I’ve wanted to write about the new Lum-Tec Bull42 Chronograph ever since I saw a Facebook post by Lum-Tec teasing it. I have a personal connection with this rarer “bullhead” style of chronograph that goes back quite a few years to a previous Lum-Tec model, the Bull45 A15. In fact, I owned two A15s at different times, but more on that situation later.

I previously spent time discussing the appeal of wearing square watches in the article Turning the Corner with Square Watches. I invite you to revisit that post, but to summarize, square watches offer a different experience than round watches and can visually appear larger than round watches of the same width. They tend to have a wrist presence that is undeniable. Need proof? One unsolicited comment I got while wearing the Lum-Tec Bull42 was “That watch is badass!”  Ironically 2 separate people said the same exact words to me. I don’t care how nonchalant one might act, but every watch collector wants to hear that! Maybe Lum-Tec should officially change the name to the Lum-Tec “Badass” Bull42.

Lum-Tec Bull42 (Model A21) on wrist

I will assume that you know who Lum-Tec is, but here’s a little history just in case you need a refresher. Lum-Tec is an Ohio-based manufacturer of watches that was established by Chris Wiegand. What began as a small reluming hobby many years ago blossomed into a full-scale U.S.A.-owned watch manufacturer. Lum-tec has years of expertise creating high-quality watches with a distinct Lum-Tec design language and mega value for the money. You may find Lum-Tec watches in the collections of people that have much more expensive watches.

Lum-Tec Bull42 A21 holding its own against a backlit keyboard. The force is strong in this one…

Not only does Lum-Tec make their own watches, but they also make parts and watches for many other well-known brands. That fact is not really talked about much in public nor advertised specifically, but it does give you a hint of their manufacturing capabilities. Lum-Tec is often praised for their world-class lume application technique, and I think they have some of the best performing lumed dials in the business.

This isn’t an idle claim because each Lum-Tec dial has 12 layers of brightly glowing Super Luminova lume applied to it. This process is patented under the name MDV, which stands for Maximum Darkness Visibility. I suspect that this process is not the easiest to master because each layer has to be aligned precisely without error to ensure crisp edges.

Over the years, Lum-Tec watches have had a great variety in styles, colors and case shapes. The original Lum-Tec bullhead chrono, the Bull45 Chronograph, had nineteen different versions. A few are shown below. The bullhead models are designated with an “A” and each model is a limited edition of 150-200 pieces or less.

A small selection of previous Lum-Tec Bull45 models. Photo: Lum-Tec

The new Lum-Tec Bull42 Chronograph currently has five versions. The model numbers continue where the Bull45 models left off and start with A18. Observant readers may realize that the “A” numbers might seem off, but there were a few special edition versions of the Bull45s. Click here for a full list of Bull45 and Bull42 models.

The first five Bull42 watches offered by Lum-Tec as of October 2017. Photos: Lum-Tec

If you have never heard of a bullhead chronograph, then it’s worth explaining what these special watches are. “Bullhead” is a playful, yet almost literal description of a chronograph that has the crown and pushers in the 12:00 location instead of the traditional position of 3:00 (or even 9:00 for lefty watches). Yep, the pushers are the bull’s horns, but I have never seen a 3 horned bovine (if you include the center crown) so the analogy only goes so far.

Lum-Tec Bull42 as seen from the 12:00 crown.

Bullhead watches became popular in the wild 1970s, a decade when watch companies took chances with daring case shapes and audacious dial designs. Because a chronograph is like a stopwatch, it is easy to see the inspiration for the unique pusher arrangement. Because the pushers are on top of the watch, operating them requires a slightly different hand position, but it is something that you can quickly adjust to.

The top pusher arrangement on a bullhead watch feels more ergonomic requiring a less awkward hand position.

You can even take the bullhead chronograph off and use it like a traditional stopwatch to impress your friends at the autocross track. Doing this with a standard chronograph just does not have the same effect. The bullhead pusher arrangement gives the Lum-Tec Bull42 a dual personality and real-world versatility.

A bullhead chronograph like the Lum-Tec Bull42 can be used like a traditional stopwatch

Lum-Tec first explored the bullhead watch concept back in 2010 when they released the Bull45 series of watches, series A1 through A17. The number “45” refered to the width of the case and this is an important dimension for any watch, but even more so for a square watch. This is because a 45 mm square watch will always look larger than a 45 mm circular watch. A circle can easily fit into a square, which will have extra volume outside of the confines of the circle. Of course, there are formulas for calculating area to prove this. See for yourself…

The Lum-Tec Bull45 A15 that I owned twice!

