Simply put, there are a lot of digital watches available today. And while the first digital alarm clock was birthed in the mid-’50s, it wasn’t until 1974 that the technology was able to be transposed onto a small watch for your wrist. Just a few years after the debut of the quartz watch, Hamilton officially came out with the Pulsar (though it was unveiled on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1970 and appeared on the wrist of James Bond in Live and Let Die in 1973).
Compared to modern digital watches, the Pulsar Time Computer was a barebones timepiece with a simple time display inside of a cushion-style case. Hamilton revived the Pulsar as the PSR back in 2020 and since then has been released in several different colorways. Today, however, the watchmaker has made the smallest version of the PSR yet, and it’s available in two colorways.
Smaller, But That’s Not a Bad Thing
Almost identical in appearance to the other PSRs currently on the market, the PSR 74 (obviously named after the year the original debuted) is notably smaller, with a 30.9mm diameter and 25.6mm height compared to the 41mm x 35mm of previous models. Likewise, the thickness is about 12.4mm (down from 13.3mm). It should be noted that this is also much smaller than the ‘70s Pulsars, which were just under 41mm across. Considering how thick even the 30.9mm version is, the smaller case size should bring with it a more comfortable wearing experience.
What Else Is New?
Fans of the PSR reissues will also notice an extra pusher on the case. You still get the righthand pusher to summon the watch’s features like the alarm and the 24-hour display. However, there’s now a lefthand pusher that can give you the date on demand now as well, bringing a dash of utility to the quartz timepiece. It can also activate the OLED display, delivering a brighter display against the constant red LCD of this hybrid display.
Aside from the extra pusher, we really love the more period-correct bracelet design, which revives the tapered Y-shape style rather than the modern-day presidential links put on previous reissue models.
The color choices here are nothing new, with regular stainless steel and a gold PVD-coated stainless steel, both pairing well with the red display and, again, period-correct. Both colors are what you think of when considering the original 1970s models.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 30.9mm
Lug-to-Lug: 25.6mm
Case Thickness: 12.4mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Water Resistance: 100m
Movement: Quartz
Band: Stainless steel bracelet
Limited Edition?: Yes
Pricing & Availability
Not limited in edition size, the PSR 74 is a bit lower in price than the larger PSRs, at $745 and $845 for the steel and gold models, respectively. Head over to Hamilton’s website to purchase one now.
Recap
Hamilton PSR 74
Hamilton brings down the size considerably with these new PSR 74 reissues, while revamping the bracelet design and adding a second pusher.
