Search the Community

I think for someone that has developed the skills to work a peculiar movements like the Accutron, case refurbishment will be a relaxing and rewarding task. Polished / brushed cased are no problem, for the latter I use 600 grip papers on a buffing stick always applied in a single direction, and then follow with a "magic pad" from Ebay. I have stupendous results with that, on the watches below the turtle had pretty bad dings on the front lug and case edge by the bezel, the Alpinist was in indescrivibile conditions, I still wonder what the owner did to bring the case and bezel to not have more than 5mm between one damage and another. Investment is maybe 30 euro for a generic rotary tool (get one that can rotate slowly), 2.50 per Dialuz bar, same for and hard felt wheel and mandrel. I've heard that in my country "casecrafters" can extract 600 Euro from a Rolex owner.

Well I really appreciate the answers given. TBH, my normal profession isnt in watch-repairs (Electronics) and buffing/polishing I'm sure I could learn, but the cost to set up and the time to gain the knowledge for this single one-off watch-case. The case is two-finish, One is a brushed finish, the other a polished finish It appears this particular square Accutron is rather rare, I can only find 2 pics of its type on the web and one reference to its case-number. (7387) Its not featured in the case-number catalogue either 7386 jumps to 7390. 7386 appearing to be the gold/gold plate version... Another bungle I made was after checking the movement and locating its fault (Cured, mis-adjusted hack-spring but its desparate for a service) I cleaned the Inside of the glass flat crystal--and the 'Bulova Accutron' paint markings on the inside of the glass came off. I only used a light artists brush as there was, and still is a heavy bloom on the inside, but that was enough, name gone.... As the case is two-finish I think it really would need someone who knows what they are doing to do it rather than a bungler like me! The Movement I'm well aquainted with, the case--And now the crystal--I'm not so sure on!

Jdm, you are over simplifying, easy to think that it's easy if you've learnt how to do it, can do it well or even if you haven't had trouble with it before. But I have a fair amount of experience restoring SS myself, I don't consider it overly difficult or complicated, but there's nuances and pitfalls, things you need to know. Some of these things you can only really know through experience. When I was first learning I damaged a fair number of scrap SS items and many people do the same, they end up effecting the symmetry of the piece, smoothing over hard edges, creating 'dents' etc. I would encourage anyone here to learn how, but not on a piece that has importance, I don't want to see someone do something that might cause damage to a piece they value, especially if it's a collectible and potentially valuable piece like a spaceview. A spaceview accutron is not a practice piece. Treating it as such would be reckless.

I'm looking for someone who can renovate a stainless-steel watch case. My latest aquisition, a Swiss Square Accutron Spaceview has a reasonable case but does have some light scratches and is looking a little tired. This is something I cant do myself as Ive not ever attempted, looks to be a specialist kind of thing... Any ideas who could do this sort of work?

Nah--Too much like a rip-off of a Sub for my liking, my wrist would miss the Hum it usually gets from an Accutron or ESA Omega, the Folex I use when there's a risk of possible damage--Like at work! Recycling centres can get a bit hairy for a timid tuning-fork!

Ive got a bit of a mad Accutron project in my head at the mo... I would like to get a generic unsigned dial of the correct diameter and fit to a 2180. The problem is the feet. They are Never where you want them! Is it possible--or are such items available, that look a little like tiny drawing-pins that could be fixed to a dial by adhesive after removing the dials original feet?

The jewels of the index finger are only sort of dirty. If what you are seeing was on the active surface the watch wouldn't run at all. The system tends to be self-cleaning anything on the surface of the index wheel is usually pushed to the edge of the jewels. But I don't recall ever seeing this quantity of whatever it is on the end of the fingers. I suspect if you look carefully you'll find zero lubrication in any of the jewels an indication that the watch hasn't been serviced in a incredibly long time. Then I would really strongly suggest reading the service manual before servicing this watch. Parts aren't readily available and there's lots of places where bad things can happen No matter how careful you are. http://www.yeagley.net/Accutron/Accutron 218 service manual.pdf

