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The Accutron Paradigm Shift
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ACCUTRON
The Worlds' First Electronic Timepiece
era:
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.
These vintige adds were only intended to show the revolutionary movement of
the 214 caliber Accutron, and there was no mention of
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.