# Watch ID: Better Call Saul



## James142 (Mar 6, 2013)

Just curious. I was watching Episode 1 of the new show _Better Call Saul_, a spinoff from _Breaking Bad_ (Ep. 1 is streaming free on Amazon right now, BTW), and noticed that Saul Goodman, the main character, is wearing some kind of gold vintage LED digital, or at least it looks like it.

Anybody know what kind of watch this is?









Detail:


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## USeekWatch (Feb 13, 2015)

I'm not sure, but, I keep seeing this gold LED in internet ads.

Geneva Platinum Men's Touch Screen Digital Link Watch - Overstock™ Shopping - Big Discounts on Geneva Platinum Geneva Men's Watches



James142 said:


> Just curious. I was watching Episode 1 of the new show _Better Call Saul_, a spinoff from _Breaking Bad_ (Ep. 1 is streaming free on Amazon right now, BTW), and noticed that Saul Goodman, the main character, is wearing some kind of gold vintage LED digital, or at least it looks like it.
> 
> Anybody know what kind of watch this is?
> 
> ...


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

It's not the one linked above, as that one doesn't have enough metal surrounding the circular red crystal.

It could be a modern remake... it looks like it may be rather thin, while vintage LED watches were VERY thick. But that could just be the angle and how it is resting. If vintage, it could be a Pulsar or Benrus. I recall both brands sporting this style.


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## James142 (Mar 6, 2013)

Cool! I didn't know they still made digital LED watches.

That one looks pretty close, but the bracelet is different.

Thanks for the reply.


USeekWatch said:


> View attachment 2974362
> I'm not sure, but, I keep seeing this gold LED in internet ads.
> 
> Geneva Platinum Men's Touch Screen Digital Link Watch - Overstock™ Shopping - Big Discounts on Geneva Platinum Geneva Men's Watches


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

I think I found it... an Elgin (link).










Well, maybe not. The bracelet here isn't quite right. I think it's more likely to be a Benrus (link, to an eBay auction of one in silver).


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## James142 (Mar 6, 2013)

Thanks for the links!

The Benrus looks pretty close. It's hard to tell with limited info.

I had no idea so many LEDs were out there! I did a Google image search on "Benrus LED watch" and came up with a huge array of examples.



xevious said:


> I think I found it... an Elgin (link).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Mike K (Dec 5, 2011)

James142 said:


> I had no idea so many LEDs were out there! I did a Google image search on "Benrus LED watch" and came up with a huge array of examples.


I feel old now, but the LED watch was one of the "hot, new things" back in the early and mid-1970's. The earliest one's weren't cheap disposable watches but status symbols, and some of those earliest ones came in solid gold cases!

It didn't take long for other companies to start churning them out, without quite as many expensive bells and whistles, and the wave of popularity probably reached its crest about the time Texas Instruments started selling gold- and silver-COLORED plastic-cased versions for $20. For several years, though, it seemed like every other person was wearing an LED watch! 

Eventually, people started to realize that a) having to push a button to tell the time wasn't very convenient and b) the need for a single-player game of "Twister!" to make enough of a shadow to read a watch in direct sunlight was impractical, and LCD displays drove the LED dinosaurs back into the dark for many, many years until they became "retro" and cool again.

Good short article on their history here: LED Watches


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## James142 (Mar 6, 2013)

Mike K said:


> I feel old now, but the LED watch was one of the "hot, new things" back in the early and mid-1970's. The earliest one's weren't cheap disposable watches but status symbols, and some of those earliest ones came in solid gold cases!
> 
> It didn't take long for other companies to start churning them out, without quite as many expensive bells and whistles, and the wave of popularity probably reached its crest about the time Texas Instruments started selling gold- and silver-COLORED plastic-cased versions for $20. For several years, though, it seemed like every other person was wearing an LED watch!
> 
> ...


Cool! Thanks for sharing that, Mike.


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

I got my first digital watch - an LED one, much like in the picture from Better Call Saul, above, when I was 8 for Christmas in 1978. They were relatively new, then - at least at the price point that working-class parents could afford for a kids Christmas present.

