The Accutron contained only 27 component parts and, of those, only 12 were moving parts. The tuning fork movement of the Accutron had a frequency of 360Hz, which produced the watch’s distinctive hum and sweep second hand, and kept time to an accuracy of within two seconds per day-about 10 times more accurate than a fine mechanical watch. Traditional watch movement has a frequency of about 2Hz (two cycles per second) and produces a ticking sound. Invented for Bulova by Swiss engineer Max Hetzel, the Accutron was also the first acoustic frequency wristwatch, using a miniature electrically-activated tuning fork instead of conventional mechanical movements, such as a balance wheel and escapement, which had been the standard in clocks and watches for over 450 years.
The Accutron was not only the world’s first electronic watch-it revolutionized the watchmaking industry.