First electronic digital watch

The first electronic digital watch was the Pulsar P-1, also known as the Pulsar Time Computer, developed by the Hamilton Watch Company (USA) and released on 4 April 1972. It combined a quartz-crystal timekeeping chip with a simple red LED digital display. It was typically sold with a gold-plated exterior and strap to make it seem luxurious, although it was the internal circuitry that accounted for most of its $2,100 (around $12,100 today) price tag.

The circuitry that generated the digital display was so power-hungry that it couldn't be left on all the time. Users had to press a button just below the watch face to momentarily illuminate the screen. Despite its impracticalities and (to modern eyes) clunky appearance, this watch was briefly the height of hi-tech cool, and was prominently featured in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die.