Aristo Apollo 7-Jewels Stopwatch, c. 1970s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Sure, Analog:Shift is a business built on a love of watches — primarily mechanical ones. However, in essence, it's our love for timepieces and timekeeping in general that is the common theme throughout the items we procure. And that includes the love of clocks, such as pocket watches, travel clocks, stopwatches, and more. Before sports timing became digital, it was beautifully mechanical. This Aristo Apollo stopwatch, dating to roughly the 1970s, is a wonderfully specialized little instrument from an era when precision timing meant a hand-wound movement, a sharply printed dial, and the satisfying click of a metal pusher. The Apollo name couldn’t feel more appropriate for the period. Arriving in the orbit of the Space Age, it evokes a moment when speed, engineering, and precision had become cultural obsessions. Aristo was advertising its Apollo 7-Jewel All-Sports Timer by 1972, not NASA-related, but by placing it firmly in the arena of precision timing for competitive sport. The Olympics, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, even the Battle of the Network Stars (LOL) were a VERY big deal on TV at the time. Its white dial is especially sharp and graphic, with black numerals from 1 to 30 around the outer track and a contrasting red 1-to-60 scale within. A small elapsed-minute register sits above center, while the central hand races around the dial. Inside is a Swiss-made, manually wound 7-jewel mechanical movement; period Apollo examples are known with Baumgartner movements. Best of all, this example survives with its original bright orange Aristo box and molded insert. Together, they transform a utilitarian sports timer into a particularly charming piece of 1970s industrial design, equal parts mechanical instrument and Space Age-inspo artifact. On your mark, get set, GO!