This was a case of heading to an AD with one watch in mind, finding out they didn’t have it, but walking away with a watch that I ended up being much happier with – the Accutron Legacy 2SW6A001. Oh, and in the process, I found out that neither watch is what I thought it was, which is a genuine Accutron with one of their famed electronic tuning fork movements.

A sales associate at Demetre Jewelers in Charleston, SC had sent me several texts in the past year showing me Accutron watches they had received. While I like the Spaceview, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for aesthetically or price-wise. I’ve always loved the story of Accutron, and used to work with someone who collected vintage ones. That tuning fork hum is something that just makes me smile.

With the re-release of the famous Railroad watch from Accutron, I was ready to check it out. When I got to Demetre, they didn’t have it, but they did have the Legacy series re-release of the old Accutron 505. My parents ended up buying it for me as a gift for helping them move earlier that week.

Watch specs can be very misleading if used as a sole guide for whether-or-not you are interested in a particular watch. I am now a firm believer that you need to actually wear a watch to make a judgement call. In the past, if I’d have seen that the Accutron Legacy 2SW6A001’s case diameter measured in at 33mm, I would have immediately passed on it, assuming that it was far too small for my wrists. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and in fact, 33mm is a perfect size for such an elegant mid-century piece. This fact alone has opened up my eyes to a lot of other watches that are sub-36mm, when previously, I had only focused on watches that were 36-40mm in size. I have now have watches in my collection that range in case diameter from 32mm-42mm. All of them have their particular charms, and fit well within my wrist span, while not looking comically small or large. I would strongly urge other watch enthusiasts to widen the range of watch sizes that they consider, and while specs can be good to know, and consider, they should be taken with a grain of salt until you are able to actually try the watch on your wrist.

Other than the movement being automatic rather than an electronic tuning fork movement, there are three other let-downs in my opinion:

1. Winding is difficult because of the small crown. I don’t know if there would be a solution that would maintain the unique design of this watch, but it is not fun to wind this watch after I have put it down for some time. The crown is too small to “get your grip on”, and it is also awkward because of it being in the 4:30 position.
2. I am not a fan of deployant clasps at all, and this one is no exception.
3. I’d rather have had a caseback that was closed as I am not particularly impressed by open casebacks on simple movements, and this one is even worse because it is only half-open, and not easily visible behind the deployant buckle.

The Accutron Legacy 2SW6A001 has turned into my “dress watch“. It is by far the most elegant on the wrist, and it slips very well under tighter shirt sleeves. Most of the time, when I wear another of my watches with a suit, I’m wishing that I had worn this instead.  It may not be a true Accutron, but it’s a beautiful watch, and the one in my collection that gets the most compliments.