Accutron214.com
The Accutron
Paradigm Shift
Accutron
Gallery
ACCUTRON
The Worlds' First Electronic Timepiece
A
Symbol of its Era:
In
any serious discussion of 20th century technology, Accutron 214 timepieces
are acknowledged as an American icon. The
214 served as a high-quality
prototype for the inexpensive quartz watches that followed it a decade
later. The finest mechanical chronometers available today can only tick nine
times per second. Accutrons' ingenious tuning fork mechanism splits each
second into 360 parts.
No
other timepiece has had a greater impact on the way that we keep time today.
Just put one to your ear and you'll hear the difference.
The
214 project was introduced at a time when America was awakened to the
potential threat of Russian advances in space technology. At the helm was
retired general Omar N. Bradley, the quiet hero of WW2, and the man after
whom the Bradley Fighting Vehicle was named.
Americas' Moon Landing Program" actually began about eight months after
Accutron first appeared in stores. President John
F. Kennedy delivered
a speech before
a joint session of Congress in which he said that America must be the first
nation to land a man on the Moon. That challenge opened an amazing period in
American history. It lead to the creation of N.A.S.A. (National
Aeronautics & Space Administration) and gave birth to the Astronaut
Corps which
was comprised of America's best comercial and military test pilots.
a
model named "Spaceview", but potential buyers wanted them and dealers were
happy to provide them with conversions. It wasn't long before dealers
couldn't keep up with the demand and Bulova started shipping a new lineup of
models with the designation "Spaceview". See Accutron
Spaceview History
Honors:
The
Accutron 214 was declared an American "Gift of State" by President Lyndon
Johnson, and for over a decade they were given to hundreds of visiting
dignitaries. Accutron panel clocks were installed in ships and aircraft
including Air Force One.
America's
Astronauts were young men who regularly flew the fastest and most
sophisticated aircraft in existence at that time. They were
mostly
military test pilots
so
it should come as no surprise that they loved speed on land as well as in
the air.
Enter
another American icon, the Chevrolet
Corvette. Although
the many documented exploits by astronauts with their
"Vette's" were kept under wraps by NASA, and product endorsements were taboo
for astronauts, General Motors, sensing an opportunity for free advertising,
leased Corvettes to our astronauts for one doller a year, so during the
years that followed, wherever the astronauts went as a group, there were
bound to be Corvette's in the parking lot, and Accutrons on their wrists.
Epilogue:
I like
to think that sometime in this decade, the sixty plus year old instruments
on the moon will be brought back and displayed at the Smithsonian
Air & Space Museum. I
only hope that we get to them first.
Copyright 2002 by Martin Marcus. All rights reserved. These pages may
not be copied without written consent.