15 Oct 2005, 20:26
I ran into this in a group of 18K Pulsars [a mix of P3s, P4s, and Ladies' models]. These were all original, NOS watches, so there was no question as to whether the modules were just as they left the factory. On the Ladies and P4s, it could be determined if the watch was magnetic or autoset by looking at the HR and MIN lettering [it was there in all cases]. Blacked in = magnetic set, left plain = autoset. There were no exceptions. Bracelet date codes suggested these watches were shipped in late 1975 [perhaps before the tooling for the new, smooth, autoset case backs was done]. Of course, if these parts were all that was in stock at the time, there would have been a lot of pressure to get the watches built and out the door, and this was a simple and clever means to use the same cases on both versions.