Bulova Accutron Spaceview - the Tuning Fork Watch!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ค. 2024
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You’re absolutely right to call this the real space watch. I have on my wrist just now, the gold version of the watch you have there. And it came to me from my grandfather, Chief of Aeronautics for NASA for the first 40 years of NASA. A few years ago he asked me what I’d like to have if his when he passed. He raised me, so there should have been many things... but at the time all I could think of was his Spaceview. He’d recieved it from my grandmother as an anniversary present, and wore it every day of his life thereafter. So I just managed to point at it, and he got the picture. I left the family to fight over all his considerable assets, and am very proud indeed with having received his watch.
you should have gone for the assets
I’m wearing one too, great uncle, US Air Force
instablaster.
I graduated from Bulova in 1970 and have been repairing & restoring Accutrons for both the trade (jewelry stores) as well as private clients. I also worked at Bulova for a short period of time. Your video is excellent. However, nothing was hand painted on the chapter ring. The chapter ring actually has a decal on it which over time gets worn from as you said moisture and age turns the color and minute track disappears. Also when you were showing the circuit, the silver 'can' was a capacitor, not a resistor which is also in the circuit...As i said, your video is very good..Kudos to you!
I’m the proud owner of an early 60’s Spaceview. I bought it as a self reward for completing my Masters degree. I wore (with numerous battery changes) until it stopped running do other issues. It’s currently being repaired by a top watchmaker who is a recognized authority on Spaceview watches. I’m looking forward to it’s return and will wear it once again with great pride.
Who did you go through?
I just recently acquired a 1963 Bulova Accutron "206" with the 214 movement. Learning the history behind this watch and its functionality has been so fascinating and I am grateful to finally own one. Such an important timepiece.
Thanks for the wonderful video, and a huge thanks for not ruining it with crappy background music.
I don't know why some people are compelled to add annoying background music throughout their videos.
You can date an Accutron by the date code in the back. The letter signify the decade M for the '60s and N for the '70s. The digit signify the year. hence, your watch M5 is from 1965. Great video, thanks!
But the coil is from an earlier version. The silver "can" isn't the resistor, but rather the transistor. The resistor is the white cylinder with the stripes. The 3 wire coils with the transistor at the bottom and all 5 electrical points used is from 1960-1962.
You are correct
@@stevenmeitner8477 It's hard to see int he video (at least to my ageing eyes :-/) but I thought it read "M3", not "M5"?
@@38thsignal If you stop the video at 4:33, there is a good image of it. It's stamped M5.
Thanks for that info. I never knew what the N0 on my watCh meant now I do.
Thanks for that little bit of info on the conversion kits and fakes. I had no idea! Mine came from my grandfather, who was a division chief at NASA through the glory years. Was the only thing I asked him for before he passed- didn’t care about anything else, just his watch.
I bought my 1967 Spaceview 214 in the summer of 1968 and it does have the standard resistors. It is also marked "Waterproof" on the back, so Bulova was still using that nomenclature as late as 67.
Cool video with many interesting facts, thanks! (love the band btw)
Thanks I am lucky enough to have a "real" vintage Spaceview and found your video informative.
Fascinating video as I did not know they had "conversion" kits to make the watch a Spaceview and some being sold on eBay or other places are NOT original Spaceviews. I am fortunate to have an ORIGINAL Spaceview from 1968 - my Junior High School graduation gift. I have always loved this watch and the history of it is fun to uncover. I recently found an article that an Accutron was issued to pilots of the A-12 spy planes. They also have this watch in the Smithsonian as the first watch to deviate from using just gears to track time - this watch was the predecssor to Quartz watches.
Nice video and well informed. I love the space view but cannot afford one. Just bought an accutron 2181 for the collection and I love it.
As other people have already mentioned, your caseback has a date code where you can decode the year it was produced, 1965 in your case. Other things to note is that being an early to mid-60's model, it should either have radium lume (which would have deteriorated the phosporescent material by now), or tritium lume (mid to late 60s) which would have itself degraded so far by now that it should not be glowing much if at all, that your lume still glows so much, looks so fresh, and the fact that you call out it's "hand painted" suggests that it's a relume. Most watch dials were hand painted lume to begin with anyway, that's how the radium girls were poisoned after all. Also, regarding space, the Accutron was used in the space vehicles even if they weren't on the wrists of the astronauts, so it still did go to space. Side note, the first Omega Speedmaster in space was a personal watch before NASA conducted the trials to determine the official wristwatch on the missions.
