# Accurist......rated or not.



## RWP (Nov 8, 2015)

Accurist seem not to figure largely in WIS chatter, somewhere between Burei and Sekonda. Certainly I've never seen anyone with an Accurist as a grail, although Honour has a very nice one.

Are they maybe a teeny bit underrated :yes: . They do have some nice designs.......generally a rrp of a couple of hundred and going for fifty to seventy squids.

Has anyone any opinions, good bad or indifferent.

A couple of mine......









Not terrible designs IMHO.......but not the most accurate of quartz.

It would be really nice to see some vintage Accurist if anyone has any :thumbsup:

And YES I am aware somewhere in the recesses of my memory of posting on Accurists before 

Cheers


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## Teg62x (Dec 28, 2016)

I like the yellow one


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Now we're talking.


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## RWP (Nov 8, 2015)

WRENCH said:


> Now we're talking.


 Nice Wrench.....and Swiss :thumbsup:


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## Daveyboyz (Mar 9, 2016)

I used to work at an AD for them and we didn't have many problems with them... they seemed reliable and had some nice designs, reasonable value for money too. Having said that one I bought for my mother 20 years ago just gave up the ghost. RIP

Unless Sekonda have raised their game significantly I would put Accurist above them, just my opinion...


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## SBryantgb (Jul 2, 2015)

Vintage and Swiss are worth talking about, The more modern Clerkenwell looks nice but seems to be holding silly prices for a quartz in a base metal case.


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## Timez Own (Oct 19, 2013)

The Clerkenwell is a nice looking watch.....then you pick it up and it's not so good. It is very light suggesting cheap movement inside. I still like it for what it is though I would like to see a mechanical/automatic option.


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## Mr Levity (Feb 24, 2013)

I don't really look at Accurist when I'm in the market for a new watch.It's not a brand that immediately springs to mind. I have had two, now down to one.

The first was bought new before I really got in to serious watch collecting, and though it was nice, it was just too massive for my spindly wrist.










The second one was given to me. I put a wanted ad on Freecycle for old watches to do up (oh how I laugh at my stupidity now :laugh: ), hoping to find a gem. All I got, without wishing to sound ungrateful, was a pile of *****. I leave this one in my work bag for the very rare occasions when I arrive at work without a watch.










No complaints about the accuracy, it's the designs that don't really do it for me.



WRENCH said:


> Now we're talking.


 Now that, on the other hand, is something I would consider. Very nice :thumbsup:


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

Only got the one that 'er indoors bought me for our first Christmas together 24 years ago. Still going strong....I don't wear it very much as I prefer my divers, but I daren't get rid of it....more than my life's worth! :laugh:


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Accurist is currently a brand that I am exploring in both watch buying and research terms. I am planning to write a comprehensive history of the company at some stage, and I have already written a few forum topics on various aspects of this interesting company. There are a number of intriguing offshoots and watches from Accurist that need to be included in an Accurist history.

Obviously, I won't go deeply into Accurist history here, but using mere memory, I can say a few things about the firm. In terms of recent Accurist watches, it should be noted that Accurist is now embedded within the Time Products group and although this means, in effect, that the firm is now a subsidiary of Time Products, this is no bad thing and the Group is firmly in British hands. Time Products is historically the work of the Margulies family, which has a good reputation in watch circles, starting Sekonda and then incorporating Limit watches before lately acquiring Accurist.

Accurist is not a particularly old company - being immediately Post-War in origin - and although its original proprietors, design inspiration and HQ were British, Accurist has always sought components and main manufacture abroad. From my own collection, it is evident that the main source of Accurist watches was Switzerland, and this included the mechanical models as well as early quartz Accurists. in more recent times, Accurist has turned to Japan and China for the manufacture of its watches, while design has been in-house over here in the UK.

Accurist has produced some very fine quartz watches, especially those related to its relationship with the Greenwich Observatory. Stylistically, Accurist has explored a number of avenues with its quartz models, including the Accu2 range. One or two little "teasers" of info I shall keep in my head for when I write my main history of the firm. I would say that the general quality of Accurist watches has been pretty good in recent years, and I would expect that to continue under Time

In terms of Accurist mechanical watches, these vary somewhat from quite basic types to more complicated and interesting models. Accurist hand-wind and automatic watches can be described as being "respectable," and the vintage examples are often great wearable timepieces, redolent of Britain in the 1960s.

