.“What, that one?” I asked leaning down to get a closer look.

“Yes,” Ibrahim replied.

“The Hublot?”

“Yes”

I straightened up to take in the store. We were standing in the high-end watch outlet tucked away behind the security gates, passports controls and baguette shops of Heathrow. This outlet often grabbed my attention when I passed through UK airports on my way to a business meeting somewhere and on this occasion we had been drawn by the bright open door. While perusing Ibrahim had offered to show me his “grail” watch. A grail watch is the name for the one watch you would buy if money was no object. His choice was a mind-meltingly expensive Hublot. It sat proudly in a clear glass case near the back of the store.

“It’s titanium,” Ibrahim said.

“And yet is shines in the light,” I remarked.

Indeed it did though some alchemical flooding of light into the case from an unseen source. The almost black grey of the strap led up to a case of dark angles where the light was somehow simultaneously absorbed and reflected. Only once one reached the face did the effect hit you properly; the skeletal structure, a common feature on Hublot watches, pulled the focus of the eyes into the dial, searching through it for the bottom and the movement. This created an optical effect where the hands seemed to float on top. Combined with the eye’s journey up the strap and body, the effect of the face was to dazzle where it should repulse. It was, after all, a mishmash of a layout. A photo of the watch would be easy to dismiss as foppish and crass, but in person it was dominating and on the wrist would lurk in the shadows of the shirt sleeves, pulling the gaze of onlookers like the galactic black hole it resembled. It was the sort of watch Batman would wear.

“It’s incredible,” I assured Ibrahim, “but… do you think you could pull it off?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’d have to upgrade everything else to fit it. You couldn’t wear it with anything but a handmade suit”.

“This is a hand made suit,” he said making a gesture with his arms and a little annoyed.

I smiled conciliatorily by way of apology. Well, that just goes to show, I thought, if someone who loves men’s business fashion couldn’t tell a handmade suit when they saw one then perhaps the watch is all that is left to signify a man of taste these days? Or perhaps I needed more coffee.

Ibrahim continued, “I want to buy it with my first bonus cheque, to represent myself as a salesman.”

“Why not get a Rolex?” I asked, nodding at a nearby glass case, “that’s the traditional watch of sales success”

“Bah, everyone has a Rolex,” he said with a dismissive hand gesture, “but this,” and his eyes glinted brightly as he peered into the case and the magical lighting caught them, “this is unique and different. No one will have one of these”. And then he smiled like Thorin beholding the Arkenstone.

For a long time I believed that such an item would only be found in the true startup world of crowdfunding, where insanity is no barrier to flights of invention. I would often peruse Kickstarter and watched for the angles and edges of the Bvlgari Octo’s and Richard Mille’s; but, I didn’t find them, or I did and would not trust that the project would ever get off the drawing board.

It never occurred to me that a mainstream watchmaker would create a Batwatch.

I had been looking at the Bulova moon watch replica and making my mind up on purchasing one when I saw it. There in an advert at the top of the screen, barely lit, and yet glowing, was a side shot of a curved case in bead blasted grey titanium.

My aesthetic senses immediately noticed the lines that made up the shapes and came to the conclusion: someone had done it. Someone had made a watch to compete with the high-end marks and it was, unexpectedly, Bulova who had stood out. Leaving the moon watch for another day I started on a journey through the web and falling in love with the Curv.

The Curv is sold as the world’s first curved quartz movement, and indeed this claim is very specifically true, catching all the blog headlines at Baselworld, and being widely reported by top sites like Worn & Wound and Hodinkee. I even found a positive comment from the Watch Snob himself, and if those august – if legendarily snobbish mansplainers – were entranced then I knew that pictures, like with the Hublot, would not do the watch justice and this would be a watch best seen in person.

From the new CURV Collection. The world’s first curved chronograph movement features high-performance quartz technology with 262 kHz vibrational frequency for precise accuracy. Five-hand chronograph in titanium and stainless steel case with black bezel, dark grey exhibition dial with rose gold-tone accents, exhibition screw-back case, curved sapphire glass, black rubber 3-piece buckle closure, and water resistance to 30 meters.

