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On The Wrist

My Accutron Spaceviews, New and Old

By Stuart Gleich

I am the proud owner of a 1965 Accutron Spaceview with its humming tuning fork. Love to hold that baby up to my ear and listen to that tuning fork just hum its little heart out!

Obtaining this watch was no easy task. Thank goodness for the expertise of John at Budget Accutron in Waterford, Michigan. The watch looks like new!

So, one year ago, when I first read about Accutron’s intention to possibly release their electrostatic Spaceview 2020, I dreamed about possibly having one on my wrist.

The Accutron Spaceview 2020.

And then the announcement came and Accutron’s 60th Anniversary electrostatic Spaceview was due for release at the end of October 2020.

I began to investigate the possibility of working out a trade with for one by saying goodbye to some of personal favorite timepieces. All served me well over the years and brought me much happiness.

I found my way to Exquisite Timepieces in Florida, where Evan Richardson is the proprietor. Communications went back and forth concerning three watches that I hoped I could put toward a trade for this technological marvel.

My 1965 Accutron Spaceview

So, with my Meistersinger Monograph, my Tissot Squelette and my Ball Watch Trainmaster Power Glow and the balance in U.S. currency, I was able to order my newest edition!

What makes this all so sweet is that I own an original Accutron Spaceview.  By 1962 the Accutron wristwatch was adopted by NASA’s Mercury 7 astronauts, United States Air Force and civilian test pilots, and even by CIA pilots flying the A12 reconnaissance aircraft.

My two Accutron Spaceviews, side by side.

And now I have the two side by side. What is old, using a technology that was state of the art back in the 1960s has again truly become new and revolutionary, once again, in 2020.

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The Watches

Bulova Updates a Vintage Chronograph

Bulova adds a new chronograph to its Joseph Bulova Collection, a set of automatic watches with designs inspired by Bulova watches made in the decades between 1920 and 1950.

This latest addition to the retro-themed collection is a three-subdial, 42mm steel-cased chronograph offered with either a black dial with rose-gold tone accents or a silver white dial with blue-tone accents.

The new 42mm Joseph Bulova Chronograph, powered by a Sellita automatic chonograph caliber.

While the new watch is larger than the original, and it now shows chronograph timing using three sub-dials instead of two, the new model retains several features that contributed to the character of the original watch.

The original features retained by Bulova include the telemeter scale around the perimeter of the dial, a domed crystal, railroad-track scales around the subdials and distinctive, squared chronograph pushers. In addition, Bulova has transferred the dial font and hand style from the original onto the new Joseph Bulova chronograph.

The new Joseph Bulova chronograph echoes the style of this vintage 1941 Bulova automatic chronograph, with a few key differences.

 

Of course, updates for both aesthetic and technical reasons are inevitable. For this piece, these include using anti-reflective sapphire to create the domed crystal, a day/date window and an exhibition caseback, exposing the rotor. Inside you’ll find a Swiss-made Sellita SW-500 chronograph caliber with a 48-hour power reserve.

Bulova is offering either style on a black leather strap engraved with Joseph Bulova’s signature on the inside. Finally, Bulova offers each watch in the Joseph Bulova collection as a limited edition of 350. Price: $2,495.

 

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Watch Of The Day

Accutron Legacy Model Recalls Railroad Watches

The ultra-clear dial on this Accutron Legacy R.R.-0 echoes one of the watchmaker’s most popular railroad watches. This new model, one of the handful of designs Accutron included in its retro-themed Legacy collection, is inspired by a particular Canadian Railroad watch from 1970.

The new Accutron Legacy R.R.-0

The dial design was one of the era’s most popular railroad watch designs. Its unusual name, shortened to ”zero railroad” or just “zero” because of the 0 numeral at the top of the dial, was a specification required at the time by the Canadian
 Railroad.

The original model was one of the first wristwatches to be approved by the North American Railroad. Prior to the advent of this designation, pocket watches were considered the only timepieces accurate enough to be “railroad-grade.”

The original Accutron Railroad watch from 1970.

