A small round watch on an open-link bangle, with crystals running around the bezel and down each link of the bracelet. The dial is mother-of-pearl, so the face changes colour as it moves while everything around it stays fixed and bright. Case and Wrist Presence The case is round and narrow, with two rows of stones around the bezel that widen its footprint without adding weight. The bracelet is not a solid band: it is built from looping open links, each one set with crystals, so the watch reads as jewellery from a distance and only resolves into a watch up close. It sits lightly and it moves on the wrist the way a bangle does. Dial and Legibility Natural mother-of-pearl, which is cut from shell and therefore different on every watch – the grain here runs in soft diagonal bands and shifts between white, cream and the faintest green depending on the light. A Roman XII sits at twelve and single crystals mark the remaining hours. Two polished hands, no seconds hand, so the dial stays still. Movement and Functions Quartz, hours and minutes only. There is no date and no running seconds, which is deliberate on a dial this small: mother-of-pearl gives you very little contrast to work with, and every extra element on the face costs legibility. Bracelet and Fit The open-link bracelet closes with a clasp and is sized by removing links. Because the links are decorative loops rather than plain blocks, sizing changes the look as well as the fit, so it is worth having a jeweller take an even number out from both sides. Who This Watch Suits Somebody who wears a watch as part of a stack of bracelets rather than on its own. It is small, dressy and quiet on function, and it suits a narrow wrist where a wider case would overhang. Care and Maintenance Mother-of-pearl is shell and it does not like solvents. Keep perfume, hand sanitiser and nail-polish remover away from the crystal edge, and never submerge the watch. Wipe the case and bracelet with a soft dry cloth, and check the stone settings now and then by running a fingernail along the row – a stone about to go will move before it falls. About the Brand Bulova, founded in 1875, has kept a substantial women’s range beside its men’s catalogue, and mother-of-pearl with a crystal-set bezel is one of its long-running combinations. Technical Specifications Attribute Specification Brand Bulova Reference 96L223 Case shape Round Case Crystal-set stainless steel Dial White mother-of-pearl Markers Roman XII with crystal hour markers Movement Quartz Bracelet Crystal-set open-link stainless steel Gender Women’s Warranty 24 months Buying With Confidence Movement cover runs for 24 months under the international manufacturer warranty, with the battery and ordinary wear excluded. Every watch leaves us new and unworn, boxed with the manufacturer’s paperwork, and goes out by tracked courier anywhere in the country. An unworn watch in its original packaging can be returned under the Consumer Protection Act.