OpenTube

How to buy vintage Bulova Accutron watch: The Ultimate Collector's Guide.

QuartzCrisis

12,721 views

Vintage Bulova Accutron watches are some of the coolest vintage watches you can collect right now. And they are not that hard to learn. In this short Collector's Guide you will learn everything you need to know about buying your first authentic vintage Bulova Accutron watch. And hopefully this will be the beginning of your great Accutron collection!

Bulova watches on Amazon: https://amzn.to/428dLls (affiliated link)
Cool Bulova wall clocks: https://amzn.to/3E9nL5L (affiliated link)

00:00 - intro
00:17 - the main issue with vintage Accutrons
01:21 - how to identify vintage Accutron
04:00 - redials
04:44 - Quartz replacement movements
06:34 - gold Accutrons scam
09:20 - Radium vs Tritium dials
09:51 - 214 vs 218 Accutron movements
11:10 - hacking Accutron vs Electric
11:58 - how to date vintage Accutron watches
12:32 - Accutron watchmakers & parts
13:33 - Accutron collector communities

Please add all questions and corrections in the comments below.

Amazon Shop with the products I talk about on this channel:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/quartzcrisis (affiliated link)

Follow me on Instagram:
Instagram: quartzcrisis

AFFILIATE LINKS: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

11 Comments

@danwilson12 2 weeks ago

I can't believe I didn't discover how cool Bulova and its Accutron line until now. I'm saddened that didn't discover the beauty of the 261 line until seeing neat petrol blue reissue release on ebay and that it was limited to 600 copies. I love that simplistic but classic look with the TV dial but not in stereotypical 70s gold coloring. I hope they bring it back again and issue more variants one day.

@alltruetv 1 year ago

Great video Andrew! Don't forgot about the lady's Accutron movements - the gents get all the attention - but the 230 and 221 are tiny and cool! (But much harder to find working in my experience!) Keep these collectors guide coming!

@ennev 10 months ago

a problem from some sellers is that they are not always scamming you, at some time when you where sending an accutron to bulova for service, often it would come back by a quarts replacement, you had no says. Awesome video and good job, i'm subscribing :-D

@motouno3778 5 months ago

Excellent video !! I have had an Accutron on my list of must have watches & this had given me some wonderful information . Cheers

@simonmellor781 1 year ago

Great video.

A couple of points as we discussed….

214 and 218 aren’t the only accutron movements. There are 2300-series, 2210 series and also derivatives of the 218 - 219 and 2422

Also, later 218 watches sometimes have the crown at 3 o’clock, not at 4 o’clock
Some of these later 218’s have a crown that has two adjustment positions. Position 1 hacks the watch and you can adjust the hour and minute hand. Position 2 disconnects the battery from the movement. This saves battery life if you are storing the watch.