The Bull45 is a new watch brand that has just launched with one model. Created by the Lüm-Tec design team, this timepiece combines Swiss movement and Japanese construction to create a high quality and affordable product. This review covers all aspects of placement, finish, performance and more as we assess whether or not it's worth your dollar.
The "lum-tec watches price" is a watch that has been designed and produced by Lüm-Tec. The watch has an interesting design, and it is made of high quality materials. It also has good features such as a multi-function display, date function, and a stopwatch.
The Lüm-Tec Bull45 A5 is a reliable and stylish wristwatch that has quickly emerged as my top quartz timepiece overall. When the distinctive glossy Lüm-Tec MDV GX3 lume is illuminating brilliantly at night, the numerals are just as simple to see in the day.
In This Article...
Background
Although I'm not a great lover of quartz watches, they do have a place in my collection, and I have to confess that I sometimes go for one when I'm in a rush or need a watch that I can always rely on. The majority of the time, it's the Lüm-Tec "Bull45" in A5 format.
Without having used the brand before, I purchased this watch without having seen it. The moment I laid eyes on the watch on the Lüm-Tec website, I knew I wanted to get it. Tiny manufacturing runs are the norm at Lüm-Tec, a small U.S. watch maker, and many of their designs are produced in very restricted quantities.
All I had to rely on were CAD renderings and images of mock-ups since the Bull45 was unveiled over a year before it entered full production. Early order deposits are usually eligible for a significant discount from Lüm-Tec, so I deposited my money and got in line.
Like any small manufacturer, they must place an order for enough cases and components to enable production, while ideally receiving a price cut for the volume. However, they certainly don't want to be left with unsold merchandise since it would mean having their money locked up in idle inventory.
The Bull45 A5 model in black, which has a somewhat menacing appearance, was not my first pick. Additionally, there were stainless steel, PVD (physical vapor deposition) coatings, face types, and lume color variations available for the Bull45 in versions A1 through A4.
I wavered between the non-PVD coated stainless steel case A1 with a black face and white numerals and the black/orange PVD A5 variant that is seen here because I couldn't make up my mind. Finally, the A5 triumphed, and I'm delighted it did. Although they all seem fantastic, I'd be thrilled to own any Bull45 watch.
The 100 Lüm-Tec Bull45 A5 watches that were produced have all been consumed. This is the 58th out of 100. You must thus peruse the ads on one of the several watch forums if you want one. However, they do periodically appear, so keep searching. Additionally, Lüm-Tec has a ton of new designs in different stages of production, so take a look and you could find yourself placing a deposit on your very own limited edition!
Bull45 by Lüm-Tec: A5 Version
The only differences between the Bull45 watches are the changes in color and finish. The case is 45 mm square, although owing to the casing's indents, the 12-to-6 dimension seems to be significantly smaller.
The casing is built of 316L stainless steel with A5 and A4 PVD coatings. The A4 is similar to the A5, except that its lume is white rather than orange.
The top crown and pushers, which are known as a "Bullhead" watch design, are where the name "Bull45" originates from. The name's "45" comes from the case's 45 mm width.
The sapphire crystal of the watch features an anti-reflective coating on both sides. This is debatable since the exterior covering readily attracts dirt, oils, and fingerprints, but a short breath and a wipe make it seem good again. I don't take care of this watch, and I haven't observed any disproportionate wear on the coating as a result.
The Bull45 is water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters (330 feet), but I wouldn't recommend diving in at all since the pushers and the crown feel a little squishy. More to follow on it.
Strangely, the glossy surface of the vivid orange lume on the numerals and hash marks contrasts with the matte finish on the hands. The lume at night is fantastic, and it's clearly extremely simple to see against the black backdrop during the day, but more on that in a moment.
Bull45 Lume by Lum-Tec
Of course, the lume is one of Lüm-most Tec's prominent marketing tactics. According to reports, Lüm-Tec invented the "MDV GX" lume, which is offered in a variety of hues and uses. For instance, the Bull45 A5 also has white lume in addition to the orange GX3 version of the MDV lume, while the A1 and A3 both have reversed all-lume white faces with black numerals and hash marks.
However, I'm a bit let down by how bright the MDV lume is on this watch. In the short months I've had the watch, it appears to have lost a lot of its "power" and charges quite slowly. In fact, even aiming my very strong Clearwater "Andie" LED flashlight in its face, I am unable to get it to charge at all.
Compared to other watches I possess with Superluminova (SL) brand lume, the MDV GX lume feels underwhelming. When the SL is brand-new, it appears to charge really quickly since I can see the glow even in broad daylight.
Since this is the only Lüm-Tec product I own, I'm not sure whether this is a flaw with that specific watch or not. But based on my little experience, I believe it to be inferior than Superluminova.
Fortunately, I don't really like for lume. Lume is a passion for certain collectors, but I'm more concerned with how simple it is to read throughout the day while I'm awake. I suppose going to bed at about 21:30 does that to you.
Bull45 Chronograph Features
Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself since I would have highlighted the Bull45's chronograph capabilities first if it weren't for the lume, which is one of the watch's key selling points. A non-chrono variant of the Bull45, utilizing the same casing with the crown at the top, is also being developed by Lüm-Tec. But the Bull45 is available in five different chronos.
The watch's quartz Miyota OS10 chronograph movement is very accurate, adding just one second every seven days of so. The sweep seconds hand only moves while the chrono function is on, as it does in the majority of chronographs. The seconds counter is located on the right-hand subdial at 3 o'clock and is constantly active (unless the crown is pulled out to set the watch).
The left subdial at nine o'clock collects the minutes up to sixty (one hour), while the bottom subdial at six o'clock accumulates the hours up to twelve.
