It was the ultimate in cool. James Bond even wore one. It was the light-up LED watch.
Introduced in 1970, it was a very expensive toy for the wealthy. But by 1972, they had gotten affordable and were starting to be popular. I got mine a couple of years later.
Dad used to get Coordinated Universal Time on his shortwave radio to set his watch (at the tone, it will be . . .). I had a wind-up Timex, and it used to lose or gain a couple of minutes a day. Hey, if you had a watch, you had to keep adjusting it. That's how it was.
But LED watches got us used to knowing EXACTLY what time it was.
One of my favorite tricks was to count down the bell in class. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" followed by the bell ringing on cue. Great stuff for a class clown.
The watches were accurate to within a minute or so a year. That was also the most ridiculous advertising claim ever, because you were replacing the battery at intervals that might possibly stretch into three months. Of course, when the watch was new, as you obsessively checked the time, a battery would give out after a month or so.
LED watches were a common sight until 1979. Then, they disappeared almost overnight. That year, the much more efficient LCD came on the market, and you could get a year or more out of the battery (if you didn't use your light too much to check the time in the dark).
The watches, which cost hundreds of dollars in 1970, were given away in cereal boxes by the end of the decade.
If you want to know everything there is to know about LED watches, check out http://www.ledwatches.net/. And if you want to get your own for $79.99, go to Think Geek.
Comments (3)
Ron
your posts create vivid images for bommers going down memory lane. Consider sharing some of them as tips (with a link back to your blog) over at SavvyHer. Who knows? One of your tips may be voted among the ten most popular one month and you might win gifts (SnapJot, Swash & karen Neuberger) and new visitors to your fun blog
Posted by kare anderson | December 28, 2006 11:17 AM
Posted on December 28, 2006 11:17
I had a friend in high school who got one of the first LED watches. He loved to show it off until he realized how quickly the batteries ran down and how much it cost to replace them.
I had an analog watch that gained 7 seconds per day. I used to reset it to the hourly time chime on the news station in the morning so I could do the "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" countdown to the class bell trick.
Posted by Ted Estes | March 23, 2007 12:45 PM
Posted on March 23, 2007 12:45
I didn't wear watches back then. Never really needed to keep up with time. I guess I had a watch here and there in highschool, but it was just a standard timex with hands. I do remember the LEDs coming out, but never had one. I find today, I often use my cellphone now to keep time. I do own a watch, but rarely use it. I do use a pocket watch when I wear my Civil War uniform for reenactments. I do like pocket watches better then wrist watches. I do have to admit the new fancy watches today seem nice including the gps features!
Posted by Rivers End | May 27, 2009 3:51 PM
Posted on May 27, 2009 15:51