Reply With Quotedamn you . now i'm searching ebay for one of these.
Another to the list
In 1998 I bought a copy of "WATCH - History of the modern wrist watch" a really excellent book by Pieter Doensen which covered the development of battery driven watches.
When I got to the illustrations of the Braun DW20 and DW30 on page 68 I was hooked and I knew another collection was about to begin.
But in 1998 the Internet was still in its infancy and Google drew a blank.
I placed a wanted advert in Loot (a UK daily paper containing For Sale and Wanted small ads) and soon had my first DW20. This was to prove a very lucky and isolated break as I never found another watch from this source.
My next step was to advertise in a German design magazine through which I made some good contacts and found a few more watches. Finally I started, what was to become for a few years, an annual visit to Hamburg to attend a Braun collector's fair. Eventually after many years of searching my Braun digital watch collection was complete.
These classic Braun designs are from an age when the words 'modernism' and 'minimalist' meant very little to most people. Yet almost 40 years on the DW20 and DW30 designs look just as fresh as when they were first designed.
The Braun DW 20
In 1971 Braun launched their first 'digital' clock, the Phase 1, designed by the DW20/DW30 designers Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs: a battery operated electric alarm clock which used rotating discs with printed numbers to create a digital display. It was the space-age and changing digits were considered more modern than two hands on a clock face.
In the early 1970s digital quartz technology was still evolving and the LED (light emitting diodes) watches being launched at the time used tiny light diodes in 'strokes' which combined to form the digits. To read the time a button was pressed: a constant display was not possible due to the amount of battery power required. So when the LCD (liquid crystal display) watch was introduced it was seen as a big improvement. The display was constantly visible, it used very little power and was easier to read for the greater part of the day. In the dark the display could be lit by a tiny lamp. By the late 1970s LED watch production had ceased as all digital watch manufacturers changed to LCD.
Introduced in 1978 the DW20 was the first wristwatch produced by Braun. Unfortunately due to the many problems experienced with the LCD module it was only in production for a year before being replaced by the DW30. Just 3,000 silver and 2,000 black examples were produced which are very small quantities for a volume manufacturer.
DW20 LCD MODULE
A fairly standard design for the time the LCD module contained two separate batteries, one for the electronics and one for the light. To protect the display a mineral glass with UV absorbing qualities was set into the case. The small buttons which operate the changeable functions of time/date/month/ seconds and light are positioned on the outer edge of the case opposite each other.
The LCD module caused no end of problems for Braun. TheSwiss manufacturers, MSA Modules Electroniques Ltd., were unable to maintain the quality required in mass production and problems with the module began to arise even at the production stage. The German magazine NUZ Schmuck & Uhren wrote in issue 4/1977:
"At Braun they are not denying the fact that there are still problems to overcome regarding the
discrepancy between the suppliers' perception of quality and the high standards demanded by Braun themselves. After all, for Braun there's a reputation at stake".
One of the biggest problems with the module was poor battery contact due to the design of the battery clamps. Although fairly easy to correct the volume of watches returned to the factory must have been a nightmare. After the DW30 was introduced in 1978 faulty DW20 watches which were returned were replaced by a DW30. However the DW30 cost a third more so the buyer had to pay the difference. Braun have been unable to repair or supply spare parts for either the DW20 or DW30 for many years.
DW20 CASE AND STRAP
As some people wear their watch for up to 16 hours a day, or longer, the DW20 watch case was produced in durable aluminium which is a third of the weight of steel. This ensured it was very comfortable for the wearer. As the module, which nestled between the projecting contacts of the function buttons, had a very low build-height the result was a very flat watch compared to the bulky offerings from most companies producing LCD watches.
To achieve the high standard of finish on the case and strap, that Braun required, new technology was utilised. For the black watch, the surfaces were coated with tough titanium oxide. It was applied to the watch parts by flame jets (plasma) forming a layer on the durable aluminium. Because this only toughens at very high temperatures the process was conducted in very small production runs. As a result the finish varies slightly from watch to watch. Some surfaces are very fine and smooth whilst others have a slightly grainier feel and appearance. In addition sometimes the case and strap finishes do not quite match up.
