One of the most fascinating watch trends of 2024 has been the steady rise of stone dials. Across the industry, and especially at the sub-$3,000 price point, 2024 has seen a swing towards funky, ‘70s-style semi-precious dials, in hues ranging across the spectrum. For its latest release, Bulova brings the ‘70s-inflected Super Seville in on the trend, delivering more focused, minimal takes on its integrated TV-case design with dials in turquoise, tiger eye, and snowflake obsidian. Developed in partnership with watch enthusiast community group Complecto, the new limited edition Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial might be the funkiest, most compelling take on the stone dial trend for 2024, with show-stopping dial finishing paired with a simplified, focused take on Bulova’s integrated case design.
Although the 37.5mm wide dimensions of the Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial are unchanged from the standard Super Seville, the overall impression is markedly different. Available in either bare stainless steel (for turquoise models), rose-gold tone (for obsidian dials), or yellow-gold tone (matched to tiger eye models), this cushion case is largely defined by two elements: its finishing and its bezel. The high-polish, dramatically fluted bezel has always been the visual centerpiece of the Super Seville case, and thanks to the lack of brightwork on the dial and bracelet, it performs even heavier visual lifting here. This keeps focus squarely (no pun intended) on the dial, but it also works to highlight the simplicity of the rest of the case. This slab-sided, integrated case is fully covered in linear brushing, with hard right angles between the upper surfaces and case sides. A narrow polished lug chamfer might have added significant depth to the design here, but as it sits the case is cleanly executed and wears exceedingly well on a variety of wrist sizes. The cyclops-topped sapphire crystal is a potentially controversial inclusion, but in the context of the Super Seville Stone Dial, it pairs handsomely with the bezel design and further reinforces the underlying ‘70s-era feel. Around back, Bulova opts for a screw-fastened caseback adorned with a light laser engraving. Screw-fitted casebacks are a rarity at this price point these days, and a claimed 30 meters of water resistance illustrates part of why this is the case.
In order to give the stone surfaces center stage for the Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial, the brand takes a minimalist index-free approach. Other than a 12 o’clock Bulova tuning fork emblem, a date window cutout at 3 o’clock, and balanced, minimal dial text, the main dial surface is clean and featureless. Despite this, the Super Seville Stone Dial is far from illegible. The polished baton handset is easy to read at a glance, and the outer raised minutes scale (with Roman hours numerals that add a wealth of personality to the design) still makes precise reading straightforward. The unadorned dial also gives the ultra-smooth sweeping seconds hand room to shine, highlighting the benefits of Bulova’s unique ultra-high frequency quartz powerplant. As for the dial surface itself, Bulova does not disappoint. Our hands-on sample arrived with the turquoise dial, and the mix of a vivid robin’s-egg blue with fractal webs of black matrix makes for a dramatic spectacle on the wrist. With that said, it’s worth noting that Bulova uses reconstituted turquoise for this dial (as opposed to the full natural stone finishes of the tiger eye and snowflake obsidian models), but the decision for this likely comes down to material properties rather than any sort of cost-cutting or poor quality. Simply put, natural turquoise is quite a soft, brittle stone, and it tends to fracture or chip when larger pieces are flat-surfaced (as is necessary for watch dials). Most turquoise jewelry tends to use rounded, curving stone surfaces for precisely this reason. On the other hand, reconstituted turquoise is crushed and strengthened with epoxy, and can therefore be planed down to the flat surface needed for a watch dial. The end result is a mix of spectacle and subtlety on the wrist, making for a retro-style statement piece versatile enough for regular wear.
Like the rest of the Super Seville line, the Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial uses the brand’s in-house HPQ Precisionist quartz movement. Boasting a dizzying 262,144 Hz frequency – a full eight times faster than a standard quartz – the HPQ Precisionist blends a mesmerizingly smooth seconds hand sweep with an accuracy of +5/-5 seconds per month. This ultra-high frequency layout does come with its own trade-offs, however, as these movements are notoriously battery-hungry.
Bulova makes perhaps its largest change to the established series formula with the Super Seville Stone Dial’s stainless steel bracelet. Although the tapering, integrated three-link design is carried over from prior iterations, the center links abandon the standard polished finish in favor of a fully linear brushed look. While the look is arguably cleaner than the brighter, more attention-grabbing polished style, this also works to highlight just how simple the bracelet’s form truly is. As with the case, chamfered outer link edges could have lent a touch of brightness and complexity here. On the other hand, the butterfly-style deployant clasp is genuinely excellent, with a light, comfortable action.
2024 has been a standout year for stone dials, especially as the coveted semi-precious look makes its way into a broader, more affordable swath of the watch industry. Amid this new generation of stylish, minimal entry-level stone offerings, the new limited-edition Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial stands as one of the funkiest, most engaging, and best executed of all. Only 718 examples of the Bulova x Complecto Super Seville Stone Dial will be made for each variant, and the watch is available now exclusively through the brand’s e-commerce platform. MSRP for the watch ranges from $1,095 USD for the turquoise model up to $1,295 USD for the tiger’s eye variant, as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
