![Image](http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Saske_Ratchefratz/T2eC16ZHJIYE9qUcOueBQdTrkhSuw60_10.jpg)
Last wednesday i picked up a nixie clock which i think is one of the most beautiful designed nixie clocks out there.
I never thought i would be able to even get a chance of buying one of these because they are extremely rare.
Only 500 Of these Longines Nixie Clocks were made between 1966 and 1970.
These Swiss made Clocks were used for timekeeping during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Germany.
The first owner of whom i got this wonderful orange beauty bought this clock back in 1973,
right after the Olympics which was unfortunatelly overshadowed by a terrorist attack...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacreAs this clock was mostly distributed to jewelers ment for "display only" purpose not many were sold to the public.
The owner i got it from had to heavily persuade the jeweler to let it go.
He had to pay a whopping 2000 dutch guilders for it.
Or 1200 USD which in 1973 was alot of money, and still is even to this day.
So one might say i got very lucky last weekend after looking for one of these clocks for over 2 years it finally popped up.
It had been for sale for 4 days already and i immediatelly called the seller who was selling a whole lot of things needing to fund his upcoming home renovation.
It was a 2 hour drive but love at first sight..
it's owner still doubting if his decission to sell would not make him regret it afterwards.
Well i'm pretty sure i would regret it if i ever had to sell, so i'm not even thinking of selling it.
And here she is in all her glory...
![Image](http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Saske_Ratchefratz/KGrHqFjkFBOpCs5ORBQdTqF5i60_10.jpg)
The clock comes in it's original box numbered 366/500 with 2 little instruction manuals containing the instructions in several languages.
Another amazing thing is that the original 2 bags with an anti-moisture substance are still present in the box.
These days similar bags filled with "sillica gel" can still be found in boxes containing modern electronics.
![Image](http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Saske_Ratchefratz/T2eC16VHJIIE9qTYKKOBQdTsESpPg60_10.jpg)
On the back of this clock are the buttons to set this clock accuratelly to 1/10th of a second.
Overkill??? maybe.
But certainly not overkill if your selected to take care of timekeeping at the biggest sporting event in history in 1972.
This year Longines beat the usual Omega for taking care of timekeeping at the summer olympics.
Proof of this is still on the back of this clock.
![Image](http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Saske_Ratchefratz/longinesback.jpg)
The jeweler back in 1973 told it's first owner it has a possibility to connect some sort of box or device.
This device was hooked up to the connection on the back which according to the instructions opperates over 2HZ.
![Image](http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Saske_Ratchefratz/instructionbuttons.jpg)
What this device looks like or how it would have exactly worked i have no idea, i'm not an electronics wizard.
The jeweler that sold the clock in 1973 said it never came with this device.
And in the box there is really no space to put it.
I suspect that maybe it could turn the clock into some sort of stopwatch which would make perfect sence.
So how cool is that....if anyone has any ideas or knows anything about what exactly the 2HZ connection was used for
or how it would have worked please share this info as i am very curious about this function.
I'm sure some handy electronic wiz could still make a similar device for this clock, so any idea is welcome.
Well thank you for reading this space and i hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing it.
All i can tell you that i will shut my eyes and fall asleep staring at the wonderful glow of Nixie bulbs tonight.
![Sleeping/Bored ;*](./images/smilies/sleeping.gif)
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
The reason i collect watches is because it feels like i'm buying time.