Bulova Surveyor 96B469 vs Tissot PRX Powermatic 80: Is the $230 Worth It?

The Tissot PRX wins on every specification that can be checked, and the gap is wider than the price suggests: a named Swiss movement with an 80-hour reserve against an undisclosed calibre with 42, and 100 m of water resistance against a Bulova rating that is not expressed in metres at all. The Surveyor's case is that it costs $230 less, takes any 20 mm strap, and comes in a light blue Tissot does not sell.

Both are steel automatics with sunburst dials and sapphire crystals, and they sit close enough in price to be cross-shopped. They are not the same kind of purchase. The PRX is an integrated-bracelet design with a movement Tissot names and specifies; the Surveyor is a conventional 39 mm watch with a bracelet you can remove and a movement Bulova will not identify.

This one is not close on paper. Tissot publishes the calibre, an 80-hour power reserve, a 10.9 mm case and a 100 m rating; Bulova publishes 42 hours, no calibre, no case thickness and the phrase splash resistant. For $230 more the PRX answers every question the Surveyor leaves open, which is exactly what the money is for. Where the Surveyor earns its place is at the edges: anti-reflective sapphire at $495 is genuinely uncommon, the 20 mm lug width makes it a far more adaptable watch than an integrated design can be, and the light blue dial is a colour the PRX line does not offer. If you want one watch for everything, buy the Tissot. If you want a $495 dress automatic you can put on leather next week, the Bulova is a real answer.