Bulova released numerous cosmetic variants of the Accutron Astronaut, and it seems that each variant is designated with a single letter. Historically, collectors have struggled to fit their strange-looking Astronaut into the confusing and woefully incomplete reference provided by the Complete Price Guide to Watches, the most well-known watch guide in the world. The guide lists three letter designations: Astronaut A, B and C, and list multiple cosmetic variations under each designation. This is dramatically different from the designation scheme seen in actual Bulova ads, which confirm the existence of an Astronaut C, H, L, N, O and T, all of which are cosmetically unique. In the case of the Astronaut O and T, the only difference between the two variants is dial color. No other letter designations have yet been confirmed by official Bulova documentation.

Assembled here is a complete list of all known factory Astronaut variants, based on 12 years of research. Instead of adhering to Bulova's fragmented system, we present here an alternate classification, based on bezel and dial types. The goal of creating this classification system is to provide a means for collectors to authenticate their Astronaut, as well as provide a language by which collectors can easily describe their Astronaut.

Under this classification system, all Astronaut variants fall under one of four families, hence referred to as Type 1, 2, 3 and 4. Type 1 includes all standard Astronaut variants, with standard painted dial and standard bare-metal bezel. Type 2 includes all Astronaut variants with an enhanced (applied markers) dial and standard bezel. Type 3 includes the models with a day/night bezel, and Type 4 includes the Swiss models with black bezel.

There is a good bit of mix-and-match among Type 1 Astronaut variants. It is possible that other factory-produced dial/hand combinations exist within the range of known Type 1 variants. However, variants of Type 2, 3 and 4 are completely monolithic. If you have an Astronaut with any unspecified mix of features, such as a Type 3 bezel and a Type 4 dial, or Type 3 Astronaut with pointed-style hands or a luminous seconds hand, the watch is not factory original.

Take special note that hand color and applied marker color must always match case color.


Bezel Variations

Standard: Bare metal with engraved black numerals and half-hour indices; available in stainless steel, solid 14K gold and solid 18K gold.
Day/Night: Inlaid bezel face with 12 hours of white and 12 hours of black; stainless steel only; used only on Type 3 variants.
Swiss: Inlaid black bezel face; stainless steel only; used only on Type 4 variants.


Case Variations

Stainless Steel (SS): Standard lugs, used with all stainless steel Astronaut variants.
14K Gold Filled (14KF): Covered lugs, used with most gold Astronaut variants.
14K Solid Gold (14K): Covered lugs, used only with the Solid Enhanced variant.
18K Solid Gold (18K): Standard lugs, used only with the Ultra Enhanced variant.


Dial Variations

Standard: Triangular luminous painted hour markers, luminous painted dots at the half-hour markers; available in black and silver; may say 'ACCUTRON', 'BULOVA ACCUTRON' or 'ACCUTRON BULOVA' (rare).
Simple: Nearly identical to the standard dial, but with no luminous dots at the half-hour markers; available in silver, factory black variation unconfirmed.
Enhanced: Applied trapezoidal markers at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11; available in black, silver and gold; applied markers match case color.
Ultra: Applied diamond-shaped markers at 3, 6, 9; available in gold only, used only on Ultra Enhanced variant.
Day/Night: Applied pointed markers at all hour positions, applied Accutron lettering; available in black and silver; used only on Type 3 variants.
Swiss: Painted Accutron logo at 12, applied baton hour markers at all other positions; available in black and cream; used only on Type 4 variants.


Hand Variations

Pointed: Luminous hour and minute hands are non-tapering, with an pointed tip; used only on certain Type 1 variants.
Dauphine: Luminous hour and minute hands are wide and dauphine, with an pointed tip; used on some Type 1 variants, and all Type 2 and 3 variants.
Baton: Luminous hour and minute hands are wide and non-tapering, with a flat tip. Baton hands are only available on Type 4 variants.
Luminous Seconds (LS): Certain variants of Type 1 and Type 3 Astronaut include a luminous seconds hand. Luminous seconds is not available on Type 2 or 4 variants.
Large Minute (LM): One Type 1 variant is known to use a large, tapered minute hand.
Broadhead Hour (BH): Certain variants of Type 1 Astronaut with pointed hands include a rare broadhead pointed hour hand. Broadhead hour is not available on Type 2, 3 or 4 variants.