I would recommend any watch collector to collect Accurist watches. The brand is a name that I certainly don't mind wearing on my wrist, and my most expensive quartz watch purchase was an Accurist Greenwich grand complication with perpetual calendar and chronograph, made with a hand-made Citizen movement in Japan.

Thanks for showing that chrono just now, Roger the Dodge. I myself have an example of that model and it is rather nice albeit with a base metal bezel and case. It was produced at a period when Accurist were not using so much stainless steel in their models. Since the birth of that chrono model, Accurist has fully developed its chronograph range, to good effect, including some visually exciting analogue/digital chronos. When it comes to the more traditional wristwatches, including smart dress-style watches, Accurist has always been a pretty good bet. Recently, they have had some focus on these sort of watches and there are some lovely retro-feel models simple and elegant.

Before I sign off, I must just congratulate dear Wrench for showing us a watch from the first period of Accurist production. I would date this watch to about the middle 1950s, and I urge you to look at the hands - they have been allowed to stretch out to the fullest and most desirable length while still retaining their single geometry, and the neat short pointed rear ends to the hands are the ideal complement.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Roger the Dodger said:


> Only got the one that 'er indoors bought me for our first Christmas together 24 years ago. Still going strong....I don't wear it very much as I prefer my divers, but I daren't get rid of it....more than my life's worth! :laugh:


 Nice to see someone else has a rather lowly position on the totem pole. :laugh:


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## Graham Osborne (May 15, 2014)

I do repairs on vintage mechanical watches as a hobbyist and I have come across quite a few vintage Accurist watches. I would certainly agree with Always "watching' in that the Accurists I have seen have been consistently 'respectable' in terms of both the quality of the movements used by them and the style of dials etc. One interesting characteristic of the brand is the fact that, as far as I can recall, all of the Accurists I have handled have had 21 jewel movements, rather than 17j. I find this particularly notable because most of the movements (other than their Shockmaster models) have had no shock protection. It has always seemed a bit odd to me to specify 21 jewels but no shock protection. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

Just 15£ in the Sales Corner.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Graham Osborne said:


> I do repairs on vintage mechanical watches as a hobbyist and I have come across quite a few vintage Accurist watches. I would certainly agree with Always "watching' in that the Accurists I have seen have been consistently 'respectable' in terms of both the quality of the movements used by them and the style of dials etc. One interesting characteristic of the brand is the fact that, as far as I can recall, all of the Accurists I have handled have had 21 jewel movements, rather than 17j. I find this particularly notable because most of the movements (other than their Shockmaster models) have had no shock protection. It has always seemed a bit odd to me to specify 21 jewels but no shock protection. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?


 I suspect it was all down to the cost of purchasing the pre assembled ebauche's from Switzerland in the earlier days, the varying degrees of shock protection carried a premium.

I believe when they opened offices in La Chaux de Fonds (late 60's) shock protection improved.

 Nevertheless, these pre quartz mechanicals are still worthy of their good reputation.


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## Graham Osborne (May 15, 2014)

Karrusel said:


> I suspect it was all down to the cost of purchasing the pre assembled ebauche's from Switzerland in the earlier days, the varying degrees of shock protection carried a premium.
> 
> I believe when they opened offices in La Chaux de Fonds (late 60's) shock protection improved.
> 
> Nevertheless, these pre quartz mechanicals are still worthy of their good reputation.


 I think you are right about the cost element. I guess it might have been a shrewd strategy to advertise watches with 21 jewels whilst saving a few £££s on shock protection.


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## deano1956 (Jan 27, 2016)

well this is now mine from the secret santa this year and its as close to vintage as I currently get ! 

deano


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## Timez Own (Oct 19, 2013)

@deano1956 that certainly looks the part and that strap is a good match to my eye. Mine is the black dial version.


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## davidcxn (Nov 4, 2010)

I don't know about the modern models though have a few vintage ones. 

This 9ct Accurist is from 1955.










with a nice 21 Jewel movement.










This Accurist is slightly older and in its original box.










Over and above the box the original receipt (which also looks quite impressive) has survived which dates the sale to 1951.










