I’m getting into old Nixie Vacuum Tube Digital Clocks and came across this wristwatch version. Luckily, it’s out of stock and costs $495, otherwise, you’d be able to spot me a few hundred yards away at night.
The wristwatch was designed using surface mount components, and miniature NOS (1968 vintage) Nixie Tubes. They managed to squeeze all this into a 2.75″L x 1.5″W x 1.2″H case.
FUN FACT:
The Nixie Wristwatch does not have a microprocessor, or programmed components. Standardized low-power CMOS logic drive the nixies in DC mode.
A number of different circuits were considered when designing the watch. I eventually settled on the simplified logic approach, similar to the circuits used
when LED digital wristwatches were entering the consumer market around 1970. Of course, I couldn’t place the circuitry on one IC chip as they had done.