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Today I finally scored a mini-grail watch I've been after for months. Behold the Unitrex Datatime Monte Carlo - the world's first game watch. Made in 1977, this is the first watch ever to feature a playable game. That's according to: https://www.polygon.com/a/smartwatch-history-guide-evolution/watch-timeline . In fact, it has 3 games. There's very little information about the Unitrex company. I found pictures of 1 LED watch online, and this site says it was manufactured and sold in the U.S.A.: http://www.pambor.de/Personal/hobbypersonal/collect_lastwatch.htm
Time:
![Watch Wrist Watch accessory Fashion accessory]()
The right upper right button shows day/date, then minutes/seconds.
![Watch Wrist Watch accessory Material property Fashion accessory]()
The upper left button is where the fun starts. It cycles through 3 games: Jackpot, Dice and Roulette. Jackpot is the most fun. It starts by animating all the digits in a flashing pattern reminiscent of a slot machine. When you press the upper right button, it freezes the right digit, then after a second, the middle digit, then after a second, the left digit. The animation even slows a bit after the button is pressed, like a slot machine wheel slowing down.
![Watch Digital clock Watch accessory Material property Clock]()
If you match 3 numbers (a 1/36 chance), you get a flashing JJ-JJ display
![Watch Wrist Material property Hand Finger]()
The next game is dice. You press the upper right button and it animates the digits, then slows down and freezes the right digit, followed by the left. I don't believe there's a way to win.
![Watch Watch accessory Analog watch Fashion accessory Material property]()
Then 3rd game is roulette, which animates the digits and then displays a number between 00 and 36 with the same slow-down effect.
![Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Material property]()
The button left button turns on the micro light
![Light Automotive lighting Amber Orange Lighting]()
The back and clasp are signed
![Analog watch Watch Watch accessory Fashion accessory Strap]()
![Watch accessory Watch Fashion accessory Material property Metal]()
Google image search tells me it came in two known variants. My gold-plated version, and this rounded steel version.
![Watch Digital clock Watch accessory Stopwatch Timer]()
I got really lucky when I purchased this watch. I bid a week in advance. When it ended it looked like a had no competing bids and won it for lunch money, but when the page reloaded, It showed I had purchased it for my max bid. My competitor had bid 11 cents less than my max bid at the last second! Maybe they were bidding in another currency that got converted to that strange number?
There's a YouTube video of the games here:
And the other functions:
Thanks for checking out my cool curiosity. If you know anything about Unitrex, please share!
Time:
The right upper right button shows day/date, then minutes/seconds.
The upper left button is where the fun starts. It cycles through 3 games: Jackpot, Dice and Roulette. Jackpot is the most fun. It starts by animating all the digits in a flashing pattern reminiscent of a slot machine. When you press the upper right button, it freezes the right digit, then after a second, the middle digit, then after a second, the left digit. The animation even slows a bit after the button is pressed, like a slot machine wheel slowing down.
If you match 3 numbers (a 1/36 chance), you get a flashing JJ-JJ display
The next game is dice. You press the upper right button and it animates the digits, then slows down and freezes the right digit, followed by the left. I don't believe there's a way to win.
Then 3rd game is roulette, which animates the digits and then displays a number between 00 and 36 with the same slow-down effect.
The button left button turns on the micro light
The back and clasp are signed
Google image search tells me it came in two known variants. My gold-plated version, and this rounded steel version.
I got really lucky when I purchased this watch. I bid a week in advance. When it ended it looked like a had no competing bids and won it for lunch money, but when the page reloaded, It showed I had purchased it for my max bid. My competitor had bid 11 cents less than my max bid at the last second! Maybe they were bidding in another currency that got converted to that strange number?
There's a YouTube video of the games here:
Thanks for checking out my cool curiosity. If you know anything about Unitrex, please share!
