With the increased popularity of minimalist military wristwatches, Bulova has relaunched the vintage style WWII hack watch. The timepiece you see here is one of their older commemorative models with reference 96A102 across the bottom of the dial. It’s one of the original and hard to find hack watches that was released before the watch bloggers started giving it coverage. This is an essential grab-and-go piece.

Hack?

It’s named a “hack” watch after its hacking second hand – a second that stops when the crown is pulled out. This was revolutionary during wartime because it was the first time that soldiers could synchronize their watches down to the second.

Tuning Fork Dial

There are two known versions of the 96A102: one with just “Bulova” on the dial and the one shown here with the tuning fork logo above the Bulova text.

Legibility

Besides always being ready to go (thanks to the quartz movement), the dial of the this watch is highly legible. The bold Arabic markers, with decent lume coverage, allow for a quick glance at the time without much effort. The “hacking” seconds hand is neatly tucked into a subdial at 6:00, so there are no distractions when looking for the midday OK to take your lunch break.

Detailed Specs:

• Reference: 96A102 (caseback: C860736)
• Movement: Quartz, made in Japan
• Bulova caliber 7584
• Stainless steel case
• Diameter: 40mm (43mm including crown)
• Dial diameter about 33mm
• Thickness: 10.5mm
• Lug-to-Lug: 50mm
• Weight: 55 grams / 1.9 ounces
• Black dial with silver hands
• Green canvas strap with rivet holes
• 20mm lug-width
• Acrylic crystal
• Push-pull crown
• Water resistant up to 30m

Includes: No box, no papers.

Condition: New old stock. Never previously owned, never previously worn. There are flaws on the caseback, please see pics.

In Bulova’s Own Words:

“Vintage design military style hack watch inspired by the Bulova Archives. The original Bulova Hack Watch was issued to the U.S. Military during WW II and was one of the first watches of its kind.” –Bulova