From JustLuxe content partner iW Magazine
Accutron and Bulova celebrate their shared history with NASA and the U.S. Space Program by launching the Accutron Astronaut and Bulova Lunar Pilot, each inspired by vintage Space Age designs.
The new Accutron Astronaut
NASA worked closely with Accutron to devise timekeepers for watches, instrumental panel clocks, and internal mechanisms integral to the numerous missions into space starting in the mid-1950s through the 1970s.
Similarly, Bulova watches were worn by astronauts and pilots in the same era. On August 2, 1971, Apollo 15’s mission commander made lunar history while wearing a Bulova chronograph.
An Accutron and NASA 60-minute timer from the 1960s space program.
Accutron Astronaut
Referencing the 1968 “T” version of its Astronaut model, Accutron now relaunches the model with an update that specifically highlights the watch’s distinctive day/night bezel. The new 41mm steel-cased Accutron Astronaut is the first re-edition in what Accutron says will be “an exciting new series of Accutron Astronaut timepieces.”
The new model offers a vintage-perfect double box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, but updates the movement with a Sellita SW330 GMT automatic caliber that, in another update, is partially exposed via an exhibition case back.
Accutron fits the watch with a ‘bullet’ steel bracelet. The Accutron Astronaut is a limited edition of 300 pieces. Price: $3,500.
Bulova Lunar Pilot
With two new Lunar Pilot watches, Bulova expands its popular Archive Series with genuine vintage-sized replicas of the Bulova watch worn on the Moon. You might recall the first (and very successful) watch in the series, the 50th Anniversary Lunar Pilot Limited Edition, a 45mm model which Bulova in 2021 celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 15 mission.
The new Bulova Lunar Pilot, with black dial.
For the latest model, the case size remains surprisingly contemporary, measuring a full 43.5mm in diameter.
Bulova is offering the new watch with either a black dial (like the original) or a sporty two-tone blue and white chronograph dial.
The new Bulova Lunar Pilot, with blue and white dial.
Bulova fits both models the brand’s proprietary NP20 High Precision Quartz (HPQ) chronograph movement accurate to 1/20th second.
Both watches are available on steel bracelets and each also arrives with a matching leather strap.
Bulova connects the black-dialed edition with a black leather strap and offers a blue leather strap with the two-tone chronograph. Both straps are attached to the wrist with latched spring bars for interchangeability with the bracelet as desired. Price: $895.
