AMIDA DIGITREND LRD DRIVERS JUMP HOUR 1976
The "Digitrend" by Amida is a one of a kind timepiece introduced at the Basel Fair in 1976 as a cheaper alternative to the popular driver's style LED watches such as GP Casquette or Bulova Computron Sideview. It was cheap because it was a manual wind mechanical device featuring a breakthrough LRD display concept. Light Reflective Display was a nice marketing slogan that was simply and smartly achieved by means of a plastic transparent prism. A standard jump hour movement was fitted with horizontal mirror-printed discs that were optically converted to a vertical display. How cool is that!
The Amida was available in two colors - chromeplate with stainless bracelet and black gunmetal with plastic strap. The watch has become very collectible over the years but most people are not even aware that it was just a cheap disposable gadget for youngsters. It contains a plain 1-jewel 420 calibre by the Michael Berger Watch Company known from producing designer and promotional throw-away watches such as Endura. As mentioned in the magazine ad above it was available also with lever quality movements however all Digitrend models I have ever seen were fitted with the disposable pin-lever movement. The 1-jewel trick was a common approach in those days to allow advertizing a junk watch as "jewelled". Fortunately enough MBWC made other classic jump hour watches that can be sourced for reliable 17-jewel movements.
MBWC aka Endura Swiss Watch Company used different brands and made watches for private labels. Instead of servicing your broken 1-jewel Amida it will be easier and cheaper to search for such brands: Endura, Amida, Nelson, Ingersoll, Dynasty, Lord Lane, Gladius, Simba... High-grade lever movements should have 17j printed on the dials but in case of uncertainty you can always ask a seller to open the snap-back case and confirm movement quality. If you're a purist you can always try to have your 1-jewel cleaned and lubricated but it will never be as reliable as a fully jeweled piece. Lubricated ruby jewels in a watch are installed for mechanical reliability to reduce friction and wear on the pinions. 17 jewels is a full amount that will provide reliable time keeping and more than that are used only for prestigeous reasons.
A 1j to 17j comparison is shown above and the swap process is very easy. From the time I have posted information about this interchangeability (in forums, my 2005 website and eBay) I think that about 50 or more happy owners have upgraded their Amidas to reliable specifications. Please email me for instructions or a service if you're interested. The swap takes just a few minutes but you have to make sure that all necessary parts are transplanted especially that some ladies movements might have slightly smaller base-plates and shorter stems. As shown to the right - such movements with smaller discs will require moving a brass gear from one hole to another including a longer jump spring. Btw. If you ever find an empty Digitrend case you might create a custom piece by robbing a movement with snap-caseback from any other Amida and apply a mirror-printed sticker onto the standard discs (check pic above).
Keywords: amida digitrend, fortaine, hudson, jump hour
Market value: 150-650$ (1j. or 17j. movement, bracelet, condition)