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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

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

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

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.

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

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......

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...

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...

I had something similar with an Accutron. You could see it speed up and slow about every second, and in total, run fast . I thought the Index wheel was shot, but on removal I found a fibre bundled up around the pinion end of the arbour. A good clean and eviction of the fibre cured the problem. It wouldn't surprise me if you found the same thing on your escape pinion.

Ooh Nice! A Bulova Tuning Fork Accutron! I don't see the square ones that often. JC

did you know that an accutron will run with the battery reversed? i bought one that way. it had been running for months. the quartz watch may not,BUT i don't think reversal of current could damage it.? vinn

Thanks for the links rogart, WOW! 100 bucks for a crystal!!--Unprinted too! (Of the wrong size, 7581 comparatively common anniversary model as opposed to the unknown and squarer 7387--No one on earth, except this guy on Bulova Accutron forum has correct one--Who wont sell it, even after making a whole thread with lots of pictures of it as if he was selling, Strange!) Ive found a fairly local Co that can make one also unprinted for less than 20 bucks, and can probably even make it out of Sapphire too if needed,--I'll check with 'em when I take the case to them, I may as well get a few made, and experiment/find a printer for the logos etc.... Here-- http://www.watchglasscutting.co.uk/web/ Only problem now--How to sort out the Printing on the inside of the glass....

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?

Hi Alistair, This is a pretty specialized challenge, and you may need specialized help! I would try some of the following... Ask at mybulova.com - a member on there sold me an original glass crystal for a 1920s ladies watch! Contact electric-watches.co.uk - this is clearly their thing There is a uk seller on ebay called grassbox2020 who seems to specialise in accutron repairs Regards, Stuart

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.

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.

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?

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

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.