Ive just joined after watching many of Mark's excellent videos on Youtube. They have taught me many things and reminded me of many I had forgotten... I'm now 55 and slowly getting back into watch-repair. When in school at age 12 or so I used to mess around repairing, and by age 16-17 was OK-ish I thought, even tackling an Omega 861 with complete success. I would never contemplate doing one now however! I Thought at the time that there was little future in watch-repairs as the Q revolution had taken a big hold so went into electronics repair instead I was pretty wrong!..... Is the age of 55 too old to get back into this?--I dunno maybe, but with lots of loupes and glasses plus a £5 microscope from ebay I manage--so far! I'm particularly into Accutron Tuning-Fork types and have a number of 'Vicims' I have four 214, four or five 218's, and a couple of 219's most running well Recently Ive aquired a couple of ESA 9162 types One of these, a very poor Tissot looked as though it had had a very hard life and was used as a donor for others--Even the bezel is missing from the case, Both coils faulty, missing hour-wheel etc, Very sad condition but does have a nice blue dial. I managed to fix the coils, (the windings themselves were good, or I wouldnt have stood a chance.) The TR coil had a broken transistor and the RC had a high value resistor (4M8 instead of 3M3) so both the res and cap were replaced (One benefit of being electronics engineer!). bought a new hour-wheel, serviced it now its working good, so the hunt for bezel is on.... This afternoon, I'm going to tackle an ESA 9164 in an Omega, See what sort of mess I can make of that!

Hello from L A again, well I have been to a flea market and there was a load of watches but mainly 2nd hand modern Quartz. The only guy selling vintage watches was a tad pricey and the watches were beaten up and I could do better on the bay. Speaking of which I have bought about 6 watches since being here some working some not but nothing very rare or high value all worked out at about $15 and I would have been put off in the uk by the postage cost but being here it was about $3.50 so at current Brexit rate that is about £15 a pop. There is a promising looking Waltham and Tissot amongst them and I managed to get an Accutron 214 movement that I need the tuning fork from. Luckily I noticed a tiny screw stuck to it near the coil so I am hoping that proves it retains its magnetism and will work for me. (Top tip - never demagnetise an Accutron hummer - it ain't the same as clockwork), also if the screw is what I think it is that is handy as well !. Cheers, Vic

Today, it's a Bulova Accutron. I got this a few weeks ago, and it runs like new......well, it's about -2 seconds a day. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Yowza. That's some pretty bad water damage. I'm happy that you're invested in the repair job though. There's nothing quite like a hand-me-down, especially in this line of work. My father gave me his Accutron 218 when he discovered I was interested in watch repair. It was a wedding gift from his parents. It does run but the hour and minute hands are frozen in place. I've worked on more expensive and complicated movements but I'm waiting until until I've reached a certain level of experience before tackling the Accutron project because it means so much to me; it's the one I really don't want to screw up. I really cannot wait to see how this turns out.

As a new member, and just getting into the 'tinkering' side of things, I thought I better show the collection as it stands today. I've been a member of RLT (The Watch Forum) for many years and lots of watches have come and gone, but this is what I have today. There are a few Seikos! First up is a Rolex GMT Master 2. This is a 16710 'Y' series with the lug holes. It dates from 2003. Next is an Omega SMP Cal.2231.80 in Titanium. This is on a 'Bond' bracelet, and has the rarer electric blue dial. This is from 1999-2000. Then come the Seikos. First up is the 6139-6002 Pepsi/Pogue. This is the one that I did a cosmetic refurb on...you may have seen the post. The famous SRPO43K1 or 'Spork'... The SKZ 251 'Frankenmonster'... My latest acquistion, the blue Sea Urchin SNZF13 J1. I had one of these but sold it ages ago and immediately regretted it....it's taken me 4 years to find another one! A quartz this time...the 7T32 7F70... A Lorus 'Mickey Mouse' watch from 1990. This has a Seiko Y621-6050 A1 Singapore made 17 jewel automatic movement with quick set date. Another 'Mickey', this one is the wife's. It's a Bulova Accutron 2193 hummer from 1977. There are a few Casio beaters that are used for work (landscaper), most are pretty beaten up, but this is the current one... There's been plenty more over the years...Seiko Orange monster, Seiko 009, Blue and red Majesyks, Bulova Accutron Deep Sea...etc , etc. Anyway, I hope this SOTC meets with your approval...

