{"id":667940,"date":"2026-05-13T09:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667940\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T09:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:51:11","slug":"bulova-lunar-pilot-black-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/667940\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulova Lunar Pilot “Black Hole”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Austin<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bulova Lunar Pilot finally lands with a more wearable 41mm case, answering years of community demand without losing its presence.
\nThe \u201cBlack Hole\u201d dial uses ultra-light-absorbing Musou black paint for a finish that\u2019s about as close to total darkness as it gets.
\nA high-precision 1\/20th second quartz chronograph movement keeps everything razor-sharp, echoing the Lunar Pilot\u2019s original purpose as a mission-critical tool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apparently, there\u2019s only one moonwatch, or at least, that\u2019s how the story usually goes. While another watch has long held the spotlight as NASA\u2019s official issue for the early days of mankind\u2019s journey to the Moon, it wasn\u2019t the only chronograph to reach the lunar surface. That lesser-told, less commercialised story belongs to Bulova<\/a>, and for years, it\u2019s arguably become one of the watch world\u2019s best-kept secrets. Now, with the release of the Lunar Pilot \u201cBlack Hole\u201d, Bulova is sharpening that history, bringing a new 41mm case that answers the loudest enthusiasts\u2019 demand, but importantly, reframes the narrative around what might be the most compelling alternative moon watch out there.<\/p>\n

\"bulova<\/p>\n

The welcome redesign of the stainless steel case comes in at 41mm in diameter, with a wearable 48mm lug-to-lug measurement, meaning it now conforms to the wrist even better, and offers a more regular feel to the watch, rather than an out-and-out rugged tool. Being called the \u201cBlack Hole\u201d, this is balanced by a black PVD coating<\/a>, plated over a fine satin sandblasted finish, meaning it\u2019s not only tactile to touch, but also has heightened scratch-resistant properties. Overall, the case design is still unmistakably a Lunar pilot, with its overly curved surfaces and curved, elongated chronograph pushers still present.<\/p>\n

The case is finished with a screw-down caseback that not only\u00a0provides 100 metres of water resistance but also features a unique glass insert, not to show off a fancy movement inside, but to depict a matte black-and-grey\u00a0lunar landscape and Apollo 15 mission details.<\/p>\n

\"bulova<\/p>\n

There are black dials, and there are really black dials, and the Lunar Pilot\u2019s black dial is blacker than most. The familiar dial is coated with Musou black paint, which absorbs about 99.4% of ambient light, lending even more meaning to the \u201cBlack Hole\u201d moniker. Incredibly, Bulova have still managed to make it legible by using a contrasting black for the subdials and a grey colour for the applied hour markers and hands, which are filled with grey Super-LumiNova that glows blue, protected by a flat sapphire crystal with a 5-layer anti-reflective coating.<\/p>\n

\"bulova<\/p>\n

The watch is powered by the Bulova NP20 High Precision Quartz<\/a> (HPQ) chronograph movement. Being ultra-high-frequency, it runs at 262kHz and is capable of measuring time to within 1\/20 of a second. Bulova offers little technical information about the movement itself, but it\u2019s believed to be closely related to the calibre 8136 and to have been made in conjunction with Citizen and Miyota. Nevertheless, its reliability and accuracy are excellent, and if it\u2019s more than up to the job of being on astronauts\u2019 wrists, then it\u2019s absolutely fine for everyday use here on Earth.<\/p>\n

\"bulova<\/p>\n

Finally, the watch is finished with a stainless steel, black PVD-coated bracelet, closed by a butterfly clasp operated by a button on each side. This limited edition of 6,000 pieces comes in a speciality \u201cBlack Hole\u201d box, including a travel pouch and a travel clock inspired by the Lunar capsule instrument used in the Apollo 15 trip to the Moon.<\/p>\n

\"bulova<\/p>\n

Bulova Lunar Pilot \u201cBlack Hole\u201d pricing and availability<\/p>\n

The Bulova Lunar Pilot \u201cBlack Hole\u201d is limited to 6,000 pieces and is now available from Bulova\u2019s online boutique<\/a> and its retailer network. Price: US$1,650<\/p>\n

Brand
\nBulova<\/p>\n

Model
\nLunar Pilot \u201cBlack Hole\u201d<\/p>\n

Case Dimensions
\n41mm (D) x 48mm (LTL)<\/p>\n

Case Material
\nStainless steel, black PVD coating<\/p>\n

Water Resistance
\n100 metres<\/p>\n

Crystal(s)
\nSapphire front and back<\/p>\n

Dial
\nMusou black, grey accents<\/p>\n

Bracelet
\nStainless steel 3-link bracelet, butterfly clasp, black PVD coating<\/p>\n

Movement
\nBulova NP20 High Precision Quartz<\/p>\n

Power Reserve
\nN\/A<\/p>\n

Functions
\nHours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, 1\/20th second measurement<\/p>\n

Availability
\nLimited to 6,000 pieces<\/p>\n

Price
\nUS$1,650<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Austin The Bulova Lunar Pilot finally lands with a more wearable 41mm case, answering years of community…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,120226,105],"class_list":["post-667940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-metashort","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}