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A week or two ago I read on a forum (I think it was this one, but I could be wrong) about an electrical mechanical watch they had repaired. This type of watch up until then I didn't know existed (How much I still have to learn). From what I understand these watches were very short lived in the 1970s and used an electrical circuit to energise a magnet to swing the balance and were just before quartz watches came into being. I'm aware of tuning fork watches like the Accutron, but know very little about these other electrical watches. Has anyone got a good resource they can point me at so I can read up on them more, or recommend a few brands / models to look out for to buy? At the moment I don't want any rare or super expensive ones, just some good ones to learn to work on. Thanks Tony

That second link is fascinating! I gotta save that one. This is my first exposure to the beta series. I've never heard of them before This Titus. I'll take a look at the movement tomorrow. I can say this about it: the second moved more smoothly than any of my other swissonics but it is NOT in the range of Accutron smooth. The ticks are barely perceptible. I should put up a video. So, I can assume that the dial says beta because it is a beta. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Ah thank you. Somehow that makes me feel better inside (as well as provoking laughter on the outside). Related- I serviced my father's Accutron about two weeks back. I spent more time on my hands and knees than I did sitting at the workbench. This is not an exaggeration!

Welcome, from one who does a lot of fishin on the bay, from my experience have found many good whole watches in "lots" that contain some pretty junky trash, the downside is you are left over with copious amounts of usually quartzers that are not worth any effort to fix. Also, some sellers are totally unaware of value, so that's a plus, other sellers try to strategically place an Accutron or other mid to high end watch in a pile of junk. (just to sell the lot), again if priced right in your budget you can have success. The one thing I watch out for is 'running' statements, I have seen sellers list watches as running, but they stop after short time, usually indicates an automatic, I have seen non-running auto's in need of battery! Still even other watches are out of category on the bay, so generic searches on manufacture/brand name, then check sub categories for more detail. If you do your homework and research the brand you want to work with you may find buying a bit more rewarding and yes a functioning watch is better to work on to start with then trying to diagnose and repair a broken one. Agree with oldhippy on this, I have been to estate sales and picked up Accutrons for as little as $25. I bought a 21j pocketwatch from seller on Clist for under $100. But look for complete watches, case, dial, hands, crystal, movement, bracelet/strap, once you get to working on them, less time and $$$ will be spent on parts. Condition is everything! so dials or hands that have rust will probably mean scrap. Good luck!

My name is Shirley. I have been fascinated by watch repair since the sixties. My father was a watch repairman for over fifty years in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He was a railroad watch inspector for Southern Pacific Railroad back when they used to have their watches inspected. That was before quartz watches. He worked on a lot of Hamilton, Illinois and Elgin pocket watches. When Bulova Accutrons came out, he worked on a ton of those. In fact, he wore a Railroad Accutron for many years. For a decade or so, he did watch repair by day (in my uncle's jewelry shop) and worked on the railroad at night. Eventually, he retired from the railroad and bought the jewelry store from my uncle and did watch repair full time. When he got older he developed Parkinson's and his hands became too shaky to repair watches. I bought his tools and thought I might try my hand at it, but it wasn't as easy as my father had made it look. I decided to take a watch repair course, but didn't get very far before my father became too ill and I had to quit and move back home to help take care of him. In the course, I had learned just enough to strip me of any false confidence I may have had. I can take a basic watch apart and put it back together... I don't promise I could repair it. But I'm dragging the tools and a few old watches out and trying my hand at it again. Mark's videos have given me back the confidence to try. I really look forward to interacting with any fellow watch repair friends here. I hope not only to learn a bit, but maybe share a bit of what I learn also. I will definitely take photos...

