Converting an Accutron to a more reliable and easy to manage watch

[Jeff Salmon]

I thought I would ask if anyone has an opinion on this problem/dilemma. I have my late father in laws virtually un-worn, all 14K (!) Accutron. As you can see, it has diamond markers on a darker gold color dial. The diamonds are very white and really show up. Nice watch. I even spent way too much to get the movement repaired. I would like to pass it on to my son, who is getting into watches. The problem I am having is that the original movement is too difficult to manage. I keep the battery out of the watch, of course, which makes getting it ready to wear for a nice occasion, a pain. In addition, the repair of these movements, in the future is going to get harder due to the lack of parts and technicians. Has anyone converted a case like this to a quartz movement? I would keep the dial and use dial dots to fix it to the movement. The date window would be at an odd angle, however. I may recycle the band and fit it to another watch. I'd really like to preserve the watch as is, but making it easy for my son to own, is important as well. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Chris Radek]

Wow what a nice looking watch!

I service and repair lots of Accutrons and have spent considerable time helping people on this forum and elsewhere learn to service them competently. The only parts that are slightly hard to get are the coils for the early models, and I rebuild those in my own shop and sell them to repairers all over the world. You can't go to the corner jeweler or department store to get it serviced, but there are many experts in the world. If someone has told you parts are not available for your extremely common 2182 movement, they simply aren't the right person to repair it.

They are good movements, very well designed and built. They make reliable good timekeepers. If you replace the 55ish year old movement (which you already apparently found that you could have serviced and repaired) with a modern quartz, the watch will still have value as scrap gold, but not as an interesting technical marvel of a watch, very special to its time, anymore. If you have someone cut off the dial feet and glue in a modern plastic movement, it will not only look stupid with wrong hands and the date not lining up, it will also be really hard to undo that damage later. The new movement will probably quit in a few years, like they do. The watch will likely just get scrapped then. I can only suggest that you reconsider!

 

[Jeff Salmon]

I am so torn by this. I realize the gold value is far more than the watch as a whole. My concern is that my son will have to be able to put in the battery for the few times a year that he wants to wear it. It just makes it a hassle. The movement had good coils, but the index wheel needed replacement and the cannon pinion was loose. The watch was sitting in the box for years. I was really surprised that the battery had not corroded. I can be easily talked out of this. I'll have to teach my son how to install and remove the battery. I'll have to get him a visor, screwdrivers, tweezers, etc.

 

[Brunod]

 

[thesnark17]

Since the watch is currently in good working order, it makes no sense to break it now on the theory that it will break later. It very well might not break, since it is not being used and is being responsibly maintained. There is no magic bullet that will solve all the issues, and hey, quartz watches need battery replacements too! Quartz movements will also be ruined by battery leakage, just like Accutron (the difference being that they are cheaper to replace).

A battery change is the most basic thing in watches, even though it can be a pain. If your son is "getting into watches", it would be a valuable skill for him to have. And who knows, maybe he would wear the watch a little more often, making it more convenient.

Bottom line: the watch can be converted at any time, but once you do, you can never go back. And as you said, it will never look right again.

 

[Appa69]

Are accutron really so fussy that the battery need be pulled when not worn? I agree that changing the movement would absolutely ruin any collector value. Besides that, it wouldn't tick right....

 

[thesnark17]

They are not -- but if you leave the battery in, it will leak eventually (after going dead, and usually years after but not always).

I also keep the battery pulled from my Accutron when I am not intending to wear it for a while.

 

[Appa69]

I don't have many battery powered watches, but I doubt they go for more than I few days without being looked in on. I'm always checking in on my addiction! Lol

 

[MrRoundel]

Yes, Accutron do present such a quandary to ordinary folks of reasonable prudence. They are certainly different, and sometimes in a somewhat infuriating way. Unless you have the knowledge and experience of guys like Chris Radek, that is. I think that the engineering behind them is incredible and fascinating. The precision work that went into making the parts for these watches is mind-boggling. It would be a shame to retrofit a modern quartz movement into that case unless it was easily reversible.

Do you, Jeff Salmon , know if the watch has been "phased" so it can run on a common #344 battery? If not, good Accutron technicians can make it so it will run on that 1.55 volt battery. If it hasn't been phased, and is keeping good time, it likely makes use of the stepped down voltage of the Accucell. As you may know, these are considerably more money. And it is true that the Accutrons do consume more cells than most common quartz movements, which last ~3 years, IIRC, making it 3X the expected Accutron exchange rate. I believe the battery life is extended if you keep the watch in setting position when not in use on that rare occasion.

