[halpotts]

Hi, I am a new member and this is my first post. I have really taken an interest in the 214 Accutrons in the last year and have started a nice collection of mostly Spaceviews. I'm a Boomer myself and they remind of my childhood when I thought they were the coolest thing ever but could not remotely afford to buy one in the 60's or even 70's. I realize that a true Spaceview on the Bay is a rarity and that most are conversion, some laughably so. That's okay if the buyer doesn't care about authenticity too much, and some don't. I try to get only the real thing.

My question is where do you guys find your Accutrons if not on the Bay? I can Google and find some at jewely stores like Boomertime or Pawn shops, but they usually ask a premium. Just for fun I have dragged my wife along to the various Pawn shops in town and we have had a reasonably fun time of it but have found exactly zero Accutrons thus far.

I guess flea markets and Estate Sales might be another way to go but that's quite a time commitment for a long shot at finding something good.

Any thoughts? Where have you scored a good buy on an Accutron? Where do you buy them?

Hal.

PS - I'll try to post a pic of my favorite when I get it back from Bob Piker - A 1960 model 521 which might be within the first 500 made from what I can tell from the serial number.

 

[Hawk53]

Sorry Hal I can't help you as I don't collect Accutrons, too new for my taste.

I'm sure Accutronitis or Spaceview M2 will be along shortly and hopefully they can give you some direction.

 

[jakeagusta]

Hi and welcome Hal

I mainly trawl the fleaBay myself but that's mainly due to Accutrons being extremely rare in the UK.
I myself have found some really great examples not to mention the fun and research as well as patience to wait for the right one to come along.

Best

Jake

 

[ThomG]

I have a mint condition Swiss Spaceview from 1970. I bought it from my watchmaker's private collection. A situation like this is really the only way to be sure about the individual watch's history. Private sellers or dealers on the major watch forums are also a pretty fair gamble. There are many reputable companies that sell vintage watches on-line and also there are some that are no so reputable. If you always keep the phrase "buy the seller" in the back of your mind, things will go better for you in the long run.

 

[Accutronitis]

I only collect Swiss made Accutron 214's and almost every one I own is Swiss Made with just a few rare exceptions, I've have gotten all most every one of those Accutrons off of fleabay and that's where I have bought all my parts from as well.

That's also where I got all my tools from, I got my stereo microscope off of fleabay and it's a really good Meiji 20x SWF and only paid $165.00 dollars for it !

A lot of the Accutrons that I bought were selling on fleabay starting as a auction but most of them no one had bid on them yet and I just sent them a offer and asked them to change it to a "buy it now" and they said ok and the others where someone had bit on them I talked the seller into ending the auction and relisting it as a buy it now and they would give me a link and I would buy it before anyone could even find it, I got some pretty good deals that way, some said no but most said yes and a lot of the people who said no I ended up getting the watch cheaper than my offer lol.

My NOS Swiss 18kt I paid too much for and bought it outside of ebay but I just had to have it from the moment I first laid eyes on it, I pretty much have all the Accutrons I've ever wanted and now will only buy one if I win a really low bid on fleabay....

 

[Spaceview M2]

EBay would be the easy answer due to shear volume of items, both cheap and expensive. If you do your homework and if you want an item bad enough, one will eventually pop up. Having a friend or family connection to time pieces also help. The website sellers/repairman also sell a few nice pieces but don't he afraid of kicking yourself once you figure out most are way overpriced and not always what they advertise. And even these forums have a for sale section to browse.

 

[mikeyt_53]

I've come across a couple of watches that i've bought on Kijiji & Craigslist but mostly i look for what i want on eBay.

 

[charlie48]

Back in the day before the internet( pretty much before 92'), you might get lucky, going to pawn shops, flea markets, garage sales!

Over the years, I have found 22K jewelry in costume jewelry boxes for .50 cents, as an example. Unfortunately, this only happened a couple of times. People didn't have Google to look things up, and in particular, thought 22K was junk costume jewelry bought in Woolworth!