Great video about the same watch I bought in 1962 when I was in college. Took it with me to Vietnam where I was a helicopter pilot and during the year lost it. The green band on your watch appears terribly cheap! LOL Mine came with a stainless band. Best of luck!
Nice new channel. Good video.
At 3:39, that’s a transistor, not a resistor. Transistors have three leads (some have four) and all three are from the same source...the bottom; resistors have two leads- one on each end.
Edit: I don’t know much about this specific watch but I do know electronics and parts and so I’m just saying what it appears to be.
If you're making the components yourself, it wouldn't be difficult to manufacture a resistor with three leads, two of which are connected to the same end. Similarly, you can have all leads come out of the same side by wrapping it around inside the casing instead of wrapping it around outside, as you would normally see. It is most likely a transistor, but it could easily be a resistor if they were specifically manufacturing them for this watch.
I Listened to you guy on google podcast. Pls keep it up =)))
I believe that the component between 4 and 5 is the transistor which forms part of the self regulating oscillator on Accutron tuning fork watches, not a resistor.
Yes, the silver component between 4 and 5 is definitely a transistor. The resistor component is between 2 and 3.
I bought mine in 1967 and I still have it.
Fantastic!
At 4:37: what happened the quick-release pins in this strap? You seem to have removed them, damaging the strap in the process. Were they in some way incompatible with the watch?
Smaller watches went well with skinny ties. That's one very cool watch. I have a sweet looking caravelle and a 67 marlin that both say waterproof on the dial
My Dad’s Spaceview is dated M6 M=1960 6=1966. I also have the Bulova Owner’s Guide/registration dated 9/21/68, A snowy picture of him in front of where he purchased it from in Anchorage, Alaska while stationed there in the U.S. Air Force.
There's some discussion saying that the Accutron is the second electronic watch, the first being the Hamilton Electric. With the Accutron, it's clear that the tuning fork indexes the 300 tooth wheel, driving the gear train. This is a fundamental horological difference because up to now, every watch/clock depended upon a power source that needs to be alternately locked and released by a regulated escapement. The escapement did not drive the gear train. There is no escapement whatsoever with the Accutron. I'm not so sure about the Hamilton. The balance wheel is impulsed electronically, but I think it still functions as an escapement. Obviously the gear train is not driven by a spring that you wind up, but there may be a spring involved pulled by a solenoid. I have seen a mechanism like this on VDO car clocks. In any case, the Accutron was ground breaking because it totally abandoned the stored mechanical power and escapement method.
I have an M0 1960 solid 14k. It’s amazing
I understand Bulova initially used mercury cell battery on the Accutron Spaceview. Later due to health risk from mercury, they were replaced by iron oxide batteries which is reportedly not as accurate as the mercury ones
Nice very clean and properly put together timepeace, another words kick fucken ass
3:17 I agree. Most of the eBay offerings appear to be "conversions". They are still wonderful looking watches.
I'd still get one with no regrets, if it happens to be legit, then bonus
I have purchased a neat 14k bezel asymmetrical version but can't get it to run. Do you repair these?
Does anyone know if Bulova stopped selling conversion kits once they started producing Spaceview models?
Just got one of my own! Where did you get the band?
Fantastic review! I have the same one and its the best. Could you share where I could buy the same strap! Thank you.
Do you know the part number or size of the crystal you replaced?
Genuine question friends of the internet - what service centers would you recommend to send my little spaceview out to? I've had mine for a little over two years, but it stopped running. I'd really love to hear the tuning fork 'hum' again.
Is the coil often a potential defect?
Riddle me this - if the original originals were made using kits sent out by Bulova so dealers could adjust normal Accutrons into Spaceviews surely e-bay sellers modifying Accutrons into Spaceviews now is the same thing just happening later in life to the same watches that would have been adapted back then? Am I right or I am confused? Anyone?
It isn’t quite the same thing since the eBay sellers aren’t using the factory parts to make the modification. Also, the sellers are representing a newly-modified watch as a watch that was modified in-period. So a seller passing off a recently modified watch as a watch modified in-period would deceive a buyer that was specifically looking for a Spaceview that was sold as a Spaceview originally.
You are correct about misrepresentation on eBay and it drives me nuts. The overall deception by 99% of eBay sellers is annoying to me. Personally, after I service an accutron and convert it to Spaceview I ALWAYS say that it’s a conversion. Not only in the title but throughout the description.
