First-Hand:The First Quartz Wrist Watch: Difference between revisions
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== | == '''<u>Rectification</u>'''<br><br>The world first quartz wrist watch was Beta 1 and not Beta 21, as postulated incorrectly by the Swiss watch industry. Further, the first industrial quartz wrist watch was not Beta 21 either, but Seiko's Astron 35SC. - Beta 1 was assembled in July 1967 at the CEH. In the sequel the watch had been tested successfully by the Observatory in Neuchâtel, Switzer- land. It had an 8192 Hz quartz, a long fourteen stages frequency divider chain and a stepping motor. Beta 1 followed a concept which later on proved successful by non Swiss manufacturers. - Unfortunately since 1968 the concept of Beta 1 had not been pursued any further by CEH management, which in turn favored Beta 2, an alternative version introduced later by Max Forrer and Henri Oguey in order to save power. However Beta 2 used the same 8192 Hz quartz as Beta 1 but it had a frequency divider chain with five stages only and a vibrating motor rather then a stepping motor. Beta 21 was based on Beta 2 and unfortunately became the industrial version. Some 20 Swiss watch manu- facturer simultaneously launched Beta 21 on the market in 1970, some 4 months after Seiko had announced their famous Astron 35SC. Beta 21 with its vibrating motor turned out to be a misconception and was abandoned after a short period of time. == | ||
== The previous Beta project by Max Forrer, manager of the circuits section consisted of a metallic tuning fork, not a quartz, a small frequency divider and a vibrating motor, not a stepping motor, and lasted from 1963 till YE65. - The new and aggressive quartz wrist watch project initiated by Armin Frei and Rolf Lochinger in May, 1965 changed the previous Beta strategy completely. == | == The previous Beta project by Max Forrer, manager of the circuits section consisted of a metallic tuning fork, not a quartz, a small frequency divider and a vibrating motor, not a stepping motor, and lasted from 1963 till YE65. - The new and aggressive quartz wrist watch project initiated by Armin Frei and Rolf Lochinger in May, 1965 changed the previous Beta strategy completely. == |