[Bulova] Forgotten 1969 Accutron Date & Day back from the dead

I received this Bulova Accutron from my grandfather as a gift just before he passed away in 1990. The gold case was badly scratched, the acrylic crystal heavily scuffed and it had one of those stainless springy bracelets that looked awful but I didn't really care. It was special to me and still functioned normally.

I wore it on and off for about a year until the battery finally died. Afterwards, it lived in a drawer and I eventually forgot about it. I rediscovered it in the early 2000s and replaced the battery to get it working again but something was wrong. It no longer hummed or operated properly. I could move the hands manually but it no longer kept time.

I took it to a local watchmaker who said that it needed a couple hundred dollars in maintenance, a new tuning fork and some other misc. items. I decided to not move forward with the repair and put it back in the graveyard.

Over the last few of years, I became fascinated with automatic watches and started a modest collection. I then remembered that I still had this one and decided that it deserved to be resurrected.

I found a local jeweler that had a Bulova specialist and we discussed the poor state of the watch. I asked him to do a complete rebuild and replace the bracelet with a nice croc strap. Three months later, I get a call that the watch is ready for pickup. These photos are a result of that rebuild. The watch now hums perfectly and I couldn't be happier.

Here's a quick video showing new life. https://i.imgur.com/hPnfdIX.mp4

Thanks for reading my story and cheers.

Great seeing a vintage watch receive some TLC, especially since it has that connection to your dad!

Looking at the way it sits on your wrist, that is a watch I didn’t know I needed! A little nugget of old school cool!