Don't miss the next drop
The Bulova Oceanographer Snorkel is one of the wildest, most charismatic dive watches to come out of America’s golden age of horology, and it remains criminally underappreciated in a market that continues to fixate on the usual Swiss suspects. Bulova, founded in New York in 1875, was for much of the 20th century one of the most innovative and commercially significant watch companies on the planet. Their Accutron tuning fork technology changed the game in the 1960s, but it was the Oceanographer line that carried Bulova’s flag into the deep. The “Snorkel” designation referred to Bulova’s proprietary internal caseback sealing system, an ingenious engineering solution that gave these watches their impressive water resistance ratings. And then there’s that depth rating: 666 feet. It’s wild, it’s a little ominous, and it’s become one of the most recognizable numbers in all of vintage dive watch collecting. At a time when Rolex was touting 200 meters on its Submariner, Bulova was going deeper, and they weren’t shy about printing it right on the dial.
The design of the Oceanographer Snorkel is pure late-1960s, early-1970s bravado. Everything about it is oversized and purposeful. The cushion-shaped stainless steel case is broad and muscular, with sweeping, sculptural lugs that give the watch a commanding presence on the wrist that belies the era’s typically modest sizing. The bidirectional elapsed-time bezel features that iconic red-and-black “Coke” color scheme, with the first fifteen minutes in vivid red for timing decompression stops and the remaining forty-five minutes in black. It’s a layout shared by far more expensive vintage divers, but on the Bulova it feels especially graphic and bold, almost pop-art in its visual impact.
This particular example, reference 714, features one of the most sought-after dial configurations in the Snorkel universe: the red crosshair dial. Four thin red lines radiate from the center of the dial, dividing it into quadrants and creating a targeting reticle effect that is wildly cool and completely unique to Bulova. Combined with the chunky, raised octagonal lume plots at each hour position, the overall effect is something that looks more like the instrument panel of a deep-sea submersible than a conventional wristwatch. The “BULOVA” and “OCEANOGRAPHER” text at twelve is printed in white, while the three-line “AUTOMATIC / SNORKEL / 666 FEET” designation at six o’clock is rendered in white with “SNORKEL” in red italics, a fantastic design detail that ties the lower half of the dial back to the red crosshairs and bezel. The date window sits at approximately the four-thirty position, neatly tucked between lume plots. The hands are large, rectangular, and filled with tritium lume that has aged to a gorgeous creamy, slightly mottled patina that perfectly matches the plots, giving the whole dial a warm, cohesive vintage character. The vivid orange-red seconds hand with its circular counterweight provides a pop of color that completes the visual symphony.
The stainless steel case is in strong, honest condition. Those broad, sweeping lugs retain their original contours, and the Bulova-signed crown at three o’clock is original. The case profile shows substantial thickness, befitting a watch engineered for serious water resistance. The screw-down caseback is stamped “BULOVA STAINLESS STEEL 666 FEET” with the serial number, while the inner caseback confirms reference 714 and Swiss manufacture. Pop the back off and you’ll find the Bulova Watch Co. signed automatic movement with its gold-toned rotor, a robust workhorse that has kept these Snorkels ticking reliably for over half a century. The watch comes on a period-correct tropic-style rubber strap, exactly the kind of complement a proper vintage diver deserves.
In our opinion, the Bulova Oceanographer Snorkel with the red crosshair dial is one of the best values in all of vintage dive watch collecting. It offers a level of design personality, engineering ingenuity, and pure visual drama that watches costing ten times as much struggle to match. For the collector who wants a vintage diver that turns heads, starts conversations, and doesn’t look like everything else in the display case, this is the one. It’s bold, it’s a little dangerous looking, and it’s an absolute blast on the wrist.
