About
Innovation in movement technology is typically iterative, with big leaps not being nearly as common in frequency as smaller updates. Sometimes you get the Quartz Crisis and economic heart break in the Alps, but most of the time you get something closer to silicon hairsprings. I’m not saying antimagnetic properties aren’t important (in fact, quite the opposite), but I am saying that the watch industry usually undergoes evolutions, not revolutions.
Although it didn’t spur a wave of copycats, one such major development was Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive movement. Introduced in 2002, the Spring Drive doesn’t fit within the binary of mechanical and quartz; it has a mainspring and barrel to store energy like the former, but translates it into time with a quartz oscillator. The base Spring Drive movements are incredibly accurate (around +/- 1 second per day), and the use of a continuously rotating glide wheel means their seconds hands travel with a constant sweep. Grand Seiko’s tendency to combine their movements with stunningly textured dials make Spring Drive watches popular among enthusiasts.
Like with most high-end watches, there is one significant catch to the Spring Drive: financial accessibility. The quintessential Spring Drive model, the SBGA211G “Snowflake,” punches in at a very frosty MSRP of $6,600 USD. It is admittedly a tough number; we are in a period of ultra-high price sensitivity (a complete reversal from the COVID era), and although the finishing and technology is there to command the price, most consumers aren’t inclined right now to make big swings unless the watch they are evaluating meets their exact criteria.
It breaks all of my rules to suggest substitutes if you know exactly what watch you want, as you will inevitably end up spending more money in the long run while trying to “rediscover” it in a budget competitor. Somehow, the Spring Drive exists outside of that paradigm for me. As a former Snowflake owner, I treated the Spring Drive as a heavy curiosity and not an essential feature or need in my collection. This personal data suggests to me that, although I was very lucky to have the means to purchase the watch at the time, it was never going to be a long-term possession.
Keeping my own bias in mind, I have a proposal for you on how to frugally mimic the Spring Drive experience. You know now that I have firsthand familiarity with Grand Seiko; it was a short-lived romance, mainly because I found the Snowflake disharmonious in its makeup. What if I told you that after I sold it, I later found a worthy quartz alternative that has since stuck? It has the aesthetic sensibilities of a disco ball, provides that same silky smooth sweep, and perhaps best of all is priced at approximately 10% of the Snowflake. This watch is the Bulova Jet Star, and it is criminally underrated.
Saturday Night Fever
Today’s Jet Star isn’t a brand new watch, but rather a reimagining of the Jet Star of yesteryear (1973, to be exact). The original was a day-date automatic in a stainless steel tonneau case, and lacked a bezel to protect the plexiglass box crystal that added significantly to its height. The bracelet was interesting, featuring a long hexagonal flat center link that repeated in a pattern reminiscent of scales. Patriotism was the theme, with the dial’s silver tone being supported by strong splashes of blue and red across the indices and handset. I would classify this design as thoroughly Space Age; it almost feels like something Stan Rizzo might have worn in an Art Department shot from Mad Men had that show lasted longer into the 70s.
Historical Jet Star variants that are seemingly the color inspiration for two of the re-issue dial options. Images: Bulova and Buyingontime
By comparison, the re-issued Jet Star of today has spent time under the chisel. The case is highly angular; most of it plus the new bezel are mirror-polished to a fault, while the side flanks and spaces between the lugs are vertically brushed. Large amounts of polishing on so many facets can be dangerous, but I have found the Jet Star to be far more Jekyll than Hyde during my ownership tenure; its magical ability to radiate under sunlight outweighs the potential to become a scratch magnet.
The case proportions are well-mannered at roughly 40mm in diameter and 45mm lug-to-lug. The Jet Star has the same “pancake” wearability of tonneau and cushion case watches; it is lightweight and lays comfortably flat on your wrist without much fuss or fanfare. I think that is an important quality for dress watches (which, given the prevalence of polishing, I am inclined to classify the Jet Star as). Ideally, you want your dress watch to disappear under the cuff and melt away until called upon. The Jet Star, attention-seeking as it may be, fulfills that function efficiently even though it is 12.5mm thick.