Me and my older brother got one, and I thought I was the luckiest kid on earth.

But it wasn't the most reliable thing ever. It was very simple, just time and seconds - maybe the date, but that was about it. It seemed to be not particularly robust to having a young kid push the buttons a lot, because it seemed to get confused / reset easy, and I was always having to pester my dad to set it correctly again.

I still like the look of them, though - I think they're much more iconic than LCD digitals - speaking of which, when I got one of those a couple of years later, they were EVERYWHERE, sold by all sorts of different makes (some you'd never heard of) with all sorts of things to tease you into buying them - musical alarms, for example.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

The other thing that was kind of lousy with the LED watches was the battery life. These usually took 2 cells -- one for the light and one for keeping time. You'd think "LED" would be efficient, but in these watches it's old tech... not like LED's of today.

I have one of these. It's a peculiar BENRUS model in that it was never signed. No label that wore off. It was "clean"... which is what attracted me to it when I bought it. It was my second watch purchase as a teenager (my first was a Timex automatic). I was into Battlestar Galactica back then and the stainless steel with ruby red LED's reminded me of the Cylon Centurians. ;-)


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

@xevious - interesting what you wrote there - I was only 8 when I got mine, so I wouldn't have been taking it apart, but didn't know they had 2 batteries. Could explain why mine kept losing it's set time. It was quite a big chunky watch, though, later LCD digitals I had were much more modestly sized.

Even now - and I don't necessarily mean from a retro-cool perspective - I still think there's something appealling about them, visually. But then, I suppose, the notion of having to press a button to read the time must sound a bit antiquated, but then it's only like needing to use a backlight to read a digital at night.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Wongsky said:


> @xevious - interesting what you wrote there - I was only 8 when I got mine, so I wouldn't have been taking it apart, but didn't know they had 2 batteries. Could explain why mine kept losing it's set time. It was quite a big chunky watch, though, later LCD digitals I had were much more modestly sized.
> 
> Even now - and I don't necessarily mean from a retro-cool perspective - I still think there's something appealling about them, visually. But then, I suppose, the notion of having to press a button to read the time must sound a bit antiquated, but then it's only like needing to use a backlight to read a digital at night.


Yes, not only 2 batteries but the thick button cell type (about 3x as thick as a CR2016). That's what made them kind of chunky (same for the first generation of LCD watches, which had 1 battery but still the thick one accessible through a small screw hatch). There is definitely something appealing about these watches. The numerals look very clear and crisp when the display is activated. And actually, how many times a day do you look at your watch? Given how we innately know the time from our cellphones, not as much as before. And with battery cell improvements, the running time on these old LED watches should be better than it used to be. I remember my batteries ran out in just 1 year when I first wore this watch many years ago. Now, after installing fresh batteries 2 years ago it's still keeping time (I rarely wear it, so the power for the LED display is still very strong). I was tempted to sell mine, as I could get a good price for it given the condition and original box, but... I think missing it afterward wouldn't be worth it. The movements seem to be pretty robust. I have read up on these in the digital watch forums and the modules are considered reliable. There weren't too many different makers of those modules, so if you can identify the one in your watch it is possible to buy a beater and extract a working module to replace.


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

xevious said:


> Yes, not only 2 batteries but the thick button cell type (about 3x as thick as a CR2016). That's what made them kind of chunky (same for the first generation of LCD watches, which had 1 battery but still the thick one accessible through a small screw hatch). There is definitely something appealing about these watches. The numerals look very clear and crisp when the display is activated. And actually, how many times a day do you look at your watch? Given how we innately know the time from our cellphones, not as much as before. And with battery cell improvements, the running time on these old LED watches should be better than it used to be. I remember my batteries ran out in just 1 year when I first wore this watch many years ago. Now, after installing fresh batteries 2 years ago it's still keeping time (I rarely wear it, so the power for the LED display is still very strong). I was tempted to sell mine, as I could get a good price for it given the condition and original box, but... I think missing it afterward wouldn't be worth it. The movements seem to be pretty robust. I have read up on these in the digital watch forums and the modules are considered reliable. There weren't too many different makers of those modules, so if you can identify the one in your watch it is possible to buy a beater and extract a working module to replace.


