Introducing: How Vintage Bulovas Engraved With Messages From Frank Sinatra Inspired This New Watch
Bulova has a known partnership with the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. It is what has inspired its recent collection bearing the signature of the iconic singer, actor, and larger-than-life personality, on its dials. As a branding exercise, it was a little challenging to draw the connection between man and watch in this scenario. Sure, Bulova had a massive presence in the 1950s and ’60s (aka Sinatra’s heyday as a household name), but it wasn’t as if he was synonymous with the brand itself.
Well, as it turns out, he may very well have been – and today, Bulova is releasing a new take on the Sinatra namesake collaboration with this: the new Rat Pack watch that draws on the famed crew known for their times in Las Vegas, the silver screen, and on televisions across America. Okay, so now we’ve gone from Sinatra alone to Sinatra with Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin.
For starters, this watch is very much about the vibe. Similar to the way Baltic designs its watches by distilling a certain un-tethered vintage aesthetic, so too does Bulova with this new watch. In terms of looks, it’s a dress watch – though not really in size. At 40mm, it feels a bit large for the black-tie aesthetic of the era it draws from, but most of the other design cues feel pretty on the nose.
There’s the sunray brushed gold dial ring with etched markers leading to a record cut (like I said, on the nose) black center in a concentric pattern as well as a three o’clock date window. The Rat Pack comes fitted with a black alligator leather strap. Inside beats the 8215 Miyota self-winding automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve and the watch is 30M water resistant. This movement is housed behind a special caseback featuring the Rat Pack logo and signatures of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin.
And here is where we connect this watch to actual history – and it’s a pretty neat backstory at that. In the late 1950s, Sinatra had a short-lived television program called the Frank Sinatra Show, which aired on ABC. It was sponsored – go figure – by Bulova. As you might expect, Mr. Sinatra ended up with a few watches in his possession.
More often than not, instead of keeping them for himself, he had the backs engraved with personalized notes and gave them away. This new engraved caseback is something of a nod to that practice and makes what otherwise would be a tenuous connection a lot more personal. Add this to the fact that Bulova, in the creation of this watch, is supporting the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and it all comes together full circle.
At the end of the day, I think it was a smart move to remove the Sinatra signature from the dial because this is a fairly handsome watch (even if I would prefer it to be 36-38mm). At $795 it is a great entry-level dress watch, and given its limited nature (at 5,000 pieces) it won’t be around forever. Watches like this are always made better by the stories that inspire them. This story will probably have me chasing old Sinatra-engraved Bulovas all summer.
Bulova Rat Pack: 40mm in diameter, stainless steel case; alligator leather strap; 30m of water resistance; caseback engraving with signatures of Frank Sinatra, Sammy David Jr., and Dean Martin; 8215 Miyota self-winding automatic movement with 42-hour power reserve; price: $795.
Hodinkee
