Accutron changed everything. There is no mistaking an Accutron 214 with any other watch ever made. Put one to your ear, and you will hear the distinctive hum of an electronically driven tuning fork and you will see that, on your wrist, the conversion from vibratory to rotary motion is so smooth that the second hand appears to move continuously.

The 214 was the first of its kind, and the fact that they are the only mass market electronic devices of their era that are still in every day use, raises it to the status of an American icon. Within a decade of Accutrons' introduction in 1960, the 214 changed our method of time-keeping from mid-16th century tick-tock's to electric powered watches that are the forerunner of today's timepieces. 

To add perspective to that achievement, it's useful to consider a modern paradigm shift. The analogy that springs to mind is our current shift to electric vehicles.

Tuning fork driven Accutrons evolved into quartz crystal watches by the 70s but the old hummers are so robust that when given reasonable care, they run as well today as they did when new, and the number of qualified 214 repairers is growing rapidly.

Source: Accutron214.com

Bulova watches history dates way back to 1875, when Joseph Bulova founded the company. The initial years of development and preparation resulted in the first-ever standardised mass production watch plant. And, it was only the first of many of Bulova's firsts, an epithet that most precisely describes what Bulova stands for in the watchmaking world.

To name just a few: one of the first waterproof watches, one of the first full line of ladies' watches, the first-ever national radio and TV commercials... But, finally, what interests us most here, is the first fully electronic watch in the world – the infamous Bulova Accutron.

Now, what's so special about Accutron that it makes it Bulova's flagship model? Why NASA chose to use it onboard the rockets and space modules for 46 space missions and which Accutron models have been produced are just some of the questions we'll answer here.

After more than eight years of research, testing, and trials, the Bulova Accutron hit the market in 1960. And it was well worth the wait. The first fully electronic watch, the Accutron, was the most significant watchmaking innovation in the last three centuries.

The rest is history. The Accutron took the timekeeping world by storm.

Source: strapcode.com