1968 Accurist Watch Movement

Thankyou for that info!

I'm fairly new to mechanical / automatic watches so I'll need to do a little research into what goes on during a service etc! It's an inherited watch so would love to keep it ticking over nicely, though in truth it still keeps accurate time even now after all these years! Fantastic little things aren't they..

As above, def able to service, if there are any worn bits, getting parts may be a problem but there are usually 'donor' watches available on fleaBay or similar places. My mate has started his watchmaking journey and has done this several times and has boxes of parts from donor watches so he can not pretty much repair most Seiko's - His starter point of choice - without buying anything.

Look that capstones at 3rd wheel, 4th wheel and escapement.

Beautiful movement. Very nice!

It really is a lovely little watch, It's what kickstarted my adventure into the land of watches.

Definitely getting the watch services & repaired so I can get it back to it's former glory!

Yes it's definitely serviceable. Quite a good quality movement as it has 21 jewels, your average manually wound movement would have around 17. It doesn't have shock protection on the balance though so it's an older design. You should be able to see markings under the balance wheel which would tell you who made it. Looks like it might be AS (Adolf Schild) but it's hard to see clearly

Thanks for the info!

I know the watch is from 1968 for sure, there's some really cool photos of my grandfather in his army uniform wearing it, cool to be able to connect history to the watch!

I'd love to take it apart but I know for a fact I'd end up causing more harm than good! I'll be getting it looked at by someone soon so hopefully will get some answers!

Check out Wristwatch Revival (Marshall) or Vintage Watch Servicing (Stian) on Youtube. They're some of the best examples of services demonstrated on Youtube.

Wow just watching videos from Wristwatch Revival, I think I may have found my next bingeworthy channel!

You're welcome. If you're in the UK Watchguy are pretty good for servicing.

watchguy.co.uk

Possible, yes, but a nornal service would cost more than the watch is worth, as Accurists were/are at the affordable end. Instead of a normal service, it might be more economical to outright replace the movement.

Definitely agree that the watch isn't particularly valuable, I think I'd rather keep what I can original purely for sentimental value, a few hundred £ or whatever it may be would probably be worth it for me personally. I realise that it's not economical or rational though!

The Nekkid Watchmaker is another awesome channel well worth your time!

If you solely rely upon donor movements you would indeed run into this problem, eventually. Accurist is no longer making mechanical watches. But I doubt that they ever made their own movements. They engraved their name on it, and that was probably it. These movements, minus that engraving are quite possibly still being made.

Admittedly, this is speculation, but at the budget-friendly end it is likely that a bog-standard movement was used.

You probably can. If the watch has sentimental value or belonged to a member of your family, and you want to pass it on to your kids, I would say fix it. If not I would say to throw it back to the bottom of the box you found it in. If the watch was from a reputable Swiss brand like Rolex, Omega, Longines, etc, you would be increasing its value and saleability because people who buy vintage feel a lot more comfortable knowing that they are buying a watch that is serviced rather than one that is not.

With the Accurist, you may slightly increase its value, but at the end of the day, it is still an Accurist. I don't really know why, but Bulova has not really taken off amongst the watch enthusiast crowd. They have a long history and many iconic models, but most Bulova buyers are not collectors.

I will put it another way. Most of us watch guys are car guys as well. Let us say you have inherited some old barn find cars. One is an E-type Jaguar, and the other is a Ford Escort. If you put your money into the Jag, you will make money on the deal if you ever want to sell. The escort will be a money pit and will most likely end up owing you money. I like Fords by the way, so you Escort lovers no hate mail, please. This is just a financial exercise, no more.

Hey thanks for the info!

It's definitely a sentimental repair over economic, it belonged to my grandfather from when he was overseas on deployment, I'd just like to get it looking healthy again really!

That is fantastic. Get it serviced by a good independent watchmaker. It is not a chronograph, so you are not looking at a huge amount to fix it. I know that here in Australia, a vintage 3-hander service should cost 300 to 500 AUD. For you, in England, it should cost a couple of hundred quid if that.