The Bulova MIL-SHIPS-W-2181 diving watch hands-on

The 2021 Bulova MIL SHIPS W 2181 has uncovered another exciting chapter in Bulova‘s military supply and its close relationship with the United States Navy during and beyond WW2. While the 50th Anniversary Lunar Pilot has captured most enthusiasts’ eyes this year, the new Archive Series ready diving watch is no less attractive and builds on the brand’s long-rooted military legacy.

About the MIL SHIPS W 2181 specification

The MIL SHIPS W 2181 standard listed under which conditions each new timepiece had to be built. It included requirements regarding, as usual, the maximum water pressure to withstand, along with preventing humidity from entering the case over long intervals of time. Also, a uniform and durable lume in the dark plus a graduated unidirectional rotating bezel were mandatory.

The standard was submitted in the late 1950s, and Bulova engineers, under US Navy general Omar Bradley, the brand’s R&D Director, designed a prototype and sent some samples to the US Navy Frogman units to undergo a series of tests.

The specs’ name, titled “Contract Specification; Wristwatch, Submersible, MIL-SHIPS-W-2181”, was issued in 1955, and the first batch rolled out Bulova‘s workshops in 1957. Interestingly, the Bulova MIL SHIPS W 2181 was unknowingly racing to become one of the first diving watches ever to be marketed, had the project been green-lighted after the testing sessions. As a matter of fact, the timepiece successfully passed a second test session, too, in 1958, and earned an entire page on the 1959 Official Navy‘s magazine. However, the project was stopped suddenly, and no prototype ever rolled out the production lines if we exclude a bunch of products which, as far as the story goes, never went back to Bulova.

The 2021 Bulova MIL SHIPS W 2181

Bulova broke cover with the 2021 Bulova 2181 reissue by revealing untold stories and another beautiful example of its long-standing military pedigree. Designers opted for a one-to-one re-edition, letting the modern components apart, of course, by building a contemporary MIL-SHIPS-W-2181 sibling as close as possible. The case is, therefore, 41 mm large and 15 mm thick (where a good part comes from the bubble-shaped sapphire glass); the dial keeps the original matte black hue and houses the same two-piece strip used to check humidity entering the case, something we got familiar with when taking our hands on the Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms MIL-Spec.

The lugs are narrow, and the lug-to-lug gap is just 16 mm, thus making the strap look super slim, too, by modern standards. The watch looks and feels military vintage from any angle, and I have no doubt Bulova was eager to make the watch look quintessentially vintage diving. The bezel adopts an anodized aluminium ring as a replacement to the original, made of acrylic with radium material on top; it comes with a safe-release mechanism so that once you release it, it locks in an assigned position.

Water-resistant up to 200m, the Bulova MIL SHIPS W 2181 comes in two options: the standard model houses a 3 Hz Miyota 82S0 calibre with 42 hours of power reserve. Bulova is also offering a premium Bulova Limited Edition model, powered by the 4Hz Sellita SW 200; it comes in a special package and costs three times plus the base model’s retail price. You won’t see it pictured here.

Final thoughts

It is hard not to love this new Archive Series‘ Bulova watch; it is terrific and ticks all the boxes when looking at affordable military-inspired vintage diving (tool) watches. There’s nothing similar in the benchmark unless you spot some similitudes with the Fifty Fathoms. Bear in mind product design was driven by strict military criteria all the brands had to abide by back then. Also, I love the authentic military storytelling behind the reissue project; it is not solely a pure marketing strategy.

I furthermore think size matters and won’t be anyone’s cup of tea, yet, here is a tool watch, and, finally, the first commercial release of the Bulova MIL SHIPS W 2181 in 64 years since the first tests were carried out. What most people might not like is a Japanese calibre powering an American timepiece, but Bulova is ever since a brand of the Citizen Group; not only is the Miyota sturdy and up to the task; it helps keep the retail price at 599 Euros, making it ultra-affordable for what it is and represents, and for how it is well built. In contrast, I barely understand why a buyer should pay three times as much for the limited edition model.

(Photo credit: Marco Antinori for Horbiter®)