Hi Bill, I was looking around yesterday and saw your post here. It seems to me that you have the desire to learn the watch repair techniques but have hit a few road blocks. I went back and found your post about the Hamilton that is giving you the winding stem issue. From what I saw I must say that if that was your first attempt well done! You took it apart and got it back together and it still runs. That is no small feat. From what I understand the only issue is the stem will wind the watch but when you try to pull it out to put it in setting position the stem comes out. This could be from a problem totally unrelated to anything you have done. The tip on the setting lever that holds the stem in place could be worn out. You may not want to think about that watch anymore but to me they are puzzles that beg me to figure them out. If you have time ask yourself a question or two. Did the stem work before you took the watch apart? If the answer is no then you did nothing wrong and you have a watch with some worn out parts. Could be the setting lever, (you might be able to check this by removing the stem and looking through the hole it came from to see if you can see the tip of the setting lever and estimate if there is enough there to hold in the stem. Look at the stem to insure the groove the tip fits in is in good shape) Could be the plate itself is worn allowing the stem to wobble around so that it drops under the tip of the set lever and pulls out. ( could be on end next to crown or end next to the center of the movement where the crown fits in after going through the sliding pinion. In any of these cases you did everything right and just have a watch with worn parts. Determining what is wrong with a watch that doesn't work is different that disassembling, cleaning and reassembling a working watch, that's why everyone says to start your first watch project on a watch that is working. Now if you answered yes to the question then something has happened. The end of the stem that fits into the center of the movement may have snapped off. When you cleaned the movement you may have cleaned out some debris that was actually keeping the stem in position. Or it may be something as simple as the stem may not be all the way in. Watching some videos I see where some stems have just been pushed it and the set lever spring allows the set lever to jump up and allows the stem to pop into place. On this sort of watch that won't happen. Here you have to partially unscrew the set lever spring and sometimes push down on the set lever screw while inserting the stem. Didn't mean to tell you what you already may know but I don't have any idea what you do know. Now I still have to say that if you took that movement apart and got it back together so that it runs on your first try then you did well. Sometimes stems can be a bear. I was putting new hands on an Accutron 218 the other day and I was afraid I was going to have to disassemble the watch just to get the stem back in. For some reason I could get the stem in but then the watch would only set the time and I could not push it in to home position. I finally got it to seat properly but I was a little worried for a minute or two. I see that you are fairly close to me geographically speaking so if you should want you could send me the movement and I could take a look. All it would cost is postage. Or if you want I could try to talk you through the process of finding out what the issue may be.

the title says it all. i have been working on a few recent purchases and i'm not having too much success - except when it comes to screwing up. i began working on my seiko EL-330 last night. i wanted to look at the movement and take a closer inspection of the keyless works. it looks like some water had gotten in in the distant past. i removed all of the works, taking pictures as i went along. well, i lost a screw somewhere in the carpeting. on top of that, there is a part of the keyless works that has a very tiny wire riveted to it. yup, broke the wire. now i need a screw and that part for the keyless. not an easy find. next up - an elgin that i got this week. a monster of a watch with no complications. it is an auto with an elgin 996 movement (AS 1920). well, it was grinding when i would wind it so i wanted to check it out. i removed the rotor and the winding bridge. it took forever to reinstall that bridge. after i reinstalled it, i spun the rotor and could see that the barrel was winding. all buttoned up and now it won't manually wind. the crown won't even turn. it will auto wind, but no manual wind. next up - my latest bulova accutron. a beauty. i took the movement out to take some pictures of it to post up on "my watch collection". buttoned it all up, pulled the crown to set it - the crown came right out. i can't tighten the screw to lock it in. the watch runs beautifully, but i can't set it. i think i'm gonna back slowly away from the desk so no other watches get hurt. believe me, i can do some damage.

Husband does Accutron repairs and needs a tool: two long wires, one yellow and one blue attached to a small disc that has a plus and minus on the disc. Can anyone help?

