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WatchesSep 15, 2020
Accutron Opens a New Chapter With a ‘Legacy’
Citizen is relaunching the world’s first fully electronic watch as its own brand, separate from Bulova.
The watches in the new Accutron “Legacy” collection pay homage to the brand’s most collectible models. This watch was inspired by the Accutron railroad watch from 1970.
New York—Watch brand Accutron is celebrating 60 years with new collections, a book, a podcast, and an identity separate from Bulova.
After getting its start in 1960 as the Bulova Accutron—the world’s first fully electronic watch—the timepiece, which has not been produced in over 40 years, is being reintroduced by parent company Citizen Watch as just Accutron.
And what better way to reintroduce a brand than by riffing off some of its greatest hits?
This past fall, the Citizen-owned brand invited a select group of watch collectors to its head offices in New York’s Empire State Building.
There, the collectors spoke about their history with Accutron and identified the watches that were historically significant and/or the most sought-after vintage models.
From that feedback came the Legacy collection, a group of 12 watches all limited to 600 pieces each that take their cues from Accutron models made up until 1974. (The watch was only in production for 17 years, between 1960 and 1977.)
The original Accutron was a miniature electronic marvel in its time. It was known for its accuracy and, in fact, its name is a portmanteau of the phrase “accuracy through electronic.”
In bringing back the brand, Citizen already released the Accutron “Spaceview 2020” and “DNA,” the world’s first watches powered by electrostatic energy.
But with the Legacy collection, it’s more about capturing those design vibes of the ‘60s and ‘70s than it is about technology.
See: 5 of the Watches in the Accutron ‘Legacy’ Collection
This new Accutron watch inspired by the “261” model from 1971 features a 38.5 mm silver-tone cushion-shaped case with a teal-colored dial, sculptured and applied markers, a calendar and crown placement at 4 o’clock. It comes on a black leather strap and retails for $1,390.
The inspiration for this watch was the “521” model from the 1960s, even keeping the same size case, 32.8 x 32.8 mm, to make it unisex for today. The gold-tone stainless steel case model with a lizard-embossed leather strap seen here retails for $1,450.
A full view of the same watch but with a gold-tone stainless steel case ($1,550)
This Legacy watch was inspired by the first-ever railroad-approved wristwatch, which Accutron made in 1970. The Accutron R.R.-0 is a 34 mm watch that has a “0” at the 12-hour mark to meet Canadian Railroad specifications. It retails for $1,290.
This watch is based on the “565” from 1966 and adds cross-hatching details to the asymmetrical case the brand was known for. The 34 mm watch with silver-tone stainless steel case and croco-embosssed leather strap retails for $1,390.
All 12 pieces in the Legacy collection have the same movement, the brand’s Swiss-made 26-jewel movement, are water-resistant to 30 meters and have sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
The watches are priced between $1,290 and $1,550 retail and will be available beginning next month on the Accutron website as well as at independent jewelers like Watches of Switzerland.
In addition to the fresh collection, there’s a podcast and a new book, “Accutron: From the Space Age to the Digital Age.”
Written by Hodinkee Editor-in-Chief Jack Forster and Aaron Sigmond with a forward by industrial designer Carl Gustav Magnusson, the six-chapter tome is available for $75 on the website of publisher Assouline or offered as a set with a limited-edition Spaceview 2020 timepiece for $4,000.
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