A calculator watch is a

digital watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

with a built-in

calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-si ...

, usually including buttons on the watch face. Calculator watches were first introduced in the 1970s and continue to be produced, despite falling from their peak popularity during the 1980s. The most dominant brands were the Casio Databank series and Timex. Most calculator watches perform only basic

arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). However, there are several models with additional functions: scientific, including transcendent and

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles. In particular, the trigonometric functions relate the angles of a right triangle with ratios of its side lengths. The fiel ...

, in models Casio CFX-20, CFX-200, CFX-400 and Citizen 49–9421, financial functions (Casio CBA-10) and also TV remote control functions (CMD-40B and CMD-30B). Usually, calculator watches operate with eight-digit numbers; however, calculator watches can work with six digits (for example, Casio C-801) or ten-digit (Casio CBA-10).878

History

Calculator watches first appeared in the mid-1970s introduced by

Pulsar A pulsar (''pulsating star, on the model of quasar'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its Poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic poles. This radiation can be obse ...

(1975, then a brand of the

Hamilton Watch Company The Hamilton Watch Company is a Switzerland, Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Biel/Bienne, Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company ended American manufacture in 1969, shifting manufacturing ...

) and

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

. Another popular calculator watch was the Time Computer Calculator 901, which could perform basic arithmetic functions. The 902 models had additional functions such as percentage calculations. The Time watches carried a high price tag (US$4,000) because they were made of solid gold and operated by a stylus pen owing to the small size of their buttons. Popular watches include those from

Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, and semiconductors. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969. Seiko is ...

and

Citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

, some of which had innovative functions. Japanese electronics company

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

produced the widest variety of watches. In the mid-1980s, Casio created the Databank calculator watch, which performed calculator functions and stored appointments, names, addresses, and phone numbers. The calculator watches made by Casio earned much fame due to their appearance in movies and also due to being celebrities' choice during public events. Mass-produced calculator watches appeared in the early 1980s, with the most being produced in the middle of the decade. Their popularity began to fade in the mid-1990s with the introduction of cheaper mobile phones and PDAs, which could perform the same functions. The calculator watch is now a collector's item, and notable watches such as the Timex watches and some special variants of Casio calculator watches such as the CFX-400 command a high premium in the used market.

References

* ^ ''Collectors Guide to Pocket Calculators''. by Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, 1997, – includes an extensive history of early pocket calculators and highlights over 1,500 different models from the early 1970s, including several of the early calculator watches. The book is still in print.

External links

Programmable calculators
- Specifications and descriptions

- Section on calculator watches {{Smartwatch Computer-related introductions in 1975 1980s fashion Watches Calculators Consumer electronics

History

See also

References

External links