Rare Seiko ‘WristMac’ Apple watch from 1988 up for auction

A 1988 Seiko RC-4500 “WristMac” Apple watch, still in its original packaging, is expected to fetch between $25,000 and $50,000 at auction.

In 1988, Ex Machina, Inc. and Seiko came together to release the “WristMac,” a programmable watch that connected to a Macintosh computer. The “WristMac” could store telephone numbers, set alarms for both one-time use and recurring daily and weekly uses, and take notes, which could then be exported to a disk as a text file.
The Seiko RC-4500 PC Datagraph Watch, also known as the “Space Shuttle Watch,” was sold as “WristMac” in the United States.
William Gallagher for AppleInsider:

The WristMac was a watch made by Seiko, which used AppleTalk to connect to a Mac. First released in 1988, it’s most notable use was aboard the space shuttle “Atlantis.”
Now an original, unused, even unopened WristMac is about to be auctioned by ComicConnect.com.
“It’s an incredible find— one of the earliest examples of wearable computing technology,” said Stephen Fishler, ComicConnect CEO and Cofounder. “The WristMac has rarely been seen since its inception over 30 years ago — and it will likely be years before another one surfaces.”
“The WristMac is so rare, it’s hard to predict what it will sell for,” he continued. “We couldn’t find any recent confirmed sales.”

Peter H. Lewis, The New York Times, August 6, 1991:

As the space shuttle Atlantis passes overhead this week, several of the astronauts are wearing Wristmac watches that can display data taken from an Apple Macintosh Portable computer that is on board. When it is time to snap photographs of a particular feature on Earth or in the cosmos, a Wristmac will sound an alarm and display a two-line individual chore reminder.
If schedules must be changed, National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston can transfer updated files to the orbiting Mac Portable from Earth-based Macintoshes via fax modem, said Debra Muratore, a NASA engineer.

MacDailyNews Note: The auction for the Seiko “WristMac” is happening here.
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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