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Inventing the Solar-Powered Watch: Patek Philippe, Synchronar, and Uranus

December 20, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Photovoltaic cells were invented in the 1940s, and Patek Philippe produced a novel clock that used them. Once integrated circuit technology improved enough to build a quartz watch, American inventor Roger Riehl created the first solar-powered watch. His Synchronar paved the way for the solar digital watches that brought the technology to the masses in the 1970s. Then there was Uranus, with their wild calculator watch!

Filed Under: History Tagged With: digital, LED, Patek Philippe, solar watch, Synchronar, Uranus

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