About a month ago, after writing on the Citizen Tsuno Chronograph Racer, the publicist I was borrowing the watch from for the article let me know they were the first to have the retail model of the Bulova Oceanographer Devil Diver in New York. I?ve written on the watch before after its initial release, but this was one of the first market models available for review, which I did so over the course of a couple weeks.

To refresh, the new Devil Diver was released in 2018 after a survey jointly conducted by the Citizen-owned brand and the New York based vintage watch dealer Analog/Shift asked fans which of three models they should re-issue, and the 1972 Bulova Oceanographer was chosen (picture below, via Watchsteez). This historic watch ? so nicknamed for its 666-ft depth rating written on its bright orange dial ? was a part of the 1960s and ?70s Oceanographer Snorkel series. It wasn?t the most beautiful or technologically advanced diver, but it had an interesting dial, comfortably sized 40-mm case, and could take a beating, so they were popular in their time and remain so today among vintage collectors
When I first received the modern Devil Diver, my mind was quickly drawn back to the days when I was regularly selling vintage watches and these Bulova Snorkel watches in particular. Upon first glance, the piece is a vintage re-issue through and through, from its slightly domed 40-mm steel case with black and white bezel, to its fascinatingly retro dial with its applied opaqu...