Hamilton Takes Us Back to the 1970’s With the Hamilton PSR

Hamilton’s PSR Quartz, one of the quirkiest and most polarizing watches of all time, is back to life.

April 07, 2020
By: Logan Hannen

Originally called the “Pulsar” upon release, Hamilton’s (and the world’s) first LED-display watch is an icon of funky design, ‘70s retro weirdness, and horological forward thinking. It’s also one of their most collectible, and now, as they’ve done with their field watches and some of their dress watches (looking at you, Intramatic), Hamilton has reached into the vault for another piece of their history in two versions: one in steel, the other gold plated.

Source: Hamilton

Specs
Case Diameter: 40.8mm
Lug-to-Lug: 34.7mm
Case Material: Stainless Steel/PVD Gold
Lug Width: 24mm
Strap: Steel/PVD Gold Bracelet
Water Resistance: 100 meters
Movement: Unspecified Quartz

While it might look massive in photos, the PSR is nominally only 40.8mm in diameter, made even more wearable by its short lug-to-lug distance of only 34.7mm. Its thickness of 13.3mm also aids in wearability, as it remains relatively compact despite looking pretty bulbous from afar.

As mentioned, it comes in two versions – a solid, brushed stainless steel, and an equally brushed PVD gold finish that, much like the solid gold G-Shocks of the world, adds a bit of flare and idiosyncrasy that, if we’re being honest, is kind of fun.

Both watches are powered by a yet-unspecified quartz movement, and this is particularly interesting because of the ways in which the original was short changed by the LED display’s battery consumption. With the original, we see a battery life that was abysmal at best, and so for the brand to replicate the original LED nature of the watch here suggests that they’ve found a way to make it more sustainable in terms of battery life. That, or they’re going to throw a couple of extra batteries in with each purchase.

The bracelet on both models is integrated by means of a center-endlink attached to the case, meaning that, to change the strap, you’ll need one customized to fit the PSR’s case. That being said, with the bracelet being such an integral part of the look of the watch, I can’t see that being too big a concern for many of the watch’s potential buyers.

The Damage

The Hamilton PSR will retail for $745 for the steel, full production model, and $995 for the PVD gold, limited run of 1970 pieces.

The Take

As much fun as it might be to look at and read about, who is this watch for exactly? Who is going to drop $750 on something so, well, outdated?

Well, the original Hamilton Pulsar was a watch that meant a great deal to a large number of people, many of whom were not collectors yet. Whether that’s John Goldberger with his freakin’ Tiffany signed version as a gift from his father, or Jack Forster of HODINKEE seeing the thing in action in Live and Let Die. It’s a hugely important watch to an entire generation (or two) of watch geeks, so there’s the nostalgia client. But is that audience enough?

Then again, I can see the trendy, man-bun-sporting, obscure coffee been drinking crowd lapping this thing up like water on a July afternoon, just as easily as I could see the Silicon Valley guys in their Allbirds rocking it for similarly faux-nostalgia reasons. More than things, people connect to times. The same way I’ve become passionate about WWII era trench watches, while not even my parents were born during their production.