First Electronic Watch

October 25, 2008

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Profile America — Saturday, October 25th. An item counted on daily by millions first went on sale on this day in 1960 — the battery-powered electronic watch. The watch was the Bulova Accutron, the result of seven years of work by the Swiss engineer Max Hetzel. The new watch had only 27 parts, compared to a self-winding mechanical watch of the period with 136 parts. By 1970, the Accutron had been worn by astronauts on many trips into space without incident, and millions were sold to the general public, which appreciated its simplicity and reliability. Some $700 million worth of watches, clocks and parts are made in the U.S. each year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: 440 International Calendar of Events
2002 Economic Census, NAICS 334518
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/E334518.HTM