Nixie Tube Wristwatch by Cathode Corner

What do you buy the techie who has everything? How about a wristwatch that has a nixie tube display? I apologize for not discovering this little gem of Nerdom a couple months earlier to be in time for Christmas, but nearly everyone has a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or other special occasion between now and next Christmas* for which the Old Nixie Watch can be presented. From the Cathode Corner website: "The Old Cathode Corner Nixie Watch is the perfect way to show your retro-geek cred. It is a two-digit wristwatch using Nixie tubes, a forty-year-old display technology that is delightfully easy to read. The watch requires no button-pushing to operate. Just hold the watch at your standard viewing angle, and the hours, then the minutes, will appear in perfectly-formed, 14mm tall, glowing orange digits. It is water resistant and rugged. The case is machined from aircraft aluminum and hard anodized to handle years of abuse and still look great."

Be sure to look at the accompanying pages on their website for functional details, development history, and supporting technical documents (schematic, PIC code, user manual, etc.). The price is about what you would pay for a 4th Gen iPad. Apropos accessories to complete your Old Nixie Watch motif would be a pocket protector with assortment of pencils (chewed) and pens (leaky), a slide rule with belt-supported leather pouch, a small amount of masking tape for the nose bridge of glasses, a white shirt with skinny monochrome tie (preferably black or a color not found in nature), patent leather shoes (scuffed), and a manicure that makes the fingernails appear chewed. I've got some photos of myself from the mid 1970s if you need a visual aid ;-)

The video at the bottom shows Apple's Steve Wozinak ("the Woz") showing off his Nixie Watch and saying how he likes to watch the reaction of fellow airline passengers when he starts playing with the watch. It could pass for a bomb detonator timer from a WWII movie.

* The exception is potentially someone whose birthday is December 25th.

Nixie Tube Wristwatch w/Additional Nixie Tube Informationbr>

Steve Wozniak Showing off His Nixie Tube Watch

Posted January 22, 2014