The designation required that wristwatches included large Arabic numerals for legibility. It also required that setting the watch required the front crystal to be unscrewed first, and that regulation and adjustment was recorded in five positions.

The new Accutron R.R.-0 echoes the original with a 34mm 
faceted steel railroad case and 
a crown at 4 o’clock. With its bright white 
dial with easy-to-see Arabic numerals, the watch also recalls the original with its railroad-style 
hands and a red seconds hand. And instead of a tuning-fork movement, the new watch is powered by a Sellita automatic
movement with a date indicator. Bulova attaches the new model to a black leather strap.

Instead of a tuning-fork movement, the new watch is powered by a Sellita automatic
 movement, visible in part through the caseback.

The entire Accutron Legacy collection is available now online and in select stores with each design limited to 600 watches. The Legacy R.R.-0 is priced at $1,290.

 

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The Watches

Accutron Replays an Elvis Presley Hit

A re-made Accutron 521 was among the many eye-catching designs Accutron included in its premiere Legacy collection debuts last September. For Elvis Presley fans however, the retro design was a particularly notable revival since the original asymmetric-cased gold model 521, from 1960, was known to be one of Presley’s favorite watches.

The new Accutron Legacy 521, with gold-plated steel case and mesh-style bracelet.

For others, the debut also resonated because of its attention to the original’s perfectly designed proportions. For its Legacy collection, Accutron wisely resisted the modern tendency by watchmakers to upscale retro editions by housing them in larger cases.  

Thus, the new Accutron Legacy 521 retains the same ‘TV-shaped’ design framed by the same incredible Space Age lugs as the original, complete with the modest 32.8mm x 32.5mm case dimension, silver-white dial and stylized double-stick hour markers. And while Bulova’s Accutron division in 1960 cased the original in fourteen-karat gold, Accutron has created its new Legacy 521 with a gold-plated steel case.

The original Accutron 521 was unique among the era’s debuts in that it was the only model in the series topped by a mineral glass crystal and a snap-on case back. Accutron today replaces the mineral glass with sapphire and clears a partial view of its movement via a clear sapphire caseback.

And while the original Accutron 521 was among the first designs to house the groundbreaking Accutron electronic tuning fork movement, this new edition will be powered by a modern Sellita automatic caliber.

The original Accutron 521 from 1960.

Accutron also fully embraces the new watch’s 1960s vibe by attaching the 521 case to a gold-hued steel bracelet patterned to echo the mesh-style bracelet popular during the era, with double-press deployant clasp. Alternatively, Accutron offers a version with a brown lizard-embossed leather strap. The new 521 is limited to 600 pieces in each bracelet option.

Prices: $1,550 (mesh-style bracelet) or $1,450 (leather strap).

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Watch Of The Day

Bulova Celebrates Latin Grammys

To celebrate the 2020 Latin Grammy awards, Bulova unveils the Latin Grammy Gemini, a new tonneau-shaped quartz watch with an asymmetrical rose gold-tone stainless steel case, made in two sizes. Each watch showcases a curved black metallic crystal with a black dial and rose gold-tone accents.

The new Bulova Latin Grammy Gemini, available in two sizes.

The overall black hue of the new model continues from the dial into the black rubber strap. To emphasize the ongoing partnership between the Latin Grammys and Bulova, the watchmaker has emblazoned the Grammy gramophone logo on the front side of the strap, as well as on the caseback.  

Bulova’s Latin Grammy Gemini is a three-hand quartz watch offered in two sizes, 40.5mm and 30.5mm. Both models sport a deployant buckle with water resistance to thirty meters. Price: $495.

History of Firsts

In addition to launching the Latin Grammy Gemini, Bulova is sponsoring an online series, via The Latin Recording Academy social media platforms, spotlighting the Latin Grammy ‘Best New Artist’ nominees. In addition to bios and a history of the artists, the series will feature special Bulova cameos such as the unboxing of a Bulova Latin Grammy watch.

Bulova will also gift this female 2020 Latin Grammy nominees one of its Rubaiyat watches during an even just prior to the awards ceremony, which is scheduled for November 19.

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