Watch Review – Caravelle Sea Hunter 1969 Reissue

Goddamn Bulova, this almost makes up for that piece of shit Accutron Astronaut reissue.

What Is It

This is a new release from Caravelle, the budget-minded sub-brand of Bulova, that’s existed since the 1960’s. The Sea Hunter here is a reissue of the original Sea Hunter, which was one of the more upscale models offered by Caravelle upon its original release. Originally a Swiss Movement dive watch with 200m of water resistance, the Sea Hunter was meant to represent the outlier top tier offering of tool watches from Caravelle, given that almost all of their models were in no way Swiss-associated. This was also one of a few different models from Bulova known as Devil Diver’s for their 666ft water resistance rating, a fun choice by Bulova since 200m = 656ft.

Just The Facts

Reference: 43B175 (Not Limited)

Diameter: 39.0mm (Original: 35.0mm)

Lug width: 20mm

Lug-to-Lug: 45.5mm

Thickness: 14.3mm

Case Material: Stainless Steel (Same as Original)

Bezel Insert Material: Aluminum

Dial Type: Matte Paint (Same as Original)

Dial Color: Black (Same as Original)

Dial Markers: Baton (Same as Original)

Glass: Mineral Glass (Not the Original’s Plexi)

Crown Type: Screw-Down

Water Resistance: 20 ATM (Same as Original)

What its going for: ~$375 USD

What I paid for it: $255 USD

Where I got it: Macy’s Online

This watch has an automatic Miyota 8215-33E movement with 42 hours power reserve, 21 jewels, hacking ability, quick set date, and beats at a frequency of 21600 vph.

Now The Feels

Let’s start with the case dimensions because that’s usually the most obvious indication of how a watch is going to wear. Right off the bat, 39mm diameter is fantastic. 40mm always seems to be that breaking point between an ostensibly “large” watch and a “midsize” watch (meanwhile, in my mind, 36mm separates the mid-sizes from the small sizes).

Bulova was never going to make this in the OG 665-1 sizing of 35mm, nor should they (we saw Rado do that with their Captain Cook MKI reissue and I felt it was super underwhelming).

The fact is, only vintage watches can really pull off vintage sizing, so 39mm is perfect. It’s substantial enough to feel the presence, but small enough not to feel too modern. And truth be told, it really does feel smaller than 39mm would lead you to believe.

The other sizing issue that I keep reading non-owners bitch about is the thickness. “Oh my stars, 14.4mm thick” they say as they clutch their pearls. Fact is, you could be staring right at this thing for the first time, and if I were to ask you how thick you think it is, you’d probably say something like 13mm. And the reason you’d think that is because the watch does a fantastic job of hiding its thickness with the bezel and the case back, so that the case sandwiched in between doesn’t feel like much at all.

Take a look at the Caravelle Sea Hunter sitting beside the Tudor Black Bay, known for it’s super slab sides.

The Tudor comes in at 14.8mm, meanwhile the Caravelle is at 14.4mm. There’s simply no way to complain about the stack height of the Caravelle once you see it like this.

What’s To Love

Fauxtina

I also love the engraved case back with the name Sea Hunter on it. By putting the model name on the case back they were able to keep the front of the dial super clean, with only the well known 666 devil diver implication front and center, just like the original. I also like that it says designed by Bulova. I don’t know why, but something about that feels reassuring. And speaking of small touches with brand names, I like the “C” for Caravelle signed on the crown (which screws down btw). Again, it’s one of those small touches that just makes it feel really well thought out and a little more premium.

Bezel Insert

This was such a no-brainer and I am so happy for this. Do you want to scratch the bezel up? Fuck yeah, of course you do! Do you want the bezel to fade? YES. And if you are feeling a little cheeky, do you wan to pry this fucker off and stick it in some bleach for a minute or two to get it a nice ghosted look? Hell yeah we want that option. Thank god for aluminum bezel inserts.

And The Hate

Bracelet

One thing I can’t comment on is how it wears with the bracelet, because I took that thing off immediately. It looks like an ok enough bracelet, but it’s pretty nondescript, and the cheap fold-over clasp didn’t do it for me. I’m gonna take just a second to bitch about these cheap Chinese bracelet fold-over clasps: I don’t know what the alternative to these things are, but I hate the way they look (cheap), I hate the way they feel (cheap), and goddamnit if they aren’t just the jankiest fucking things. They look and feel like tinfoil.

That said, I really appreciate the quick release bracelet adapters and the solid end links. For a $300 some-odd dollar watch, those weren’t things I was expecting see. Note to Bulova: Maybe spend that money on the clasp next time. My go to for this watch was an FKM ladder style rubber strap in beige from CNS Nato.

Verdict

This is an absolute winner! Is this the new Seiko SKX? HA! No, don’t be stupid. Is it a fantastic watch for a few hundred bucks? Oh hell yeah it is. Its also an amazing of bringing the Caravelle brand back fully into the watch collector’s conscious. And let’s be honest with ourselves, Bulova (and now Caravelle) are leaning way in on the “reissues for enthusiasts market”, and for the most part its absolutely working. Do you want to know how well its working? Just look at my collection over the last few years…

How long will this watch stay in my collection?

1 1/2 – 2 Years I think. My average retention on random pick ups like this is ~1 month. This definitely fills a hole in my collection though, its my new cheap beater diver.

Would I tell a fiend to buy this watch?

100%! Absolutely I would. Cheap enough that you can’t really go wrong.

Would I be embarrassed to wear this around watch snobs?

Absolutely not. In fact, watch snobs not wearing this watch should be embarrassed to be standing around next to me.

Overall Rating out of 10?

A very solid and respectable 8/10. I deducted a few points because at the time of this writing Bulova.com was sold out of this specific configuration, and so it was of course getting flipped on second-hand sites for like 5x its original price, which is absurd. DO NOT PAY MORE THAN RETAIL FOR THIS WATCH, IT’S NOT LIMITED.