Bracelet Variations

Only two bracelet styles are confirmed to have been used on the Astronaut: the Kreisler 'coffin-link' bracelet and the Champion 'bullet' bracelet. Bracelet must match case material and have a signed clasp with the Accutron logo. If the clasp is unsigned or signed 'BULOVA', it is not original.


Table of Known Variants

The table below lists all known factory variants of Accutron Astronaut, separated by Type family. Authenticating an Astronaut variant is more a statistical analysis than anything else. The variants included in this table are only those models which are either confirmed to be a factory variant, or are evidently a factory variant, based on examination of hundreds of Astronaut watches and photographs. If your Astronaut does not look exactly like a variant described here, it is likely that it is not completely original. Bulova did occasionally issue odd cosmetic variants of some watches, but such variants are rare and difficult to authenticate.

If you have reason to believe the table is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us.

Type 1 Variant Bulova Type Bezel Case Dial Hands Bracelet
Black Pointed Astronaut A SS SS Black Pointed Kreisler Coffin SS
Black Pointed LS   SS SS Black Pointed w/ LS Kreisler Coffin SS
Simple Silver Pointed   SS SS Simple Silver Pointed  
Simple Silver Pointed BH   SS SS Simple Silver Pointed w/ BH  
Silver Pointed LS   SS SS Silver Pointed w/ LS  
Gold Pointed Astronaut H 14K 14KF Black Pointed  
Gold Pointed BH   14K 14KF Black Pointed w/ BH  
Black Dauphine   SS SS Black Dauphine  
Black Dauphine LS Astronaut N SS SS Black Dauphine w/ LS Champion Bullet SS
Simple Silver Dauphine   SS SS Simple Silver Dauphine  
Silver Dauphine   SS SS Silver Dauphine  

Type 2 Variant Bulova Type Bezel Case Dial Hands Bracelet
Silver Enhanced Astronaut L SS SS Silver Dauphine  
Duo Enhanced   14K 14KF Silver Dauphine  
Gold Enhanced   14K 14KF Gold Dauphine  
Solid Enhanced   14K 14K Black Dauphine  
Ultra Enhanced Astronaut C 18K 18K Ultra Gold Dauphine  

Type 3 Variant Bulova Type Bezel Case Dial Hands Bracelet
Black Day/Night Astronaut T Day/Night SS SS Black Dauphine Champion Bullet SS
Black Day/Night LS   Day/Night SS SS Black Dauphine w/LS Champion Bullet SS
Silver Day/Night Astronaut O Day/Night SS SS Silver Dauphine Champion Bullet SS

Type 4 Variant Bulova Type Bezel Case Dial Hands Bracelet
Black Swiss   Swiss SS SS Black Baton Champion Bullet SS
Cream Swiss   Swiss SS SS Cream Baton Champion Bullet SS


Examples


Astronaut 'Simple Silver Pointed BH': standard SS bezel, SS case, simple silver dial, pointed hands with broadhead hour and standard seconds.


Astronaut 'Black Dauphine LS': standard SS bezel, SS case, standard black dial, dauphine hands with luminous seconds hand.


Astronaut 'Solid Enhanced': standard 14K bezel, 14K case, enhanced black dial, dauphine hands with standard seconds.


Astronaut 'Ultra Enhanced': standard 18K bezel, 18K case, ultra enhanced dial, dauphine hands with standard seconds.


Astronaut 'Black Day/Night': day/night SS bezel, SS case, black day/night dial, dauphine hands with standard seconds.


Astronaut 'Black Swiss': Swiss SS bezel, SS case, black Swiss dial, baton hands with standard seconds.