1965 Accumatic A-506

I think if you were to imagine in your mind's eye what a 1960s watch would look like, you'd probably get pretty close to the design for the 1965 Accumatic A-506.  You'd probably imagine something very sleek, perhaps a little unusual, likely on a metal bracelet, arguably with luminous hands. 

That pretty much sums up the A-506.  It was introduced in 1965 and produced into the early 1970s.  Originally it was offered with a silver-colored textured dial as well as a black dial.  I'm not sure if the black dial was textured though.

In 1968 the bracelet design was changed and it appears, at least from the catalog, that the dial was changed to white and lost the texture.  The dial kept the distinctive angular font for the numerals though.

in 1972 the black dialed version was dropped and the priced increased a little to the equivalent of about $550 in today's currency.

I've seen quite a few A-506's in my travels and I would say that almost every one of them had the silver textured dial with the same moisture-related issues on the crown side.  My latest project watch is no exception.  However, it's not the worst I've seen.

As received, it features a well-worn crystal and the crown has an unfamiliar logo that looks like a U but is definitely not an Omega.  The dial looks okay but there's a little green toning around the 3 - clearly indicating moisture intrusion.  The finish on this dial is very susceptible to moisture and it would be impossible to refinish without losing the original textured details.   If you ever get moisture in your watch you want to open it up to dry out or get it serviced right away.

Without the crystal in the way you can see the toning on the right side of the dial more clearly.  It's not horrible but it is what it is, at this point.

The female side of the two piece stem is a bit rusted.  I'll replace that as rusted stems will eventually fail to hold the male side and the crown will disappear.  The movement is dirty and I didn't try to wind it so hopefully there are no lurking issues.  It's interesting that this movement has a 689 movement but a rotor framework from a 689A.  The framework for a 689 extends over the balance and you can see this one does not.  I recently learned the A in 689A is because the barrel in the 689A is anodized - that's a protective coating.  I've often wondered what made a 689A different from the 689 - other than the shape of the framework.  All of the other parts are identical - other than the barrel. 

Well, I did find one issue.  The ratchet wheel that winds the mainspring is missing several teeth.  The pinion on the wheel from the automatic framework is also missing a few teeth.  So there's no way this movement would be able to wind itself.  Both of these parts will need to be replaced.  I suspect the other wheels in the framework are bad as something caused these two parts to get jammed together and fail.

Everything is disassembled and cleaned before going back together with fresh lubricants.  You can't see well in the photo but the barrel is not the anodized version, it's bright and shiny.

With a replacement ratchet wheel, the movement is now wound up and ticking away with a brisk motion.

Looking good... just a couple of tweaks to reduce the beat error is needed... well, not so much necessary but it's so easy to do that I'd feel guilty not fine tuning it.

It doesn't take much of an adjustment to dial in the timing.

I replaced the framework with a proper 689 style and this watch is now winding as smoothly as it should.  Paired with a nice leather strap, this 60 year old A-506 is looking fantastic and ready for some wrist time.