We have an auction estimate on the platinum as $10,000 to $15,000, but we hope to achieve more for the collector. Here is a rule of thumb as to value: gold filled or gold plated non-working: $20 to $100 (working: $50 to $150). (Conventional wisdom holds that Bulova made 10 to 20 platinum Accutrons for politicians and important executives, but only one has been verified as sold.) Typically, Accutrons are gold plated or gold filled.

This week, a California collector asked us to sell his iconic Bulova collection and we are showing a few here. (Hamilton was already working on an electric model and Bulova did not want to be left behind.) It took nine years to bring it to market, and it was a game-changer.

They engaged engineer Max Hetzel to help build a battery-driven watch in 1952. Nonetheless, Bulova was a true innovator and on the cutting edge of mid-century design and technology. They made millions of them, and most are worth $20 to $50 (if they don’t run) and $50 to $100 (if they do).

The one major exception to this is the steadfast popularity of Bulova’s Accutron watches.ĭon’t run to your junk drawer just yet, though. There are a few designs that stand out – like certain Art Deco masterpieces of the 1930s and military watches of the 1940s – but even these only bring $50 to $200. Today, few Bulovas are considered highly desirable, as they made fairly mundane watches for the masses. In fact, it is often written that in the 1940s and ’50s, they were one of the biggest advertisers of any product of any kind in the U.S.! In 1952, Bulova watch company was one of the leading manufacturers of affordable – indeed fine – timepieces in America.

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