In years past, I actually owned two of the Lum-Tec Bull45 Chronographs. The peculiar thing is that they were not variations, but the exact same design named the A15. Remember how I said that I used a lot of trial and error to see if a watch design works for me? The tale of owning two identical Lum-Tec Bull45 watches is an extreme example of how I learned about watch sizing. To make a long story short, I fell in love with the design of the A15 Bull45, and I bought one secondhand. At that time, the original ones were no longer available from Lum-Tec and occasionally I would see the limited editions for sale on forums or eBay.

Fast forward many months to the infamous “Watch Purge of 2015” when I sold my first Lum-Tec Bull45 among others. I am sure that I was chasing a grail watch when I made this decision, and as often is the case, getting rid of a beloved watch for another is part of the growing pains experienced when building a watch collection. However, it was not very long after I sold Lum-Tec A15, that I regretted selling it. As luck would have it, another one just happened to become available on eBay so I snatched it. I learned a valuable lesson here and I would like to pass it on to anyone who might be getting into watch collecting. It is simple…

I soon realized how obvious this adage was for my wrist and the large 45 mm Lum-Tec Bull45. I wanted it, but I could not pull off that size of that square watch without feeling like a showoff. That is not a slight against those original 45 mm Lum-Tec Bullheads… it is just a plain fact that larger watches usually look better on larger wrists than mine. Sadly, I sold my second Lum-Tec Bull45 and resigned myself that this model was not meant for me. Honestly, I was not very happy about it.

As the saying goes, “size matters”, and that is especially true when talking about how watches wear “on the wrist”. If a man decides to go too small, then he might be accused of wearing a “lady’s” watch. If he goes too large, then he might be accused of lacking the sophisticated palette of a true watch connoisseur. Because this is a topic of debate that could easily fill thousands of blog posts, forum threads, and YouTube rants, I do not expect to be considered “the authority” on the subject.

The Lum-Tec Bull42 A21 on the rubber Lum-Tec dive strap

However, I can speak from my own experience as a watch collector who has worn the full spectrum of watch sizes from smaller vintage pieces to large fashion watches. I have learned what size watch works best for me simply from trial and error. This process is not always the cheapest way to go because there is usually a price tag attached to it, but sometimes you just have to experience things for yourself. I encourage you to do the same to form your own opinion.

The perfect 42 mm size? You decide.

Shrinking the Bull45 into a Leaner, More Sophisticated Bull42

Apparently, Lum-Tec had its finger on the pulse of their customer’s dreams because, in 2017, they re-released a new series of bullhead chronographs. Instead of 45 mm, the newer watches were reduced to 42 mm. That is only a 93% reduction in size, but the noticed difference between the earlier models and later models appears more significant than you might suspect. I have simulated the sizes below, but that is only part of the story of the 2017 design updates.

Going down just 3mm in size has a huge effect on the visual bulk of a watch

Lum-Tec did not simply reduce the size of the watch, they improved their bullhead watches in many noticeable ways over the original 2010 concept, which was always going to be a hard act to follow. Before I discuss the differences, maybe we should talk about what traits tie this new edition to the old edition. I call these characteristics “watch DNA” and it can be helpful to compare the similarities of related watches. This exercise also makes it easier to discern the differences later.

 A Signature Geometrically Softened Profile

Starting with the profile, the Lum-Tec Bull42 has a shape that is unlike any other watch except obviously for the related Lum-Tec Bull45. I would be remiss if I did not at least mention the granddaddy of all square pilot watches, the Bell & Ross aviation gauge watches. While there are many copycats of Bell & Ross’s design, the Lum-Tec bullhead chronographs are not among them, at least the closer you look. Sure, the case is square and has a round dial, but arguably the Lum-Tec Bull42 shape far exceeds the complexity of the blocky Bell & Ross designs. The Bell & Ross watches have slab-like planes and simple corner radii, where the Lum-Tec Bull42 has a complex melted geometry and fewer straight lines.

Most aspects of the Bull42 contain arcs or sloping planes

Intersecting arcs and angled slopes characterize the design of the Lum-Tec Bull42. Perhaps, this is best seen from the side profile that shows that the case is a shallow arc with the same contour as a wrist. Even the lugs point downwards following the same curve. This shape surely makes the Lum-Tec Bull42 a comfortable watch to wear. The bezel is fairly thin and slopes away from the sapphire crystal. Small screws hold this in place and shadow the even numbers of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. The screws bring interest to the bezel as does the beautifully applied circular brushing.

