The Pulsar, World's First Digital Watch
In these days of atomic-clock regulated radio watches, the ability to maintain accuracy to within three seconds per month may not seem very impressive. But in 1970, when the Hamilton Pulsar watch was first announced, it was an extraordinary step forward in horology.
The Pulsar was announced in May of 1970, and went on sale a year later at the then outrageous price of $1,500. It was an enormous amount of money for anything that wasn't a fine piece of jewelry, such as a Cartier or Rolex. But the innovations in this watch were fully reflected in its high price.
Prior to the introduction of the Pulsar, watch accuracy had been increasing, particularly since the use of tuning forks had begun. Miniature tuning forks were continually stimulated by a current, causing them to vibrate rapidly. Early tuning forks were not crystal and vibrated at 360 Hertz (cycles per second), which was transferred to a mechanical mechanism.
But tuning forks, as great an advance as they were, had several drawbacks. They were sensitive to temperature and mechanical shock. The watch components were still essentially an electro-mechanical system, with all the physical and accuracy limitations inherent in them. Cool technology, but inherently imperfect.
Building on the success of its first purely electrical watch, the Ventura, Hamilton introduced a timepiece that was more computer than watch. Using a quartz timing mechanism controlled by a micro-computer, the Pulsar could be much more stable and accurate.
The piezo-electric effect causes the quartz crystal to twist in response to an applied voltage. Turn off the voltage and the crystal untwists. Repeat 32,768 times per second and you've got a very accurate, vibrating 'tuning fork'. That vibration was then sensed and transmitted to a circuit that divided the oscillations to one pulse per second and controlled a timing section.
Coupling that quartz movement to a micro-computer, then to a series of LEDs enabled Hamilton to create the Pulsar. The result was the world's first watch with almost no moving parts. No hands, no bezel, only a button to display the time.
Early models could only display the time by pressing a button, with a second one required to display seconds being counted off. The LEDs required too much power to display the time continuously.
Naturally, the limitation was touted as an advantage by marketing ads. It worked. Consumers took to the watch, particularly as prices came rapidly down. Later the LED styles were replaced by LCDs that required much less power and could show the time continuously.
The Pulsar technology started a timekeeping revolution in more than just wristwatches. It was used by NASA for rocket ships and thousands of other high-tech applications that required extreme accuracy.
Pulsars continue to capture the imagination of vintage watch collectors, technology aficionados and anyone else who admires innovation and elegant design. Hamilton rightly deserves the praise it received and continues to innovate in fine watches today.