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Hi All , The postman delivered this Accutron 2180 today . In good condition and running smooth . The dial fades from dark blue to light blue . I installed a new Bulova strap I had and will install a new crystal soon . The date on the back says N3 , which translates to 1973 . Also on Craigslist here on Oahu , Hawaii I picked up this Tissot Visodate Heritage for an offer under $200 . I had been looking at them on the "Bay" , and at the local Auth. Dealer . I'm Stoked...

About to build a Mega Accutron are we? :D

Hi, Some of the first watches I worked on were accutron 214's and I have always liked them. Anyway a week or so ago I was searching the web and came across this one. It was described as humming but the hour and minute hands were hanging up as well as being 14kt gold. I decided to take a chance and put a $550.00 bid on it. It is turning into one of my favorites .

THE CITIZEN HISONIC TUNiNG FORK MOVEMENT... with a licensed Accutron movement...

Hello Lawson, Afraid its on the back burner behind an Omega and an Accutron, the Caravelle has a chance to look pretty good with a bit of TLC and it seems quite old so I will get around to it. Luckily it works quite well so with a service I have a watch for my collection but I still I don't actually know what I have got or whether indeed it is a Mortima which would make it a lower end French watch. I scoured the internet to no avail and failed to find the same watch via search engines etc. Perhaps when I take the dial off there may be something to identify it on the movement. All the best, Vic

I repair the Accutron in the U.S. and on the 218s 99% of the time the cell coil is what is bad. If you do not hear a hum after replacing the battery tap the watch at the 9 marker and still no hum then you can bet the cell coil is bad. They are not cheap but you can find some on ebay once in a while. Remember the battery goes in upside down. If I can assist just let me know.

Sorry Louis, The link is the one we discussed in in the early postings ie the Accutron Watch Page. http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm You need to go through this site with a fine tooth comb because there is a wealth of info there for the taking including the circuit diagram for the power supply I made. Good luck with the auction and make sure the holders are the correct ones. I only mess with 214 and 218x models but there may be holders relevant to other movements - I am not sure. Cheers, Vic

Lookie here... Accutron 214 service manual:NAWC.pdf

Thanks Vic....Perefecto Info....I'm looking into a stereo microscope and some other accutron tools also...just getting a feel at this time . As member Ramrod said in an earlier post ,"i'm a glutton for punishment " , but I really , really don't want to get in over my head . Especially now that I've seen the index and pawl fingers and the index wheel . Shoots , just trying to get the drive train back together is quite a challenge .

I went to the clock & watch fair at the Motorcycle Museum in Solihull on 12/7 and enjoyed an extended walk around. My impressions are that some of the stall holders had lost touch with reality on their pricing. I would have thought that they would of at least matched the prices on the Bay but I found only two watch stalls where the pricing was what could be described,in my opinion, as fair. One guy was trying to sell 3 accutron 218x movements for £25.00 each but could not say whether the coils were working or not and on one the battery strap and screw with insulator were gone. He confessed he did not know much about them but thought the price was fair for parts. I passed on that one, the coils were a big question for me and I would have needed to test them plus whether the fork was still magnetic and again the index wheel and pawl fingers would need inspection with a scope - too many ifs and buts and not enough guarantee for a £75.00 shot to nothing, if he had wanted £35 for the three I may have had a punt. Another had a spaceview conversion (poorly defined chapter markings on glass) for which he wanted £300 and guess what, it was not working ! I did see a nice Favre Leuba (twin barrel) and 9ct gold Marvin but resisted. It looked like I was just going to leave empty handed but saw one stall with two big piles of watches and asked the guy how he came by them and they were apparently from an auction. They appeared to be so called designer watches mainly quartz but he said there were wind up watches in the lot. The price being £10.00 a watch. I scoured around looking for old leather straps first then screw on backs and older styled crowns but was finding nothing of great interest. Finally I found a watch that ticked the boxes, old smelly leather strap, dirty case, dome head crown and screw back. The case is filthy but no dings or deep scratches. The glass is a mess and cracked but the dial appears ok so I asked for his best price and he said £8.00 so I got it. Really I just wanted to get something I suppose. Not an astounding watch but really clean inside though the movement looks a bit mass produced. The pic makes the screw heads look a bit chewed but that is just the shading / lighting as they are all untouched and I doubt whether the back has been off. It is working and the date moves over without problem. I had hoped it would be a Bulova Caravelle but now have doubts though the Accutron Back remover (L) fits perfectly. The gasket is still sound and I like the Crown. It will go in the queue for total clean and service. If anyone recognises the actual movement it would be nice to know. The glass may be a problem but as I am taking it off anyway I should be able to size it, quite a high dome with a magnifyer looking like it is stuck on the underside. Cheers, Vic

