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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Switzerland / USA · Developed 1950s; released 1960

Tuning-Fork Watch (Accutron)

Partially verified

The first commercially successful electronic watch, bridging mechanical and quartz eras.

A transistor-driven tuning fork vibrating at 360 Hz drives the hands through a tiny index wheel, giving the characteristic hum.

How to verify this yourself

Search the relevant national patent office archive (Espacenet covers most European and US specifications) by inventor name and date range; confirm the number from the specification itself, not secondary sources.

Manufacturers known to have used it

  • Bulova

Diagram

subsidiary secondschapter ringminute and hour hands
Schematic: dial layout and hands. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Accutron holdings
  2. Bulova published history

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.