Bulova 96B131 Precisionist Champlain Watch Review

The Precisionist quartz movement is Bulova's newest innovation from a brand that has a history of innovative watchmaking. And the Bulova 96B131 Precisionist watch features perhaps the most contemporary design in the entire collection, which has made it one of Bulova's best-selling watches in the past few years.

There are two primary features that separate the Precisionist collection from other quartz powered watches... Near-atomic accuracy and the sweeping secondhand. This is accomplished through a souped-up quartz crystal that beats 16 times per second instead of the normal 1 time per second.

But enough technical talk, let's get to the pros and cons!

Bulova Men's 96B131 Precisionist Champlain Blue Dial Steel Bracelet Watch

Pros:

• The sweeping secondhand is twice as smooth as most mechanical watches; even the automatic-watch-fanatics can get behind this guy.


• Best-selling Bulova Precisionist watch from the Champlain collection


• Precisionist quartz movement is extremely accurate. You will never have to re-adjust the time; less than 10 seconds of variance per YEAR!


• Built like a tank; heavy-duty stainless steel case with a screw down crown.


• An enormous watch meant for a larger guys; heavy, thick and manly. However, you can adjust the strap and clasp to fit your wrist perfectly.


• Eccentric, colorful design is eye-catching and very modern. I love the yellow secondhand against the patterned black carbon fiber dial... Breathtaking to behold.


• Deployment clasp with double pushpins for a easy on-and-off, but very secure.


• I'm always a sucker for the stainless steel strap; the brushed outer-links and polished inner-links complement the colorful dial very well.


• The dial and date window are both large and easy-to-read

Cons:

• Weighing in at literally 1 pound, do not underestimate the size of this watch. If you're of slender build, it may be too big.


• Again, it's big enough that you probably wouldn't want to wear it to work every day… More for special occasions


• The hyper-accuracy and sweeping secondhand result in a shorter battery life than other quartz powered watches… The user manual recommends changing the battery once a year.


• Not much else to say here… If you don't like these contemporary looking watches then you won't like the Bulova Precisionist 96B131. If you do, then you will.

Click here to read more customer reviews

All in all, the entire Bulova Precisionist collection is very well done. Even though the Bulova 96B131 is the most popular watch in the Precisionist Champlain collection, there are several other models in the other sub-collections worth checking out that may suit your personal taste a bit better, especially if you prefer a more classic look. You'll definitely want to look around at my other Bulova Watch Reviews (see the link at the top of this page)

My Bulova 96B131 Precisionist Review

Now that you've seen the pros and cons, here is a more opinionated overview of the design and feel of the Bulova 96B131 men's watch. Below you will find more information on the dial, case and strap, as well as my overall verdict of the watch.

Blue Dial with Patterned Black Carbon Fiber and Yellow Accents

While some more classically-oriented gentleman may find the eccentric contemporary design of the Bulova Champlain 96B131 a little over the top, I personally find it very appealing. The patterned black carbon fiber center is my favorite element, but the yellow sweeping secondhand is what really pulls the design together. The dial is the perfect mixture of polished silver stainless steel and rich coloring; it's eye-catching without looking cheap.

As far as readability is concerned, the calendar function located at three o'clock has a very large window that clearly indicates the date with a small yellow pointer. The fixed stainless steel hour markers and hands make the time easy-to-read as well. In addition, the hour and minute hands are luminous for nighttime readability.

My favorite feature though is definitely the sweeping secondhand. In case you don't know, a sweeping secondhand is not actually perfectly smooth… Rather, it ticks so quickly that it appears to "sweep" around the dial. Now, most mechanical watches beat at around 10 beats per second. The Bulova Precisionist beats 16 times per second, so the sweeping secondhand is actually smoother on this quartz powered watch then you would find on most mechanical watches.

Water Resistant Stainless Steel Case, 47 mm in Diameter and 15 mm Thick

The colorful dial of this Precisionist Champlain is encased within a rugged, thick stainless steel case with a curved mineral crystal window. The curved crystal really enhances the dial, and makes the watch that much more eye-catching. The stationary coin edged bezel is also a very nice touch, and adds to the overall ruggedness of the case.

As you can see from the measurements of the Bulova 96B131's case, this is a very large watch. Do not underestimate just how big this watch is… Many of the customer reviews clearly indicate that the watch looks best when framed by a thick forearm. As a weightlifter, I personally find this appealing, but some of you may not and I want you to know about this ahead of time.

Other than the sheer size of the watch, of note is the high water resistance. Thanks to the screw down crown and stationary bezel, this men's watch is water resistance to 300 m.

Stainless Steel Bracelet with Adjustable Double Pushpins Clasp

The stainless steel bracelet is what really brings this watch home. Not only is the bracelet very secure and fairly easy to adjust, but the way that the brushed outer links frame the polished inner links is excellent.

It's always nice to see a high quality strap in a watch of this size. Many similarly priced watches have low quality leather or cloth straps, and I'm not a huge fan of the rubberized straps of some of the other Precisionist Champlain watches. Stainless steel bracelets with the deployment clasp are definitely my favorite, and this one is very high quality.

FYI - In order to adjust the strap all you have to do is remove one link at a time until you get to the right size, and then you can do fine tuning via the fold over clasp. You can do this yourself or have your local jeweler help you out. It would be good to get acquainted with your local jeweler anyways, since you'll be needing a new battery once every year or so.

My Verdict of the Bulova 96B131 Precisionist Champlain

No doubt that the Bulova 96B131 Precisionist Champlain is an excellent contemporary watch for any collection, even if you prefer automatics. The blue-black design with yellow accents is a very well-executed color scheme. Bigger guys who prefer wearing larger watches will love this hyper-accurate timepiece. You really won't notice the weight of the watch after about a week, and it will always be compliment-friendly.

Thanks for reading my review! I really appreciate you making my writing worth it =)

Bulova 96B131 Precisionist Champlain Watch Review