Howzit Vic , I was wondering if you can answer this question . In the tech manual for the 218 it says to rotate the pawl and index finger away from the index wheel to to remove or reassemble the train bridge . Does that mean rotate the collet that the fingers are mounted on using the collect screwdriver that is mentioned as an Accutron tool ? Page 36 doesn't have a step 5 , It just says to rotate the pawl finger counterclockwise....so what am I rotating ? Thanks for any info from you or any other member with this knowledge .....Louis

Howzit Vic , Thanks for the post and Info . Yes I have that link and a few more I am adding to a new Accutron folder . You are so right , they are a tad Testy....Definite;y a different animal...

Howzit Ramrod , You belong to SCWF also don't you ? Yup , I guess I got intrigued by the Accutrons when I noticed how many were for sale not working and still holding a value . Then I got the Deep Sea diver and was challenged to get it running . Than I saw the Accutron Astronaut and Spaceview and was hooked . I'm a goner....

Hi All , I seem to have Accutron Fever lately . I never was really interested in them before , and in the last month and a half I have acquired 5 of them . Today the postman brought me this 10K rolled gold and plated beauty . It has been really well taken care of . It's from 1973... N3 Yesterday , Sunday , I went to an All Collectors show in Honolulu and picked up this minty Spaceview on the $1 table...I picked up 3 watches for $1 each . I think that the vendor didn't know what he had with this Spaceview . I put a new Accucell battery and it's running great . It's from 1961... M1

Whew!!....I got the humming accutron going again by following the advice I found on an accutron blog ..."Give it a gentle rap on the side at the 3 or 9 O'clock position to help the capacitor get the movement going "...That's it ,I'm not going to mess around with that watch again . One thing I've found to be true with 3 accutrons I worked on this last 2 weeks is to follow the tech manuals advice [ or admonition ] , to remove the stem and crown in the pulled out setting position . And VERY carefully replace the stem in that position....DO NOT push the stem in past that point to reinstall it . I disengaged the yoke from the clutch groove 3 times and had to dissemble the calendar works each time to fix that problem . These use a screw type setting lever . The hacking affects some very tiny index and pawl jewels . I just ordered an electronic microscope [ from China ] to see them so I can adjust them .....I hope .

Aloha All , Well the good news is that I finally got my swap-meet Bulova Accutron 2182 Deep Sea watch working and keeping good time . The other good news is that Man , did I learn a lot about Accutron movements using my original broken movement , 2 donor movements ,....1 working and 1 spare for another project to get it working , 2 pdf tech manuals...1 downloaded from some watch forum and 1 purchased on Ebay and downloaded , and Youtube videos . After getting the stem off and removing the movement I was able to press out the hefty acrylic crystal . The inner rotating brass bezel came out easily and cleaned up well . The crown and gear that turned the bezel was frozen in place with crud and a little rust . I kept it covered with penetrating oil for a few days with no results . Then I used some paste made of Alum and hot water for about 12 hours...I kept adding drops of hot water every few hours as the paste started to dry out . After putting the movement in my ultra sonic cleaner after the Alum , the gear and crown started to wiggle a bit . Next I soaked the gear in vinegar for about 12 hours and the gear and crown finally started to turn freely . I next installed the working donor movement , but either the crown and stem would not stay in , or the calendar would not work correctly . The coils on the tuning fork are magnetized and every tiny screw and spring would be drawn to the coils . If a part pinged off , especially the springs for the calendar indents ,....check the coils and 50% of the time they would be stuck there . I decided to put the project to rest for about a week and started to study the tech manuals I downloaded , I finally took the project watch out again and very meticulously lubed and installed the setting mechanism and calendar works using the tech manual as my guide . installed the movement into the case with the crystal and rotating bezel , and BINGO , it all came together....at last . I've attached a few pics showing various parts of the watch....