All in good order after 65 years. :yes:


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## niveketak (Jun 11, 2016)

I have 4 which I won't bore you with images of, if you don't like them because you don't like the look it would seem not to matter then who's name was on the front, the look is the look. I set all mine at exactly the same time and after a week they were within 15 seconds of each other, only my 33 year old dress one being slightly slower. I like Accurist, obviously and have never had a problem with any of them. I like the designs, so similar to "upmarket" ones in many respects without the weight of ownership to the wallet. Only my HO of course.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Great to see those wonderful Accurist watches, especially the dateable example which I myself, with my growing "memory" for minor differences in watch design, created by looking at as many dateable watches as possible in books, articles, and on the forum, would have also dated to about 1955. Changes in watch design over the years has become a sort of "hobby" within my watch collecting.

Interesting point you raise, Graham, about the fact that most Accurist mechanicals seem to have 21 jewels. I can tell you that almost as soon as Accurist was founded, in 1946, the company decided to set their sights on promoting a 21j lever movement instead of the usual 12j movements found in many other period watches of the same style. It seems that the Loftus management used this 21j idea as a sort of product USP, and it was part of Accurist advertising and promotional material at the time. I am not a horological expert and so I am not sure if there are any advantages in using a 21j lever movement over a 17j example of similar quality, but I would have thought there wasn't much in it. I therefore reckon that Accurist settled on 21j as a useful slogan. Whatever the case, I have found the earlier Accurist mechanical watches to be pretty competent, and they always seem to be working when I come across them - either manual wind or automatic.


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## Graham Osborne (May 15, 2014)

> Great to see those wonderful Accurist watches, especially the dateable example which I myself, with my growing "memory" for minor differences in watch design, created by looking at as many dateable watches as possible in books, articles, and on the forum, would have also dated to about 1955. Changes in watch design over the years has become a sort of "hobby" within my watch collecting.
> 
> Interesting point you raise, Graham, about the fact that most Accurist mechanicals seem to have 21 jewels. I can tell you that almost as soon as Accurist was founded, in 1946, the company decided to set their sights on promoting a 21j lever movement instead of the usual 12j movements found in many other period watches of the same style. It seems that the Loftus management used this 21j idea as a sort of product USP, and it was part of Accurist advertising and promotional material at the time. I am not a horological expert and so I am not sure if there are any advantages in using a 21j lever movement over a 17j example of similar quality, but I would have thought there wasn't much in it. I therefore reckon that Accurist settled on 21j as a useful slogan. Whatever the case, I have found the earlier Accurist mechanical watches to be pretty competent, and they always seem to be working when I come across them - either manual wind or automatic.


 Thanks Always - this is useful information. The additional jewels in a 21 jewel movement are normally in the form of end stones or cap jewels over the ends of wheel pivots. They serve two useful purposes - helping to retain lubricating oil and controlling the end float of the arbour.


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## Seikotherapy (Nov 29, 2016)

davidcxn said:


> I don't know about the modern models though have a few vintage ones.
> 
> This 9ct Accurist is from 1955.
> 
> ...


 Yes please!


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## davidcxn (Nov 4, 2010)

Seikotherapy said:


> Yes please!


 Just the one, or both? :biggrin:

Have managed to identify the movement in the 9ct 1955 Accurist which turns out to be an ETA 984.

The metal watch from 1951 has a screw down case back ....










......which is marked as being waterproof.

The movement is 15 rather than 21 jewels....










but has no identifying marks that I can see.

As a final bit of input regarding Accurist I remembered I had this.......










which manages to come forward a few decades forward from the 1950s models. :yes:


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## Seikotherapy (Nov 29, 2016)

davidcxn said:


> Just the one, or both? :biggrin:
> 
> Have managed to identify the movement in the 9ct 1955 Accurist which turns out to be an ETA 984.
> 
> ...


 Just all three please.


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## xellos99 (Dec 17, 2015)

Accurist, pulsar, sekonda, casio edifice and many others fall into the group of - ok nothing wrong with it for the price but boring and run of the mill somehow. I`m sure they are fine but I would rather skip them all and never own any.


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## carlgulliver (Apr 6, 2008)

Never been a huge fan although the Clerkenwell editions are pretty handsome and have owned a few just never really worn them so ended up flipping but nothing wrong with them


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