BULOVA
The history of BULOVA
Bulova was created by Joseph Bulova, a Czech immigrant who was just 23 years old at the time. Bulova began as a little jewelry store on Maiden Lane in New York City, but by 1911, the company had expanded to include the manufacture of clocks and pocket timepieces, which were selling in large quantities.
Because of his success with clocks and watches, Joseph Bulova established a factory in Switzerland to produce Bulova watches. This facility was the first in the watch industry to create watches at a level of standardised mass manufacturing.
Bulova was not only ahead of the game when it came to mass-production timepieces, but they were also ahead of the game in other ways. They launched the first full line of jewelled wristwatches for men, followed by the first line of women' wristwatches, and finally the first line of diamond wristwatches. Bulova became one of the largest American watch makers at the time as a result of these firsts.
When it came to advertising, they were notably ahead of the curve. This began in 1926, when they launched their first national radio commercial, with the phrase "At the tone, it's 8 p.m., B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time." Bulova watches launched the industry's first million-dollar advertising campaign just five years later, followed by the world's first television commercial 10 years later. "America runs on Bulova time!" said the commercial, which ran before a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game.
During WWII, Bulova was significantly involved in military manufacture, namely in the production of high-precision military watches. Their mass manufacturing facilities were also utilised for other reasons, generating a variety of war-related devices. They founded the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking near the conclusion of the war to enable military veterans acquire a skill in preparation for their return to civilian life.
Bulova was one of the most well-known watchmakers in the United States as the war came to an end. Sales had reached $80 per year within ten years after WWII's conclusion, and if you didn't already own a Bulova, you certainly knew about them!
Bulova's Accutron collection is one of their most well-known watch lines. They employed a tuning fork as the timekeeping device instead of a balance wheel, which allowed them to be extremely precise in an era before quartz clocks. For the most of the 1960s, this technique propelled them to the forefront of the watchmaking industry. Unfortunately for Bulova, by the end of the 1960s, Seiko had introduced the first quartz wristwatch – the Astron – to the market, allowing them to produce cheaper, more exact timepieces.
During the 1970s, the Accutron series remained popular, especially after the debut of the Spaceview Accutron. The Spaceview Accutron was one of the earliest mass-produced visible movement watches, and it was created entirely by chance! The initial plan was for them to be unique Bulova watch exhibition versions that would only be worn by sales personnel. The idea was that by demonstrating the watch's inner workings, sales personnel could amaze consumers with the incredible timekeeping technology. Customers began wanting to acquire these visible movement watches after seeing them advertised and sold by sales personnel.
In addition to the well-known space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, there was also a space race in the 1960s between Bulova watches and Omega watches. Unfortunately for Bulova, Omega was successful in obtaining the rights to manufacture the official space watch.
Bulova Accutrons were employed in all of the first spacecraft to reach the moon's timekeeping devices, which were also utilized in 46 NASA missions. Indeed, the US government considered the technology in Accutron 214 movements to be so significant that it delayed Bulova's commercial distribution of the movement in order to prevent the Soviet Union from obtaining it.
In 1971, the narrative took a new turn when a Bulova watch, although not being an official NASA watch, made it onto the wrist of an astronaut on the moon. Because the mission commander's Omega watch was damaged, he utilized his own Bulova Chronograph for the mission. In 2015, this watch was auctioned and sold for $1.6 million. Bulova re-released this chronograph, which was introduced at Baselworld 2016, as a result of the device's media attention.
The 1990s did not start off well for the corporation, which was up against stiff competition from overseas firms. Customers still trusted the well-known brand name, which helped the firm boost earnings. Throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the twenty-first century, the brand grew in popularity.
Citizen purchased the Bulova Watch Maker in 2008, making Citizen the world's largest watch company. Shortly after, Bulova introduced the Precisionist, a high-precision quartz watch with a lovely sweeping hand. In 2013, they also became Manchester United's official timekeeper, creating stunning timepieces for the world-famous football team.
Bulova is a well-known company that continues to develop and set itself apart from the competition. It's difficult to predict what Bulova will do next, but their next invention is never far away, and we're excited to see what it is!
