IN-16 NIXIE by Gelfman
Unboxing.
If you remember the size of Urwerk's Space-Time Blade, this watch will blow your mind because it is too, made with nixie tubes.
It was a real pleasure coming back to one of your beloved formats of unpacking new watches. Especially with such an unusual timepiece as IN-16 Nixie by Gelfman. It is a cyberpunk future on your wrist.
The watch is big and bulky but given the construction of the mechanism, the stainless steel case bearing two sapphire crystal cylinders with nixie tubes is even compact. The size of the case is 45.9 x 47.8 mm and it's 20.5 mm thick. Inside there's a quartz calibre with an integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery that powers the watch for up to 5 days.
The neon-filled glow lamps were ubiquitous in the late 1950s and 1960s and were widely used by scientists and researchers. Each tube contains a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes, shaped like numerals. It displays time using glow discharge. While it is still not certain who was the original inventor, the specific design used in the mass-produced nixie tubes was developed around 1948 by the Haydu brothers, who sold the patent to Burroughs in 1952.
For this limited-edition wristwatch, Gelfman revamped the tubes and made them fully controlled and programmed via computer. Through a special application you can adjust the visual effects of the time display, nixie tubes brightness, backlight, and even hours & minutes display time.
Overall impression: very cool timepiece if you like to stand out from the crowd, but might not be comfortable for everyday wear.
