My enthusiasm for electronic digital wristwatches has its origins in 1979, when I saw the first mass-sold LCD watch in the GDR, a RUHLA caliber 22-01. That was something fantastic for me and I looked at this watch with longing. But it was out of reach for me as a student at the time, because it cost the entire monthly salary of a worker.

My enthusiasm awoke and was intensified when I became aware of the predecessors, the watches with LED display, a few years ago. The LED displays with their intense red, high-contrast ultra-thin lines are simply beautiful!
 

On the history of LED watches: In 1970, the American companies HAMILTON WATCH CO. / ELECTRO-DATA introduced the world's first all-electronic wristwatch, a watch completely without mechanical components, called as "solid state". At the same time, the company URANUS and the inventor Roger Wiliam Riehl also developed such a watch, even with a solar cell. These watches displayed the time digitally, in digits with red active optoelectronic components, the light-emitting diodes (LED). The way this time was displayed was also the first real innovation in 500 years of watch development. The bright and high-contrast LED digit indicators, which are also visible in the dark, enabled completely new watch design concepts, according the "space-age". The LED watch also falls into the age of the first electronic calculators and was consequently referred to as the "time computer".The world's first computer wristwatch, solar wristwatch, game-watch and alphanumeric wristwatch used an LED display. Unfortunately, the era of these beautiful watches lasted only about 5 years. Due to the high power consumption, LED watches were not suitable for everyday use and were replaced by the LCD watches after a short time. Nevertheless, to my knowledge, there are more than 1,000 different models of these watches worldwide.

TIME COMPUTER "Pulsar II" Mod. 2970 (year of publication: 1972)

The Pulsar II is the successor to the world's first all-electronic wristwatch, the PULSAR LIMITED EDITION (P1). It was produced in large quantities, was the first LED watch to be sold in shops and was also very successful. It contains 25 integrated circuits (IC) and is completely transistor-based, i.e. without mechanical parts. It only has the technical capacity to display the time (hour, minute, second). To make the watch waterproof, the Pulsar uses a sophisticated concept: a magnet is used to display and set the time, which is located in the folding clasp of the bracelet. This allows reed contacts (small glass tubes with 2 wires) to be switched through the housing at specially marked places, no conventional buttons are necessary. Also special is the brightness control of the LED point display with a light sensor.

Prominent owners included Richards, Jack Nicholson, Joe Frazier, Elton John, Giovanni Agnelli and Us President Gerald Ford. Actor Roger Moore wore this watch in the James Bond film "Live and Let Die" (1973). The traditional house Tiffany & Co. had a special edition with its name made by this watch.

The watch shown here contains one of the first P2 modules, which can be seen from the fact that the light sensor on the module is horizontally under the display and on the fan-shaped battery terminals. In addition to this 14kt gold-plated model, there is also a stainless steel version (aka “Astronaut”), a model solid gold 14kt with stainless steel base and a model solid gold 14k (aka “V.I.P”). All models were available with a link or leather strap..

TIME COMPUTER "Pulsar DATE/COMMAND" Mod. 3120 (year of publication: 1973)

In addition to the "DATE II", the "DATE/COMMAND" is a watch of the 3rd generation, also known as "P3" and the first model, which can also display the date. The watch is equipped with a "smart calendar" that can distinguish between months of 30 and 31 days.

In addition to the 14kt gold-plated model shown here, there is also a version made of stainless steel, a model solid gold 14kt with stainless steel base as well as models solid gold 14k and 18kt. All models were available with a link or leather strap. The single-linked integrated metal bracelet of the DATE/COMMAND with its large links still looks very modern and contemporary today.

TIME COMPUTER “Pulsar AUTO/COMMAND EXECUTIVE" Mod 5201-1 (year of publication: 1975)

In addition to the "CLASSIC" and "BIG-TIME", the "EXECUTIVE" is a 4th generation watch, also known as "P4", which has an auto-command function, i.e. the time is displayed by turning the wrist (flick-wrist). For this purpose, a mercury inclination switch is installed. Furthermore, this generation changed from the previous LED dot display to led bar display. The "Executive" is the first Pulsar to introduce the 406 (24h display) module and is also the only auto-command model for which there is a 24-h display.