Bulova’s modern Jet Star comes in three fumé sunburst colors (although there are more options sold outside the United States): the deep merlot red that I chose as my personal watch, classic silver and butterscotch gold. It is fair to say all three options are attractive with varying levels of eccentricity; from a strictly personal point of view, I think red is the only way to go given it is bold without giving up versatility. It is technically sold out at the time of this article due to its popularity, but only the silver dial is limited and so I expect Bulova will restock the red dial Jet Star in the near future.
The flat-domed sapphire crystal is a modern upgrade over the original, although Bulova doesn’t seem to have applied anti-reflective coating to the glass. The new Jet Star’s handset is fairly faithful; it has similar multi-colored center stripes, but they lack the end-tip arrows that gave the original so much character. The indices are still applied, and now have an additional polished segment at the ends of the intermediate indicators. The dial layout has seen the most change; the chapter ring that carries the Jet Star’s spartan lume plots is now stepped, and has been simplified to only include minute hashes. “262 kHz” has naturally replaced “Automatic” above six o’clock – more on this to come shortly.
Bracelets have never been my thing; I almost always store them away in the box before moving on quickly to leather and textile options. The Jet Star’s bracelet hasn’t been spared from my hoarding wrath, but I do think the design team came up with something to be appreciated. Right up the middle of the bracelet is a double H-link, which is brushed like the side walls but flanked by polished intermediate links. The bracelet comes equipped with a deployant clasp and quick-release spring bars, which are nice touches. The quality isn’t anything to write home about, but it doesn’t change the fact that the double H-link provides something different from the various Oyster lookalikes of the watch world.
Precisionist
As a quick refresher, quartz watches function differently from mechanical watches while producing the same desired action (with superior results). The mainspring that houses energy in a mechanical watch has been replaced with a battery. That battery runs a current through a circuit to the quartz crystal, shaped like a tuning fork, that beats at an exact frequency of 32,768 hertz per second. A circuit interprets this frequency and sends an impulse to the motor, which drives the gear train and subsequently moves the hands forward once per second. This is a far more deliberate sequence than mechanical watches, and it explains that classic ticking motion found in many a quartz watch.
The natural result from this change is an incredible boost in accuracy. I covered this in a recent article about COSC, but mechanical watches are typically measured in terms of seconds per day. As a high-end example, COSC currently certifies mechanical watches at -4/+6 s/d (although they are set to update this standard soon). On the other hand, COSC currently certifies quartz watches at +/- 0.07 seconds per month. The vast majority of movements are not COSC-rated, but this should tell you just how different the two types are in terms of ballpark performance. I think of a typical quartz watch as being accurate to +/- 10-15 seconds per month.
There is a segment of quartz which takes timekeeping into overkill territory, and that’s High Accuracy Quartz or “HAQ” (sometimes used interchangeably with High Frequency Quartz). The formula is straight forward: boost the frequency, reduce drift (because quartz watches aren’t corrected by external synchronization), and increase accuracy. Bulova has a company-specific term for their own version of this technology, High Precision Quartz or “HPQ,” and it stems from a long history of research that began with the Accutron in the early 60s. It is to this group that the Jet Star’s Precisionist movement belongs. As the dial implies, the Precisionist (in this case, the NM10) beats at 262,144 Hz, which is eight times greater than standard quartz. That leads to an advertised accuracy of +/- 5 seconds per month (effectively +/- 10 seconds per year), which is an impressive leap in performance.
The Precisionist has a couple quirks. The quartz crystal is more of a tuning trident than a tuning fork, as it has three prongs instead of two. Instead of a typical vibrating motion, the crystal now twists or torques to facilitate the higher beat frequency (16 per second versus one to two normally). Bulova has set up the circuitry to sense temperature changes and regulate the rate of electrical pulses when needed. The company also claims that the crystal’s cut makes it more resistant to shock and temperature changes. Fully admitting that I can’t quantify the lower and upper ends of thermo-compensation, this level of engineering has me reasonably assured in the Jet Star’s ability to stand up to temperature fluctuations over the course of normal wear.
