There are loads of superb Swiss made chronographs with a retro twist on the market. From a classic Breitling Top Time, an Omega Speedmaster to an IWC Petit Prince, you are spoilt for choice. You could go crazy and join a waiting list for a Rolex Daytona as well of course.

But let’s assume you haven’t got £3500-25,000 to spend on a watch. You want great vintage styling, with modern chrono technology, reliability that goes with a big watch brand, plus dealer back-up. You don’t want to spend over a grand, plus don’t mind a quartz movement as you rate accuracy of timekeeping and the lack of winding up, setting hands etc which goes with owning an automatic.

Looks like Seiko or Citizen could be worth checking out and as many know, Bulova is part of the Citizen empire, so you get a little extra kudos in some circles by choosing the former Swiss brand name.

The latest Bulova Lunar Pilot offers a quartz movement, classic three sub-dial layout and blue or black dial colours. It’s also very affordable at £599. We say it’s worth shopping around online, or waiting for the pre-Christmas sales if you love this one, as you often find UK jewellery chains like H.Samuel or Chisholm Hunter will have good reductions on the RRP. At under £300 we think it’s definitely a contender.

Other rivals in the quartz chrono Pilot/retro niche include the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer, (£590) Tissot 516 (£415), or perhaps the Yema Meangraf ($400).

Here’s the word from Bulova;

The Lunar Pilot chronograph features the same 43.5mm stainless steel case as the original Bulova moon pilot chronograph. Slim, blue chronograph pushers and a crown featuring the Bulova tuning fork logo are positioned at 3 o’clock.

Under the flat sapphire crystal, the six-hand chronograph dial is rendered in a blue-and-silver panda design, with a blue tachymeter ring and retro Bulova name. The slim hands and applied markers offer exceptional legibility and are applied with super luminova for low-light display. The recessed, circular grooved sub-dials include a 1/20 chronograph seconds counter at 3 o’clock, running seconds with a sweep hand at 6 o’clock, and 60-minute chronograph counter at 9 o’clock.

The Lunar Pilot is powered by Bulova’s proprietary high precision quartz movement, resonating at a frequency of 262khz for unparalleled accuracy and allowing a sweeping chronograph hand and running seconds hand.