Austin Compuchron

A nice little watch from the Lone Star state

Description:

This Austin / Compuchron LED watch is a nice, sturdy, stainless steel gem.

The brand "Austin" seems a bit mysterious at first. If you try to find out about an Austin watch company, you will come up empty. Also, note the CompuChron logo on the clasp. So, who was behind this mysterious "Austin" brand? It turns out that the Austin label was created by Gordon Jewelers of, you guessed it, Austin, Texas. It's not uncommon for large distributors or retailers to create their own brands and to contract other watch companies to build watches under this brand. For example, the "Baylor" watch brand was created by Zales jewelers and the "Stellaris" brand was on of several created by Sears. So, there was never an Austin watch manufacturing company. Mystery solved.

As a relatively late model LED watch, this watch has a sturdy and dependable module with very bright, legible digits. CompuChron watches were made in Japan and were generally of high build quality. They are one of the best of the non-luxury brands (Pulsar, Hamilton, Omega).

This is a five function watch like most others of its vintage and has similar functionality. Push the button once to see the time, a second time to see the date, and a third time to see the seconds. You can also push once and hold the button to see seconds. One interesting quirk about this watch is that if you push the button three times, it blinks the seconds continuously until the button is pressed again. Most watches only display as long as the button is held down.

Condition:

This Austin Compuchron is in almost perfect, new old stock condition.

Case: Excellent.
NOS, almost mint. There are some light marks on the polished front face and sides of the case from handling over the past 40 years, but otherwise it is in almost perfect mint condition. The back of the watch still has the original price tag attached! Note that this was not an inexpensive watch in its day. $90 in 1977 is equivalent to almost $350 today.

Face / Hands: Excellent.
All LED digits and segments are complete and bright.

Crystal: Excellent.
The crystal is perfect with no scratches, nicks or blemishes.

Band / Bracelet: Excellent.
The bracelet is in perfect condition, is complete, and will fit a huge 8.5" wrist, which is surprising considering that this is a mid-sized watch, not a behemoth.

Function / Accuracy: Excellent.
All functions work perfectly. Digital quartz accuracy.