Bulova Accutron Lovers?

[gerleatherberman]

In a recent thread, it came to my attention, there are some Accutron fans here at mt.o!
Here are the only four Accutrons I have that have been serviced and run very well.
Left to right.
Late rectangular gold plated 221 movement w/o day, date, or second hand.
1968 Stainless 216 movement w/ day and second hand.
1967 Stainless Spaceview 214 movement w/ second hand.
1976 Solid gold sunburst dial 224 quartz controlled movement w/ day, date, and second hand.(edit: this is still driven by a tuning fork coil system, but with a quartz controller. Still a real accutron).

Anyone else have any of these classic tuning fork time pieces?

[jcs0001]

I have one similar to the one on the right side of your photo. Will have to take a picture and post it. It’s still runs well unfortunately parts are difficult to obtain apparently.

John

[Mechanickal]

[jcs0001]

I had all my photos "erased" by photobucket in their purge so must try something different.  Here it is:

[jcs0001]

It worked

The light used is a bit on the cold white but the watch has a bar across the centre (horizontal).  It runs a bit slow but works well otherwise.  There was an elderly fellow in our town who repaired them but he stopped about a year ago as one of his instruments died and he was getting too shakey.  I changed the battery the last time, not wishing to rely on the fellow in the mall kiosk.  I figured I was as capable or wrecking it as he.

John.

[gerleatherberman]

Wow. That big case accutron is stunning! Thank you for sharing!
The batteries are not too hard to change. Just don't let the retainer piece fly away, as you may never find it!
I put the batteries in when I am wearing them, but take the batteries out when they are not being worn. The accutrons have a lot of trouble running when they haven't been serviced. The cannon pinion tends to gunk up over the decades, so don't run them all the time if you can help it. That may help extend the accutrons life until we can find someone who CLAs them for a reasonable amount of money.

[VoetSak]

I have one of these. Spaceview cushion I think. Its been in a drawer forever. Cracked glass.

It has a bracelet. I know almost nothing about it.

[gerleatherberman]

Hey Voetsak,
Nice looking accutron. A less common configuration from what I can tell. Looks like the hour/minute markers are on the internal bezel and not reverse painted on the lense. If that is the case, then a watchmaker can put a replacement lense in. The lense is acrylic and can be swapped to a generic one. Only difference will be the lense won't say Bulova Accutron, but will look nice anyway.
Just make sure the movement runs before replacing the lense. And see if the watchmaker can do a clean/lube/adjust to ensure longevity. The battery for a 214 movement is a #387s with spacer ring - silver oxide.

BTW, that is a 1969 Accutron.

[Mechanickal]

Well worth some repair costs!!

[jcs0001]

Voetsak

I have one of these. Spaceview cushion I think. Its been in a drawer forever. Cracked glass.

It has a bracelet. I know almost nothing about it.

My father had one of these years ago.  He had spent a lot of time helping a jeweler friend move his shop and it was given as a gift to him.  Very nice watch.

John.

[Ray S]

Sadly my only Accutron got traded away many years ago.I think it was called an Astronaut.Gold case and bracelet with a 24 hour hand .Went through batteries very quickly and they were hard to find at the time.One thing I noticed about it was it emitted a very audible hum when I was wearing it.

[gerleatherberman]

Thanks for sharing you Accutron experience with us, Ray!

Indeed those things hum when running, especially when they haven't been serviced and the drive train has trouble moving.
I emptied a dresser drawer out once and put an Accutron in it. The resonance from the Accutron the empty drawer made it audible from ten feet away.