Bulova no longer accepting Accutrons for repair
Michael Caratzas
After sending in an Accutron 214 to Bulova's service department last
week for a cleaning, I was dismayed to receive my watch, unrepaired,
with the following letter enclosed-- especially since Bulova has always
done a superb job at a very reasonable cost.
The letter is from Henry Encarnacion, Service Manager.
"Dear Accutron Owner:
"The first Bulova Accutron Tuning Fork models were manufactured in 1960,
and by the mid 70's the Accutron production was terminated. In those
years, we had provided continuous service for tens of thousands of
Accutrons.
"Then, after the last 214 Accutron was produced, Bulova still maintained
the Accutron with original Tuning Fork parts as most owners preferred.
"Now, some 20 years later, the inventories of these parts have been
depleted, leaving us without the necessary parts to service these
timepieces.
"Therefore, as parts are no longer available to repair these Accutrons,
we have no recourse but to return your timepiece unrepaired.
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you."
I'm interested in finding out your reactions to this. It's clearer than
ever now that the life spans of all the Accutrons out there are finite;
does anyone have any idea of how long it'll be before it'll be
impossible to get an Accutron repaired? Are quartz conversions
possible? (I know that's not a pleasant alternative, but it seems like
it might be the only way to go, except with a Spaceview, of course.)
Will the value of Accutrons plummet as a result of this?
Any ideas?
Mike Caratzas
Mike Murray
>Any ideas?
The following file is at both of my FTP sites
(webcom.com/pub/z4murray/repair or ftp.netcom.com/pub/mi/mikem)
and can be accessed through my Web site under either FTP link at
(http://www.webcom.com/z4murray/) or directly by using
(http://www.webcom.com/z4murray/corepair.html).
The FTP file name is repair.mcc.
The Web page is called corepair.html.
(Both are identical)
Copyright 1995-1997 by Michael P. Murray
Last updated on February 08, 1997.
Accutron Watch Repair Service (08)
Aldon Timeworks Inc. (Donald Bisson - members of NAWCC, BHI & AWI)
P.O. Box 220
A24 Twin Lakes Rd, Hudson Twnshp
New Liskeard, Ontario
P0J 1P0 CANADA
Phone or Fax: 705-647-5354
E- mail address: 10300...@compuserve.com
Web Site address:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Aldon_Timeworks_Inc/
Larry Blanchard Service company
1545 West Sycamore Street
Kokomo, IN 46901
317-868-9161
Specializes in Accutron Tuning Fork service
European Watch & Casemakers, LTD.
P. O. Box 1314
Highland Park, NJ 08904-1314
908-777-0111
They do just about everything as far as watch service.
George Fruge
251 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
203-661-0056 or Fax 203-661-0703
Specializes in Accutron Bulova watch service.
R. H. Gayle's LTD.
P. O. Box 787
South Fork, CO 81154
719-873-5305
Specializes in Accutron Bulova watch service.
B. E. Lane
3611 Antiem Street
San Diego, CA 92111
619-278-0886
Specializes in Accutron Bulova watch service.
Little Swiss Watch Shop
3529 Chamblee Tucker Road
Atlanta, GA 30341
800-418-2345 or 404-939-4511
Specializes in Accutron repair (Especially the 214 & 218 Movements)
Quality Watch Service (Cliff Messner)
5335 Hague Avenue
Jackson, MI 49203-5977
517-784-4184
Certified Accutron Technician ; Member AWI (#7345)
E-mail address: aa...@detroit.freenet.org
A reply from, E-mail address: mi...@netcom.com
Mike Murray Founder of Clocksmiths
A specialist in Atmos and 400-day clock repair.
Also, I overhaul most plug in electric clocks.
In continuous horological service since 04/01/1982.
Mike's Clock Clinic
1326 Stanford Street
Santa Monica, California (CA) USA 90404-2502
Fax: 310-828-7381
Memberships: AWI # 17851; Clocksmiths; NAWCC # 074021
My main Web site is located at "http://www.webcom.com/z4murray/"
Home of AWI's unofficial Web site located at:
"http://www.webcom.com/z4murray/awi.shtml"
Main FTP site is located at "ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/mi/mikem"