One last consideration specific to quartz, especially HAQ, is the finite life of the watch. Battery longevity is a natural concern as the higher frequency generally equates to higher power needs. Bulova claims the Precisionist movement is generally good for two to three years before needing a fresh power pack, which actually seems comparable to typical non-HAQ watches. I am sure there are other HAQ watches out there with a more impressive power reserve, but this estimate seems acceptable for long-term use.
Turing’s Test
262 kilohertz in the form of 16 beats per second: this is Bulova’s single ingredient special sauce. It is an effective parlor trick and the sole force at play for producing the smooth sweep of the Jet Star’s seconds hand. At the risk of sounding unnecessarily dramatic (in retrospect, I’m always unnecessarily dramatic), it can’t be understated how critically important this is in the context of a quartz watch.
When you distill down how we really interact with watches, the seconds hand is where all the magic happens. It is this motion that tells you your watch is alive, and it is tied to the same reason why display casebacks have become desirable. As watch enthusiasts, our brains interpret the sweeping motion of mechanical watches as part of the natural order of things. Quartz watches (ones of the 32,768 hertz variety, to be precise) deliberately tick instead, and thus feel far less organic as a consequence. Said watch enthusiasts consequently tend to take issue with this and can sometimes be unnecessarily snooty about the whole affair. The worst part is many of us have this self-awareness and still turn our nose up at quartz offerings, many of which are legitimately great watches.
This is why I love the Jet Star so much: the Precisionist movement tricks your brain into thinking you are wearing something mechanical while retaining the accuracy that quartz watches are known for. Perhaps best of all, it provides that mechanical emulation in a visually attractive package. Most of the Precisionist watches Bulova has released to date are… garish, for lack of a kinder word. Conversely, the Jet Star is visually striking in the best way.
I do want to be careful around my original comparison now that we have run the gauntlet of Jet Star-shaped merits, as this watch is objectively not the equal of the Grand Seiko Snowflake or its other Spring Drive powered brethren. The Precisionist movement isn’t in the same universe as the Spring Drive, and the rest of the Jet Star doesn’t hold a half-melted candle to the proprietary processes that Grand Seiko carries out like hand-carved dials or Zaratsu polishing. There is a chasm, a howling void really, in terms of quality between the two. Luckily, that is reflected in the price – both the gold and merlot dial Jet Stars have an MSRP of $595 USD, while the silver dial option costs $695 USD. We are talking roughly ten percent of the Snowflake’s cost at $6,600 USD – that’s a true bargain. And if you’re going to spend over $200 on quartz, you might as well go high frequency to make the most of your purchasing power.
I stand by my initial assessment that there are no true substitutes in watches. If you really want a Grand Seiko dial and Spring Drive technology, you’d do well to keep that $600-$700 in the piggy bank. If you primarily find yourself curious about a smooth seconds sweep and need a smart-looking dress watch, however, I am confident that the Jet Star is for you. It is uncommon, has a unique aesthetic that will keep you enamored beyond the honeymoon period, and perhaps most critically has the right ballpark economics for the specs. The comp here isn’t another Sellita-powered dive watch. What else is in your collection that could possibly fit the niche of the Jet Star?
To summarize my final thoughts, the Jet Star’s superlatives lay at the crossroads of “smart” and “bold.” Regardless of your opinion on how smart it is to simply up the frequency, the price tag seems to fit the bill. The looks speak for themselves: the case may magnetize scratches, but it also does the same for compliments, and you’ll be pleased when sunlight is bouncing off every inch of surface area. You can very effectively leverage the Jet Star as a dress watch in an office setting, a casual weekender or a special occasion pickup for events like weddings. It was born for those types of festivities; ultimately, the Jet Star only requests that you leave it tucked into bed on Sunday when the plan is hiking instead of brunch. Oblige it and you will be a very happy owner.
Technical Information:
- Model: Bulova 1973 Jet Star ref. 96B401
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Crystal: Sapphire (no anti-reflective coating)
- Movement: Bulova NM10 Precisionist, accurate to +/- 5 seconds per month
- Battery Life: 2-3 Years
- Caseback: Screw-down
- Water Resistance: 50m
- Case Diameter: 40mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 45mm
- Lug Width: 20mm
- Thickness: 12.5mm
- Pricing: $595 USD (merlot and gold); $695 USD (silver)
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