The watch shown here is an early model from 1975, which is still equipped with the module 401 (magnetic set). Later models included the module 402 or 406 with Auto/Set (by pressing the function keys three times the setting mode is activated). In addition to this 14kt gold-plated model, there is also a version made of stainless steel, as well as models solid gold 14kt and 18kt. All models were available with 12h or 24h module as well as with link or leather strap (brown or black). The curvy design gives the EXECUTIVE its typical space-age look and made this model the most popular in the Pulsar range.

TIME COMPUTER “Pulsar AUTO/COMMAND CLASSIC" Modell 5310 (year of publication: 1975)

The "CLASSIC" is also a watch of the 4th generation and visually based on the P2. Along with the BIG TIME, it is one of the P4 watches that were available with the module 403, which also has a weekday display (DOW) in addition to the date. The display of the day of the week is solved very originally, in that the 2 letters for the weekday abbreviations are arranged one above the other. In addition to the 14kt gold-plated model shown here, there is also a version in stainless steel, solid gold 14kt and solid gold 18kt. All models have a link bracelet.

JAEGER-LE COULTRE "Master Quartz Digital LED" (year of publication: 1975)

The renowned Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-Le Coultre, who is well known for its mechanical watches, also had this LED watch in its range. A festive elegant watch with an extraordinary design: The large oval "goldfilled" case with the seamlessly integrated Milanese bracelet is particularly striking. The mineral glass of the LED display stands out due to its trapezoidal shape. The screwed stainless steel bottom is equipped with 2 separate battery compartments for easy battery replacement. The movement is an early model of Huges Aircraft with a LED dot display. We see here the particularly beautiful watch of a Swiss Nobel company, whose selling price was correspondingly high at about 1,200 DM at that time.

NEPRO Solar LED (year of publication: 1974)

Rare solar wristwatch from the Swiss company Nepro Watch, La Chaux-de-Faux. The cool design with the angled display and solar panel is particularly striking. The solar panel looks very futuristic on this model because it does not have a flat surface but angled slats. The caliber is an in-house development of Nepro based on Litronix with display of hours, minutes, seconds, day of the week, month and date. This watch was also offered under other brands such as ALFATRONIC or HERMA. The Nepro Solar LED is available in stainless steel and black lacquered stainless steel.

HEUER “Chronosplit II LCD/LED” Mod. 100.703 (year of publication: 1975)

The HEUER Chronosplit LCD/LED is the world's first digital electronic wristwatch with a chronograph (stopwatch). The Chronosplit was therefore particularly popular in the Formula-1 scene. Enzo Ferrari had a special model limited to 15 pieces with its company logo made as a gift for friends and business partners. The Chronosplit was worn by famous Formula-1 drivers such as Niki Lauda and Gilles Villeneuve, as well as by actor and amateur racer Paul Newman.

In the American television series "The Gemini Man", the HEUER Chronosplit was the technical highlight with which the Gemini Man made himself visible or invisible. In the film, the watch was nuclear-powered. Name “Chronosplit” and HEUER logo had been removed from the watch, so viewers didn't know that this watch really does exist. The traditional house Tiffany & Co. also had a custom-made version (200 pcs) of this watch with its name made.

The Chronosplit LCD/LED was sold in 4 versions:
- Model 100.723 (Chronosplit  I ): stainless steel case with leather strap
- Model 100.703 (Chronosplit  II): stainless steel case with integrated stainless steel bracelet
- Model 100.725 (Chronosplit III): Golddoublé case with leather strap
- Model 100.705 (Chronosplit IV): Golddoublé case with integrated Doublé bracelet

LONGINES “ASYMMETRIC” Cal. L 782.1 (year of publication: 1976)

Designer watch of the Swiss company Companie des Montres Francillon S.A., Saint-Imier. This model is unique for its tapered asymmetrical stainless steel case. Typical for Longines also the large rectangular buttons. Display of hour, minute, second, date and AM/PM indication. The base calibre of this watch comes from Sanyo.

