Hello, I am saw this Bulova Accutron Spaceview 214 1966 on eBay. I was recently introduced to the watch and really super like the look of them . I have copied the dicription from the ad and the pictures. “1966 Bulova Accutron Space View Crystal with the 214 tuning fork Movement. The watch has been serviced in the past 12 months (by a retired bulova dealer shop left overs) but is not keeping time or running(not humming). Will need service again, a beautiful watch. For a almost 52 year old watch, it surely is a rare item and one not to be missed. THIS IS A STUNNING WATCH. Fits a 6.5 to a 8 inch wrist. The photos taken are of the item presently for sale.” I also sent the guy a message saying “Hello there . I am inquiring about your 1966 Bulova Accutron 214. It is says in the description. “The watch has been serviced in the past 12 months (by a retired bulova dealer shop left overs) ” Does this mean that the watch is made up of spare parts or am I mistaken ? Also can you provide purchase papers , service receipts , records and does the watch come with a Bullova Aunthenticated box ? Regards and Thankyou for your time . Roman He replied “No, I bought out the repair shop was a customers watch, the box said repaired this was before the owner pass away. The watches have been sitting for all this time some worked and many did not. Even though it said ready for pick up, we do not know thecircumstance. Please read the whole estimate if it is running and keeping time or will not hum or run. This one is not running.” My questions are . Does it look genuine ? I am not very familiar with this make . The humming not working , is that a difficult job to fix . Would it be a DIY as I am have done some repairs on my other watches or would it need to go to service ? Any guesses on how much it would cost to fix ? Thanks guys appreciated this !
A non-working Accutron can be problematic, they are not a 'do it yourself' type movement. I'd move on and get an actually working sample, many are out there.
There is no battery showing in any of the pictures. The movement in the subject watch is a model 214. The battery in these is POSITIVE ground, not negative ground like in most other battery powered watches. The cell goes in with the + side DOWN, opposite to most battery watches! These watches originally came with a 1.35 volt Renata 387 (or equivalent) mercury cell which is no longer available. A 1.55 volt silver oxide cell that will fit the cell recess will usually run them. Has the seller tried a new cell in the watch. IIRC, the smaller Renata 329 with a plastic adapter ring should work. If the cell is not the answer, then there is a long list of possible other causes, such as circuit problems, pawl or index jewel problems, index wheel, mismatching components, and the list could go on and on. If you buy a bad Accutron, you could spend more than the purchase price to put it right. As to do-it-yourself? You haven’t got a ghost of a chance, even if you have had success working on mechanical watches. The index wheel is 0.95 mm diameter with 300 teeth around the perimeter. The index and pawl jewels are microscopic.
If he really " bought out the repair shop" , I would think him the kind of guy who would fix simple problems to maximise his profit. The shop probably had a selection of spare parts. If it's not working, I would expect the easy options have been tried.
A non working £175 Accutron could easily turn into a £500 Accutron and you still have a watch not worth £175. Run away from this one.