What does "digital watch" mean? I heard it's also found in mechanical watches?

The terms analog and digital are often used in the world of wristwatches. While most mechanical watches have an analog display that shows the time with hands, there are also digital mechanical watches that show the time with numbers, and they actually have a long history.

Q: What is a digital watch? Is it true that mechanical watches also have one?

A:A watch that shows the time with numbers instead of hands is called a digital watch.

　Nowadays, most quartz watches with LCD displays are equipped with digital displays.
Digital displays also exist in mechanical watches, although only in a small number. Digital displays actually have a long history. This is because some mechanical watches had digital displays even before LED and LCD became popular in the 1970s. There are also records of digital clocks dating back to the Renaissance, in which the time was displayed by shining light on the back of a rotating disc. Let's take a look at their history.

　The now-popular digital watch, which changes the time instantly, was developed by Austrian watchmaker Josef Pallweber in 1883. Later, manufacturers such as IWC and Cortevert released "Pallweber-type" digital pocket watches designed by him. However, it seems that it was difficult to operate the digital display, and they were only produced for a few years.

　It is believed that digital clocks were first scaled down to wristwatch size in the early 1920s. Manufacturers such as Corte Vert and Niton succeeded in fitting digital displays into rectangular cases. In the 50s, American brands such as Elgin also adopted digital displays. Digital displays can also be seen on so-called "doctor's watches" worn by doctors.

　Before the 70s, all digital displays relied on rotating disks powered by springs or motors. For this reason, they were only used in powerful mechanical clocks or desk clocks. However, LEDs and LCDs, which began to become popular around the 70s, were ideal for digital display clocks because they have no physically moving parts.

　Currently, some of the most well-known digital watches are the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk and the Casio G-SHOCK. The former takes advantage of the powerful mechanical features of a watch and features a mechanism that instantly switches between large hour and minute displays.