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Commodore LED Watches "New Old Stock" Genuine or fakes?

S

StowComputers

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
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35
Location
Stowmarket, UK
I apologise in advance this is technically not a computer based post. I still can't think of a better place to ask opinions from fellow Commodore enthusiasts in respect of this.

Some of you may have seen ebay auctions for what seems like in inexhaustible supply of Commodore LED watches about £90 here in the UK and possibly elsewhere. For those interested here is some hype about them:
http://www.theretroworld.com/commodore-led-classic-watch/
and the ebay listings:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/70s-Commo...nsWatches_GL&hash=item2c5a55b5ce#ht_721wt_952

Now I have one of these, bought from such listings. Don't get me wrong here, it looks nice and works well. It has Commodore France S.A. on the back. There is just something about it that makes me wonder if they are genuine. These watches are MINT, and seem in such good condition it all seems hard to believe they are 20-30 years old. They are relatively cheap on ebay, and the sellers don't seem to be running out.

Has anybody got the story on these? If they are genuine, I'd say they worth the money.
 
I have a copy of the old ad (used as a drawer liner in my desk) from the San Jose Mercury-News. The watch looks right.

The bottom dropped out of the LED watch market about 1977; CBM was still selling this watch into it at the time. My ad says, for example, that the price was USD$16.95 (metal bracelet $3 extra). I suspect that after awhile, it simply wasn't worth selling them anymore and they were squirreled away in someone's warehouse.

I recall that one Christmas, National Semiconductor had a plant clearance on their watches--$1.
 
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Thanks for the reply. Sounds like they could be the real deal. I wear mine often, and it's such a talking point. Its a real scoop for those at the right time and place to have bought them for $1. Btw would love to see a scan of that advert, unless you can point to one online of course!
 
Well, the ad is pretty faded and yellowed, as you might expect. I don't know how it'll scan, but perhaps someone can offer some tips on scanning very old newsprint.
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It was an LED watch that made me loathe Sir Clive Sinclair and all his works.

Back around the same time as the Commodore watch, there was an ad that appeared in Popular Electronics for the Sinclair "Black Watch" kit. So I ordered one and opened the box. Strap--check, case(plastic with a purple window)--check, battery--check, circuit board--missing.

I dashed off a letter explaining the issue and received another case, but no circuit board.

So I called the outfit and they confessed that they hadn't received any circuit boards recently, but that they were expecting some in about a month.

A month later, nothing. So I dashed off another letter--about a week later it was returned, unopened.

Which leaves me wondering if anyone in the US did receive a complete Sinclair "Black Watch".
 
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Chuck(G) said:
Which leaves me wondering if anyone in the US did receive a complete Sinclair "Black Watch".
Click to expand...

I didn't, as I was a little bit too young at the time, but I have heard that many of those who did receive a full kit found that the insides didn't actually fit the case!
 
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