So, a lot of the guys on this forum really know their stuff and are heavily involved in servicing and the like. Some of the other forums have groups of 'fanboys' (I suppose they might be called) who will defend their brand of choice to the death. I got into horology through Seiko because of their low entry point (for mechanicals). To use an analogy, I'm probably still using stabilisers when it comes to knowledge. What I'm getting at in a roundabout way is....Should I be surprised that so many people on this forum love their Seikos so much? N.b. I've got several Seiko watches, so to mix it up a bit here's my Bulova Accutron Deep sea from 1970 (same age as me)

I've always loved watches and always wanted to collect them. Knowing That most of the watches I'm drawn too are well out of my reach, I never started collecting. I'd wear what ever Quartz someone might gift to me and once it was beat to hell I'd just toss it. At, 45 I decided to try and rebuild my first watch, another long time bucket list item. That was my 1968 Bulova Oceanographer that I picked up at an estate sale for $10 purely by chance. After that one I had intentions of finding, fixing, and selling vintage watches. That was back in January. I've run into a slight twist in the plan though. After fixing and wearing for a day or two, I can't bring myself to sell them. With that said, I have now become a collector. Here is my modest collection that I have gotten much enjoyment from. 1968 Bulova Oceanographer 1976 Bulova Accutron 1975 Timex Automatic Early 90's Zarja 3105 Early to mid 89's Vostok Amphibian Vostok Kommandirski (unknown age) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow Seiko 7A38 , I don't know where the links for your Yema watches went , but that Yema Spationaute iii is Super .. My dinky Yema Meangraf pales by comparison , but I like it . One of Yemas rally models ... I started off this topic sharing some of the watches I have become attached to because of the various repair issues I had with each , therefore gaining an affection for them . Now I will share some of the watches that are truly some of my favorites . Each one of these just makes me feel good when I wear it . First off , top left is my Breitling 42 Abyss. The first real nice watch I bought a few years back before I started watch collecting . The depth rating for this one is 5000 ft . To be honest , I can't hold my breath for that long . To the upper right of that watch is an Accutron Astronaut . The favorite of my Accutrons . I like the look with the coffin link watchband . This model has the 214 movement . Just below those two watches is my Omega Planet Ocean . To me a very handsome and accurate watch with it's Co-Axial movement . What's not to like about this watch . The only white dialed watch in this group is a Junghans Max Bill design automatic watch . It has a classic look with the Bauhaus style . I had wanted a Max Bill design watch for a while and stumbled into this one at the pawn shop . I had bought , sold , and traded watches with the owner in the past , and he gave me a deal on this one I couldn't refuse . To the right of the Junghans is a Seiko 6105 - 8110 diver that I also got in the same Pawn shop . I looked like it had been under water for years when I got it . Salty , crusty , and not very good looking . To my pleasant surprise when I opened up the case back , the movement was immaculate and all of the gaskets were still supple . They did their job . I traded the owner straight across for a Seiko 6309 - 7290 diver that I had that was looking real good to him . Last , but certainly not least is my Omega Speedmaster Mark ii Chronograph . A good looking , good felling watch on the wrist .This watch came out the same year , 1969 , as the Omega Speedmaster Moon watch I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do ....Aloha , Louis

Hello Jason and welcome, I saw Georges reference and have PM'd you a list of PDF's and a site reference, hopefully there are no problems. I am in the process of creating an Accutron entry for the PDF / Document library and once Mark is back from Holiday he is amending my permissions to set it up and add other documents I have obtained in the public domain. If you have been servicing them for a few years doubtless you have come across info I and others will be interested in. I had difficulty up to the point where I bought a stereo microscope with 70x mag which was the the point where I was able to set the "draw" and phasing the accutron was more viable ie I could actually see the teeth on the index wheel. I know others have managed with other types of magnifying devices but my eyes are not up to it. The site I referred you to:- http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm is a gold mine of information and you could do worse than reading through it. My thanks go to Rob Berkavicius and his co-writers for providing so much valuable information that set me off on the right path. Cheers, Vic

Hello and welcome! There are Accutron specialists hanging around here, I'm sure opinions will be plentifull.

