The Accutron, the world?s first fully electronic watch, hit the market in 1960 and achieved worldwide renown immediately thereafter. Now independent of its erstwhile parent brand Bulova, Accutron re-emerged this year after a long hiatus and led off its new era with the Spaceview 2020 model, which combined groundbreaking 21st century technology and a funky retro design. Today, Accutron launches a limited edition of the Spaceview 2020 in a solid gold case in commemoration of its 60th anniversary.

That now-legendary first Accutron model, called the Spaceview 214 (the numerical designation derived from its movement, Caliber 214), incorporated a revolutionary new technology that utilized a tuning fork, powered by a one-transistor electronic oscillator, to drive the timekeeping functions rather than a traditional balance wheel. This system ensured an oscillation rate of 360 hertz ? nearly 150 times faster than that of a mechanical, balance-wheel-driven timepiece ? and guaranteed an accuracy to just one minute per month, hence the name Accutron, for “Accuracy through Electronic.”
The rebirth of Accutron as an independent brand, alongside Bulova within Japan’s Citizen Group, was built upon another all-new timekeeping technology: a new, proprietary movement powered by electrostatic energy generated from the motion of the wearer?s wrist. The movement?s fast-rotating twin turbines are affixed to two electrodes that send energy to an accumulator powerin...