Pimp Star Performer Watch

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

August 16, 2004

Back in the70s, some of the coolest and most expensive wrist watches available featured glowing LED numbers. Pulsar, Omega, Tiffany & Company, just about every watch company that wanted to be on the cutting edge of technology offered these sometimes hulking watches. Consumers just couldn't get enough of them! After a while, as LED watches became less expensive and more common, they also got ugly and very passé. Eventually, people returned to more traditionally styled watches with mechanical dials. Well, as with every other fashion under the sun, what was old is now new again - and the 70s are back with a twist.

Photo courtesy of Tokyoflash

I can hear you saying to yourself, "Hey! This watch is flashy, bold and fun - I might wear it!" Well, maybe not in so many words, but that's close to what I thought when I saw it for the first time on the Tokyoflash site. Now, before I go any further, let's clear the air and say that the Star Performer is a cool offering from a company with an unfortunate name: Pimp Watches. There are going to be people that are turned off by the brand, and that is entirely understandable. The good news is that the exterior of the watch doesn't say the word "pimp" anywhere but on the back-side of the case, so if the thought of flashing that word from under your shirt-cuff gave you the heebie-jeebies, then there is nothing to worry about.

Well of course, that is once you get past the wording on the collector tin that the watch comes packaged in...

The watch itself is a pleasantly chunky, retro styled mass of water-resistant stainless steel. Weighing in at 4.5 ounces (127g), the Star Performer has a substantial feel. There is nothing cheap about the watch, but whether or not you think that there is anything cheesy about it will be a matter of personal opinion.

The watch is held securely fastened by a locking deployment clasp. Pressing the two moveable pushers in unison will detach the clasp.

A 1.5" tall x 0.75" wide thick mineral crystal window is surrounded by stainless steel to comprise the 2.25" tall x 1.2" wide x 0.25" case of the watch.

On the right side is a button for cycling through the watch's modes and below the button is an indention to press when setting the watch. For those of you that don't have experience with "old timey" set indentions, just about any pointy object will work - such as an unfolded paperclip, the tip of a stylus or similar items.

Photo courtesy of Tokyoflash

The Star Performer has a unique face which consists of four columns of silvery metallic numbers, each headed by an icon of a clock, sun, dollar sign or martini glass. Most of the time, the watch will rest benignly on your arm, but when you are ready to see the time, the light show will begin. Pressing the button causes the LED lights to flash like a slot machine in brilliant reds, yellows and greens behind the mirrored numbers. After the lights have run through a cycle of random flashing, they will come to rest on the correct time.

There are no instructions included with the watch, but figuring out how to set it is pretty easy...

Time
Pushing the button once reveals the time. Pushing the set indention will cause the selected numerals in the two left columns to blink. The hours can be advanced forward by pressing the button repeatedly. Once you have set the hour, you press the set indention again and repeat the process to select the minutes. Pressing the set indention one more time will allow you to tell the watch if it should be on 12 or 24 hour time. PM is indicated when the martini glass is lit and the watch is in 12 hour mode.

So just for an exercise in telling time, the watch pictured directly above this section is showing 5:58 PM.

Day/Date
The day and date are displayed numerically, by pressing the right button twice. The sun icon will shine, and a number between one and seven will show in the far left column to indicate the day. This key should be used in regard to days:
1 - Sunday
2 - Monday
3 - Tuesday
4 - Wednesday
5 - Thursday
6 - Friday
7 - Saturday
The dates are displayed in the two far right columns. As long as you remember that Sunday is day number one, the system will make sense, but I would have personally preferred if the day had been substituted with a month display.

All of these values can be properly set by pressing the set indention while they are showing.

Year
Pressing the button three times will reveal the year, as well as the dollar sign icon in the top row.

This is not a watch for those who like to steal covert glances at their arm to quickly check the time, because the button must always be pressed and the light show undertaken before the time will be displayed. This may or may not be a problem for some.

Once the button has been pressed to reveal the time, if the time is between 1:00AM and 7:00PM, the watch will light up once a minute for the next twelve minutes. This is a fun feature that might just catch you off guard if you aren't expecting it. Between the hours of 7:00PM and 1:00AM, the Star Performer will give a little impromptu light show every so often - kinda like something C3PO would do, but without the sound.

The Star Performer is meant for a man, but I don't think that it looks overly huge on my 5.75" wrist. I had to remove four links and two pins in order to make it fit, so if you have a small wrist you can expect to do something similar. Without removing any pins, I believe that it should easily fit someone with a wrist of up to 7".

This watch is water resistant, but I wouldn't plan on going swimming or diving in it. You can get into the shower or walk in the rain without worrying, however - which may be more than could have ever been expected with many 70s LED watches.

Overall, I think that the Star Performer is a neat watch with a cool retro feel. It is a bit clunky, larger than most watches and very flashy - but the person who likes that sort of thing will be intrigued by its styling. I have been monitoring its time-keeping with my atomic clock over the last month, and I have been pleased with the fact that the Star Performer is keeping accurate time. So not only do you get a unique watch that is limited to only 1000 sold outside of Japan, you also get one that is accurate and aesthetically interesting. If you like items with a retro flavor that don't function like antiques, then this may be the watch for you.

Price: $144.65
Takes a CR2032 battery

Pros:
Limited to 1000 sold outside of Japan
Colorful LED display keeps things interesting
Shows time, day, date and year
Water resistant
Easy to operate

Cons:
Expensive
Some might find the brand name offensive