@@rickstamler5931 Hello Rick where do you sell your watches? Currently looking. Thanks Frank
Well, if you buy really good reproduction parts, it’s hard to tell from the real thing. They make alpha hands, and the only way you can really tell the crystals apart is the real crystals have a dot of lume that the reproduction one left out.
@@OuijTube Clark watch parts produces really nice reproduction parts for that
How were you able to acquire the watch? I am potentially interested in getting one and I was wondering where I should search for one these? Any tips?
Where is I had to have a conversion, I used quality reproduction parts to make sure it resembled an early jewelry store conversion. Before the factory production of (official), the jewelry stores would do it for you as an option. That steel barrel is a germanium transistor.
Hey!
Just got my Spaceview today, after watching your video last week!
What strap is that, and where can I get it? I NEED it haha
I haven't seen a better strap paired with this watch.
Any chance you have a link?
Do you repair Accutron watches? Thanks
What is the band, where did you get it. How much is it?
Where did you buy that stap sir?
M5 at the back means build 1965. Also, what battery you apply with your Accutron? I guess it should be rebuild.
Loved it
Yes, this is the problem I'm having. My Dad bought this in 1964, and it does say WATERPROOF. Inherited it after my Dad passed a couple of years ago. My uncle said with the 1.55 Volt (394) it won't keep correct time. Right, it runs very fast. It's been hard to find the 1.35. So form what I hear you saying, is that I have one that won't keep the righ5t time with-out a 1.35 ?
April 1985 astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman wore an Accutron Spaceview microsonic wristwatch onboard space shuttle Discovery mission STS-51-D ( Cfr MoonwatchUniverse )
Gosh just amazes me how many people like to critique someone's video. I mean he's not saying he invented the bloody thing. He's just giving his information which in most part is all new to someone researching the technology, still very interesting and helpful. People... stop trying to trump knowledge to make yourselves appear more authoritative. Its TH-cam, this ain't the smithsonian. Jezus. Get a grip.
where is the band from?!
I have a pair of Accutrons, an original 214 Spaceview that my grandfather bought new, and my father's 218, which has the tuning fork movement but has a stem in the side of the case and white face that says "Railroad Approved". Neat watches and family heirlooms. I've had them both cleaned and tuned up, and they just need batteries to run again. The green strap to match the movement is an inspired choice, and I will be doing that as well.
Dang those are pretty much the best versions of the 214 and 218, and they come with family history! That's seriously awesome :)
I have an ETA tuning fork movement in a Zenith watch
Where can I buy this one ? Any one say please
where did you get that band from?? looks great on the watch!
Shame he doesn’t respond to comments. It was a nicely done video.
@@AvgJoeWatchReviews Shame people don't bother reading the comments, because the OP replied to the very same question a few months before this one was posted...
@@38thsignal I see a ton of comments with no interaction from the content creator.
ClockworkSynergy is the company for the strap!!!
Thanks for the hint Shaymar Higgs, I believe it's this one :-) www.clockworksynergy.com/shop/watch-bands/silicone-watch-bands/hunter-green-silicone-watch-bands/
I’ve got a ‘64. Pretty cool
What band is that
Great video! Any troubleshooting suggestions for one that stopped running after taking a bump?
I'm no expert on these on the inside other than the broad strokes. There's a guy who repairs nothing but this movement at accutron214.com, but I don't know him or his quality personally. As always, a good watchmaker is almost never a cheap one.
Hello: I have a 1971 214, in 10K filled. I need a new band and was considering a very dark green alligator one, or dark green true Cordovan leather one. I like your band. it's modern and fits but not my style. Thanks...loved the video.
One thing I haven't seen discussed, you see on this watch the terminal connection area has all five solder points in use. On later 214's they only use three of them and you can see that they pair-off after the connection. Just something I noticed.
The original had a germanium PNP transistor, originally designed for hearing aids. They changed to an NPN, I believe its silicon, because of availability. The circuit was redesigned to accommodate.
When you say fake do you mean a 1960's version thats been converted?
You made a quick reference to the battery and resistor, as I understand it, it was made to run on the lower voltage of a Mercury Cell, which supplied around 1.3v, in the mid '80's Mercury Cells were removed the market.