LONGINES “GEMINI” Cal. L 785.1 (year of publication: 1976)

The LONGINES GEMINI is a “Day & Night”-watch that has an LCD and LED display. The watch shown here is the very rare stainless steel version produced in Switzerland by the Companie des Montres Francillon S.A./Saint-Imier. The golden version, the "Gemini II", was developed and manufactured in the USA. The base calibre comes from the American company Hughes Aircraft.

LONGINES-WITTNAUER "POLARA IV” SILVER AND GOLD (year of publication: 1976)

A case and bracelet made of solid sterling silver, gold-plated bracelet links and the bezel set with 36 diamonds make this LONGINES POLARA a real jewel among LED watches. This model was also available in the same or similar design from JAEGER LE-COULTRE. This watch is an impressive example of the fact that digital watches have also occupied the luxury class in the watch world and was correspondingly expensive at the time with a sales price of approx 1,400 dollars. Other very noble watches I know are the "Goldnugget watch" by Wittnauer and the LED watches by the British designer Andrew Grima.

LONGINES-WITTNAUER "POLARA III” SILVER AND GOLD (year of publication: 1976)

The Polara III is another "jewery" watch from LONGINES-WITTNAUER. The case is made of solid sterling silver is decorated with bezel and monogram field made of solid 14k gold. The surface is nicely roughened, but so strong that it does not disappear by using the watch, as with satin-finished surfaces. The watch is equipped with the last caliber manufactured by Hughes Aircraft, which enables automatic leap year correction. The selling price of the watch at that time was 395 dollars.

GIRARD PERREGAUX "Casquette" (year of publication: 1976)

The "Casquette" is a very stylish and elegant watch from the Swiss manufacturer Girard-Perregaux S.A., La Chaux de Fonds. A special feature of this watch is the LED display, which is arranged on the side for better readability in bright sunlight in a shaft. It is also special that GP developed the electronics completely by itself and did not buy it like most other watch manufacturers from companies such as Sanyo, Hughes Aircraft, National Semiconductor or Esa. GP developed 3 different modules with the calibre designations 395, 396 and 397:
- Caliber 395 has the date and a 12-hour display. This calibre is rare and watches with this calibre have only
  a normal button on the left side without an impressive inner part.
- Caliber 396 has a weekday display (text) in addition to the date and the 12-hour display.
- Caliber 397 has a 24-hour display, but no weekday display.

The "Casquette" was sold in three versions:
- Model 9939 Makrolon (edition 2,000 pieces, price 750 DM).
- Model 9934 18k gold-plated (edition 2,200 pieces, price 995 DM)
- Model 9931 Stainless steel (edition 4,000 pieces, price 895 DM)

All versions of the "Casquette" were available with leather strap or metal bracelet.

CONCORD LED watch (year of publication: 1976)

The LED watches of the Swiss manufacturer Concord are among the highest quality and were exclusively sold in the USA via the noble jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels and TIFFANY & CO. sold.

In addition to the model shown here, which is milled from a solid stainless steel block, there were also models gold-plated and solid gold 18k, all with link bracelet or leather strap as well as a men's watch or (smaller) women's watch. The seamlessly integrated link bracelet is very solid and similar in structure to the bracelet of the GP Casquette Makrolon.

BENRUS Techniquartz Citation Elegance Alpha VI, aka "pop up” (year of publication: 1976)

The "pop up" from Benrus is one of the most popular LED watches and a true icon. It is designed like a driver's watch. A special feature is that when the button is pressed, the case cover pops open, the display appears and the time (hour, minute) is displayed. When the button is pressed again, the day of the week and date are displayed, and when the key is pressed again, the seconds are displayed. The case is very tastefully finished in bicolor. The price at the time was $250.

ETERNA Driver LED Cal. 9392 (year of publicationr: 1977)

Designer watch from the Swiss company Eterna S.A., Grenchen. Particularly striking are the golden monogram field for signatures and the engraved manufacturer's name with logo on the top. The ETERNA is designed as a driver's watch, with a display arranged on the side. The extravagant design is comparable to the French JAZ and the Swiss MIDO Swissonic. By the way, all these watches use the robust Ebauches ESA9392 module.

