Black Watch (wristwatch)

The Black Watch is an electronic wristwatch launched in September 1975 by Sinclair Radionics. It cost £24.95 ready-built, but was for £17.95 also available as kit.

The Black Watch is equipped with a red LED display, which is illuminated only when the watchcase's surface is pressed; two resilient spots display hours and minutes or minutes and seconds, respectively.

The product was beset by technical problems including low battery life, variable accuracy and a very sensitive integrated circuit which could be rendered useless by a static shock from a nylon shirt. In spite of this, Sinclair's advertising still claimed:

:"If that sounds technical, think of the outcome: a watch with no moving parts, a watch with nothing to go wrong, a watch which gives accuracy never achievable by the most precise mechanical engineering." [http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/other/gallery/blackwatch_ukad.jpg]

References

* [http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/other/blackwatch.htm Planet Sinclair: The Black Watch]

Relevant articles

*Wristwatch