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The case is the thin sandwich type found commonly in sports watches over 15k. It has influences from the highly respected designs of Gérald Genta, such as the Royal Oak, or the really modern design cues found in the Linde Werdelin and, of course, the Hublot’s. There are two pushers, which present the classic Chronograph controls, they work with a little twist I’ll cover below. The crown is a nonscrew-down type, reducing it to light wet use and not swimming or diving; however, it does have hacking seconds for accurate time setting. The main talking point of the case is, of course, that it is curved. The resulting body shape is not just a gimmick; no the case actively hugs the wrist and, being that it is so thin, it easily slides under shirt sleeves. The holes at the top and bottom of the case, where the lugs would be on a standard watch, are cut out. This makes the case look like it is only a frame for the face and movement and also apes the effect of a traditional strap without curved ends. The detailing on the case is very nice, and the designer has surely put in the same count of hours as the face designer in the next cubicle.

Watch photography is sometimes misleadingly alluring, but what does it look like without the shadows & lighting?

One the back of the case is a sapphire see-through back displaying the movement.

As quartz movements go, Bulova has made the best of the situation in the decoration, however there is no fine Côtes de Genève. It’s a nice look to expose the movement, although that name is possibly a misnomer as nothing “moves” that you can see. Around the case back is etched some text talking about the movement, waterproofness, and materials. I think it looks really good and I don’t hesitate to take it off and show it when asked about the watch, which was something like 20 times on the first day I got it. It reminds me of the build found in many Richard Mille watches, and I recall handling one in a mall in Jakarta – my English accent and business suit getting me a hands on in the store – and the look of the see-through back is very reminiscent.  The cost, on the other hand, is literally £100,000 cheaper for the same feel. Bargain!

Bulova makes a big deal about their quartz movements and with good reason as they are accurate beyond one’s dreams.  The Precisionist is a type of thermo-compensated quartz movement. Bulova says that quartz accuracy depends upon two factors: temperature changes and vibration frequency. They have added a third “prong” to the quartz crystal and increased the vibrations of the Precisionist movement to 8 times the frequency of a standard quartz. High frequency movements are inherently more accurate because they are less susceptible to changes in temperature with finer count correction. Bulova’s oscillator is described as a ‘torsional resonator’ and their marketing department seem to suggest that the third prong in their crystal oscillator provides the 262 kHz frequency.

Built from the inside out, CURV is engineered to perfection with first-ever curved chronograph movement and a high-performance quartz movement that vibrates at 262kHz frequency for precise accuracy. On the outside, Bulova’s applied design technology makes an aerodynamic statement with a refined, contoured simplicity that exactly follows the wrist.

Combined with the hacking seconds, setting this watch to almost satellite accuracy is a joy. It will keep to that accuracy like glue and drift only 1-2 seconds per year. A super achievement. Other manufacturers with similar movements, such as Breitling, charge a huge premium for it. It speaks well of the brand’s history that they have managed to put this movement in so many watches. Of course, in this particular range, they have also managed to bend it like a sat-on iPhone in the back pocket. It is, however, a practical talking point, not just a gimmick.

This watch needs little in the way of talking points once one sees it in the flesh. It is thin and elegant like a supermodel while being large faced enough to have wrist presence. It is designed to the hilt and right up to the line of taste. Any more and it would have been possibly crass and be suitable only for Russian mobsters, but do not worry: I couldn’t find a millimeter that is over-the-top. Consequently, because of the sports watch style of this model, it is a fine and fashionable watch doing something unique (at this price point) and a true home run for Bulova.

“Well, what do think,” I asked Ibrahim passing him the Curv.

He took a long look, “Very nice,” he said smiling and turning it over in his hands. He handed it back and I put it back on. He took it in on my wrist. “I think that this is the nicest watch you have ever worn in the office”.

He might well be right.

Highly recommended.

Regards,

Basho

If you are interested in purchasing the Curv then we recommend Jura Watches (it’s where we got ours) and is the top online watch shop:

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