The Bulova 98C62 Marine Star watch is diver's style quartz/electronic watch rated water resistant to 200 meters.  It has a blue face with large, luminous hour and minute hands, a red-tipped second hand and a day/date feature.  The dial itself has large luminous dashes at the 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions, an inverted luminous triangle at the 12 o'clock position and large luminous dots at the other positions.  Marker luminosity fades rapidly, though, and becomes ineffective after about 20 minutes in the dark.  Surrounding the dial is a classic unidirectional timing ring (rotates CCW) calibrated in increments of 10 with 60 click-stops per revolution (most diving watches have 120).  The ring presents very legible chrome figures on a blue background.  Overall the watch is very easy to read (except in the dark after 20 minutes), even for those with poor close-up vision.  The screw-down crown with raised guard ridges to either side provides robust protection for this critical seal and helps assure the watches water resistance.  A hefty double-foldover stainless-steel bracelet with a built-in, deploy-able wet suit extension completes the package.

I purchased this modestly priced watch for general use during an extended summer water-centric vacation at several East Coast lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.  I needed a dependable yet expendable timepiece that was presentable enough to be worn in the water or out to dinner, and that could survive shallow diving, wake-boarding, tubing, swimming and rough physical labor.  Since I had destroyed or damaged a number of other watches on similar vacations, the Bulova was to be my "beater".  I'm happy to say that it came through this test with flying colors, and now two months into ownership it looks as good as new, and works even better.  How could it work better than new?  Ah!  There's the catch with this product.  It's not built with any particular precision, from its timing to the smoothness and alignment of its moving parts.  For example, when received, the rotating ring was so stiff I had to put on a pair of mechanics gloves and apply major force to rotate it at all.  After deliberately rotating the ring over 300 times, with it clacking loudly at every click-stop, the ring became (almost) manageable.  Paradoxically, I found the ring's slight bevel and serrated, yet glossy sides made it very hard to turn when gripping it from the edge.  The fix?  Place the entire palm of you hand over the watch face and ring, squeeze with your palm and rotate.  Now, two months later, the ring has lost more of its stiffness and is more user-friendly, but I would never depend on it in a serious dive - its too hard to use, making it too easy to make a mistake at a critical time.  And if you fuss with it in an office meeting, it will announce your boredom with pronounced clacking that has to be heard to be believed.

Hand alignment is another issue.  The second hand is not aligned with the tick marks on the inner chapter ring on the watch face, and the amount of misalignment changes as the hand rotates (how Do they do that?) - it is greatest between 7 and 11 and minimal between 2 and 5.  The minute hand does not align well with its markers, either, when the second hand is in the 12 o'clock position.  While not visible from a distance, this lack of mechanical precision became annoying after awhile.

Concerning timing accuracy - compared to a mechanical watch, any mechanical watch, it is outstanding.  But as a quartz watch it is adequate yet unremarkable, gaining the equivalent of 70 seconds per year - twice as much as my plastic Timex Expedition.

In summary, this is a modestly priced watch with modestly good looks and rather poor mechanical precision.  It has several key features that enhance its value:  1.  A protected screw-down crown that provides real and reliable water resistance, 2. A double fold-over bracelet that prevents accidental loss, 3.  A deployable wetsuit extension built into the clasp, 4.  A day/date display.  On the other hand, the need to break in the timing ring was just plain annoying.  A good value?  Yes.  A great value?  You be the judge.