1972 Seiko Chariot High Beat. No idea what the name of this dial is since it’s not snowflake, but it is beautiful in person

The LED window is very tiny, but with how tightly packed the movement is in the case it kind of had to be 😂

2 batteries, an ancient quartz crystal and 70s IC chip, the LED module and driver circuit, and an absolutely massive driver motor. Somehow all within a case the size of a 35mm PRX. It’s kind of amazing that they were able to get it together at all

Fun fact: This watch does not use a standard size LED module like you would see in a Pulsar, Hughes, or any other module, it was specially made by Kuatron and is about half-sized so if it dies it dies barring replacement from a parts donor. It’s also possibly not accurately labeled as Swiss made as the module is presumed to have been made by Kuatron entirely and only cased (and possibly assembled?) in Switzerland since Zenith never had the production capability for a quartz movement this complex on-site.

I love this watch for that reason, super innovative and extremely well made. It’s a shame these sorts of watches fell by the wayside in the back half of the decade. 1970-1975 IMO were probably some of the most transformative years for watches ever with pretty marginal improvements before and since.

If Tissot released a modern version with an LED digital display I would be one of the first in line to pick one up 😂

I doubt Tissot would be able to make a movement as thin as this one with an LED display though, despite taking 2 357 batteries the movement is as thin as the modern 35mm Tissot PRX quartz at 9.7mm.

Under half the size 😂

Invicta is similar to so many other Swiss watch brands that had a tumultuous decade in the 70’s. On the plus side at least they survived, and now with Glycine they have a pretty solid Swiss presence.

Good points! I absolutely love the look of it too. My Mido from WW2 is the same size roughly, but is much more spartan.

It’s in incredible condition for its age. A bit of pitting on the case and the crystal but otherwise in fantastic condition, and running well to boot