This conventional chronograph operation is not my favorite; instead, I much like a sweep seconds hand that is always on and a right-hand subdial that counts the seconds when the chrono function is active.
I must, however, be in the minority in this case since practically every chronograph produced does the reverse. I believe a lot of first-time chronograph purchasers think the chronograph feature is great, so they purchase the watch, only to be let down to see that the seconds hand just remains stationary until the chronograph is activated!
This definitely won't be an issue on a quartz chronograph as much as it is on a mechanical chronograph; in fact, several vintage chronograph movements, like the two-dial Poljot 3133, are meant to be operated very short to prevent premature wear.
Another item to consider is the likelihood that, if you get a chronograph, you'll really use the timing feature. I use the Bull45 to time certain journeys, and I learned on the first trip that it's really hard to determine the precise timing since the minutes on the subdial are increased by 5.
This is crucial, and it taught me a valuable lesson: make sure the subdials on a chronograph are practical, not fashionable. I'll clearly indicate the seconds, minutes, and hours on my next chronograph so I can see how much time has gone.
This watch's crown doesn't feel substantial when it's pushed out; rather, it's somewhat mushy, and it may sometimes be difficult to determine whether it's in or out. The same is true for the pushers for the chronograph, which have an unexpectedly mushy feel and lack a detent to signal the user when the chrono is activated. The most disappointing features of the Bull45, in my opinion, are the crown and the pusher quality.
Additional Bull45 Features
A somewhat thin rubber or synthetic rubber (I'm not sure which) strap is included with the watch. It has some elasticity, which is excellent since the strap has to be relatively snug to prevent the watch from moving about on the wrist because it does seem top heavy.
As shown in several of the photographs, I first attempted an additional "oyster" type strap, but I didn't like the way it looked, so I went back to the original. A black Panerai-style PVD coated clasp (stainless steel) and two keepers are also included on the original strap.
Pricing
With an early deposit discount of 15%, the A5 version's initial list price was $599.99. There are still more Bull45s available, with prices beginning at $545.00.
Whether or whether something counts as a value is up to the person. I'm happy with the watch and feel that I got a decent price on a really special, uncommon, and attractive wristwatch.
By the way, for their quartz timepieces, Lüm-Tec also offers a lifetime battery replacement guarantee.
Size and Weight of Watch
The Bull45 is unquestionably a huge watch, measuring 45 mm across and 45 mm from top to bottom. It just almost fits on my 7.25" wrist. As was already said, it is top-heavy, thus anybody with a wrist size of less than around 7 inches would likely feel uncomfortable wearing it.
When using the included strap from Lüm-Tec, the watch weights 131 grams. The flat, broad strap does assist hold the square watch in place, and it is a sturdy item. But unlike a circular, lighter watch with a bracelet, a square watch cannot genuinely be permitted to "float" on the wrist.
The Bull45's bottom has a little curvature, which helps improve fit. The watch's lugs are quite short and measure 52 mm from tip to tip, which is beneficial. The Bull45 has an overall height of 13.1 mm. It seems and feels thicker than that, most likely as a result of the sides being flat and square.
At 26 mm, the lugs are about as broad as they get. Additionally, it increases the surface area of the flat strap, which keeps the watch firmly in place on the wrist. For a list of my preferred watch strap vendors, see the Watch Straps page.
Action, Placement, and Accuracy
Many low-cost timepieces employ the Miyota quartz OS10 movement, which is fairly widespread. On the one hand, it's a little disappointing to learn that a $600 watch is powered by a movement that is typically found in watches priced under $100, but on the other, the OS10 is regarded as dependable and accurate, and Miyota is owned by Citizen, one of the most reputable mass-market watch companies in the world.
Until you encounter the thermocompensated mechanisms in Omega and Breitling watches, quartz is essentially quartz. Even the TAG Heuer quartz watches that cost over $1500 have subpar quartz movements. So I suppose that all of the funds were used to build the Bull45's casing and lume.
To set the date, pull out the crown to its first mushy position and spin it counterclockwise (when looking down in it from above). To set the time, pull to the second position. The hands spin easily, although while tampering with the watch, it may be a little difficult to line up the minute hand perfectly with a mark and observe the minute hand's little seconds hand spinning in the subdial.
However, the watch is really accurate after everything is adjusted. After letting it go for a few weeks, I just withdraw the crown, look at the Casio "Atomic" watch, wait till it matches the Bull45, then push the crown back in when the seconds hand is 2-3 seconds fast. The beauty of quartz: everything is ready and on schedule for the next two weeks!
I don't know how long the Bull45's battery will survive, but I imagine it will last for a while even if I often use the chronograph feature, which presumably depletes the battery more quickly than usual. Although Lüm-Tec offers a free battery replacement service as part of the warranty, by the time I mail the device back to them with insurance, I could likely change a few batteries by myself (see the webWatchWorld article and video on battery replacement).
The Miyota movement in the Bull45, which, like other quartz movements, should last for many years with no maintenance required, is incredibly simple to set and maintain.
Ability to Read and Face
The Bull45's large, flat, double-sided, anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal almost eliminates all reflecting glare, while the coating results in some blue reflections. Due in large part to the flat crystal, the anti-reflective coating, and the large, strong orange on black numerals on the black backdrop, this watch is incredibly simple to read.
The white lume version on a black backdrop must be equally readable.
Conclusion
The best quartz watch I've ever owned is the Lüm-Tec Bull45. It has a few quirks, and I'm split on the lume quality, which seems a little over-hyped in my opinion, particularly when Superluminova is an option.
I often grab for the Bull45 because it is easy to use, quick to set, accurate, and stylish – not at all like your typical, everyday quartz beater from the neighborhood Big Box shop!
Despite a few minor flaws, I want to revisit Lüm-Tec to see what they have to offer. Maybe I'll give one of their brand-new automatics a try next!
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