Armitron is a watch brand manufactured by E. Gluck Corporation, headquartered in Little Neck,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. It was founded in 1975 by Eugen Gluck. As of 1999, Armitron had the fifth largest share of all watch purchasers, by brand, in the United States.

History

At the time of Armitron's founding, E. Gluck Corporation (then E. Gluck Trading Company) was a subsidiary of Armin Corporation. It specialized in

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light ...

-powered, five-function (hour, minutes, second, day and date) digital watches. The Armitron brand name is a

combination In mathematics, a combination is a selection of items from a set that has distinct members, such that the order of selection does not matter (unlike permutations). For example, given three fruits, say an apple, an orange and a pear, there are th ...

of “Armin” and “electronics”. Often using cases from Switzerland and bracelets from Hong Kong, Armitron watches were built in a custom-designed factory in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region ...

. In the late 1970s, E. Gluck Trading Company and Armin Corporation severed ties. E. Gluck Corporation became a privately held company and retained the Armitron

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

. As watch technology evolved and LED technology became less practical, LCD (

liquid crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but i ...

) displays were integrated into Armitron watches. Combined with Japanese

quartz movement Quartz clocks and quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks and watches are at least an ...

s, these LCD watches were extremely accurate and durable. Advanced functionality, such as alarms and

chronograph A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...

s were later incorporated to enhance the benefits of this precise timekeeper. Through the 1980s, Armitron was widely identified by its connection with various professional sports teams and professional athletes.

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championshi ...

Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was selected in the ...

Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded ...

and others were endorsers of the brand. Armitron remains an Official Sponsor of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. Today, Armitron continues to produce a range of quartz and automatic movement timepieces for men and women. As of the 2021 season, Armitron is a clock sponsor at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, and for the original run of ''American Gladiators''.

References

External links

* Watch brands American brands {{US-manufacturing-company-stub