Pulsar is a brand of

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

and currently a division of

Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the ...

Watch Corporation of America (SCA). Pulsar was the world's first electronic digital watch. Current Pulsar watches are mostly

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

and use the same movements in Seikos such as the 7T62 quartz chronograph movement. Pulsar 2 UF

History

In 1970, Pulsar was a brand of the American

Hamilton Watch Company The Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company ended American manufacture in 1969. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, t ...

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 spring 1972, 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 A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

was also the first to use a digital display created with

light-emitting diode 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 (cor ...

s (LEDs). A button was pressed to display the time. The first Pulsar initially sold for $2,100 ($ in dollars). In October 1972, the Potpourri segment in the issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' mentioned the first Pulsar, and included a photo. In 1975, a digital Pulsar with a built-in calculator was released. In 1978, Seiko Corporation acquired the Pulsar brand, it is mid-grade of their product range. By 2020 Seiko has ceased selling its Pulsar in the United Kingdom.

References

External links

*
Website dedicated to vintage Pulsar watches
{{Japanese Electronics Industry Seiko Watch brands