Early ‘Apple Watch’ From 1988 Heads To Auction, Buyer Will Be First To Wear It
Image via ComicConnect
A little-known fact is that the Apple Watch isn’t actually the first Apple-related wearable. Two decades prior, there was the WristMac Created by Seiko, and the little device used AppleTalk to connect with a Mac.
It never took off the way the Apple Watch did, but its rarity has made it a valuable. A never-worn-before WristMac, still in its unopened packaging, is expected to fetch up to US$50,000 at auction starting this week.
ComicConnect, usually a marketplace for pop-culture memorabilia, is hosting this sale, which is described by CEO and co-founder Stephen Fishler as an “incredible find.” This particular piece was sold for less than US$50 in a Connecticut Mac closing-down sale years back, with the buyer never touching it since.
Image via ComicConnect
“The WristMac has rarely been seen since its inception over 30 years ago—and it will likely be years before another one surfaces,” Fishler tells AppleInsider. He states that it’s so rare that “it's hard to predict what it will sell for,” saying that the firm struggled to find any recent confirmed sales.
Image via ComicConnect
In 1991, the space shuttle Atlantis blasted off with an early iteration of the Mac, which was notably used for sending emails from space. Alongside this, the astronauts on board all had a WristMac each.
An article published at the time by The New York Times reported: “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.”
Sounds pretty much like a modern-day Apple Watch.
The 1988 WristMac is up for bidding on ComicConnect starting Monday, with the opening bid at a dollar.
[via AppleInsider, images via ComicConnect]
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