The Stauer 1930 Dashtronic Watch has a look inspired by the machine-age designs of the 1930s. Everything – from cars to toasters – had a sleek, streamlined look then. Even watches were influenced by the industrial designers of the period, and a new watch complication was introduced. Instead of hands, time was displayed by a “jumping mechanism,” which displayed numerals on a dial and looked like a speedometer in a car. This 1930 Dashtronic watch doesn’t use a real jumping mechanism, but it does look like those watches. It has 21 jewels and is water-resistant to 3-ATM. It has a stainless steel case and a black aligator-embossed leather band. This is an automatic watch, meaning no winding and no batteries are needed. It has a mineral crystal over the time dial and a clear back so you can see the watch works as they … work. The watch case is 1.5″, and the band is 9.5″ long and fits a 7-8.5″ wrist. The limited-edition Stauer 1930 Dashtronic Watch sells for $99.00.
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@Janet
Can you tell me what time it says on the watch?
Yeah, Bob. I believe it’s saying it’s time to check the time on your cell phone. 😉 I can’t tell, but maybe it’s because the angle doesn’t let you see little markers that would help.
It’s a cool looking watch Janet, but to me I’d want something with hands or digital readout so I can just glance at it and know the time. I thought the binary watch was cool too when it first came out but I’d spend more time trying to figure that one out 🙂
Bob, I went to the Stauer website and saw that they had that same watch in a gold-tone. They had taken the picture at a different angle, and that one definitely had a black line over the dials that marked the numbers. I could clearly see what was being marked, but I still had to count the little lines between the numbers to know what time it was.
I know what you mean about being able to just glance and know the time just by the angle of the hands. I’ve just always had a thing for unusual watches. I thought this one looked great, but I know I’d probably have to treat it more as a bracelet and sneak a look at the cell phone for the time – at least until I got used to it. Somebody like my daughter would probably get used to it faster than I could. She’s so young that she’s seen mostly digital clocks in her life. She’s actually had to ask me what the time was when all she could see was an “old-fashioned” clock. She never got used to telling time the way we do, anyway. 🙂
Oh, and the watch in the picture says it’s 2:02!
Yes it would be a nice novelty gift for the younger folk 🙂
Thanks Janet!
@Bob Deloyed I think the watch reads 2 o’clock.
@Jose
Yes I “think” it does too but… 🙂
It’s 2:02. The top dial shows the minutes, and it’s definitely on the 2 marker.
I liked this watch so much from a Natural geographic magazine that I looked it up online . I think it is amazing . I have to say I’ve never had much luck with watches . I am a total cell phone time checker ever since I got my cell phone. I personally can read any clock and I agree Bob that it would take a bit to get used to but I think it’d be nice . I’m not a fan of the clear back however ,I like my belongings sturdy . A clear back wont hold up well to abuse in my case.
@Amanda My favorite watch is my self winding Seiko Scuba Diver’s watch that I got many many years ago when I use to dive, and is/has to be very rugged- down to 200 Meters- not that I’d go down that far 🙂
I purchased this watch direct from Stauer. It is as represented, with era-correct design.
Face presentation replicates auto gauges of the period (including two of ours,1928 and 1930 Packards).
The only rub I have on the unit is that mainspring does not wind more than 24 hours in advance, i.e. if you don’t wear the watch for a day, you are going to have to reset the time before putting it on…
Thanks for the info, Steve S
Always good to read new comments even though it took 11 years 🙂