I became interested in Accutrons more recently, and between NY and FL have been to many flea markets, large and small, and have never seen an Accutron, even in pieces in the junk boxes. In pawn shops, the general consensus was either if they had watches at all, they would be important brands, most likely made of gold. If someone came in with brands like Timex, Caravelle, Bulova, Accutron,etc. and not made out of solid gold, especially if not running, would end up in the trash, by either the seller or buyer! Because they were considered Dept. store mass produced worthless junk! Now if you had a Rolex $$$$$$$$$$ I have seen this first hand, having friends that owned a Pawn shop in the late 80's ,and into the 90's. These shops, more recently discovered the internet, and the secret is out of the bag when it comes to Accutrons! Even junk ones are big bucks!

So what I'm trying to say is that all these people are on eBay now selling their unwanted stuff, including the Pawn shop owners!

 

[ThomG]

Back in the day before the internet( pretty much before 92'), you might get lucky, going to pawn shops, flea markets, garage sales!

Over the years, I have found 22K jewelry in costume jewelry boxes for .50 cents, as an example. Unfortunately, this only happened a couple of times. People didn't have Google to look things up, and in particular, thought 22K was junk costume jewelry bought in Woolworth!

I became interested in Accutrons more recently, and between NY and FL have been to many flea markets, large and small, and have never seen an Accutron, even in pieces in the junk boxes. In pawn shops, the general consensus was either if they had watches at all, they would be important brands, most likely made of gold. If someone came in with brands like Timex, Caravelle, Bulova, Accutron,etc. and not made out of solid gold, especially if not running, would end up in the trash, by either the seller or buyer! Because they were considered Dept. store mass produced worthless junk! Now if you had a Rolex $$$$$$$$$$ I have seen this first hand, having friends that owned a Pawn shop in the late 80's ,and into the 90's. These shops, more recently discovered the internet, and the secret is out of the bag when it comes to Accutrons! Even junk ones are big bucks!

So what I'm trying to say is that all these people are on eBay now selling their unwanted stuff, including the Pawn shop owners!

The days before the Internet... I once bought a solid gold Audimars Piguet with a matching gold band for just the weight of the gold from a pawn shop. He knew watches, but couldn't sell it because the custom made band was on the small side. No more deals like that to be had.

 

[charlie48]

The days before the Internet... I once bought a solid gold Audimars Piguet with a matching gold band for just the weight of the gold from a pawn shop. He knew watches, but couldn't sell it because the custom made band was on the small side. No more deals like that to be had.

That sounds like it was a fair deal for both of you! He would have to scrap the gold, and gotten slightly less then the full melt value from his refiner.

 

[ThomG]

It most certainly was a good deal, and it was quite the watch for someone in their mid-twenties. I kept and wore that watch (not every day of course) for about ten or twelve years before selling it to an estate jeweler.

 

[charlie48]

It most certainly was a good deal, and it was quite the watch for someone in their mid-twenties. I kept and wore that watch (not every day of course) for about ten or twelve years before selling it to an estate jeweler.

You should have waited to sell until May 2011, you would have quadrupled your investment! And if I knew that at the time, I'd also be a
billionaire :thumbup:

 

[SAM2]

Found in a Junction City, Kansas thrift store.

1966 (M6) Accutron 214 Model 411

 

[charlie48]

Found in a Junction City, Kansas thrift store.

1966 (M6) Accutron 214 Model 411

How long ago was this?

 

[SAM2]

How long ago was this?

I should remember that? I can tell you that it is on its second battery. It was in September. I remember that much.

 

[charlie48]

I didn't mean to peg you down to an exact date! The reason I ask is, I've been exploring pawn shops, flea markets, thrift shops, etc. for almost 2 years, in NY, and FL, and have come up empty handed finding Accutrons! :sad:

Nice find!

So, by battery life, I guess you've had the watch between 1>2 years

P.S Gee, I just realized that I repeated some of what I said above in a previous post in the same thread! I wonder what that means? :confused1:

 

[ArchieGoodwin]

Nice one up there Sam2, I like it.

Eric