New digital watch from Hamilton (40 years anniversary)

[digibloke]

Looks like a cross between a Vtec and a P4. I like it and I'm very intrigued by the "eta H1970 automatic digital movement"

"Forty years after revolutionising the world of watchmaking by inventing the first digital watch, Hamilton is opening the festivities of this anniversary with the launch of a new Hamilton Pulsomatic, equipped for the occasion with automatic technology. With its science-fiction design, a case inspired by space-age televisions, and a liquid crystal screen powered by an innovative automatic movement, the 82-hour power reserve H1970 movement, today’s Pulsomatic clearly stands on equal terms with its illustrious forerunner, considered to be the first computer ever worn on the wrist.

Movement Automatic, H1970 calibre
Functions Hours and minutes, date
Case Stainless steel, black PVD and 4N PVD, 49 x 39 mm
Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 50m
Dial Black
Digital liquid crystal display
Bracelet/Strap Steel or rubber Forty years after revolutionising the world of watchmaking by inventing the first digital watch, Hamilton is opening the festivities of this anniversary with the launch of a new Hamilton Pulsomatic, equipped for the occasion with automatic technology. With its science-fiction design, a case inspired by space-age televisions, and a liquid crystal screen powered by an innovative automatic movement, the 82-hour power reserve H1970 movement, today’s Pulsomatic clearly stands on equal terms with its illustrious forerunner, considered to be the first computer ever worn on the wrist.

Movement Automatic, H1970 calibre
Functions Hours and minutes, date
Case Stainless steel, black PVD and 4N PVD, 49 x 39 mm
Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 50m
Dial Black
Digital liquid crystal display
Bracelet/Strap Steel or rubber"

[retroleds]

Oh, I love the look -thanks for bringing this to our attention. But the whole "automatic movement" thing sounds like a bit of overkill. Or maybe it is a tradeoff - sure it will run down after 3.5 days if unused(not an issue if your daily wearer), but it will not need a battery for several years(capacitor or some other boutique battery technology?). Soon as I have time I am going to find out. And it looks like it has a tradition crown - stem set? More coolness!

I was thinking a cross between the P2 & Executive(or is it the Classic - who's your daddy? )...but I wasn't thinking outside the Pulsar box. Yes, the reverse LCD is V-tec like. I like the centered logo-on-glass.

[dot matrix]

To me it's a mixed bag. This is the second reissue of a classic digital design in recent years. I really like the look and the idea of it - but using a self-winding movement, having a winding stem, and trying to make an LCD display look like an LED is missing the point. I don't see why they don't just use solar for self-powered solid states. As with the v-tec, I give them an A for effort (look, and materials) - but a C for execution. I wonder if it was designed more by marketing people than by engineers.

I hope this is the beginning of a trend and that there'll be more quality digitals coming out.

[LEDluvr]

I think it looks great - a sleek and new 'homage' to the P2 and/or Classic Pulsars. But no colon??
There was no mention, does it have a date funtion? If not, I guess it really is an homage to the P2.

[bucko170]

Has the price been stated?

[andyft21]

Great looking watch, nice to see something new that i can drool over

[Sully008]

I read online that the price is somewhere around $1400US

While I really like the design, they could've gone out of the box and used OLED as the display. Why use LCD, a technology that's been around almost as long as the original Hamilton came out? This should've been used as a platform to show off newer technology.

[retroleds]

OMG - I went looking and look what I found..



$1000-1400 USD

[bruce wegmann]

The LED version has a very stylish P3-look to it...but...a kilobuck plus?! I'll stick to the originals....they're cheaper!

[abem]

Unfortunately, I think that there is no LED version. The LED graphic is part of a morph sequence between a P2 (with a fictional Hamilton crystal) and a Pulsomatic:
http://people.timezone.com/jmerino/pulso1.jpg

Bummer about the price. A kilobuck?? Honestly, that just seems a little out of touch with reality.

-abe.

[bruce wegmann]

I should have looked closer before I spoke...the price is still WAY out of line, if accurate...a shame. I have a Hamilton MIB2 LCD I have been wearing daily for 6 years, and it is still keeping extremely good time [-28 seconds cumulative error for all last year]. I got it on eBay for $60. I notice the display is the same...white digits on a black background...what I understand is called a "negative" display, but, no seconds!]. If Hamilton expects to sell many of these, they'll HAVE to come down on the price by two-thirds or more [40th anniversary or not]. It's not a bad-looking watch, but I'll keep my MIB2, thanks.

[ronaldheld]

Can someone explain to me how that price is justified?

[retroleds]

Can someone explain to me how that price is justified?

