subject: History of the Accutron Watches [print this page] History of the Accutron Watches History of the Accutron Watches
There have been songs written about, curses thrown at it, and bittersweet memories where we are lost in it. Obviously we are talking about time. It's one of the most sought after commodities inside the world. It makes sense that men and women would want watches and timepieces which are able to keep accurate time. In the early 1960's, a brilliant man by the name of Max Hetzel revolutionized the technology used to keep accurate time and the Accutron watch dynasty was born.
Utilizing a totally different approach for producing watches than ever just before the Bulova Watch Business, with Mr. Hetzel, came up with the notion to make watches utilizing tuning fork technology. No 1 had ever done this prior to. The tuning fork technique had been utilized with great success in clocks prior to, but never was mass produced. Undoubtedly no 1 had ever attempted to miniaturize the components just before. Max Hetzel began his research and development of this new concept in 1953. The extremely initial prototypes of the Accutron watches had been manufactured in 1955. In the Bulova Headquarters in New York, Mr. Hetzel, along with William Bennett, performed further study and development of this amazing watch making method. It wasn't until 1960 that the 1st mass produced tuning fork Accutron watches had been released to the public.
In order to comprehend how critical and advanced the introduction to the tuning fork watches was, it's crucial to be aware of the typical technology employed at the time. Each and every other watch company was still relying on the conventional balance wheel and hairspring method of watch construction. This type of technique had been utilized for over 300 years in watch making. Obviously this is a fairly accurate technique for keeping time, but the Accutron watches were able to be so accurate that the makers promised that the watch would never change much more than a minute in either direction over the course of a month. The a lot more conventional watches of the time also had a ticking sound associated with their balance wheel and hairspring. In contrast the Accutron watches were characterized with a humming sound, due the sound the tiny tuning fork inside produces. Several people will remember the jerky motion made by the second hand on conventional watches. In yet another drastic difference, the watches engineered by Mr. Hetzel had a fluid, smooth motion inside the second hand.
The differences between the two types of watches didn't stop there. The appearance of the watches was markedly diverse as well. We have already discussed how the second hands differed, but you will find numerous other external differences also. The early models of the Accutron watch weren't produced with a visible crown. That means that a recessed handle on the back of the watch case controls the setting mechanism. Later models had an even far more striking distinction. They didn't have a dial at all. It was pretty difficult to not notice that the Accutron watches didn't have a conventional movement.
The new features didn't stop at the external appearance of the Accutron watches either. The insides were fairly diverse too. Needless to say, this was the 1st time a tuning fork in miniature form, had ever been employed inside the construction of a watch. That's why it produced a humming sound as opposed to the ticking of conventional watches. These watches had been also considered the 1st electronic watches since they had been the very first to use a transistorized circuit. In the early 1960's, this was a large breakthrough in technology. The firsts of the Accutron just keep coming. It was also the 1st watch to be produced with plastic parts. Plastics were used to protect the circuitry of the Accutron. For the initial time ever, there was a watch made that was effortless to service and more dependable because of the truth that it has fewer parts than conventional watches. It's clear to see why the production of these watches was a revolutionary development in timepiece history.
Although it is certainly true that the general public loved the new technology and reliability given by the Accutron watches, the U.S. government discovered some incredible uses for it as well. It was 1st used inside the Explorer VII missile. Due to its incredible accurate time keeping abilities, it was employed to turn off the radio equipment on the satellite according to specific requirements. The astronauts of the Apollo wore Accutron watches because of their precision. Inside the 1960's it was the premium timepiece when accuracy was essential.
