s fourth trip to the lunar surface, didn’t have the same cultural heft as Apollo 11 or the Hollywood-ready story arc of Apollo 13. Apollo 15, however, did make its mark on history in a few important ways: it represented the first time anyone drove a car on the moon (a milestone for EVs and epic road trips); brought back a giant chunk of lunar crust dubbed “The Genesis Stone”; and saw the official debut of the other moon watch, a.k.a. the Bulova Lunar Pilot.
As legend goes, mission Commander David Scott was exploring the lunar surface when the crystal of his NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster popped off. This would be annoying under normal circumstances, but on the moon the accident took on a heightened significance; a chronograph was crucial for timing Scott’s extravehicular activities, and he needed a replacement in a hurry. Luckily, he’d packed a backup: his personal Bulova Chronograph Model #88510/01.
Bulova had been one of a handful of top-tier watchmakers to vie for NASA approval in the early days of the Apollo program, and had made a bunch of other timekeeping devices for NASA over the years, but—as we all know—Omega’s Speedmaster won out, eventually earning its legend as the first watch on the moon when Neil Armstrong planted the flag in 1969.
Astronauts were allowed to bring personal items on board with them, though, and the Bulova chronograph was Scott’s timepiece of choice. That’s how he came to take the wheel of the lunar rover with a Bulova strapped to his wrist, making history as the second watch worn on the moon. The Bulova Lunar Pilot is the successor to that historic watch, and with its combination of vintage-inspired design and a price as low as $500, it’s by far the most affordable way to get an Astronaut-approved timepiece on your wrist.
Back in 2015, when Scott’s original Bulova chronograph sold for $1,625,000 at auction, the brand tapped into the hype by releasing the Lunar Pilot, a new chronograph with a similar look to the one worn by Scott on the moon. Like the Speedmaster, the Lunar Pilot is a classic tool watch with a durable stainless steel case and an ultra-legible white-on-black dial. The Lunar Pilot, however, has a few important differences, including a tachymeter scale around the edge of the dial (not on the bezel), a larger 45mm case, and a set of distinctive paddle-shaped pushers which were designed to be easier to operate while wearing gloves.
Like the Speedmaster, the original Bulova chronograph favored by Scott was powered by a manual-wound movement, but the Lunar Pilot has been updated with a high-frequency quartz movement that’s accurate to an incredible 10 seconds per year. Which, for the record, makes the Lunar Pilot both more precise and more affordable than its NASA-approved counterpart, a distinction you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate.
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