Jewellery & Watch News
Accutron proudly revives the 1968 “T” version of their Astronaut model with its distinctive day and night bezel. The Accutron Astronaut “T” watch is limited to just 300 pieces worldwide and retails at £2,790.
A Brief History of the Accutron Astronaut Watch
During the 1950’s, electric watches were gaining traction and many luxury watch brands around the world were racing to launch their own. American watchmaker Bulova was one of them, and while the Bulova Accutron watch wasn’t the first electric watch– that honour goes to the Hamilton Electric 500 – it was the first to achieve widespread success. Overtaking the Hamilton in accuracy, the Accutron was an electric watch that guaranteed timekeeping to within two seconds a day, or one minute a month. This was an unprecedented degree of precision at this time, beating over 100 times the frequency of a traditional mechanical watch all thanks to the tuning fork regulation system equipped on the electric movement. The patent for the Accutron was filed in 1953 and mass production arrived shortly after in 1959.
One of several Accutron models that was launched during this time was the Accutron Astronaut. Since it was entirely electronic and did not rely on a typical mainspring, it was ideal for aerospace usage; its high frequency could withstand high G-acceleration and extreme temperatures. The Accutron Astronaut proved this when during May of 1963, the Accutron Astronaut watch was worn for the first time in space on mission Mercury-Atlas 9, which orbited the Earth. The design also boasted a 24-hour hand and external rotating 24-hour bezel and so was chosen by the CIA as the official timepiece to supply to its Lockheed A-12 pilots. Now in celebration of this part of their history, Accutron have launched a 1968 version of their Astronaut watch with the Accutron Astronaut “T” Limited Edition.
The Accutron Astronaut 1968 “T” Watch
The new Accutron Astronaut “T” watch beautifully honours its predecessor while tailoring certain specifications to a modern wrist. The case measures to 41mm in diameter, opposed to the 38mm wide original, and is crafted from stainless steel. There’s the same round architecture secured by short lugs and a winding crown at 3 o’clock now joined by modern sapphire crystal glass on both the front and case back. The glass protecting the dial is box-shaped and features anti-reflective coating while the case back utilises the material on a semi-circular display window for a half-view of the movement within. The rest of the stainless steel case back leaves room for the limited edition engraving to show its status out of 300 pieces.
A distinguishing feature of the Accutron Astronaut “T” watch is its bezel, which just like the original is decorated with a two-toned day and night scale. The upper half of the bezel which reads the day hours is done in a light silver while the bottom half for the night hours is finished in black. The bezel is bi-directional with miniscule ratcheting. Completing the main exterior of the Accutron Astronaut “T” Limited Edition is the signature “Bullet” bracelet with rounded polished links joined at the centre of a brushed central link. The bracelet closes by a traditional folding buckle.
At its centre, the new Accutron Astronaut 1968 “T” Limited Edition watch elects a matte black dial with all the familiar hardware of the 1968 model. There are polished faceted batons joined by luminous squares and triangles for the hour markers and four central polished hands for the hours, minutes, seconds and GMT. All of the markers here are adorned in a luminous coating. The dial also reveals the applied Accutron logo at 12 o’clock, placed parallel to vintage lettering reading “Astronaut” at 6 o’clock. Powering the Accutron Astronaut watch is not a battery-operated tuning fork movement but a much more simple-to-service automatic winding movement. The watch opts for the mechanical Sellita SW330 movement which runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) and offers a power reserve of approximately 56 hours.
If you’d like to learn more about the new Accutron Astronaut “T” watch and secure one of the 300 limited edition pieces for yourself, head over to the C W Sellors website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at sales@cwsellors.com.