The sides of the Bull42 case are slightly arced for a better fit against the wrist

Using Arcs to Minimize Visual Weight and Mass

If I told you that the actual lug-to-lug distance for the Lum-Tec Bull42 is a wide 53.5 mm, you might assume that it is an uncomfortable watch to wear. However, your assumption would not be accurate because Lum-Tec did something clever with the dimensions of the Bull42. It really wears more like a watch with a much smaller lug-to-lug distance. This is because the watch band has the ability to drop straight down from the drilled lug holes set only 48 mm apart. This allows the watch band to hug even smaller wrists. By comparison, some watches have end links that shove the watchband out over the width of smaller wrists making the watch feel larger than its published lug-to-lug width. Wearability suffers over 50 mm lug-to-lug in my opinion unless you have wide wrists.

Short, downturned lugs and close drilled lug holes make the Bull42 feel like a smaller watch

A signed buckle and dual keepers on the bottom

Lum-Tec used other visual tricks that can be seen from different angles to slim the visual bulkiness of this square watch. The more that you examine a Lum-Tec Bull42, the more you are going to notice the care put into designing it. Like many modern watches, this model is an example of a computer-aided design with complex shapes and geometry. This is a thoroughly modern case design that makes the most of digital control over every aspect. Each Lum-Tec Bull42 case is chiseled from a single block of billet 316L stainless steel. The bezel is milled separately and applied as a second part. The flush screws seen on the bezel are decorative to add visual interest.

The bezel is a separate piece than the case, but it the tolerances are excellent

Intense magnification reveals this, but the tolerances are so tight, that the watch case looks to be a monoblock design. Only by examining the finishing was I convinced that the bezel was added to the case. Speaking of which, this Lum-Tec watch exceeded any case finishing that I have seen from them in the past. Their cases have always been good, but every part of the Lum-Tec Bullhead42 has been brushed to enhance the play of light across the stainless steel surfaces. This has to be seen to be appreciated so here are some of my favorite details:

Lum-Tec makes dials in their own way, and I believe that they will only keep pushing themselves to improve. The Lum-Tec Bull42 series has a variety of designs in the dial and case treatments. I have always appreciated the way Lum-Tec sells variations on a theme because different customers prefer different designs. The must have been reading my mind because they sent me my favorite color combination for a watch, black silver, and orange. As a throwback, here is the Bull42 next to my M3 from 2008. I could not resist taking a family reunion photo while I had the opportunity, but there is a good reason. Compare the number of small tick marks between the seconds on the Bull42 to the older M3. They hint at a special movement inside.

Lum-Tec cousins. The M3 from 2008 and an A21 from 2017.

The first thing that you will notice on the dial is the pop of day-glow orange that vertically goes from the top to the bottom of the dial (on the A21 and A22). The 12:00 marker, the chronograph hand, and the 12-hour subdial hand all appear in this color, and I love it. Also, the “60” on the 1-hour subdial is also printed in orange. Because the “12” is in this accent color, I see that as a way to indicate the top of the dial. Users can quickly orient themselves when glancing at the dial. Other Bull42 models take a monochromatic approach to the dial design so explore those for yourself.

Lum-Tec watches have a strong continuity of design. You can tell a Lum-Tec by the bold dial design.

The layout of the dial has a cool asymmetrical design with a prominent “small seconds” subdial at 3:00 that constantly ticks to show the watch is working. It is the only silver part of the dial and it is finished with a subtle sunburst pattern and a black hand. It is also larger than the 2 other subdials. Luckily for date wheel snobs, this one is rendered in black with white numerals. At the 4:30 location it blends into the dial disappearing when not needed, but easily read when you need it.

A cool dial layout for the Lum-Tec Bull42

The only part of the dial that may be controversial is that some of the numbered indices get chopped by the subdials. Only the 10 and the 12 survive intact. The rest of the hour indices are indicated with nice fat dots. There are plenty of watches with complete, intact numerals, but that can sometimes lead to a very crowded dial, especially on a chronograph. Lum-Tec decided to minimize the clutter by showing only some of the numbers. Before you balk, there is a very good reason for this, and I think that it has to do with lume.

Above all, Lum-Tec watches outperform a majority of watches in the area of lume. In order to have great lume performance, you need a lot of it. That means 12 layers of Superluminova with Lum-Tec’s MDV Technology, and also the application needs to be wide enough to matter. If you have ever owned a watch that has tiny slivers of lume on the dial, then you know that just does not work as well as thick, juicy plops of a luminescent material. I am convinced that Lum-Tec always designs their watches with this in mind so many of their watches a graphically bold in daylight and glow like torches in low-light.

Lum-Tec MDV lume is strong enough to be seen in a lit room

Lum-Tec’s lume excels in performance, but it is also creatively applied. Lum-Tec uses the full rainbow of glowing color pigments available to them, and they often apply more than just 1 color to the dial. This is great because they can choose what to emphasize on the dial when the lights go out. This is done by both color and intensity. On the model A21 that I reviewed, the hands and most of the indices looked white in daylight and glowed ice-blue in darkness. The “12” numeral and the sweep hand both glow bright orange in all lighting situations. The other chronograph subdials including the 1-hour and 12-hour subdials cannot be seen in the dark, however, in low light, the day-glow orange is still very readable and the sunburst silver subdial also reflects light. These features create a sense of depth in the dial, even though much of it is a flat printed dial. It’s kinda magic and very difficult to explain.