The silver finish was hard matt chrome which was applied by galvanisation again in small production runs. In this process the parts are coated by immersing them into a chrome salt bath and applying an electrical charge. The silver finish was a little more consistent from watch to watch than the black but there were still variations.
This process was chosen for its hard wearing properties. On the 'Mohs Hardness Scale' which ranges from talcum powder at 1 to diamond at 10 both processes score around 9. For operations such as thread milling or drilling the holes that house the buttons each case had to be inserted into the machines separately.
Despite all this care and attention, in everyday use, the coated layers are more susceptible to marking than uncoated stainless steel.
The screw-on backplate has a rubber seal on the outer edge. Although claimed to be water-resistant to 20m, I wouldn't recommend trying it.
If a watch is numbered it is usually found inside the backplate and the numbers may be engraved by hand, machine-stamped or written in felt tip pen. Braun did not use a serial numbering system so these numbers have been made by either the case manufacturers or when later repairs or battery changes were carried out.
The fully adjustable clasp with integral sliding adjuster and removable links should enable the watch to be adjusted to any wrist size. The DW20 originally had 6 links each side of the clasp.
DW20 BOX SET
The watch is contained within a black plastic box which in turn fits into an inner carton protected by an outer sleeve. Printed on the white outer sleeve is the wording Braun quartz LCD with the Braun logo bottom right.
The rectangular black plastic box is lined with an imitation velvet-like material and with the Braun logo printed on the front. Inside the plastic box the watch is stretched over a swivelling plastic frame. The plastic box is enlarged in two places to allow for the circular case and the inner white carton was also designed to accommodate the irregular shaped plastic box.
The instructions are printed in silver and black but in German only. Although Braun main agents outside Germany were able to place orders the majority of the watches were distributed and sold in Germany.
The Braun DW30
The new square design (again by Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs) was quite a departure from the round DW20 so Braun conducted a series of acceptance tests. They showed the proposed new design to both the public and to specialist dealers and invited their comments.
Prototypes were produced with both the black and silver finish and a choice of metal or leather straps. In addition a rubber strap was also proposed. It consisted of a thin precious metal strap with a skeleton function concealed within a u-shaped, shoe-like rubber, covered with 'rubber' pimples on the underside. This option was rejected quite early on.
Despite the suggested selling price for the DW30 being a third dearer than the DW20, 80% of the participants in the acceptance test preferred the new rectangular shape. Although 55% preferred the metal strap it was the leather option that eventually went into production.
Dieter Rams himself favoured the metal strap as he found the contrast between the silver watch case and the black leather strap too strong. However, he did go on to wear a silver DW30 with the grooved leather strap option for many years. Luckily at least one of the silver prototypes with a metal strap survived but I have never seen a picture of the rubber strap.
DW30 LCD MODULE
Following the problems with the DW20 LCD module the Swiss manufacturer spent a year improving and developing an upgraded module for the DW30. This considerably improved LCD module had the same functions as the DW20 but with bigger numbers which were more suited to the overall look and easier to read. The module could be programmed so that the display constantly showed hours/minutes or hours/minutes alternating every few seconds with a date/month display. When set to show hours/minutes pressing the right hand button once would change the display to date/month for a few seconds before if reverted back to hours/minutes. Pressing the right hand button twice would change the display to running seconds. Pressing again would change it back to hours/minutes. The left hand button was for the light.
DW30 CASE AND STRAP
Although an entirely new design the production of the DW30 case utilised the same material and case finishing processes as the DW20. The rectangular shaped case and display together with the function buttons mounted on the top gave the watch an individual look. The length of the watch case required a curvature of the base to follow the shape of the wrist. This makes the watch look flatter and emphasises its lightness. It looks 'designed' even from below where the base plate is attached by four cross-headed screws with very deep countersinking. The metal trims incorporated into the ends of the leather strap are threaded for these screws. The leather strap was unique to the DW30 and was offered with either a grooved or smooth finish. A rubber seal is sandwiched between the base plate and the casing.
