Accutron
Joseph Bulova, the company’s founder, emigrated from Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic, at the age of nineteen, arriving in Manhattan in 1870 to a world brimming with opportunity. Opening his own jewelry store on Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan, then the nucleus of New York City’s jewelry industry, he called it J. Bulova, and quickly distinguished himself from the hundreds of jewelers in the district with its quality and innovation in technique and artistry.
Due to the demand of watches throughout America, Joseph Bulova established his first plant committed to the total production of wristwatch components. Manufactured in the plant’s central building in Bienne, Switzerland, the jeweled movements were fabricated via assembly line, allowing mass production and closer toward a standardization never before seen in the world of horology. Bulova debuted the first ever complete line of men’s jeweled wristwatches – advertising to the masses across America with an iconic visual style that matched its product.
An early champion of Bulova watches was an American original himself, Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, the first man to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. By doing so, Lindbergh won the Bulova Watch Prize and a $1,000 check. Later, he became the face of the company’s “Lone Eagle” watch, a commemorative timepiece that celebrated Lindbergh’s accomplishment while also linking Bulova to the world of aviation and exploration. Bulova manufactured the world’s first electric clocks, many of which still appear in train terminals throughout the country. Years before Accutron became available to the public, the Bulova-developed technology was requested by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for various timing instruments on satellites. Bulova initiated its decades-long collaboration with NASA by contributing the Accutron technology to the Vanguard 1 satellite in 1958, later continuing with the first Moon walk on July 21, 1969.
Bulova Accutron celebrates its legacy of innovation with the release of 200 Limited Edition Bulova Accutron Conqueror wristwatches. The watch is inspired by the famous Lone Eagle timepiece, created by Bulova to commemorate Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh’s monumental solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. The Bulova Accutron Conqueror, which has been awarded the COSC certificate, recognizes the Bulova Corporation’s commitment to innovation not only in aviation — from air travel to space exploration — but also within the world of timekeeping.
