Pimp Pleasure Seeker Watch

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

May 19, 2006

It's such a cliché, but lately it does seem like time is just flying by. 2006 is already half gone, so it has been almost two years since I reviewed the Pimp Star Performer Watch, the timepiece from the company with the NSFW* name. The Star Performer was notable for its flashy LED display extravaganza; but true LED aficionados probably felt that having numbers and symbols on the watch's face was sacrilegious.

Pimp does offer plenty of other true LED displays, but even for the initiated using them to actually tell the time can be a bit tricky. These other watches also share the tendency of being a bit large and a little too clunky for those with smaller wrists. Recently Pimp Watches introduced a new model that takes some of the best features of their popular LED watches and puts them in a more petite package.

The limited edition Pimp Pleasure Seeker, is a slightly smaller, and dare I say more feminine version of the other Pimp LED watches. Even though it has a more refined look, it still manages to retain all of the audacity and flashiness of the originals. Available in stainless steel with blue, red or green LEDs, or in a stainless steel with plated with pretty pink gold displaying red LEDs, the Pleasure Seeker has a 1.8" long x 1.2" wide x 0.5" thick case attached to a 0.7" wide stainless steel band. The watch weighs approximately 3 ounces, depending on whether or not any links are removed. With all links present, the watch will fit up to a 6.5" wrist comfortably. My left wrist measures 5. 75", so Steve had to remove three links for a perfect fit.

According to the Tokyoflash site, the Pimp Pleasure Seeker uses "all of the best materials from Hi Grade solid Japanese Stainless case, to the best mineral crystal on the market, to the highly engineered sandwich molded module inside. Even the LEDs are given a special protective coat to prevent them from being damaged during battery change."

Perhaps the most striking thing about the watch is its large mineral crystal face, an area on which 80 LEDs will entertain the wearer with their command performance lightshow. Two push buttons are on the right side; the top button is the used to activate the time and LED lightshow, whereas the second is used for setting the watch.

Setting the watch is accomplished by pressing and holding the bottom button until the hour begins to flash. The setting is advanced by pressing the top button until the desired hour is shown. Pressing the bottom button again allows the user to set the minutes, after which either a 12 or 24 hour time display can be chosen. unlike other LED watches that require tricky counting, knowledge of binary, or the ability to scan rows of lights to glean a total time, the Pleasure Seeker simply shows the time in an easy to read display. The time shown here is 09:33, see it?

After the top button is pressed, the watch will light up in a light show sequence that ends with the time, three times a minute for 12 minutes. It's called the "Pleasure Seeker" mode, which according to Tokyoflash "indicates that you are seeking pleasure." Woo Hoo! ;0)

The back of the watches' case is the only place that displays the Pimp brand, which is a touch of discretion that most wearers will appreciate. The band is opened by pressing together the two buttons on the deployment clasp.

The opened watch...

...and another view of it closed.

One on, there is no mistaking that the Pleasure Seeker is a larger watch, but it is certainly not ugly or too blocky.

Come to think of it, this is one of the few watches that I have worn - whether for review or just because I "liked it" - that people have actually bothered to comment upon. It looks pretty on my wrist, all the while exuding a techy aura. The added eye-catching lightshow is just a side benefit - as long as the wearer is prepared for the resulting attention.

Of course, the LED light show is what always catches people's eye...

See it in action...

Click on image to play the QuickTime video (21sec, 732kb). The video is encoded in the H.264 codec. You will need the latest version of Quicktime to view it. VLC is another free viewer. .

The Pleasure Seeker does not display the date, have a built-in stopwatch or display other complicated functions, but it does display the time in an easy to read LED format and it does provide a playful lightshow that is guaranteed to grab onlookers attention - especially in a darkened room. This is one watch that will appeal to women of all ages, as well as men with smaller wrists.

The limited edition Pimp Pleasure seeker is available from Tokyoflash for those of us that live outside of Japan. The Pimp Pleasure seeker is made in Japan and comes with a two year extended warranty. According to Tokyoflash, they stand behind these products 200%.

* Not Safe For Work