Hi all, greetings from sunny South Africa. I'm looking for some advice on pall setting/alignment methods used for bulova accutron or eta/omega 9162 or similar movements. I have been serving / restoring these for a few years now and it's always a pain to align/set the alignment. If anyone could point me in the direction, or know of any documentation on official service procedures I would be greatly appreciative. Regards, Jason Mauer

Hi, I'm looking for some tips on how to best deal with removing battery corrosion from a plate. The plate below is from my father's Accutron 218. The battery failed and leaked at some point leaving a salt-like deposit that seems to be insoluble. I've tried an acid bath (vinegar), alkali bath (sodium bicarbonate), and good old fashioned elbow grease to no avail. At this point I'm thinking of just letting it be since it seems the plating is flaking off beneath and the corrosion shouldn't impact the function of the movement. If anyone knows about a magic bullet though I'd sure like to hear.

I'll bet that's a tough question for most regulars on this forum! In my collection I'd have to say my favorite is my Navitimer 806 which I wear every day (it's actually the only watch I wear) just because I've always loved the extra functions that are packed in for aviators. From the perspective of a watchmaker though- my father's Accutron 218 is hard to beat. I've only just begun work on it and I am absolutely in awe of the craftsmanship of the movement.

How many times have I been asked that question ? In all honesty , I don't know . From Rolex to Timex , I like them all . I guess it's kinda like being a parent ,...you don't have a favorite child . I wake up every day and try to figure out what it's going to be . I usually will wear about 4 watches a day so I can check to see if they are operating properly , or if they may need maintenance . If it's a work day the answer is easy . I only have about 20 [nice] beaters to chose from . For casual every day wear , there are a few I might wear more than others . I guess I have acquired an attachment to some of the watches I have repaired that gave me more of a challenge ,...some more than others . So I will share those for starters..... First off is a Seiko 6139 chronograph I bought in parts and pieces . I paid $58 for it if memory serves me correctly . I had to figure how to put the puzzle together , then how to get it to run , and finally , how to make adjustments and tweak it so it worked as it was intended to run . Next is a Bulova Accutron Deep Sea diver with a tuning fork movement . I bought it at the swap meet for $140 not running . When I got it home and checked out the movement it was rusty and the parts were stuck together starting at the crown , stem , and gear for the rotating inner bezel . The movement was ruined and I had to gather a few movements to make one good operating movement . With the cost of buying the watch and parts I ended up spending around $200 . This was my first experience with Tuning Fork watches . The rest of the watches had their own little roadblocks to get around , which the greatest obstacle was finding sometimes obsolete parts . The Citizen Americas Cup watch is a good example of that . I now have 4 of them with 2 working . The other 3 watches in this group shot is a retro Seiko automatic , A vintage Croton Buccaneer that for some reason , even though it has a smaller watch case , I like it . And last in this group is a Germinal Voltaire , which with it's offset pinion , ended up being a small challenge figuring out how to dismantle it . I broke some parts on this watch and a donor and had to ask for help on this forum . Then tracking down the parts was fun . Now that I know where to get the parts I am working on my 2nd Germinal Voltaire as I write this . So Now , let me ask You ,...What is your favorite watch ?

Have you looked inside the case back? I know these sometimes get changed, but I have a gold plated Accutron in my "To Do" pile and it is marked with the plating thickness inside the case back

Ok in my effort to try and determine the case construction of this N6 Bulova Accutron, I came across something interesting. I was looking at a couple of Seiko 5 Sportsmatics that I have and noticed something. In the pictures, from left to right is a Seiko labeled "EGP" (left), Seiko labeled "SGP" (middle), unmarked Accutron (right). Now I can tell a difference between the "EGP" and "SGP" Seiko cases. I don't know if you can see from the pics or not. In the "SGP" near where the lugs meet the case, there are small blackened areas that seem to me to be "base metal" beneath a gold plate. This is not the same as the "EGP" which does not have these spots. Now, I assume for Seiko, "EGP" stands for electro-gold plate while "SGP" stands for Seiko gold plate or solid-gold plate. The Accutron has these same blackened areas at the lug ends as the "SGP". These areas almost look as if there is a base metal covered by a gold plating. As I said the "EGP" does not have them. Can anyone confirm? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Accutrons are not for the faint of heart. My father gave me his Bulova which he received as a wedding gift from his parents and it also wasn't working. I popped in a new battery and it came to life except that the hour and minute hands don't move. From what I understand, rusty cannon pinions are common which result in a watch that appears to run, the hour and minute hands just won't move. I've looked under the microscope and there are two jeweled pawls that contact a wheel with the tiniest teeth you will ever see (it really is the most amazing mechanical watch), well long story short, I've had it in my desk now for about six months and still don't have the courage to attempt a service. I do have a PDF of the 218 service manual if you need it though. It's readily available on the internet although I cannot recall the site I located it from. Also have about fifty Accutron crystals too. Let me know if you need one and I'll drop one in the post for you.

