A Diving Devil, The 1968 Bulova Diver reference 386-4 '666 Feet'

Along the collectors journey, many find themselves fixated on collecting dive watches. And for many reasons that make perfect sense. Firstly, they can be incredibly attractive, both on and off the wrist. They are generally well fitting watches and extremely legible. Being manufactured as tools, they are also produced in a very robust manner. And they are generally of a size that fits most wrists and fit in with the typical size of watches that people wear today.

A brand that did an exceptional job at making these types of watches was Bulova. Bulova was founded in 1875 by Joseph Bulova. They produced many exceptional time keepers during their history including the first fully electronic watch that used tuning fork technology. But in the 1960’s, they really took off with producing watches that could go, do, and be worn everywhere. The important factor for these watches? The 666 feet water proof rating.

This is not the first time a 666ft Bulova was shown on Life on the Wrist. In July 2022, a reference 386-1 made its way onto the website. The watch today follows the same lineage; it is a reference 386-4, three versions after the 386-1.

Moving back to the 666ft depth rated Bulova’s - some collectors have nicknamed these watches “Devil Divers”, given the connotation of the number 666. But what is very exciting about these watches is the incredible variety of them. Bulova had so many different versions of these watches, including the Deep Sea Chronograph and dive watches similar to the reference 386. So what is the reference 386?

What you have is a very well manufactured and attractive stainless steel dive watch. This Bulova was manufactured in 1968, according to the M8 on the caseback. Bulova uses a combination of letters and numbers to describe the year in which their watches were manufactured. The 35mm stainless steel case is in good condition with signs of wear, which is expected for a sports watch like this. The watch also has signs of light polishing, noticeable by the softer corners of the lugs.

The lugs are long, thick, and relatively flat, making the watch sit larger on the wrist. The watch has a steel dive bezel which is in good condition. Looking at other versions of the reference 386, the numbers on the bezel are typically black, so it is likely that the black paint has come off over time.

The watch has a signed Bulova crown, likely original to the watch. The details of this watch really come out when one looks at the dial. The black dial of the watch has aged perfectly, along with the tritium lume on the hour markers which are fat and creamy. The dial is really the type of dial collectors dream off. The black dial shows its age like a fine bottle of wine, and the lume matches across all surfaces. The watch has a red seconds hand, which stands out nicely against the black backdrop. The watch also features a date window at 3 o’clock.

Turning the watch over, one will see a beauty caseback image that describes the waterproof case of the reference 386. Of course, given the waterproof rating on the dial, the watch is waterproof to 666 feet depths. If one removes the caseback, additional details about the watch can be discovered. The caseback is stamped with “Stainless steel”, describing the case metal, “Swiss”, describing the production country, and “386-4”, the reference of the watch. The caseback is also stamped with M8, describing its production year of 1968. The last stamp is “MLB”. Despite researching this detail, the meaning of this has been elusive so if you are aware of the meaning, please write to us!

Turning to the watches movement, the watch runs on the caliber 11 AFAC. The movement is stamped with the “BXW” import code. This was the import code used by Bulova to import movements from their factories in Biel, Switzerland to the USA market.

Vintage dive watches fit so well into todays world of watch-wearing. They typically have great proportions and are extremely legible. But these characteristics might feel a bit routine so the added flavour of a nicely aged dial does vintage dive watches wonders.

Enjoy!