Did you know that America runs on Bulova time? Or so went Bulova’s motto in the world’s first ever television commercial broadcast on July 1, 1941 during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. These days, America runs on Dunkin and the Dodgers play for Los Angeles — but we can still revisit the dawn of modern American consumerism with one of many surviving Bulova time-machines. My time-machine of choice: The 1967 Bulova Snorkel 666 “J” Ref. 11403W – Calibre 11ALAC skin diver.

The skin diver is one of my favorite classes of vintage watches. A close cousin to the more robust mid-century divers that were typically worn by professionals sporting scuba gear, skin divers catered more to your average recreational snorkeler. Subsequently, the case construction was typically lighter and thinner as the diving depths were less demanding; something I really appreciate as a lover of traditionally-sized vintage proportions. Lately, skin divers have been making quite a comeback with reissues from Aquastar, Longines, and Seiko, as well as modern vintage-inspired releases from relative newcomers Baltic and Dietrich. But as Tammi and Marvin would advise: “Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.”

Speaking of the real thing, this 1967 Bulova Snorkel 666 “J” is my platonic ideal of a mid-century skin diver. The tritium plots are arranged in the prototypical diver layout and have taken on the warm butterscotch patina you would hope to see after 50+ years of nature taking its course. The gloriously bold taco hour-hand deserves applause for hanging on to its original lume all these years though I’m careful not to clap while wearing this piece for fear of the lume falling out (a common fate for vintage divers sporting taco/lollipop hands). The slim unpolished 36mm case is simple and utilitarian in form, retaining its sharp factory edges and original finishing. The case is equipped with a bi-directional rotating bezel with the all-important bakelite insert. But despite all of this vintage charm, the 1967 Bulova Snorkel 666 “J” is not a well-known reference; production was limited to just one year and far too few examples survive today. I consider it an end-game piece in the world of vintage skin-divers given its iconic design, rarity, and condition.

Did you know that Bulova is still headquartered in New York City? The Bulova building will be a familiar sight to many New Yorkers who’ve passed by it merging onto Grand Central Expressway from the BQE on the way to LaGuardia Airport. I think I’ll be enjoying this New York legend on my wrist the next time I have the misfortune of flying out of LaGuardia.