Property of an Important British Collector
Hewlett Packard
‘Cricket’, Reference HP-01 | A stainless steel calculator wristwatch with alarm, chronograph, count-down timer, calendar and memory function and bracelet | Circa 1977
Lot Closed
November 12, 03:16 PM GMT
Estimate
1,100 - 2,200 CHF
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
Dial: black
Calibre: quartz
Case: stainless steel, screw-down case back
Case number: 1709A-28066
Closure: stainless steel Hewlett Packard bracelet and folding clasp
Size: 41 mm diameter, bracelet circumference approximately 195 mm
Signed: case, dial and movement
Box: yes
Papers: no
Accessories: Hewlett Packard instruction card, booklet, stylus and presentation box
The only wristwatch that Hewlett Packard (HP) has ever sold, the HP-01, code-named “Cricket”, was not a successful product. Retailed in jewelry stores, the bulky design was not embraced by the intended luxury clientele. However, the miniaturization of technology in order to fit the capability of a calculator into the form factor of a wristwatch was no small feat for the period. The watch could perform 6 interactive functions in total and featured 28 keys on the dial, and even included a built-in stylus on the clasp.
The watch was considered such a marvel at the time, that when it was discontinued, the factory machinery was destroyed so the engineering techniques could not be copied. The HP-01 is truly an artifact of computing history, and also stands as a reminder to how far reaching the “Quartz Crisis” of the 1970s was.