There are a couple of other idiosyncracies that Accutrons, specifically the 218s have that make it advisable to have them serviced every decade or so. I think the canon pinion you mentioned is one of those things. If they aren't lubed properly, and perhaps the hands aren't set every now and then, the lubricant dries and things tighten up. If one forces the hands around at that point, wear occurs between parts of the two-piece canon pinion (including the wheel below), and I guess it can loosen. I believe that these can be tightened a bit, to save the part. Chris Radek can confirm or deny this possibility.

Anyway, I get your thought process for making the watch a presentation for your son. If you can't get the date lined up in the right place, perhaps a non-date 218 would provide a good dial that wouldn't make it evident. He might be w/o the diamond accents on the hours, but he can always keep the dial for posterity and options. Good luck with your decision. Cheers.

 

[Tim Orr]

Good afternoon, Jeff!

I wouldn't have a moment's hesitation relying on Chris Radek for Accutron advice. Also, I don't know what you've been told, but removing the battery from the watch when you're not wearing it is, in my view, completely unnecessary. I've had numerous Accutrons, and never did that. Some even "hack" when you pull out. the crown.

Yes, a battery *might* leak once it's old and dead for a long time, but truly, aren't you wearing it more often than that? If you're going to store it in a drawer and never wear it, why not sell it to someone who can enjoy it? And, as others have said, leakage is just as much a hazard in a quartz watch.

I strongly doubt anyone can substitute a quartz movement and make it look and work the way it does now.

Best regards!

Tim Orr

 

[watchbob]

couldn't agree more that keeping this together is the right thing to do - Repair isn't an issue - currently using a very well trained Amish "young" man - does great work at reasonable prices! - he's done 7 for me in the last couple of months.

 

[Jeff Salmon]

I was told that the Accutron continued to 'work' even with the crown pulled out so the index wheel is always rotating and subject to wear. The watch is running on a 344 battery, so I guess it has been phased.

I appreciate the comments. It helps confirm what I really feel: Preserve the watch so it can be enjoyed for the next 50 years. My son will just have to deal with the battery.

 

[roughbarked]

There will still be someone who can change a battery for him even if he can't.

I was told that the Accutron continued to 'work' even with the crown pulled out so the index wheel is always rotating and subject to wear. The watch is running on a 344 battery, so I guess it has been phased.

I appreciate the comments. It helps confirm what I really feel: Preserve the watch so it can be enjoyed for the next 50 years. My son will just have to deal with the battery.

When the watch crown is pulled out, a small pin attached to a lever (the Hack Lever) lifts the pawl finger off the index wheel, stopping the watch. The electronics continue to function as per normal and the fork keeps humming. When the crown is pushed back in, the pawl finger re-engages the index wheel, which begins to turn again.
from: Accutron Watch History & Information | Accutron Watch Repair

 

[thesnark17]

I was told that the Accutron continued to 'work' even with the crown pulled out so the index wheel is always rotating and subject to wear.

This is true of early Accutrons, but not all Accutrons. There are three forms of Accutron with regard to what it does when you set it: no hack, mechanical hack, and electrical hack. It is easy to tell which one you have: just pull out the crown and see what it does.

If the second hand does not stop when you pull out the crown, your watch has no hack function or it isn't working. Early Accutrons advertised the lack of hacking function as a feature, not a bug, but it seems that Bulova changed their minds about it after a while.

If the second hand stops but the watch keeps humming, your watch has the mechanical hack. The train is physically disengaged from the tuning fork so there will be no wear on the train, and battery drain is much reduced. There are multiple different systems that Bulova used (even within the same caliber) to produce this effect. Most Accutrons hack this way.

If the second hand stops and the watch stops humming, your watch has the electrical hack. The electrical circuit is broken and the watch stops completely. This is uncommon in Accutrons, but superior from the point of view of a collector who wishes to use the watch infrequently.

 

[Jeff Salmon]

I'll have to check out the hacking feature. I think the watch hums when the crown is pulled out.

 

[Mk2]

I was shown a "trick" or maybe more of a safety feature to collect the acid (electrolyte) that leaks out of a battery in a watch, when it's been neglected for a few years.

A tiny bit of blotting paper positioned in a way next to the battery seal, so it can wick up any leak. Obviously a big leakage won't stop the liquid capillarying around (is that a word?!) everywhere, but I've been shown results of it doing its job. Seems to work.

 

[Jeff Salmon]

That would probably help. I am going to have to show my son how to use the adjustable case wrench and screwdriver. I can't take a chance on having a battery leak on this movement. It cost a fortune to repair. By managing the battery, the movement can be preserved for many years.