When you put in the battery , [Negative side up ] , and it runs , all is good . If nothing happens , tap it at 9 or 3 o'clock as Geo suggests . It may run , or just the second hand will move , or it may just start to hum ,....all good signs that the coils are good . If it just humms or just the second hand moves it will require a service . It should probably be serviced any way , but not a job for the feint-hearted ....There is a place advertised on ebay that does flat rate service on Accutrons ....Star findings I believe . Here is the link for the Accutron page which is a plethora of Accutronism ..... http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm Here is where you would test the coils with a volt / ohm meter .... Good luck......

I just picked up this Accutron last weekend at an estate sale. This is my first and have a question. It is not running and I'm assuming the battery needs replaced of which I have ordered. It is a 218 movement. Am I OK to just install the battery and see if it works or should I completely service it before installing the battery? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is someone that service Accutron watches? They also service Omega.f300 . Can't remember it right now but will google. Other then that you have Electric watches in UK . He is fast and has good prices. Worth considering even if the price is hi to ship there?

Let's try a Bulova Accutron Space View 214 movement dated M1 , which converts to 1961...

Concerning Vic's comments: I have powder coated things like microscope stands and bases for camera copy stands but never anything small. I may try that. Strange that you mentioned the Accutron. When I was young I really got interested in watches when the Accutron first came out. I read all the articles I saw about it. I never bought one, though, as they were out of my price range then. Later on I did get one of the first affordable quartz watches, a Timex. I was working in Switzerland in 1975 and I wore it there. Nobody had a quartz watch then. I just bought an IWC Pilot's watch mark 18, mainly for its looks. I've read a bit about these and was concerned that they cheapened the movement of these watches. But mine is accurate to within a second a day so I am amazed and happy. (Have I been lucky or is that how they are?)

Hello Robert, Welcome to the forum from another tinkerer. I also enjoyed making the watch o scope amplifier and it worked with help from Stefan. I then had a birthday coming up and received a timegrapher rendering the work a bit redundant. I also made a variable power supply to use with my Accutrons courtesy of the Accutron Site. I would like to point out that my knowledge is very basic but I enjoyed making the units from the circuit diagrams. The help I received from Stefan was typical of help I have received since joining this forum where you are made welcome and given a helping hand if it is needed and at some stage I am sure you will be able to reciprocate. Cheers, Vic

As above--Any device around that can read the 360Hz of Accutron and 300Hz of ESA types recommended? Or shall I look for a frequency-counter with high resolution...

Ive made up a variable PSU just for the job, from 0 to 2.5V. It uses a precision voltage regulator and a multi-turn pot, a 30uA Ammeter and a LED Voltmeter. It is supplied by a 7.2V battery of two 18650 rechargeable cells. Ive not tested how long it would supply a movement considering the batts supply the LED voltmeter as well, but I expect a couple of weeks would be possible on a single charge. Most of the parts I had hanging round. The voltmeter on it is for monitoring the supply sent to the movement, so apart from checking cells--its somewhat better than an Accutron tester, as its continuously variable supply from 0 to 2.5V, great for finding the Lowest Phase voltage at which a movement will run that I find Much more accurate for phasing than any other. I do have an Accuton 700 test-set Somewhere, but havent seen it for a while, I must search it out, , the ammeter would be better than the cheapo thing I used in my tester! Thanks to the web, Ive a few manuals on the Accutrons...