Rare 'WristMac' Wearable From 1988 Could Sell for Up to $100,000 at Auction

[MacRumors]

A rare wearable Macintosh accessory from 1988 called the "WristMac" today goes up for auction at ComicConnect.

The WristMac is an early example of wearable technology made by Ex Machina, Inc. and Seiko. While it was not made by Apple, the device served as a programmable wristwatch that could be connected to a Macintosh and store phone numbers, execute one-time and recurring alarms, and take notes that could be exported to a disk as a text file.

In 1991, NASA astronauts were issued with a WristMac to communicate with the Macintosh Portable and Apple Link software aboard the space shuttle "Atlantis."

The WristMac is a very rare item and as such there are no recent confirmed sales to accurately determine its expected selling price. ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler expects the WristMac listing to sell for anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000, with a final selling price likely to be in the region of $25,000 to $50,000.

The never-worn WristMac available in the auction still comes in its original box and includes its dock, registration card, reference manual, and WristMac 1.2 software floppy disk. Bidding begins today from $1, with the online auction running through to December 18.

Article Link: Rare 'WristMac' Wearable From 1988 Could Sell for Up to $100,000 at Auction

 

[Tozovac]

How far we’ve come in both function and form. This looks like it was snapped out of a C4 Corvette dashboard.

 

[Wildkraut]

How far we’ve come in both function and form. This looks like it was snapped out of a C4 Corvette dashboard.

Hmmm looks just like Apple Watch 7th gen to me.

 

[bsamcash]

CEO Stephen Fishler expects the WristMac listing to sell for anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000

Does he now. Best of luck.

 

[nwcs]

It’s an interesting novelty item but I’m having trouble seeing a great deal of value beyond nostalgia here.

 

[RalfTheDog]

Why can't Apple make a watch today? That looks like it might be a good market.

 

[Edsel]

For those interested in the history of wearable technology....

 

[Oohara]

Now that's how I want the Apple Watch 8 to look.

 

[jayducharme]

For those interested in the history of wearable technology....

It's interesting how there's no mention in that article of the Wrist Mac.

 

[TechRunner]

This is an interesting piece of history, but where it's not Apple branded, I'm not sure it's six-figure (or even five-figure) valuable. But collectors are an interesting breed, so you never know.

 

[rpmurray]

Unless it's the one that flew on the shuttle I don't see it being all that collectible.

 

[ghanwani]

It will sell for more. Too much funny money. We have had on average several IPOs per trading day this year.

 

[laptech]

Being an accessory not made by Apple, it won't have much interest in the Apple collecting world but it will certainly get the watch collectors world twitching, in my opinion.

 

[MrTangent]

It’s an interesting novelty item but I’m having trouble seeing a great deal of value beyond nostalgia here.

At least it has more concrete value than the bubble scam that is NFT’s.

 

[nwcs]

At least it has more concrete value than the bubble scam that is NFT’s.

Certainly true. I don't get the appeal of NFTs.

 

[visualseed]

At least it has more concrete value than the bubble scam that is NFT’s.

This could very well be an NFT - Non-Functional Timepiece

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

That’s a whole lot of money

 

[heystu]

Maybe it'll be snapped up by an electronics student who'll mod it with a USB-C port then sell it on eBay for $200k (so long as the buyer doesn't open it, use it or look at it - half an hour phone call included) ?

 

[neilg]

Firmware update required.

 

[DanteHicks79]

Imagine dumping $100 G into buying this, then hunting down an old 68k pre-OSX Mac that can install the software - only to discover the disk is corrupted after 30+ years...

 

[incoherent_1]

I’m holding out for the Wrist PowerBook G5.

 

[Morgenland]

That's a lot of money for people who don't know what to do with it and can't tell Seiko from Apple.

 

[_Spinn_]

Interesting. I had not idea such a device ever existed.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

It would be a miracle if that floppy has no mold and still holds any data.

 

[Dave00]

Wow. I actually had one of these. I would've held onto if I knew it had any nostalgia value. I never really used it much, was very clunky and not Mac-like at all.