The brushed case was difficult to photograph, but lovely to behold in person

The Magic of a Seiko VK67 Mecha-Quartz Movement

Seiko VK67 Movement

In between the bold tick marks for seconds and minutes are 1/5 second segments indicated with very fine lines. These are not just for show because the Lum-Tec Bull42 Chronographs have the ability to measure partial second increments with a special caliber of movement, the Seiko VK67 Mecha-Quartz. If you have not heard of the Seiko VK-67 or a mecha-quartz, then you can learn about it from an in-depth article mecha-quartz on Worn & Wound. In summary, a mecha-quartz is a battery-powered quartz watch that has mechanical components for the chronograph. Most quartz chronographs have a central second’s hand that ticks when activated, jumping from one second’s marker to the next. By contrast, the central second’s hand on a mecha-quartz chronograph have a visually smooth sweeping motion that is normally associated with expensive mechanical watches. Furthermore, resetting a mecha-quartz chronograph makes all hands reset to zero instantaneously, by the mechanical action of a specially shaped lever. Typical quartz chronographs use a stepper motor to sweep the chronograph hand back the zero position. Admittedly, this looks cool because the mecha-quartz looks like a mechanical watch when the chronograph is manipulated.

A New Level of Case Finishing for Lum-Tec

Lum-Tec really outdid themselves on the finishing of the Bull42 chronographs. The A21 stainless steel model that I reviewed had excellent finishing on all parts of the case. Starting with the bezel, circular brushing was applied to the surface. The tiny screws in the bezel appear to be brightly polished for good contrast. There is a tiny vertical edge at the bottom of the bezel and it has brushing that goes along the circumference of the bezel.

The Bull42 A21 and A22 models have an offset silver subdial.

The top of the case has a finely brushed pattern that goes lug to lug, and the sides of the case have brushing that goes from the opposite direction from the case back to the bezel.  The effect is somewhere between bead blasted and polished treatments. The sum effect of these brushed surfaces is a beautiful diffusion of light that reinforces that melted look that I mentioned earlier. Because the brushing is applied in different directions, the planes are delineated, but in a soft way. I don’t think my explanation does it justice so take a look at the photos to get my drift.

A Bull42 under a forest canopy at dusk created a dazzling dappled light effect

Other key features of the Lum-Tec Bull42 include a slightly curved, sapphire crystal, with a military grade double-sided anti-reflective coating applied. The Bull42s also have 200 meters water resistance and high-tech Viton gaskets. These gaskets are often seen in high-tech German watches. The crown is a screw-down variety, which helps protect the movement from dirt and moisture.

The curved case bottom helps the Lum-Tec Bull42 sit close to the wrist

The Lum-Tec Bull42 comes on a custom molded, anti-static 2-piece silicone rubber watch band that has the brand name embossed on the strap and etched into the brushed buckle. It tapers from 24 mm at the lugs to 22 mm at the buckle. Lum-Tec has other 24 mm wide strap options available, and this watch is ripe for strap swaps. Lum-Tec added drilled lugs that make changing the watch band a low-effort affair, and much safer than trying to pry spring bars from the underside of the watch.

The curved lugs are apparent. The upgraded Viton gaskets are not… but they are there.

Rolling the watch over, you will find a standard threaded case back. While you could open the case back yourself to make battery changes, Lum-Tec offers lifetime battery changes for quartz watches. Just send it back to them and they will take care of you. Try to think of another company that does that, and you might come up short. Besides, the case backs appear to be tightened by the Hulk himself so doing it yourself might not be as simple as with other watch brands (based on my other Lum-Tec watches).

The play of light on the brushed surfaces made the Bull42 A21 stand out in any environment

To wrap this review up, the Lum-Tec Bull42 represents a little bit of the old and a lot of the new for the brand. They revived a classic bullhead chronograph but made clever design and size changes to make it more wearable, more fashionable and more “badass”. It looks like watch size trends are finally reversing back towards the low 40 mm range and the 42 mm case will do just fine there. There are currently 5 different models to choose from, with enough variety that you could easily own 2 models if you really felt compelled.

The Lum-Tec Bull42 resting in-between adventures

I immensly enjoyed this watch and think that it would interest any lume-a-holic who wants to stand out from the crowd. Prices for the stainless steel versions are $495 and $525 for the PVD models direct from Lum-Tec. They are limted editions, so get them while you can.