Lunar Pilot Timascus Bulova's moonwatch gets a folded titanium dial

What is new about the Lunar Pilot Timascus?

The Lunar Pilot is Bulova's reissue of the chronograph that astronaut Dave Scott wore on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, after the crystal on his NASA-issued watch came loose. This version, reference 98A329, was introduced in August 2025 to mark Bulova's 150th anniversary. It is a collaboration with Brazilian artist Thiago Rosinhole, best known for his astronaut character Budii.

The headline change is the dial. Instead of flat black or white, it is cut from Timascus: titanium alloys layered, folded and heat treated in the Damascus manner. The result is a wavy pattern of blue, brown and pale grey, and A Timely Perspective notes that the process means no two dials are alike. Bulova pairs it with a blue tachymetre bezel, blue chronograph pushers and three silver sub-dials.

The case back is new too. It carries a relief of Budii on the moon, an Apollo 15 inscription and an individual number, as the run is limited to 5,500 pieces. The box includes a storybook and a 6 inch Budii figurine. Much of the RRP pays for the collaboration rather than the watch.

How big is it, and how will it wear?

Bulova lists the case at 43.5 mm wide, 13.5 mm thick and 51 mm from lug to lug, with 20 mm lugs. That is the same footprint as the standard 43.5 mm Lunar Pilot, though Bulova quotes the regular black dial model at 12.7 mm thick, so the Timascus version sits a little taller.

These are big numbers for a wrist under about 17 cm. The 51 mm lug to lug span is the figure to check against your wrist before anything else. The steel case and three-link bracelet also add weight: Bulova lists a shipping weight of about 180 g for the boxed set, and owners of the regular model regularly mention that it feels heavy. The bracelet closes with a push button deployant clasp, and the 20 mm lugs make strap changes simple if you want something lighter.

It is a sports chronograph rather than a dress watch, and it will not slip under a tight shirt cuff.

What movement does it use, and how accurate is it?

Inside is Bulova's NP20, a high precision quartz chronograph movement made in Japan. Standard quartz watches run at 32 kHz. The NP20 runs at 262 kHz, which Bulova says gives much greater accuracy and lets the chronograph seconds hand sweep rather than tick. The chronograph times to 1/20th of a second, and the dial reads "262 kHz" just above the six o'clock register.

Bulova does not quote an accuracy figure on its UK product page. Owners of the regular Lunar Pilot generally report that it gains or loses only a few seconds a year, which is far tighter than any mechanical chronograph at this price. The trade-off is a battery, and a quartz movement in a watch that costs more than £1,000.

Water resistance is 50 m. That is fine for rain and a swim in still water, but this is not a watch for diving.

How well is it built?

The specification is sound for the money. You get a stainless steel case with a screw-down case back, an anti-reflective sapphire crystal, luminous hands and markers, and a solid link bracelet. Bulova lists China as the country of assembly.

Reviewers of the standard model praise the crown and pushers, and the long hands that reach the markers. They are less keen on the lume, which is adequate rather than strong, and the small 60 minute register, which Dappered called a "pure vision test". The busy Timascus pattern will not help legibility of those small sub-dials, though the bright silver sub-dials give them more contrast than on some earlier special editions.

Is it good value against its rivals?

The RRP is £1,295. The most obvious rival is Bulova's own Lunar Pilot 96K111, which has the same 43.5 mm case, the same NP20 movement and sapphire crystal for an RRP of £599. You are paying roughly £700 more for the Timascus dial, the limited numbering, the artist case back and the figurine.

If a mechanical chronograph matters more than art, the Tissot PR516 38 mm has a Swiss automatic movement with an 80 hour power reserve for an RRP of £675, about half the price of the Timascus.

So the Timascus edition only makes sense if you value the dial and the collaboration in their own right. As a pure tool, the standard Lunar Pilot does the same job for less than half the price.

What is the catch?

The main catch is price against its own sibling. Owners on watch forums questioned whether Bulova's earlier 5,000 piece meteorite edition was really scarce, and the same doubt applies to 5,500 pieces. The Budii branding on the back and the figurine in the box will delight some buyers and leave others cold.

The second catch is size. At 43.5 mm by 51 mm, with a heavy steel bracelet, it suits medium to large wrists. And it is quartz, which some collectors will never accept at this level, however good the NP20 is.

Bulova's UK site lists the 98A329 as being phased out, so if the dial appeals, stock may not last long.

“Same moonwatch, same 262 kHz heart, with a dial that no two owners will share.”

What do owners say?

Themes from public owner feedback, paraphrased. We never copy Amazon reviews or ratings.

• Owners of the standard Lunar Pilot praise its accuracy, reporting only a few seconds of drift a year from the high precision quartz movement.

  Dialicious owner review (opens in a new tab)

• Weight and size come up often: owners of the previous model warn that it is heavy and that smaller wrists should try it first.

  Dialicious owner review (opens in a new tab)

• The bracelet can run long on small wrists even at its shortest setting, and some owners wish the movement were mechanical.

  Dialicious owner review (opens in a new tab)

• Long-term reviewers of the earlier model like the clean, legible dial and sweeping chronograph hand but find the small minute register hard to read and the lume only adequate.

  Dappered (opens in a new tab)