![]() The new purpose-built Spaceviews also came with a chapter ring (a built-in metal minute scale running around the inside of the watch face) and the crystal had the Accutron name and tuning fork logo printed straight onto it. While the original Accutrons came in a 14k gold watch case, the new models were produced in cheaper stainless steel and filled gold. In response, Bulova added the ‘Spaceview’ to the Accutron line, along with other popular models including the Astronaut (a GMT watch, perfect for jet setters) and the Railroad Approved (which railworkers used to synchronise trains). Dealers even resorted to removing the dials from the ordinary Accutrons that they had in stock as they struggled to keep up with demand from the public, keen to show it off to their friends. Soon, dealers everywhere were contacting Bulova asking for more Accutrons with no dials. Of course, salesmen being salesmen, they didn’t want to miss out on a chance for commission so willingly sold them off. The public were immediately drawn to these strange and unique timepieces in the shop window, so rather than wanting to buy one with a dial, they asked the salesman for the unusual watch on display. You see, keen to create excitement and explain how the new technology powered the Accutron, display models were sent to Bulova dealers with the tuning fork movement on display. Like a lot of things in life, it came about completely by accident and was never actually intended for sale. The most famous Accutron model was the Spaceview which had no dial, with the watches innards completely on show. Accutron: Our Only Mistake Was To Make It Look Like A Watch Like most new technology and gadgets that are first released, the Accutron wasn’t a cheap item. The Bulova Accutron was a truly revolutionary product. In the advertising, Bulova didn’t refer to the Accutron as being a watch, almost as if the Accutron was a new device to replace all watches. What’s more, rather than ticking like regular mechanical watches of the time, the Accutron hummed. Such timekeeping accuracy was simply unheard of on the eve of the watch’s public unveiling towards the end of 1960.īulova’s promised accuracy was down to a new type of watch movement, called the tuning fork, designed by electronics engineer Max Hetzel. If there’s one men’s wristwatch that captured the spirit of the 1960s, it was the Bulova Accutron.Īccutron was a combination of ‘accurate’ and ‘electronic’, making it the perfect name for an electronic watch that was certified to be accurate to within a single second a month. All Rights Reserved.Continuing on from GM’s vintage men’s watch guide is a bit of history about one specific men’s vintage watch featured in the TV show Mad Men: the Bulova Accutron We are always buying rare and expensive watches get our offer before you sell. ![]() Keep in mind that oddly shaped, asymmetrical versions, rose gold versions, and “space view” versions of this watch tend to bring more … as does the “backwind” 214 version. We have an auction estimate on the platinum as $10,000 to $15,000, but we hope to achieve more for the collector. Here is a rule of thumb as to value: gold filled or gold plated non-working: $20 to $100 (working: $50 to $150). (Conventional wisdom holds that Bulova made 10 to 20 platinum Accutrons for politicians and important executives, but only one has been verified as sold.) Typically, Accutrons are gold plated or gold filled. This week, a California collector asked us to sell his iconic Bulova collection and we are showing a few here. (Hamilton was already working on an electric model and Bulova did not want to be left behind.) It took nine years to bring it to market, and it was a game-changer. They engaged engineer Max Hetzel to help build a battery-driven watch in 1952. Nonetheless, Bulova was a true innovator and on the cutting edge of mid-century design and technology. They made millions of them, and most are worth $20 to $50 (if they don’t run) and $50 to $100 (if they do). The one major exception to this is the steadfast popularity of Bulova’s Accutron watches.ĭon’t run to your junk drawer just yet, though. There are a few designs that stand out – like certain Art Deco masterpieces of the 1930s and military watches of the 1940s – but even these only bring $50 to $200. Today, few Bulovas are considered highly desirable, as they made fairly mundane watches for the masses. ![]() In fact, it is often written that in the 1940s and ’50s, they were one of the biggest advertisers of any product of any kind in the U.S.! In 1952, Bulova watch company was one of the leading manufacturers of affordable – indeed fine – timepieces in America.
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