# The Astronauts Are Coming



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

I've just serviced a very unusual Accutron 214 Astronaut  .

214 Astronauts are common enough and seem to be very popular at the moment --- I bought my first one from JoT on this very Forum about 10 years ago; I seem to remember it cost me Â£200 at the time :thumbsup:.

Most are in stainless steel cases and, if you're lucky, comes with the much sought after original Kreisler Coffin Link bracelet. There seem to be endless combinations of dial and hand styles. Less often seen are the gold cased 214 Astronauts.....

But I have never seen an 18K sold gold 214 Astronaut complete with a gold dial....until this week. And, as you would expect, it really is quite heavy.


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

And here is my JoT steel 214 Astronaut for comparison. As I don't own the 18K gold one above, it is just as well that I prefer my steel one --- and this version with the red second time zone hand is very scarce ... plus, it has that all important coffin bracelet :yes:.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Very nice indeed thank you for taking the time to post, I find these late 60's early 70's 'space-age' electronic watches very attractive and interesting they have a style all their own and a unique place in history, some of the Bulova models are really different, I particularly like looking at the 'space-view' with the tuning fork on display  and of course the original Hamilton Ventura is fabulous :thumbup:


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## Rampant (Nov 27, 2012)

Your steel one is lovely. As you say the bracelet is a cracker as well 

The gold one not so much!

Cheerz

Mark H


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## luddite (Dec 11, 2009)

Wow, that's impressive!

I too own an Astronaut, it's the common or garden steel version though on an old Fixoflex expanding bracelet.

Jealous of your coffin bracelet though.


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## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

There's somebody on e-bay selling NOS examples of that dial right now!

I also saw someone offering that version of the complete watch, with box and paperwork, referring to it as the 'Royal Edition" Astronaut. He wanted $18K for it!! 

I think I'll stick with my plain S/S version as well!


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

who owns the accutron name these days ? are bulova part of the citizen group ???

i buy a re-issue of that !


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Rotundus said:


> who owns the accutron name these days ? are bulova part of the citizen group ???
> 
> i buy a re-issue of that !


Yes, Bulova is a Citizen brand now....and you can buy a re-issue!

Model Number 96B207 (part of the Moonview Collection) with the new precisionist movement.


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

thanks, but oh dear no!

butt ugly contrasting date window and no GMT hand - epic fail as a re-issue imho ! :stop:

going to have to be vintage then isn't it :yes:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Rotundus said:


> thanks, but oh dear no!
> 
> butt ugly contrasting date window and no GMT hand - epic fail as a re-issue imho ! :stop:
> 
> going to have to be vintage then isn't it :yes:


As re-issues go, I quite like it. :yes:

The date window doesn't bother me and the lack of the GMT hand is no great loss. Never really liked the fact that the GMT hand on the 214 movement is not an independent hand. i.e. you cannot set it but instead, you need to rotate the bezel to indicate what timezone the GMT hand is in.

This latter issue was addressed in 2185 movement when Bulova introduced the Astronaut Mk II.


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## luddite (Dec 11, 2009)

Rotundus said:


> who owns the accutron name these days ? are bulova part of the citizen group ???
> 
> i buy a re-issue of that !


I think that Bulova and the Accutron brand is devalued by these imitations. 

It's the real thing for me.


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Some photos of the Mark II Astronaut. The 2185 movement lets you independently set the second time (GMT) indicator with the top crown. On some Mark II's, the GMT indicator is a second hour like the 214 versions above, but on other Mark II's, the GMT indicator is a dial as on these watches.

These are big, chunky and heavy watches!


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## PDXWatchCollector (Nov 15, 2013)

Paul,

A couple of questions about the particular Mk II Astronauts of the type in your photo:

1) What is it about the dials in these that they more often than not show some degree of patina creeping in specifically from the left (9 o'clock) side of the dial? I've seen numerous photos of these watches displaying the same pattern (like the one on the left in your photo), and, indeed, the one I own shows the same thing. I'm assuming it's because it's the battery side and the varnish on these dials are particularly sensitive to off-gassing?

2) Are the dial and case for the watch on the left slightly smaller than the one on the right? I'm particularly interested in the dial size, as I picked up an NOS version like that one (without the 'Astronaut Mk II' at the bottom) as a replacement to the one with some patina I mentioned before I realized there were two different versions, and it turned out to be slightly smaller ... not small enough to be a woman's watch dial, but smaller than the one with printing at the bottom. :wallbash:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Van,

1) I only have one of these Mark II now....the one without the original bracelet (the one on the left). So I took a closer look at it yesterday and that "patina" appears to be how the light is reflected off the dial. I can rotate the watch and, in many positions, you see nothing...it really depends on the light.

2) Both watches and dial sizes are identical. The only difference is one of the dials has the wording "Astronaut Mark II" on it.


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

Silver Hawk said:


> Rotundus said:
> 
> 
> > thanks, but oh dear no!
> ...


its the gmt hand and the dial markings that i like about this model - so for me the re-issue isnt a goer ...


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

What a fantastic looking watch! Have you modded it with solid aftermarket hands?


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

Lampoc said:


> What a fantastic looking watch! Have you modded it with solid aftermarket hands?


 :laugh: :laugh:


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

Love the spaceview I have this and think they look great certainly can't complain about build quality I think Bulova did a good job.

Maybe one day I will manage to get a 214.


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

I have one of the 214 ones somewhere


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Accutronitis...... Sounds familiar somehow.


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## it'salivejim (Jan 19, 2013)

jasonm said:


> Accutronitis...... Sounds familiar somehow.


 Yes, he was suffering badly that one :wacko:


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

Roy said:


> I have one of the 214 ones somewhere


 Doubt I could afford it but a picture would be nice to see.


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