Bulova Accutron Astronaut.....

[ricardopalamino]

 

Hi All . 

 

  Well I finally got an Astronaut !!  I had been searching for a while , and bidding once in a while , but just missing on closing the deal at the last seconds a couple of times . I had this one in my Ebay watch-list and decided to pay a little more for one that had just been serviced by a watchmaker that specializes in accutrons , in New York . I made an offer that the seller accepted . The seller lives in Virginia .

 

When I got the watch I could not set the hands so I contacted the seller . He in turn contacted the watchmaker who said he guarantees his work , so send it to him and he would take care of the problem . The seller paid for the postage and $500 insurance to New York and the watchmaker paid for the postage to get the watch back to me . 

  It was delivered today and runs great . I had a new crystal waiting for it and I Installed it this evening .... I'm stoked .

The attachments are the sellers pics ....... The watchmaker installed an Accucell 1.35 volt battery , which is the original operating voltage for the Accutrons .

  The actual watch with new crystal and the watchband look much better than the pics .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[clockboy]

That,s a real vintage beauty a nice one indeed

[lowcountry]

Looks like a keeper.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Geo]

I do like that! :)

[ramrod]

i saw one on fleabay recently. i shoulda thrown a bid at it. these accutrons are really cool watches. i have 5 bulovas, but no accutrons.

[ricardopalamino]

Howzit ramrod , Happy Holidays to you and all the members .

 

I really do like and wear my Astronaut .  Since I bought it I have installed a new crystal and changed out the watch band to a coffin link bracelet that I had on a vintage Seiko DX . I swapped the deployment clasps also .

 

 

 

Believe me when I say that I would not dissuade you or anyone from getting a watch that they had their sights on . ...But as far as the Accutrons go , they ARE a different breed . If you decide to get one I suggest that you read up on them first , get one that is running , and know that they are not as easy to work on as say ,  a mechanical watch or even a Quartz . If you need to get one serviced there are sites [even advertised on Ebay ] , that do a flat rate service for a little under $200 .

  I am still learning to service them , starting with the 218 model . I have bought and am still buying watches , movements , and parts ,  running and not , the tools and meters to service them , the tech manuals ,  and even a new stereo microscope with a camera port and camera so I can see them on my monitor .

  So far I have about 10 complete working watches , and 2 or 3 works in progress . I even have a Citizen Hisonic which is the same tuning fork movement .

 

  FYI , there is also a Bulova Astronaut Limited Edition with a Swiss ETA automatic movement . That one is on my wish list . It has a crystal presentation back and is signed by the Astronaut Buzz Aldrin .  A little pricy , but very nice .

 

 

 

 

I hope I shed a little light about these beautiful Accutron movements....

Edited December 23, 2015 by ricardopalamino

[ricardopalamino]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGTI5DLM6gQ

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RhKPr9t1NU

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkNxkhODX6I

[ramrod]

very nice stuff, RP. the buzz aldrin watch has got to be a grail for you. 

this is probably something i should back off of only because i don't have the proper tools and diagnostic equipment to do them justice. if i ended up with one, it would probably end up sitting for years until i got over my mechanical watch obsession.

you're on the right track with all of the tools that you purchased to fix these things.