DW30 BOX SET
Like the DW20 each watch is contained within a black plastic box which in turn fits into an inner carton protected by an outer sleeve. Printed on the white outer sleeve is the wording Braun Digital DW30 with the Braun logo bottom right.
The rectangular black plastic box is lined with an imitation velvet-like material and with the Braun logo printed on the front. Inside the plastic box the watch is stretched over a swivelling plastic frame.
Again the instructions are printed in silver and black but in German only. Also like the DW20 Braun main agents outside Germany were able to place orders but the majority of the watches were distributed and sold in Germany.
THE BLACK DW30 - The one that got away.
With a low production run of about 9,500 silver watches, sales of the DW30 were still almost twice as many as the DW20. Following a change of Braun senior management and after an initial production run of just 200 the black DW30 was dropped from the range. As a result of this decision the black DW30 is now the rarest and most sought after model although good examples of any DW20 or DW30 are very hard to find these days. The last minute decision to stop production of the black version came so late that the advertising leaflet showing a black and silver DW30 had already been printed. It was hastily reprinted showing the silver version only.
The DW30 remained available until 1981 after which the DW20/DW30 watches slowly slipped into history until they were discovered again by a new generation of design and watch enthusiasts worldwide.
Last edited by Jack Norman; 8th December 2019 at 19:35.
damn you . now i'm searching ebay for one of these.
Another to the list
Thank you very much for the effort and information.
Thanks, great write up. All that late 70's German electronics is making me think of Kraftwerk. These do very cool (to me). I do miss the warmth of LEDs though, my second watch (in the 70's) was an LED.
Any chance of a wrist shot?
Originally Posted by alfat33
Wrist shot pics 'borrowed' from Google - I will replace with my own pics when I get a chance............
Thats really interesting - thanks
Thanks for a nice write-up - never seen these before, and really quite like the clean, timeless (NPI) designs, qualities shared by the Braun logo, which doesn't seem to have changed appreciably over the years.
I see that some were produced in quite limited numbers - out of interest, is there a thriving market for these, and what sort of prices do they command?
More supercool stuff from the 70's, great post.
Thanks for the great post, they really do not look from the '70s, looks much like the '90s to me. Big fan of Braun watches, underated IMO.
Never seen them before but they are pretty cool. Great to see you've got the full set too.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There is a niche market for these - mainly watch collectors, designers and architects etc. but they are quite hard to find in working original condition.
This means there is not a price structure and so prices are all over the place. Some sellers are quite ambitious so there is a range of prices from £150 to £1500 depending on condition and if boxes and instructions are included .
PM if interested and I might be able to locate one for you.
Thanks to all for the positive comments so far.
Last edited by Jack Norman; 1st June 2016 at 08:33.
Very interesting read, and one I would normally have passed by, but having bought a lovely, boxed with papers AW10 at a car boot the other day that hardly looks used, I now have an interest in Braun watches :-)
Good read. They still look modern. OP do you have any interest in the modern Braun watches as well?
My Braun interest is purely the DW20 and DW30 models.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s I did own a lot of other 1970s LCD and LED watches including Omega, Pulsar, Longines, Lip and Heuer. They have all been sold now but I did keep a Heuer Kentucky LCD although it gets very little wear now.
Hi...Just saw this thread. I'm a collector of these very same watches. I bought virtually all of mine (not that many) from an amazingly knowledgable guy named Jack Gertson. I've lost touch with him but he had a true passion for them and he was also an extremely sweet, honest and trustworthy guy.
Do you ever sell anything in your collection? I'd love to know if and when you do. And do you know any reputable watchmakers who know how and are willing to to repair them? Thanks! Great collection, btw.
I am a lucky owner of two Braun DW 20 watches, silver and black. Brand new repaired. If somebody needs a specialist, please contact
Dr. Peter Wenzig (www.digitalwatches.de), Germany, digitalwatches@t-online.de.
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