Hamilton celebrates its storied heritage with new digital auto pulsomatic

Hamilton Celebrates Its Storied Heritage with New digital Auto Pulsomatic

Marco runs the website for the Montreal watch boutique / lounge, Matt Baily. He has access to watches and insider information from some of the world’s leading young companies. To read more articles by Marco please click here.

Article posted in: New This Week, Watch Reviews

In the words of Matthias Breschan, CEO of Hamilton, “the most important thing is that a watch concept be authentic.” The American Brand is lucky to have a vast historical heritage to draw inspiration from. All their watches are linked to the brand’s past. The Ventura, for example was reissued in several different limited edition forms during the past few years to represent the brand’s creation of the first electric watch. In 2010 the major resurrection will occur in the form of the Pulsomatic, a watch based on Hamilton’s creation of the world’s first digital display watch.

Innovation is what Hamilton celebrates with the release of the Pulsomatic. The Pulsar, its inspiration, began telling time on May 6th 1970. It represented a very new way of telling time

that pioneered the future of wristwatches. In order to pay tribute to such important innovation, the designers of the Hamilton Pulsomatic equipped it with an equally progressive movement.

The H1970 caliber movement is an automatic quartz movement, linking the quality, prestige and durability of traditional mechanisms with the precision of modern-day technology.

A view through the Pulsomatic’s see-through exhibition back reveals a metal construction with an oscillating weight rotating freely to keep the 120-day power reserve full. The rotor is a key component of any self-winding mechanical movement but rarely coupled with a digital display.

This remarkable combination of automatic and quartz, does not duplicate workings of the original Pulsar watch, but does duplicate the innovative spirit which spawned it in the first place.

The automatic movement also gives the Pulsomatic its name, which is derived from the name “Pulsar” and the word “automatic.”

The case of the Hamilton Pulsomatic is a rectangle with rounded sides, which is sometimes referred to as a cushion shape. It measures 44mm in width and 36mm in height. It is considerably larger than the vintage Pulsar, but similar in its retro, futuristic styling. A domed sapphire crystal protects a black and white liquid crystal display. Both the crown and lugs are concealed by the bold, smooth bezel.

As in any mechanical watch the crown is used for winding as well as setting all the functions of the Pulsomatic. These include the time and an annual calendar that displays month and date. A crisp, stepped construction decorates the sides of the case.

When digital watches first hit the scene in the Seventies, they were considered horological marvels, as luxurious as automatic Swiss timepieces of today. The Hamilton Pulsomatic acts as a reminder of these days by way of its high-grade automatic movement and its fine case that is also available with a gold or black PVD coated finish.

As all watch lovers know, a strap or bracelet can drastically alter the look of a timepiece.

Fortunately for fans of Hamilton watches the company did a nice job creating a suiting metal bracelet. The metal bracelet, with beefy links and tapered form, definitely carries the old Pulsar’s DNA, but has evolved to become much more robust. Since it is no longer integrated into the case, it can be interchanged with the specially shaped black rubber strap and any other bands that Hamilton may release in the future.

The Pulsomatic, as the Ventura before it, is a strongly iconic piece for Hamilton. It represents a historical achievement as well as the creative spirit that drove the manufacturer to the forefront of horology on several occasions. It also represents the Hamilton customer, who is young spirited and adventurous, but takes pride in the quality of his watch.