Bulova 98A123 Review: Two-Tone Stainless Steel Automatic Watch

It’s true.

The Bulova 98A123 is a flashy timepiece in all the right ways.

I first saw this watch while looking through new pieces at a watch shop.

I was instantly drawn to the bright colors of the case, and when I looked closer, I saw the skeleton dial.

Now I’m a sucker for skeleton watches, and I’m pretty confident I’m not alone in saying that.

They just have a look that’s unmatched.

That’s why I decided to take a deep dive into the details and specifications of this watch.

And I’ll share some of them in this Bulova 98A123 review.

Pros:

• A very nice mix of colors that can easily impress
• Iconic Bulova’s skeleton dial design
• Hassle-free and super accurate watch movement

Cons:

• The case diameter might be a bit too big for some

Flashy But Not Pretentious

It would be easy to think that a two-tone skeleton watch would come off as cocky to a lot of people.

But that isn’t the case at all with this model.

This is probably due to the simpler details on the dial itself.

Such as the Roman Numeral markers, gold-toned hands, and textured white background.

These simpler details do a great job of contrasting the louder features such as the gold and silver tones on the case and the visible gears on the left-hand side of the dial.

The way the designers were able to blend the gold, silver, and white tones give the piece this cohesion that catches the eye.

Self-Winding Movement

I really love automatic watches.

The idea of having a similar mechanism as mechanical watches while eliminating the need to constantly rewind the springs is something I find really cool.

This Bulova timepiece has just that.

Meaning you can have a similar sweeping motion of the seconds hand that is beloved by watch enthusiasts all over the world.

And as long as you wear the piece frequently, you’ll never have to worry about rewinding the watch.

Because the watch is constantly ticking, you can expect it to be very accurate as well.

While it might not have the same accuracy as the Precisionist movement that other Bulova pieces have; inaccurate time surely won’t be a problem with this piece.

A Properly Sized Men’s Watch

With larger watches rising in popularity, it isn’t uncommon to find watches that seem to overdo it.

I think you know what I’m talking about.

Those incredibly large 48mm cases that sometimes looks larger than your wrist.

Luckily, this model isn’t like that.

It still falls under a large men’s watch as the case measures 42mm in diameter, which will look great on any man’s wrist.

This balanced size is another reason why the color choices and skeleton dial on the watch don’t seem imposing or pretentious.

Customer Scores And Reviews

Of course, I needed to see what people who bought the watch thought of the actual product.

And I was really happy to find a lot of satisfied customers posting reviews.

A lot of the reviews were centered on the look.

One customer even said that this watch is a real “home run”.

He was incredibly satisfied with how eye-catching the piece is, and also how reliable the automatic movement is, especially considering the watch’s price range.

However, there was one critical review in which the reviewer pointed out that the Bulova logo wasn’t on the watch.

This is probably because he saw an older photo.

Recently, Bulova redesigned their watches and some dials do not have the tuning fork logo, which is important to note before buying the piece.

Conclusion

All in all, I have no complaints about this piece.

The design is stunning, the movement is reliable, and the size is just right.

If you haven’t tried an automatic watch before, I would highly recommend this model.

And for those in search of a new piece, the Bulova 98A123 deserves to be on your list of considerations.