WOW! What an incredible find!! Those hands and dial look fantastic! Also I agree, these watches are flying under the radar (or over!) But they carry such great heritage and stories, like one of the last great secrets still to be had in this hobby.

Also can recommend Rob Berkavicius for servicing these watches. He restored my 1964 Astronaut.

 

My first Accutron, just beautiful. Wears so well.
Fresh off eBay and sad to say needs service. Should I share with my local guy, or do these need special attention? Any reco?
Thanks!

 

Do they need special attention? The Accutron requires attention by someone who understands them, and has successfully serviced them, and either has the required parts, or can obtain what might be needed. This may mean that the shop of your choice may turn the job down because they don’t work on the Accutron. They are very different from a typical mechanical watch.

 

Yes, thank you, that was my general question. I have a local Swiss trained watchmaker who works on my other watches. I suppose I should have asked more specifically whether if he says he can do it I should believe it. Does this community have a few select people they trust with their Accutrons?

 

Show it to your watchmaker. Ask him if he will service it for you. These watches require a different skill set than a typical watch. If he says he can do it, he probably has the skills needed to do it. Failing that, get back to us for further suggestions. (In answer to your question about “select people they trust”. I do my own Accutrons.) However, there may be other replies, but I’d suggest you give your regular watchmaker the first opportunity.

 

Rob Berkavicius does very good work on Accutrons.

 

In the meantime, mine showed up today, and it says hi!

 

I was able to source a second coffin link bracelet and cobble pieces of the two, to make one that fits my 7.7" wrist. Its a terrific watch with outstanding history. Jarett, from Unwind in Time did the links swapping for me. I took a look at it before hand and decided it would be best done by someone with the correct tools. I'm glad I did.:

 

@duc
Exactly as worn by astronaut John Young checking out the launchpad of Gemini III one day before launch: Accutron Astronaut on coffin bracelet
.

 

The best part of that post, SpeedyPhil, is I read it to my wife at 0619, over coffee. Any reason to talk about an historical watch is a good reason, especially if I can tell her a tale and make it sound like I'm totally justified in owning one, because of the link.

If you've ever read Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut), you'll get the reference. It's like being a member of a false karass, but meaningful (if that is even possible).

 

Adding to the collective knowledge. I tripped over this while looking for a coffin bracelet.

This is what a full kit might have looked like, with the exception of a warranty/registration card. The person selling the watch was the son whose father passed away in 1969. The watch sat unworn since then. The bracelet has a lot of micro adjustment positions, which surprised me. It's an M3 in good condition, although the movement is untested.




His dad worked for Western Union in the department that dealt with the Federal govt and United Nations. In that capacity he met several astronauts, including John Glenn who commented on his dad's watch. He doesn't know what his dad did but I suspect his father may have had something to do with the nascent satellite communication development. Here is what he wrote about his dad's watch:

"Hi Dave, thanks for that. My Dad was very much into all things space and space related. At the time he wore this watch he worked for Western Union in their new telegraph and telecommunication department in New York City. He was privileged enough to meet several astronauts there over the years including Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and John Glenn. When he met John Glenn he was wearing his Breitling Cosmonaute that he ended up wearing into space. He was interested and commented on my Dad's watch. My Mom is 91 and has been a widow for 53 years since his passing. I wish you the best with this watch and glad that it's going to someone that appreciates it's history."

In addition to the watch, he sent some brochures his father ordered. Here are photos. One little card is interesting as there's a person who claims to have a watch with hands like this early 1962ish Astronaut. Kindof jumped out at me:



I hope you found this interesting. Hopefully the watch will run after service.

 

Thank you for the doc, nice reading

 

Hard to follow that amazing full kit post without feeling a bit underwhelming!
Here I was, just happy to have found a great condition coffin link bracelet for my Astronaut. Guess I need to up my game!

 

Collecting Astronauts is a never-ending hobby. A giant Rabbit hole of sorts...... Here are mine.

 

You're like a boutique!

 

Wow!
Oh, the stories those 13 Astronauts could tell…

 

Couple good web pages on the history of Accutron:


http://www.decadecounter.com/accutron/history.htm


http://www.decadecounter.com/accutron/

 

Thank you so much

 

It’s a beautiful watch and the hum is intense and unique. That being said I bought mine a few years back on eBay and sent it to one of the “experts” for service. It never seemed to run right (after several back and forth’s with the watchmaker) and the battery had a very short lifespan. I really appreciate the watch and will maybe pick up another down the road but my personal experience forced me to sell it.