Digital Watch Evolution Snapshot

[abem]

Hi.

For your enjoyment, here's a little case study in digital watch evolution. I took a liking to these inexpensive but well made Fairchild digital watches and ended up getting a set of three (almost mint with boxes). Together they seem to form, in microcosm, a snapshot of watch evolution from the mid to late LED era, maybe from 1975 to 1977. I don't know much about the precise dates or other information about these or the company - if anyone would like to add more, feel free.

Here are the basics:

1) Gold Colored LED Fairchild
- small LED digits
- no colon between hours and minutes
- displays date with one button press, seconds with two, no day of the week
- very slim, possibly the thinnest digital watch that I've seen. From the crystal to the caseback is about 8mm, the edge of the watch is only about 4mm high.
- base metal bezel, stainless back

2) Stainless LED Fairchild
- large LED digits
- colon between hours and minutes
- same operation as gold LED model
- about 3mm thicker
- all stainless construction

3) Stainless LCD Fairchild
- 6 digit LCD display
- button press toggles date mode showing the date, month, and day of the week
- same exact case dimensions as the silver LED model
- uses one battery instead of two
- used Tritium lighting for always on backlight (very dim now because of 12 year half life)!
- all stainless construction

Like most cases of evolution, the direction seems to go forwards in some ways and backwards in others. The gold model is the most wearable with the thin lightweight case and smooth bracelet. The silver LED model is less svelte but the most easily readable. The LCD model is the most economical but least readable although it would have been interesting to see with the Tritium back light.

I'm curious about a few things:
1) Who made modules - Fairchild?
2) When were they made?
3) What are the reasons for the differences in case dimensions and LED digits between the gold and silver LED models?
4) Anyone remember seeing the Tritium backlit LCD watches? Impressions? What are the reasons for the demise of Tritium backlighting - the short half life, expense, or fear of radioactivity? Did the 3 Mile Island accident in 1979 contribute or was Tritium already finished by then?

-abe.

[holly35]

these fairchild watches are build using their own in house modules.fairchild also supplied others.their lcd watches ,which imo are superior to the led models were made in small numbers,the one pictured from 76.very high quality ,much more so than their original cost would suggest.some used heavy large link s-steel bracelets and are quite heavy.the three pictured below imo are their best models.
surprisingly the tritium back lighting ,which comprises of a radioactive emelent contained in glass tubes still glow faintly on my on my ones, some 34 years later

[holly35]

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heres another quality fairchild, simple elegant and heavy!

[retroleds]

The one in the middle doesn't look like it has a Fairchild module, from the display. People commonly replace those Fairchild LED modules with a Commodore module(has to be one without the obnoxious bulging magnifiers) as they are the same, fairly uncommon 26mm diameter, with the same spread between the buttons. The Fairchild LED modules do have a few weaknesses - the easily cracked circuit board and the holes in the board which lead to a lot of them having completely crusted/rotted displays. They are very thin(using $386s) and one loading with #357s and press of the caseback and that circuit board is in pieces. Very nice modules otherwise, IMO.

[morelite]

I remember having one of the LCD models with the tritium backlighing and thought it was awesome. I wish they still did it that way, they still use tritium on analog watches so why not on digital?

[abem]

Thanks for the recollections. I've read that the Tritium LCD watches were pretty intense. It's too bad that they have disappeared and are not likely to reappear anytime soon.

Here is the watch back - note "3H" label:


Here is the outer box:


-abe.

[LEDluvr]

I remember having one of the LCD models with the tritium backlighing and thought it was awesome. I wish they still did it that way, they still use tritium on analog watches so why not on digital?

I have fond memories of these too. I had a Timex LCD with a puny little light. But my mom had a 'nice' Gold (or gold-tone?) LCD my dad gave her for Mother's Day and it had some of that beautiful tritium glow. Even in the day it had that dreamy greenish glow. I used to go in my parent's bedroom and take it out of her jewlery box and look at it under the covers. If she noticed her watch was missing she knew where it was.... in my bedroom somewhere.