Original vintage 1970s Caravell (by Bulova) advertisment - "With our new instant-set calendar watches, it does't take a year and a day to change the month." 
 
Dimensions: Roughly 8 inches wide by 11 inches high
 
Bulova was founded by Joseph Bulova in 1875 in New York City, and the company is known for its long and innovative history, including the release of the Accutron – the world's first fully electronic watch using tuning fork-based technology(more on that below) – in 1960.  It would pass through multiple separate corporate ownerships until it was sold to Citizen in late 2007.
 
Bulova started a small jewelry shop in New York City around 1875 on Maiden Lane, which specialized in jewelry and the repair of clocks and the occasional pocket watch.  Circa 1911, Bulova began producing table clocks and pocket watches.  To keep up with growing demand in the early 20th century, Bulova opened a factory in Bienne, Switzerland, using the "American Watchmaking System" in 1912, which had similar principles to an assembly line with a focus on interchangeable parts.  In 1962, Bulova introduced a new line of watches under the "Caravelle" brand name.
 
The watches were popular with the American public, and in 1927, Bulova set up an observatory on the roof of a skyscraper located at 580 Fifth Avenue to determine universal time precisely.  Favoring NYC, Bulova established its operations in Woodside, New York, and Flushing, New York, where it made innovations in watchmaking, and developed a number of watchmaking tools. Its horological innovations included the Accutron watch that used a resonating tuning fork as a means of regulating the time-keeping function.
 
During the 1920s and 1930s, Bulova was noted for its art deco watches, typically either rectangular or square. From 1922 through 1930, Bulova marketed 350 different ladies’ Art Deco watches, with at least an equal number of models for men. 
 
Bulova designs, manufactures, and markets several different brands, including: the signature "Bulova", the stylish "Caravelle" (formerly "Caravelle New York"), the dressy/formal Swiss-made “Wittnauer Swiss” and the "Marine Star."  In 2014, Bulova ceased the sale of watches under the "Accutron" and "Accutron by Bulova" brand, eliminating some Accutron models and subsuming others under the "Bulova" brand.
 
Bulova’s Accutron represented radically new technology - when the first Accutron tuning fork watches were released in 1960, it revolutionized the watchmaking profession.
 
Accutron watches were not quartz watches, which remained a decade away, but electric. The Accutron was unlike any other wristwatch at the time, as it did away with the conventional balance and balance spring used by more inferior predecessor electric watches, which oscillated at the same rate as a mechanical watch.
 
Accutron went on to claim fame as the first electric watch to achieve widespread success; the singular difference between the Accutron Astronaut here and other Accutron models of its era was the inclusion of a 24-hour hand, and a 24-hour bezel. The high frequency of Accutron movements offered unprecedented reliability, and its reliance on electric power with no requirement for a mainspring made it highly suitable for use in aerospace applications.