My theory: their marketing people slip over to Denmark, smoke a lot of killer weed in a coffee shop, then throw darts and add up the numbers from the first few throws. But seriously, yes, that is ridiculous for a timepiece from a company that hasn't had any really glory under the Hamilton name since 1972-73. It's just a freakin brand, the original company is long gone. At $600 I'd consider one. Sorry about the LED picture...the site I found that on gave the impression that was reality,not "Photoshop". I do like the Ventura re-issue from Hamilton, in the skeletonized auto-winder version. That justified the $700-ish I paid for mine(I think SUlly has one too), but like the piece at issue, they were trying to get $700+ for the quartz version. Which I though justified maybe $350-400.

The MIB2 isn't bad(a little hard to read in certain light), but at least the price was right. Ironically, to the watch buying collector, it set the bar awfully low, which is why we are aghast at the proposed price. They want to sell a Mercedes, when their current street "rep" is more like Dodge.

[Sully008]

I don't have the skeletonized Hamilton, I have the quartz Chrono version, which was the one used in the movie, MIB2. It's not the MIB2 issue one though, as that had a white face with black subdials. The regular chrono is black face w/chrome subdials.

I have to admit, I paid the $700 they wanted for it, but I would've paid almost anything since it was from MIB2 and probably as screen accurate as you could get. I didn't pay nearly as much for the MIB2 Pulsar, and was rather disappointed at the display, although the case is wonderful and it does have multiple functions. To be honest I've never worn it, it still has the protective plastic on the band.

This new one is way over my price range for what it is. I'd rather make my hybrids than buy this piece.

I do like the Ventura re-issue from Hamilton, in the skeletonized auto-winder version. That justified the $700-ish I paid for mine(I think SUlly has one too), but like the piece at issue, they were trying to get $700+ for the quartz version. Which I though justified maybe $350-400.

The MIB2 isn't bad(a little hard to read in certain light), but at least the price was right. Ironically, to the watch buying collector, it set the bar awfully low, which is why we are aghast at the proposed price. They want to sell a Mercedes, when their current street "rep" is more like Dodge.

[rewolf]

Looks nice, very nice.
I'd like to learn more about the automatic movement. 82h power reserve is a bit low however - the Ventura d_SPARCs have several weeks. However some sources say 82 days - that would be good.
If the quality is in the Ventura range, ~1000$ does not seem too much IMHO.
Bummer - I really wanted to stop buying expensive watches, I had sworn to myself that the black v-tec Delta last week would be the last one...

[ronaldheld]

For that price, I would look at the new Ventura digitals coming out.

[morelite]

Looks nice, very nice.
I'd like to learn more about the automatic movement. 82h power reserve is a bit low however - the Ventura d_SPARCs have several weeks. However some sources say 82 days - that would be good.
If the quality is in the Ventura range, ~1000$ does not seem too much IMHO.
Bummer - I really wanted to stop buying expensive watches, I had sworn to myself that the black v-tec Delta last week would be the last one...

This ad states 120 day power reserve, (link; http://www.wristwatchhaven.com/hamilton ... ulsomatic/ )

"Forty years after revolutionising the world of watchmaking by inventing the first digital watch, Hamilton is opening the festivities of this anniversary with the launch of a new Hamilton Pulsomatic, equipped for the occasion with automatic technology. With its science-fiction design, a case inspired by space-age televisions, and a liquid crystal screen powered by an innovative automatic movement, the 120-day power reserve H1970 movement, today’s Pulsomatic clearly stands on equal terms with its illustrious forerunner, considered to be the first computer ever worn on the wrist."

[morelite]

I think it looks great - a sleek and new 'homage' to the P2 and/or Classic Pulsars. But no colon??
There was no mention, does it have a date funtion? If not, I guess it really is an homage to the P2.

There is a date function, but no seconds, colon, or backlight.

[jacqueswu]

Great looking watch, nice to see something new that i can drool over

DOES ANYONE KNOW THE MANUFACTURER NAME OF THE DIGITAL MOVEMENT？

[rewolf]

Probably ETA:
http://www.worldwatchreview.com/2010/10/21/rado-ceramic-diastar-digital-automatic-quartz/:

The new Rado Ceramica DiaStar Digital Automatic watch employs a movement that was designed by ETA as an answer for the hybrid-powered Japanese quartz calibers.
The watch is powered by the new ETA E18.711 digital automatic caliber. Similar in principle to the wildly popular Seiko Kinetic Direct Drive automatic-quartz movements (a winding rotor charges a battery inside the watch providing it with enough juice to run for 3-4 months,) the new movement is a version of the Calibre H1970 originally developed by ETA for Hamilton’s recent Pulsomatic model.