Pulsar (watch)

Pulsar is a watch brand and currently a Seiko Watch Corporation of America (SCA) division. Pulsar was the world's first electronic digital watch, created by Bulgarian engineer and NASA scientist Peter Petroff, which was launched in the early 1970s.[1] Current Pulsar watches are mostly analog and use the same movements in Seikos such as the 7T62 quartz chronograph movement.

History

In 1970, Pulsar was a brand of the American Hamilton Watch Company which first announced that it was making and bringing the LED watch to market. It was developed jointly by American companies Hamilton and Electro/Data Inc. In the spring of 1972,[2][3] the first Pulsar watch was marketed by Hamilton Watch (the parent company, not the Hamilton Watch Division). With an 18-carat gold case, the world's first all-electronic digital watch was also the first to use a digital display created with light-emitting diodes (LEDs).[4] A button was pressed to display the time. The first Pulsar initially sold for $2,100 ($16,700 in 2025 dollars). In October 1972, the Potpourri segment in the issue of Playboy mentioned the first Pulsar, and included a photo. The Hamilton Pulsar P2 2900 was featured in the 1973 James Bond movie "Live and Let Die".[5] In 1975, a digital Pulsar with a built-in calculator was released.[6] In 1978, Seiko Corporation acquired the Pulsar brand, it is mid-grade of their product range. By 2020, Seiko had ceased selling its Pulsar in the United Kingdom.[7]

In January 2023 Seiko merged the brand with ALBA with a statement that Pulsar watches were no longer manufactured.

References

  1. ^ Peter D. Petroff Dies at 83; Devised a Digital Wristwatch The New York Times: Peter D. Petroff Dies at 83. Retrieved 2024-01-10
  2. ^ Bertrand Hochet, Antonio J. Acosta, Manuel J. Bellido, Integrated circuit design. Springer, 2002, p.11.
  3. ^ Christian Piguet, Low-power electronics design. CRC Press, 2005, p.1–10.
  4. ^ "Smithsonian Invention Centerpieces". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2011-03-23.
  5. ^ "Hamilton Pulsar P2 2900 LED digital watch - Bond Lifestyle". www.jamesbondlifestyle.com. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  6. ^ E. Fred Schubert, Light-emitting diodes. Cambridge University Press, 2006, p.14
  7. ^ "Sales rise at Seiko UK despite Covid crisis and trimming of watch portfolio". www.watchpro.com. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
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