At that point you could use a Zinc-Air cell which gave 1.4v, but only lasted a few weeks, or the Silver Oxide Cell which had 1.5. Further, if you chose to use the Silver Oxide Cells, there was a modification that replaced at least the resistor, and I think the transistor as well.
Wow
You just add a diode and replace the resistor
So I gotta ask is the accutron more smoother movement than a spring drive grand seiko?
No, according to my understanding the Spring Drive is totally seamless.
What did happen to him? His last video is from 4 years ago. Did he make another channel? Did he stop making content?
Steel barrel isn't a resistor IMHO that's the transistor that's part of the oscillator.
I need to know what band that is. Went down an hour-long rabbit hole with no success
Great review. Where did you get the strap? Matches the watch perfectly!
My thoughts exactly. I found the strap - Clockwork Synergy - Hunter Green Silicone Watch Bands.
@@ApeZero You're good at the watch band scavenger hunt! Sorry I didn't reply earlier, but you're 100% right :)
If you like NATO straps, you can get a black one with a bright green stripe down the middle. It is striking looking on the Spaceview.
Bulova are so cool .... USA #1
ay so I just got a spaceview 214 and am having 0 luck with bands. Cant find em in stores, cant find em online, cant find em anywhere.
Got the one you have here in 18mm width, how the hell did you get this thing on? My spaceview rejects pretty much every strap thats leather silicone etc that I've tried on it.... I almost destroyed this strap trying to put it on. How tf did you do this
Look for 17mm or 11/16" straps. The actual dimension is closer to 17.5 mm, but some 17's run wider and look fit easier. Also look for 17mm spring bars.
Man I need some advice, I dad recently passed and he left me his spaceveiw. I cant seem to find the correct battery for it. Do you have any idea what that might be.please help!!
I use a 387S in my Accutron
This was a really educational video, thanks! I am afraid I would find it too small on my 7.25" wrist. I've seen some of the '70s models with more of a cushion case at 37mm. That might look a bit better? On of my first watches was the original Swatch Jellyfish, so I have a thing for watches where you can see the "guts." The smooth sweep of the Accutron is another great thing I like about them.
Thanks for the video. I got one of these at a garage sale for $5 but on the back it says 14k gold. I'm wondering how to tell what year it is. I wonder if I send pics if you can give me more information and estimated value
Check the back of the watch!
Each decade was given a letter designation: M is 60s and N is 70s and the following number is the year. So an M5 is a 1965 and an N7 is a 1977.
your watch is 1965 because has M5 on the back ; also was made in the US because the serial number starts with a letter.
I have two of that same accutron model, exact same ones with same chapter ring, same crystal, One is M4 and already has 2 components instead of your transistor, one of them appears to be a diode. The watch has not been 'converted' to 1.5, so it can't be a conversion either. I /suspect/ that the updated the circuitry to have better regulation, but that's my own guess.
The other is a stainless M7 and is still marked 'waterproof' so they kept that marking for a long time, or perhaps they kept it on all casebacks for this particular accutron model. Many models were converted, but /that/ model is very likely the best quality watch.
The reason I say that is that my M4 is the best accutron AND spaceview I've ever seen, and it's full 18K gold too -- it's the same watch as yours, but 18K, case, back and hands, it's my prized watch, and I prefer it to others in my collection that are 'worth' a lot more!
it's as smooth as a springdrive
please let us know where you got the strap
I got it at Clockwork Synergy, the "Hunter Green Silicone Watch Bands"
Interesting fact about "waterproof", I have always wondered why you don't see that on watches now.
Because it's bullshit.
Apart from my 1980 Seiko Sports 100 digital. Id wear it in the shower, surf, pool anywhere 😛
Yo con mi tissot 1970 y quiero ese acutron
On the back cover under the serial number M stands for 1960 and the number after if it were a three that's 63 if it were a five that's 65 after M comes N, N equals 1970 the number after is the second digit so M6 is 1966, 66 N4 1974 there's a chart that shows these numbers and what date it correlates with.
that strap tho.... can you tell me what is it, sir?
I got it at Clockwork Synergy, the "Hunter Green Silicone Watch Bands"
Where did you get that band?
Clockwork synergy
@@busybird7149 thanks
As others have commented, your Spaceview is a 1965 model, not a particularly early model. Thete is no evidence of your claim that that 99% of earlier dare coded Spaceviews are fakes.
That metal can is the timing Crystal, not a resistor. Or it is a Transistor.
