The Bulova Accutron
Bulova Accutron Spaceview / Credit: AnalogShift
Bulova, a staple of American watchmaking history, struggled during the Quartz Attack of the 1970s and was forced to sell to Citizen, one of the leading Japanese firms in the quartz market at the time. However there’s always a positive side to these types of market events; in this case, Bulova jumped into the quartz game and ended up out-innovating everyone with just one watch: the Accutron.
The Bulova Accutron first appeared on the shelves in late 1960, the first one being the Caliber 214. The watch is important for one main reason, it was the first watch, including non-mechanical watches, that did not use a balance wheel and hairspring, but instead relied on a tuning fork mechanism. The tuning fork is essentially a vibrating piece that transfers its vibratory energy into a rotating motion to turn the watches’ hands. Its core component is the index mechanism, which is what converts the vibrations into the necessary circular motion. The significance of the tuning fork is its unprecedented accuracy. By basing the mechanism solely on the electronic vibration of the tuning fork, accuracy becomes totally independent of traditional factors like lubrication and age, making it not only more accurate upfront, but also over time. Of course, this comparison is only fair when considering other quartz watches, but the fact remains that its accuracy far surpassed that of the average quartz watch at the time.
The Bulova Accutron is today one of Bulova’s most iconic watches. The level of innovation that went into it should not be understated; upon its release it was considered one of the most impactful inventions of the previous 25 years and was even buried in a 5000-year time capsule at the 1964 New York World Fair! Best of all, it was chosen by the CIA to be used by A-12 spy plane pilots during the Cold War!
A vintage Caravelle 110 Feet Gold-Plated dress watch, for sale on Toronto Vintage Watches.