Very cool indeed! My only concern is that's it's electronic; and being such, there's the problem with the circuit and coils issues ... how on earth would you ever get replacements :huh: This is the sad truth of quartz, they are an item with a finite life span; and not heirloom items :( Possibility the only exception to this would be the Accutron movement, as they appear to be point-to-point component, instead of surface mount circuit boards. But since I have never owned a Accutron, nor seen one dismantled, I could be wrong.

Hello, Nice collection. I like Breitlings myself and wear one everyday. I have also recently picked up an Accutron 218 that has also became one of my favorites.

Aloha all ,..... It was a bit humid here in town today and I wore an accutron that I received recently , and after an hour or two I noticed a small fog of moisture under the crystal . I opened the watch to quickly let it dry out , and replaced the case back I was wondering if there is any way to prevent this from happening . Possibly silicone grease on the case back gasket like a dive watch ?? Any Info or tips are appreciated....Thanks , Louis

As much as I hate to admit it ,....I got the fever and picked up this working Accutron. As I was searching Accutrons lately . since my swap-meet find , I was surprised how these watches seem to hold there value ,...working or not . After saying all that , I'm through with Accutron purchases .....Honest .

My son arrived from LA with a few packages for me that I have been busy accumulating on the Bay. I find that the watches and parts are really good value and often the sellers accept a quite low best offer price so I now have the following stuff in a queue for attention (except for the Omega watch which is now on my wrist). I managed to pick up this Omega movement: And I have got this case in the UK which I believe to be compatible, at least the sizes match and the ages of both the case and movement are about right as well so I am hopeful. The movement is working but the hands will need a re lume and the movement a full service. There is some rust to attend to but I have a new stem arriving from Argentina (got 5 for £8.50 postage inc.) and the case spring and bumper springs are not too bad when you get a proper look at them. Even the dial is in better condition than it looks in the photo. I also got a couple of Helbros watches one of which is in really good condition and comes with original box and papers but the lens needs replacement or polishing the other Helbros is not so good as the case is chromed and worn but the movement is working and the dial is good but I got it for a total of £12.00 and it has a brand new Speidel expandable bracelet on it so I probably will break even on it with a bit work and I have some spare cases that may fit. I got the Accutron coil for a song but it is a bit of a punt - have not tested it yet but fingers crossed. On a whim I got this GP movement that will go in my box for repairs as it needs some bits so I will keep a look out. Finally a treat from my wife, Fully serviced and working like a charm and I am well pleased with it. Now what can i get to bring back with me when I go to LA next year --- Hmmmm. Cheers, Vic

" Now now, Louis - enough of this. We don't want Geo getting excited at his advanced age..." You're right Will , those motorcycles will do that to a guy . By the Way , I picked up a clean Bulova Accutron 2182 at auction this morning . Here's a couple of pics from my former backyard...

No gasket , just seems to be pressed in . I was able to download a tech manual . Accutron 218 service manual #1.pdf

Well ,... " No Guts , No Glory ".......Can always come back and bite you . But in the case of removing my crystal , that I felt was glass , I popped it out with a holder and a nylon case press die . To my surprise it's acrylic with a tension ring....quite beefy for this diver . The best part of all that is the crystal has no scratches . Just a very itsy-bitsy bit of haze that will polish out quite nicely . Poly-glass would even do it but I use a diamond paste in oil compound . Another plus is that the internal rotating bezel is made of brass with all of the gear teeth intact ,...the same for the gear the turns it . So the case parts are going into my ultra-sonic for a spa treatment and now I can concentrate on the movement . I've ordered the battery for this accutron which originally called for a 218 battery , but has now been replaced by a 344 battery . I will be looking at a couple of donor watches at about 4:30 AM my time . I love progress..

I think this movement are very hard to work on . If you don't have very much experience in this tuning fork movements ? I don't have any Accutron watches but i have a few Omega F300 watches .Which are similar movements . They have some very small index wheels with very very small teeth on . With a diameter of 1 cm they have over 300 small teeth . If you brake one of this teeth the watch won't work . I send all my F300 and some Esa 9150 watches to http://electric-watches.co.uk/. You can read a lot about the different movements also . I would like to own a Bulova accutron some time in the future .