Aloha Timothy , I'll offer my opinion . First off , make sure all of the battery contacts are clean . Make sure the battery is in positive side up , and not negative like the Accutrons . Examine the parts well and clean them with an eraser , or I have used contact cleaner sprayed on a small brush and used it on the battery contact points . I would very carefully remove the balance and see where the contact points are on that . I know that the Timex electrics have a very small finger that the tip of ends near a pallet fork type of part under the balance . At this point I would not rush into making adjustments , but making observations . I see gears on the pic posted by gryf , so I would first see if gently using a pegwood stick and tickling the gears if the watch tries to go . If so I would remove the train , clean the gears , re-lube and assemble . The jewels on the Accutron gears are capped so they can't be lubed without taking off the bridge . If you service the gears , one or two will probably try to stick to the bridge and if not careful , when you remove it the gears will come out and not give you a chance to see the stacking order of the gears and leave you guessing how they re-assemble . That happened to me on an Accutron . Take pics on all of your steps . I have failed to do that in the past and have had a brain fart on trying to remember the order of re-assembly . Take small steps as you go because it probably is something simple , like old sticky oil or a bit of oxidation on a battery part . I know there are videos on Youtube on using a voltmeter to test your circuits on quartz watches and they may be useful to watch . Also getting info on the Timex forum dealing with electric watches . Install the battery and using a voltmeter , test parts of the circuit on the watch and see if you can see a pattern of how the balance coil or field get the positive and negative applied .

My take on this, being an area of personal opinions: Moebius 8200 is for mainspring barrels and has been a long-time standard for manual wind watches. When working with automatic watches you may get better results using Moebius 9020 or Moebius 9141. Moebius 8200 can also be used on stems and winding gears of older manual wind watches. Moebius 8300 is for mainspring barrels and has been a long-time standard for clocks of all sizes. Moebius 8300 is slightly thicker than Moebius 8200 and is used in mainspring barrels of watches when 8200 is deemed too thin. Moebius 8300 can also be used on stems and winding gears of mechanical movements from all sizes from small 5 ligne watch movements to large tower clocks. Moebius 8300 can also be used on winding gears of quartz watches. Moebius 8301 is is a solid grease particularly for winding mechanisms and springs & slip springs. This grease has a wide range of applications. Same as 8300 but with graphite. Also: Moebius 8217 (Glissalube 20) is an anti-sliding grease for the walls of the barrels of automatic watches. Moebius 8201 with Molybdenumdisulphide: Recommended for the Bolova Accutron watch movements, Moebius 8201 is the same as Moebius 8200, however 8201 has some Molybdenumdisulphide added to it. Moebius 8212; for aluminum barrels; strong braking. Moebius 8213; for brass barrels; strong braking. So, the choice is very wide...8200 will do it all if you are not picky! A different way of applying it is normally used -- thicker oil is rubbed, lighter oil is deposited -- in general...nothing is written on stone. Cheers, Bob

Thank You,... I had it on my watch list for a while . Interesting lugs and rotor with 3 Accutron tuning forks .

Very cool, I don't wonder why Bulova wanted to market the Accutron 'brand' with and eta auto, especially a limited edition, nice move Bulova!

...I think calling it a collection would be a bit much... Here are some of the watches I am currently calling my "collection" (if you insist)... My fathers Bulova Accutron Railroad Approved...unlike a lot of these floating around, this one actually lived a hard life on a real, live railroad (he retired after 36 years on first the Southern Railway, then Norfolk-Southern Railway...He retired in 1993, IIRC). The crystal is missing...where would be a good place to get a replacement? As I related in my intro post, my dad's original railroad watch was a Hamilton 992B that was stolen from his lunchbox by a short-lived employee...he always said he had intended to leave that watch to me one day, and he would occasionally curse the fellow's name...I think after the Accutron gave it up, he wore a couple of Seiko Railroad Approved watches, and by then, the railroad quit caring watch you wore and he just ran assorted quartz junk until he retired. My dad passed last November, age 81. I had a Seiko Railroad Approved that I purchased myself for awhile...it may or may not have survived the trip it took through the washing machine...we will never know...because the subsequent trip through the clothes dryer, it most certainly did NOT survive..I was picking watch bits out of my underwear for a week... The watch that I have personally had possession of the longest...my uncle Lloyd's Bulova A-11 that he was issued in World War 2...he flew B-17s out of southern England, and fortunately, arrived on the scene late enough (around February of '45) that he didn't have to deal with the Luftwaffe too much. Aside from one harrowing day over Schweinfurt, he had a fairly easy time of it, and spent much of the middle of 1945 dropping food on starving civilians rather than high explosives on German factories. The only casualty on his tour was the base fire truck, which he (the story goes) stole while intoxicated on V-E Day and crashed it into a fountain in town...the deal struck: while everybody else got to go home, he had to stay flying VIPs and food around occupied Europe until December. As plan B was a court martial, he eagerly accepted... And this was the same uncle's Longines, as seen in the intro post, Im guessing 1940s-50s vintage...it is of rather small calibere, about the same as the Bulova he was issued during the war. Lovely watch, only loses about five seconds a day...I was told it was worth something on the order of $275-300, owing to its small calibere, and was quoted about the same to have it CLAed...it sits until I either gather up the money or the expertise to have it done. Some quartz cheapies from my dad and my wife's Pulsar, all in need of batteries... Another pair of what I believe to be cheapies, an Accro and an Orvis, probably from my grandfather, circa 1920s-30s... And now, some Russian Vostoks...this one was apparently imported in the '90s badged as a Cardi Vostok... A Kommanderske and a man's dress watch, which may become one my everyday wearers...I just like the looks of it... And now, a few more Vostoks that I was too lazy to take my own pics of, so these came from eBay... A "rare" Cornavin Olympic commemorative, with Vostok movement, for the princely sum of $.99 delivered from Ukraine... Just another Kommanderske... And, I have more of these things on order than I care to admit, either as complete watches or as stripped movements...I mean, I went a bit nuts there last month, and while most of the stuff out of Ukraine has arrived, the stuff from Russia is just now starting to show up... :-/ Anyway, I hope this has provided some amusement... >>>BULLET>>> AKA -Tom