It's a transistor. There is no timing crystal. That function is done by the tuning fork.
you can find alot of that transistor in old transistor radios from 60's and 70's lol
Q. When did Bulova stop making an actual "Tuning Fork" powered watch?
I think ALL they make today are just quartz movements.
Robin Jacobs no they got some new automatics I think
Bulova also has its ultra high frequency (262kHz) “Precisionist” movement accurate to 10 seconds a year in a variety of pricier models including the Curv series, Precisionist chronographs, and the Lunar Pilot. And as a native New Yorker it has always been pronounced “BULL-uh-vuh” Do a TH-cam search for “Bulova Watch Time” tv and radio ads from the 40s, 50s, and 60s
Thanks for the video! That transistor looks odd to me (I have an M4) but the chapter ring, crystal, and handset look exactly right.
1977 is when bulova manufactured the last run of the running fork movements 214 and 218 2181 218D
Great video. Thanks for talking up the Spaceview. But surely the lume can’t be original if it’s still shining. After only 20-30 years the glow would have all but disappeared, let alone nearly 60 years.
Lume reacts with water when it breaks down, and the small amounts of moisture that sneak into a watch over time cause that problem. However, some people live in arid environments, so old watches can still glow!
That being said, this watch after being in bright sunlight glows for less than five minutes, so it is definitely showing its age :)
Tritium lume paint has a 12 year
half life. After that it's just common phosphorus paint.
( Radium was not used on Accutron )
Half life is just that...half it's intensity. It still is emitting Beta particles. At 24 years, it just is emitting 1/4 of the rate. The zinc sulfide phosphorescent does fade, but I have many 1960's watches with original tritium hands that do glow albeit more faint.
Date code is M5. Made in 1965
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the tuning fork movement ticked 360 times a second or 1,296,000 beats per hour. Wouldn't that make it 180 hertz?
Hertz is a measure of cycles-per-second, therefore if it "ticks" 360 times per second it's 360 Hertz, it also makes a tone at 360 Hertz which helps nail that down too.
That said I don't have one (yet) to test so I'm mostly just basing this on what I've learned from a few videos about it, so I could just be being a total dumby here.
Edit: listened to a 360 Hertz tone, 180 Hertz tone, and the last few seconds of the video, now I'm uncertain too XD
From someone who has one, it does 360 ticks per second, you can take a slow motion camera and observe the tiny ticks, it is so smooth because the gear train is also vibrating at the forks frequency so momentum is transferred to the second hand so the tick is not perceivable by eye also because it falls in persistence of vision
@@UNSCPILOT why do they call watches which tick 3 times a second 3 Herz and watches which tick 4 times per second 4 Herz?
Dont start me on Accutrons. I collect them. Got dozens. I've had people stab themselves in the eye with a steak knife when i start up on them.........
And it doesn't take much to get me started
I like to get ppl in with the hummmmmmmmmmm to start with 😛
Your watch has the code "M5" on the back. M=1960s; N=1970s, add the 5 as the last digit for year and you have 1965 is the date of manufacture. If it was "N2" then it would be 1972.
Yep. 1965
Thanks ... my watch has an M7 on the back under the serial number. Which makes it manufactured in 1967 and I got the watch in June 1968 (and still have and wear it)
Bulova....accent on the first syllable Bul’ o va
I went to the Bulova School of Watchmaking in New York and never had I heard Bulova pronounced with the accent on the '0'.
Don’t forget LIP
The sound th-cam.com/video/fiXyuUEoqK4/w-d-xo.html
Time is a dead god Thoth 🌹🌚👍 rest in the good news 🌹 okay bye
It’s pronounced Bull-uh-vah.
Bull-of-uh...😖
99% of eBay listings are not conversion spaceview. Don’t over exaggerate, but whatever good you think your video serves basically invalidates what you think.
This video has so many factual inaccuracies. He calls this a 1963 watch when the back litteraly says 1965 (M5). Spaceviews were created by the Bulova shops from normal watches as well. The dial ring he has was part of the conversion kit, or people could get crystals with marking on them. New old stock of crystal, hands can make pretty much Accutron into a genuine Spaceview.
I find it surprising that the guy doesn’t know how to pronounced…..Bull’ la vah……….accent on the first syllable….😆👎
Imagine doing an exam with this watch on.
And no, you kiddies should NOT have these watches. They are much too old for you, too small, and you don't like them...Understand.