Fellow nerds can easily identify each other now from the crowd with LED binary watches. For the rest of us average watch wearers, binary watches are a new development we’ve only recently learned about, if at all. The premise of a LED binary watch is simple, albeit the explanation may seem complicated. Basically, time is gaged by the binary patterns of lights on the watch that uses a number system based on multiples of two. Hours are set in the first row and minutes are set in the row below it. The divisions of the hours are set as such: 1, 2, 4, and 8. Minutes are set like so: 1, 2 , 4, 8, 16, 32. Each increment has its own respective light, and a watch wearer would add up the lit increments in order to get the time. This is a far cry from the traditional hour-colon-minutes, and may seem daunting, but it’s ostensible complexity belies an elementary grasp of mathematics. Some LED binary watches vary, but this is the basic premise.
So what are the top five LED binary watches out there right now?
1. 01 The One Art Edition Split-screen watch is fashioned in a retro style with the binary patterns bookending the artwork in the middle. It certainly looks exquisite, and the watch comes with additional features such as water-resistance and long battery life. Unfortunately, the watch doesn’t have an AM/PM differentiation, which can prove somewhat irksome.
2. The Zero Kelvin LED binary watch has a different pattern from traditional binary watches. In lieu of two rows, the watch has five columns. The first on the far left is the hour column divided into contemporary increments of 1 through 12. The four columns to the left show the minutes within a given hour, and have separate increments ranging from 5 to 60. The style of the watch looks almost space-age, and the LED animation is entrancing to look at. However, this watch also lacks AM/PM differentiation, and the additional LED columns can prove bewildering for new watch wearers.
3. The Tokyo Flash Men’s “Barcode SS” watch is a little similar to the previously mentioned Zero Kelvin at first glance, but the watch has its own unique set of charms. The style is comfortably modern, and there are four columns, but unlike the previous watches, there are no increments written on the sides. A watch wearer would simply tell the time by counting the lights in the columns respectively. This watch is powered by lithium batteries that are easily replaced.
4. 01 The One Men’s Lightmare Fashion watch is a truly special watch. The LED lights are set in a circular formation, and the hours and minutes are represented by the their respective revolutions. Second are counted off by the single row of lights in the middle. Its design lends an air of authority and innovation unlike its comtemporaries. Additionally, the watch is water-resistant!
5. The Tokyo Flash Kisai Sensei binary LED watch is a beautiful time ticker. Its design is unlike any other LED binary watch, somewhat resembling a delicate piece of circuitry one normally doesn’t seen underneath the face plate of a given machine. Its shape is also unconventional for wrist watches, the watch takes on the form of a square, and the multicolor LED pattern has an impressive-looking layout. The Kisai Sensi comes in its own aluminium black case.