ETIENNE AIGNER LED (year of publication: 1976 or 1977)

Designer watch by Etienne Aigner. The fashion company Aigner, which specializes in leather articles, regularly publishes watches with the design of its company logo, often referred to as "horseshoe style". Among the many models was also the LED clock shown here, which is very rare.
The module comes from the American company Fairchild. Also unusual is the attachment of the bracelet, which has a straight and a curved end and must be fastened accordingly with a straight and a curved spring bar.

RIEHL TIME “SUNWATCH” Mark III (year of publication: 1977)

The "SUNWATCH Mark III" is the 3rd generation of the world's first solar wristwatch, the "Synchronar 2100". The Synchronar 2100 was still manufactured by Ragen Semiconductor, the Sunwatch was then produced by Riehl Time Corporation (RTC), a company founded by the inventor of this watch Roger Wiliam Riehl.

Special features of this watch are the design, the technically high degree of development and the robustness: Even the first model had a high shock resistance of 5,000G, a water resistance of up to 700 ft and wide temperature tolerances. These different technical features even improved with subsequent models. The various functions of the Synchronar/Sunwatch are controlled by two sliders on the top and not by conventional buttons. Last but not least, the watch also claimed an accuracy of one minute per year. The design with the rectangular case is somewhat reminiscent of the early seasons of Star Trek. The time and date are displayed on the side of the wearer, i.e. as with the "driver watches" specially designed later. The surface of the watch is dominated by the solar cell window to maximize light absorption.

The clock was a real phenomenon at the time, and prominent carriers included Paul McCartney and Egypt's President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

The watch shown here was reworked in 2020 by StrikesAndSpares as a carrying watch for daily use with a Drive SASM80F, new solar cell and Varta V80H batteries. It offers a time function (12h or 24h display), date function (MM:TT or TT:MM display), second function, weekday function and languages DE/FR/EN as well as leap year function and calendar week. A original drive is also present, but inoperable due to the 40+ year old batteries.

WINDERT "MICROLUX L.E.D. Computer Watch" with message-modul (year of publication: 1977)

At the end of the LED watch era, some manufacturers tried to keep the clientele with extended functions. The American manufacturer WINDERT therefore equipped its MICROLUX LED watch with a user-programmable module for displaying individual texts (5 words with up to 5 characters each). For this purpose, the watch is equipped with a special message module from Hughes Aircraft. The programmed message is displayed line by line at the push of a button.

BULOVA “Computron LED” Modell 4 Caliber 2544.10 (year of publication: 1977)

Bulova was the best-known and most successful manufacturer of driver's watches in the 1970s. His models were so popular that a retro version of this watch has been produced since 2019. This is offered with a red or blue LED display. The term "Computron" is composed of Computer and Electronic. With its distinctive appearance, the Computron has become a legend among LED watches. It was offered in many design variants, most with gold-plated metal housings. There was also a chrome-plated model, which is unfortunately very rare (only about 1 percent of all watches sold).

The watch shown here with the module 254 comes from the 2nd generation (1977). Special features are the 1-button operation (auto-set function: the setting mode is activated by pressing it three times) and the 6-digit display with seconds. The 1st generation (1976) with module 229 had two buttons and a 4-digit display. Both versions have a screwed bottom with 2 battery compartments. The third and last generation (1977) with the module 255 is much smaller than the two predecessors and is also called the "one-battery hatch" version because it has only one battery compartment. The following bangle ladies watch comes from this generation.

BULOVA “Computron Lady Driver” Caliber 2553.10 (year of publication: 1977)

Rare Bulova women's bangle watch with the equally rare Florentine finish (most other models have a smooth surface). The display is 4 digits and the caliber allows either a 12- or 24-hour display. This model is one of the "one-battery hatch" watches because it has only one battery compartment.

all LED-watches (to see the model name place the mouse-pointer over the foto):

SATOLEX “Calcu-Pen” LED (year of publication: 1975)

The Calcu-pen is a very unique calculator from the 1975 to 1977 time-frame, made out of metal and constructed very well. It is shaped much like a cigar tube, 6.3 inches long and about 0.6 inches in diameter. The five keys on the barrel are termed "Quadraplane" rocker switches. Each switch will rock in four directions, allowing four numbers or functions per key. The display is an eight-digit red LED. The on/off function is controlled by rotating the end cap of the pen.