REVOLUTION_International_Vol 54

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Afrontalshotof
thePSRinsteel
with yellow gold
PVD coating.
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The PSR in
stainless steel.
Joe Frazier was even pictured wearing his in the run-up to his 1973
fight with Joe Bugner. This led to many American companies, from
Bulova to Hewlett Packard, jumping on the bandwagon to produce
digital watches and clocks in the 1970s. Competition was fierce
but Hamilton’s Pulsar still stayed in front of the pack. With its wide
popularity and success, many more models of the Pulsar were released
including the Calculator model, the P3 Date Command, “flick of
the wrist” activated models and even Hamilton Pulsars for ladies.
Today, Hamilton is bringing back this icon from the 1970s in the
form of the new Hamilton PSR. Two versions of the PSR are available
to choose from: one in stainless steel, and a version in stainless steel
coated with yellow gold PVD that’s limited to 1,970 pieces. With its
hefty cushion-shaped case and bracelet, the Hamilton PSR is an
identical re-issue of the Hamilton Pulsar P2 and retains the beautiful
avant-garde and Space Age design that made its success 50 years ago.
The PSR isn’t just a fun novelty, it is a solid and well crafted timepiece
which happens to dig into some of the nostalgia people associate
with this era of progress and discovery. The PSR has also caught up
with its time by using a hybrid display mixing reflective LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display) and emissive OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes)
technologies. This module was developed in-house by Hamilton
together with the Swatch Group’s R&D department to keep the
essence of the original watch alive without compromising functionality.
You still get the cool effect of the light red OLED numerals showing
up in their famous “digit dot” style when pressing the button on
the side, but thanks to the reflective technology in the LCD display,
the time is now permanently visible in daylight conditions. This
hybrid display technology means that the watch has an extremely low
energy consumption. The PSR also does away with the magnet bar
hidden in the bracelet clasp to set the time. The bracelet has a double
folding clasp and the single pushbutton on the side of the case now
carries all the functionalities of displaying and setting the time.
We have to say that in the current movement of vintage-revival
and sneaker craziness, the Hamilton PSR arrives at the perfect time
to provide a stylish offering that will reach a new generation of people.
What is old can be new again and in the case of the Hamilton PSR,
you’re not only getting a well crafted watch with a space-age style still
relevant today, you’re also buying a reminder of pioneering changes in
technology and society. Above all, the first digital watch was the epitome
of cool in the 1970s and certainly hasn’t lost its crown 50 years later.