In Hawaii... I received a Bulova Accutron Astronaut Limited Edition re-edition automatic signed by Buzz Aldrin today . It is a re-edition of the 60's- 70's Accutron Astronaut tuning fork watch . The Specs are : Accutron Astronaut Watch. ETA 2893-2, automatic, self-winding mechanical GMT movement. Domed sapphire crystal. Luminous hands and markers. Exhibition see-through four-screw caseback featuring Buzz Aldrin signature. Stainless steel case and bracelet. Fixed bezel-ring with anodized 24-hour scale in day/night colors. Deployment buckle closure with lock. Water resistant to 100meters/330feet. Approximate case diameter/width 42mm. -#0237/1000--SWISS MADE -AUTOMATIC 21-JEWEL MECHANICAL GMT MOVEMENT CALIBER ETA2893-2 -DUAL TIME ZONE WITH A 24-HOUR SCALE -LUMINESCENT HANDS AND HOUR MARKERS -100m WATER RESISTANT -100% SOLID STAINLESS STEEL -TWO-TONE POLISHED/BRUSHED STEEL FINISH -SQUEEZE-RELEASE BUTTERFLY HIDDEN CLASP -SAPPHIRE BEVELED CRYSTAL -SEE-THRU CASE BACK ETCHED WITH THE SIGNATURE ENDORSEMENT OF THE LEGENDARY ASTRONAUT Buzz Aldrin--INCLUDES A NASA LAPEL PIN -CASE DIAMETER IS 42mm EXCLUDING CROWN BY 12mm HIGH -LUG SIZE IS 22mm

this is a great thread. and my methods are similar to most of you guys - especially will's. i never buy with the intention of resale. the only watches that have left my possession have been given away. i'd love to sell to make money, but i'm just not good at it. i rarely buy plated or gold filled. stainless all of the way. however, seeing will's explanation of gold filled watches, i would reconsider them. if i buy a plated watch, it's with the intention of placing the movement into a SS case. automatics and handwinders are neck and neck with me. quartz is almost entirely out of the question - i don't go looking with the intention of buying quartz. although, i do own a few. small watches - i don't buy them because no matter how beautiful they are, i don't like how they look on my wrist and therefore i won't wear them. two of the most beautiful watches i own are bulovas - but they're too small. i've not had them on my wrist. it's interesting to see what the rest of you view as being valuable watches. lately, i'm drawn to bulova, mido, roamer (and i will keep in mind will's tip on pre 70's roamers). these are the mid level swiss watches that are often overlooked. another thing that i'm drawn to is unusually shaped cases. mido makes a sweet oval shaped case, bulova is way out there with some of their stuff - especially asymmetricals. to me, these could hold the most value because you almost never see them on someone's wrist - and they attract the most attention. it's always the round watches that get wrist time. as much as i love seiko watches, i am strongly attracted to swiss movements. therefore the bulova, mido and roamer attraction - and i count accutron in there with the bulovas. i see an omega in my future. just a simple 60's seamaster with date and i'm good. i think you would do well with bulova, roamer, waltham, hamilton, longines and the like. they are the steady eddie of the watch world. just keep away from the midos - i want all of them.

