Pulsar P3 Led Watch
I was on a camera fair last weekend... as a hobby I trade in analog camera's with a buddy of mine. A fellow trader had an interesting watch for sale for which he asked €5. I had seen this watch somewhere but I wasn't sure what it was, nor was I sure that it would work with a fresh battery... so offcourse I had to buy it.
Later I found out it is actually a historically significant watch and an absolute bargain for €5 😅
I thought Pulsar always was a Seiko sub-brand and was surprised that it belonged to Hamilton when this watch was made.
At home I took the Seiko bracelet off and opened it up. It was nice and clean inside so I ordered two batteries for it for which I had to pay more than I did for the watch itself 🤣
And surprise... the watch is actually working! I was able to set the time using a magnet from a whiteboard. The left button is - as far as I know now - supposed to display and set the date but nothing happens when pressing it.
Maybe somebody here knows what can be wrong with the watch if it only displays time, or maybe I am doing something wrong?
Anyway, I put it on the only 19mm strap I have that belongs to my Seiko UFO to try it on and decided to order a black canvas strap for it to see how that looks.
I am curious if I can get used to needing two hands to tell the time in your watch since you always have to press the right button to display time 🤣 As one of the first digital watches it is a nice addition to my collection of digital Casio's and vintage Seiko's.
Main interest is in quartz and digital watches. Seiko and Casio are my favourite brands. I have built a bronze Casio AE-1200 and a polished stainless steel AE-1200 using aftermarket cases and straps.
wow. great find what can I say 👌 not sure about the buttons issue but someone here might know
As you probably know by now, Hamilton reissued this - pretty much - not too long ago (the PSR).
As you probably know by now, Hamilton reissued this - pretty much - not too long ago (the PSR).
Yes that is probably why I recognised the watch. I was wondering, is the Hamilton also only displaying the time when the button is pressed?
Great find; that is a grail watch for many digital collectors. Here is my post on the Hamilton PSR, including information on it’s history and the original Pulsar.
https://www.watchcrunch.com/WatchWookiee/posts/ww-s-vintage-led-week-5-hamilton-psr-digital-quartz-h52414131-222617
A museum piece - 1972 and the first LED digital watch - a great find and a bargain.
Yes that is probably why I recognised the watch. I was wondering, is the Hamilton also only displaying the time when the button is pressed?
Yes, the time is always on but dimmed. One press gets a brighter display, second press gets seconds. However, the reissue only has one button.....
Beautiful piece. I have a vintage Bulova LED and while it's beautiful all of these watches are notoriously problematic. I'm sure the contactor on the button side that isn't working has gone bad. Very common issue. A rebuild of the module is very expensive and while these watches are cool they are also really undervalued. So I would love it as is in my opinion. Good luck and enjoy!
First, congratulations on stealing a very cool vintage watch!
About the button not working, what I'd do is remove the movement from the case and try to actuate the date manually where the case button would contact, you know, like on a chrono. If it works like that, I'd have a look at the button mechanism and see why it's not making sufficient contact. If it doesn't work no matter what, I'd do what @Txtim1980 Tim said and just enjoy it as is.
Nice! Lucky find! I have the reissue version, but to find the original! Awesome!
Nice find!
LED watches have a different relationship to time, for sure. They don't continually offer it, you have to actually ask for it. Because of this and needing two hands to operate, I feel they present time in a very leisurely, relaxed way. It's a time piece for when you're not pressed for time.
I have a steel LED and a gold-tone one. In steel, it feels like such a casual, kicking around on the weekend kind of watch. In gold tone, I think it makes the best possible case for a digital dress watch. It fully embodies that sense of losing track of time.
First, congratulations on stealing a very cool vintage watch!
About the button not working, what I'd do is remove the movement from the case and try to actuate the date manually where the case button would contact, you know, like on a chrono. If it works like that, I'd have a look at the button mechanism and see why it's not making sufficient contact. If it doesn't work no matter what, I'd do what @Txtim1980 Tim said and just enjoy it as is.
Thanks! I will try that and see what happens.
Great find; that is a grail watch for many digital collectors. Here is my post on the Hamilton PSR, including information on it’s history and the original Pulsar.
https://www.watchcrunch.com/WatchWookiee/posts/ww-s-vintage-led-week-5-hamilton-psr-digital-quartz-h52414131-222617
Thanks for sharing this! Puts things in a nice perspective 😀