Lorus Solar-powered Digital 1980s-somethang
It was the early 1980s. I had an embarrassingly small amount of pocket money saved up from weekend jobs. On a connecting flight in transit and ogling all the luxury items in a Johannesburg airport duty-free shop, my schoolboy eyes found a treasure. It was a solar-powered thang of beauty… a Lorus digital. So retro now, it still feels astonishingly wonderful in my mind.
The watch itself has long since been lost and/or pickpocketed by time but it lingers in my mental databank. A small digital display beneath awkwardly large solar panels, this was long before the internet or digital images.
Recently, in 2022, I found a couple of pictures online, which resembles it as best I recall. Watch prices in all categories have soared but sometimes the simplest designs are the ones that live on in the imagination. Thank you for sharing the dive down a memory hole.
PS: Any details on model number, pedigree, or specifications are much appreciated.
#WordsAboutThangs
Cape Town, ZA. Festina Tour de France. Lorus old-school. G-Shock Mudman 💚🐸
Thank you for sharing your story. Facinated by vintage solar tech, especially how solar watches have been developed over time. As well as part of the wider search for alternate power sources other than single use batteries like Bulova Thermatron etc.
Unfortunatly have no clue what this Lorus model is called.
I used to have one. About 1986 I think. Long since gone. Loved it.