(sunny it is, even in February, though its a bit chilly this AM, just under 0 centigrade...) Hi, I am Tom, and I live in South Carolina, USA, and after years of dabbling about with watches, the bug has finally bit in earnest. By background, I have been many things...I worked in the printing industry to start with, then went back and got degrees in business education, then I taught US History at the high school level for a few years, and have worked mostly as an IT person since then. Now, I run my own little IT consulting business and do work mostly for private non-profit organizations here in the state capitol, Columbia. Interspersed with all of that, I also worked as a licensed gunsmith specializing in centerfire long range target rifles and was a competitive shooter, and became a pretty fair machinist, doing a lot of custom barrel and chambering work. I will probably be cranking that operation back up fairly soon... The watch thing started with two watches I inherited from my uncle via my father...the first was his Bulova A-11 that was issued to him back in World War 2, when he flew B-17s out of England. I got this one perhaps 25 years ago and had it professionally serviced at the time. I will probably go into it for another service sometimes soon when I get better at this stuff. Then, just this year, from my fathers estate I received my uncles 1940s vintage Longens, a simply beautiful old watch. I also have my father's Bulova Accutron Railroad Approved (he was a railroad man for 36 years) that is due for a major overhaul...alas, his Hamilton 992B was stolen by a disreputable coworker on the job, which lead to his buying the Accutron in the early '70s... So, now I want to learn to work on these things, and being fairly methodical about this sort of operation, decided to standardise on just a few movements at first, ones that I can get plenty of cheap parts and donors to go with. Owning and liking several of the Vostok Amphibias and Kommanderskes, and spying that I can get a seemingly limitless supply of parts and scrap movements out of Russia and the Ukraine on eBay, I bought up a basic set of tools, some fifty 2409, 2416, 2209 and 2214 movements out of Kiev for about $1.50 each, and started buying up Vostok watches in various states of disrepair to match. I am not much of a watchmaker at this point, but I am having fun! Thanks; -Tom

It was a busy weekend , but I managed to give the Seikomatic a Spa treatment . I also installed a watch-strap I had that was too tight so I put a spring-loaded extension link on it . When I took off the case back it had 3 service markings in the inside that were ink stamps . I tried to preserve them but the acetone got to them , probably from my fingers , and they washed off...[darn ]. In saying that I am saying that I haven't done my own service yet , but the movement is running great and keeping good time . I serviced and cleaned another Seiko 5 Sportmatic with a crosshair black dial and got my first non-running Accutron running by taking out the teeney tiny bent index and pawl fingers , straightening them out [similar to a hairspring , only smaller ] , reinstalling and aligning the fingers , putting a new battery in and pushing in the crown to cancel the hack , and did a couple of back-flips when the thing started running . Oh what a feeling .....oh yeah , I also put a new movement in my Seiko Flightmaster chronograph. But back to the 39 jewel Sportsmatic ,...I took a few pics to share .

Thanks Timothy , About 3 weeks ago this same swap meet vender pulled a baggie out of a bag he had and showed me 3 watches and 1 pocket-watch he had . He quoted $120 for all four . The pocket-watch was beat-up and I don't collect them any way , one watch looked OK , but it was a quartz and I wasn't interested . I asked how much for the other 2 . One was an accutron 218 not running and one was a Vintage Seiko Sportsman . Running , but dirty , the case and crystal were scratched , the stem and crown came out and the crown was so worn you couldn't use it to wind the watch anyway . I picked up the 2 watches for $40 . The accutron will need some work so I put it away for later . I took the Seiko apart and cleaned and serviced it . The yoke had come off of the clutch so you couldn't get the stem in properly . I polished the crystal and lightly polished the case and case back . I have an assortment of vintage crowns so I got one that fit the stem and had to file down a tube on the case and a bit of the bottom of the crown to make it fit and work . I installed a nice NOS Lizard Leather watchband I got a few weeks ago . I went back to the swap meet a week later and showed the vender the watch . He couldn't believe it was the same watch . especially the new crown . He said he was glad that someone could bring it back to life again and make it look good .