The History of the Digital Watch
The Electric Watch
The Hamilton Electric Watch
In 1957, The Hamilton Watch Co of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, produced the world's first electric watch. The Hamilton Electric Watch kept time with a traditional balance-wheel mechanism which had been used in timepieces for hundreds of years and was therefore no more accurate than any other watch. Although people loved the fact that they no longer had to wind the watch, it would stop when the electric contacts became worn - which happened not long into the watch's lifespan. It was a headache that the Hamilton repair department continually faced until the watch was updated in 1961.
Accutron by Bulova
At around this time, Bulova provided the next big advance in electric timepieces with its Accutron watch in 1960.
Refining the Quartz Movement
Japanese Interpretation
While the Europeans were playing one-upmanship with their various techniques, Seiko was simultaneously taking a fresh look at quartz and so it was the Japanese company who unveiled the world's first quartz wristwatch - the 35SQ Astron Watch - in Tokyo on 25 December 1969. It had a plain face, was chunky (unlike the slim line Swiss mechanical watches) and also suffered so many technical difficulties that Seiko ended up recalling it after only producing just 100 watches. This competition led to slimmer, more accurate, less power-hungry watches.
The Digital Display
Pulsar and the LED Display
In 1972, Hamilton produced the first watch with a digital display. By pressing a button on the side, the time was displayed on a red numeric display, caused by a light emitting diode (LED) display. Before the watch companies could 'do away with' the analogue watches though, they first had to bring down the price of the digital successor. Texas Instruments brought the digital watch to the masses much as Henry Ford had brought the car. In 1975 they produced the first LED watch with a retail price of only $20; the following year this was halved. This level of competition saw Pulsar lose $6 million and find itself sold to competitors twice in the space of a year, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Seiko and reverting to making analogue quartz watches.
The Liquid Crystal Display
Digital watches even in the late 1970s still necessitated two hands - one to wear the watch and the other to press the button to turn on the LED display. Liquid Crystal Display first became possible in 1972 with the invention of the Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Display (TNLCD), following decades of research into liquid crystals at Hull University. It allowed a lower power level to reflect light onto a passive screen. It had a six figure display. As LCD used less power than LED, the display was permanent, thus allowing for the addition of seconds to the display.
The Swiss finally embraced quartz technology but left the digital field to the Japanese and Americans settling instead to make elegant analogue quartz watches.
The Development of Digital Watches
The 1980s saw further developments in the digital watch. Technology was coming on leaps and bounds and if it could be miniaturized enough the Japanese were putting it into a digital watch. In 1987, Casio produced a watch that could dial your phone number and Citizen unveiled one that would react to your voice.
The 1990s saw a refinement to solar-powered digital watches. The meant that they could generate more power for longer periods of time. 1995 saw Timex release a Data link watch which allowed the wearer to download information from a computer to their wrist.
Check out my other articles on women's watch
Source: bbc.co.uk
The Electric Watch
The Hamilton Electric Watch
In 1957, The Hamilton Watch Co of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, produced the world's first electric watch. The Hamilton Electric Watch kept time with a traditional balance-wheel mechanism which had been used in timepieces for hundreds of years and was therefore no more accurate than any other watch. Although people loved the fact that they no longer had to wind the watch, it would stop when the electric contacts became worn - which happened not long into the watch's lifespan. It was a headache that the Hamilton repair department continually faced until the watch was updated in 1961.
Accutron by Bulova
At around this time, Bulova provided the next big advance in electric timepieces with its Accutron watch in 1960.
Refining the Quartz Movement
Japanese Interpretation
While the Europeans were playing one-upmanship with their various techniques, Seiko was simultaneously taking a fresh look at quartz and so it was the Japanese company who unveiled the world's first quartz wristwatch - the 35SQ Astron Watch - in Tokyo on 25 December 1969. It had a plain face, was chunky (unlike the slim line Swiss mechanical watches) and also suffered so many technical difficulties that Seiko ended up recalling it after only producing just 100 watches. This competition led to slimmer, more accurate, less power-hungry watches.
The Digital Display
Pulsar and the LED Display
In 1972, Hamilton produced the first watch with a digital display. By pressing a button on the side, the time was displayed on a red numeric display, caused by a light emitting diode (LED) display. Before the watch companies could 'do away with' the analogue watches though, they first had to bring down the price of the digital successor. Texas Instruments brought the digital watch to the masses much as Henry Ford had brought the car. In 1975 they produced the first LED watch with a retail price of only $20; the following year this was halved. This level of competition saw Pulsar lose $6 million and find itself sold to competitors twice in the space of a year, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Seiko and reverting to making analogue quartz watches.
The Liquid Crystal Display
Digital watches even in the late 1970s still necessitated two hands - one to wear the watch and the other to press the button to turn on the LED display. Liquid Crystal Display first became possible in 1972 with the invention of the Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystal Display (TNLCD), following decades of research into liquid crystals at Hull University. It allowed a lower power level to reflect light onto a passive screen. It had a six figure display. As LCD used less power than LED, the display was permanent, thus allowing for the addition of seconds to the display.
The Swiss finally embraced quartz technology but left the digital field to the Japanese and Americans settling instead to make elegant analogue quartz watches.
The Development of Digital Watches
The 1980s saw further developments in the digital watch. Technology was coming on leaps and bounds and if it could be miniaturized enough the Japanese were putting it into a digital watch. In 1987, Casio produced a watch that could dial your phone number and Citizen unveiled one that would react to your voice.
The 1990s saw a refinement to solar-powered digital watches. The meant that they could generate more power for longer periods of time. 1995 saw Timex release a Data link watch which allowed the wearer to download information from a computer to their wrist.
Check out my other articles on women's watch
Source: bbc.co.uk
Thanks for the nice info! Digital watches are becoming the wave of the future. They are making a quick comeback in the world of fashion.
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