Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Wristwatch by Cristalonic, Germany, 1976
- Maker / attribution
- Cristalonic (creator)
- Date
- 1976
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Place
- Germany
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Holding institution
- German Clock Museum
- Accession / object no.
- Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65321__technical_number_
- Catalogue title (original)
- Armbanduhr "Solar Quartz", Cristalonic, München, 1976 (German)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65321__technical_number_), this is a wristwatch by Cristalonic, made in Germany, dated 1976. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Catalogue description from German Clock Museum (German)
Die bayrische Firma Cristalonic brachte mit der Solar Quartz die erste solarbetriebene Armbanduhr im Jahr 1976 auf den Markt. Der Zeitpunkt war bemerkenswert: Quarzuhren wurden damals bereits billiger als klassische Armbanduhren. Photovoltaik war allerdings noch eine sehr teure Stromquelle und vor allem aus der Raumfahrt bekannt. Auf der Erde konnten damit zunächst nur Geräte mit geringem Energiebedarf betrieben werden zum Beispiel Uhren. Solarkraft wurde erst ab den 1980er Jahren langsam zur alternativen Energiequelle. Die Quarzuhren dagegen erlebten schon in den späten Siebzigern sonnige Zeiten und wurden zur Alltagsware. (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Quartz, digital and electronic watches
Electronic watches arrived in three steps. The Hamilton Electric 500 (1957) was the first battery-powered wristwatch, still with a balance; Bulova's Accutron (1960) used a tuning fork. On 25 December 1969 Seiko released the Astron 35SQ, the first quartz wristwatch, closely followed by the Swiss Beta 21 group. In 1972 Hamilton's Pulsar introduced the LED digital watch, and LCD displays soon made digital watches cheap.
The 'Quartz Crisis' that followed devastated the Swiss mechanical industry, which lost two-thirds of its workforce between 1970 and 1984 before recovering with the Swatch (1983) and the luxury mechanical revival. Solar, radio-controlled, kinetic and connected smartwatches continue the electronic line.
What to look for
- Battery hatch in the case back and calibre markings with 'Quartz' or a crystal frequency.
- Display technology: LED (red, push-button) versus LCD (always-on).
- Tuning-fork hum and a smoothly sweeping seconds hand on Accutrons.
- Model and reference numbers, often printed on the back.
Dating clues
- Electric balance watches: from 1957.
- Tuning-fork watches: 1960–c. 1977.
- Quartz analogue: from December 1969; LED digital: 1972–c. 1978; LCD from 1973.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Seiko calibre 35A (Astron)
Related records
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by Helbros, Germany, 1970
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by JWB (Josef Wyss Bettlach), Germany, 1970
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1972
Wristwatch by PUW Pforzheimer Uhrenrohwerke, Germany, 1972
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1972
Wristwatch by Weber und Aeschbach, Germany, 1972
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1975
Wristwatch, Germany, 1975
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1977
Wristwatch by Fixoflex, Germany, 1977
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · 1949-1992
Timex `Electric' wristwatch, with electrically operated balance wheel mechanism, United States, 1949-1992
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1960-1986
'Tri-Compax' calendar chronograph wristwatch in gold case, by Universal, Geneva, Switzerland, 1960-1986.
Science Museum Group, London