Mine is long since gone, unfortunately.

Aesthetically, they've always struck a chord with me, though.


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## Watch Fan in Beijing (Jul 15, 2009)

xevious said:


> The other thing that was kind of lousy with the LED watches was the battery life. These usually took 2 cells -- one for the light and one for keeping time. You'd think "LED" would be efficient, but in these watches it's old tech... not like LED's of today.
> 
> I have one of these. It's a peculiar BENRUS model in that it was never signed. No label that wore off. It was "clean"... which is what attracted me to it when I bought it. It was my second watch purchase as a teenager (my first was a Timex automatic). I was into Battlestar Galactica back then and the stainless steel with ruby red LED's reminded me of the Cylon Centurians. ;-)


Very nice! I have a similar model in my LED collection. Other than the bracelet, it almost seems the same. 
However, mine is a Micrel.



















This design is really clean and IMHO isn't at all out-of-date to wear nowadays. In comparison, most 70's LED seem to look more like my Hamilton, which is about as fashionable as wearing a polyester leisure suit.

As you note, these steel colored LED watches have a sort of 70's Sci-Fi look to it. I think it's something you'd see on Logan's Run or Soylent Green.

I've worn my LEDs on casual days and to keep from draining the battery too much, I end up just checking the time on my cell phone instead... lol.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Nice Micrel there, WFIB. Hamilton sure made some sleek ones, though very pricey back then... and in the awakening of LED retro, they've ascended once again. Sure would love a brushed stainless steel version.

I just wore mine last night to a dinner party. It was quite the conversation piece! One person commented that they noticed it on my wrist and figured it was some kind of new high-tech watch. She was floored that it was made in the 1970's. ;-) Her husband was impressed how the 2nd press got to the date and then holding it for a half second showed the day of the week. This was the first time I've worn it to any occasion, since I powered it back up. I sure wish I could find that link I'd removed all those years ago, as the bracelet gets a little tight when my wrist expands (so, can't wear in summer).


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## Otto666 (Sep 21, 2015)

Hello!
Do you know, what watch Saul wears on this pic?

Best regards from Otto666


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## canali (Mar 25, 2006)

What of Mike's wristwatch. ..blk or brown band, gold crown and white face?...watching better call saul season 1 again


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## Juggenbugger (Apr 23, 2016)

I have found a very clise match to sauls watch as in better call. I know its a year old thread :smiley:


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## timeisnow (Feb 3, 2016)

Very hard to tell what watch it is on the pictures, need some professional help 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

That may be a Benrus. They had a terrible habit of leaving their name off of some models! I remember when I purchased mine, the gold round one was available but more expensive. The silver with its polished curves had more visual appeal for me.


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## SirRipo (Oct 23, 2013)

Found this while perusing an ebay link from earlier - not sure if Timex made one in gold, but Unique Timex Vintage Red LED Men&apos;s Watch Works Great | eBay Seems to be a good fit. Only one button vs the two in the original image, but given Saul's kind of cheap nature it would fit.


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## Pete26 (Feb 17, 2006)

Mike K said:


> I feel old now, but the LED watch was one of the "hot, new things" back in the early and mid-1970's. The earliest one's weren't cheap disposable watches but status symbols, and some of those earliest ones came in solid gold cases!
> 
> It didn't take long for other companies to start churning them out, without quite as many expensive bells and whistles, and the wave of popularity probably reached its crest about the time Texas Instruments started selling gold- and silver-COLORED plastic-cased versions for $20. For several years, though, it seemed like every other person was wearing an LED watch!
> 
> ...


You are not alone I remember wanting one of these very badly, especially after seeing "Live and Let die" in 1973.


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## Wongsky (Jan 19, 2012)

Pete26 said:


> You are not alone I remember wanting one of these very badly, especially after seeing "Live and Let die" in 1973.


I remember getting one, as a kid, for Christmas 1978. I thought I was the luckiest kid on earth.

As a watch, though, it proved to be quite unreliable.


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