Alba Y761-5010

This is the second of two very similar watches released by Alba in the early 1980s — it’s the stablemate of the Y760-5000. Both use the same case (although occasionally you will find one with a slightly different colour combination on the crystal) and have the same functions other than the Y760 having two games, and this one having one game and one speed calculator.

Unfortunately this one is missing 3 of its 4 side buttons and they are quite an unusual design — the buttons are rectangular and the pins are offset from the centre so I’ll have to find a dead Y760 or Y761 to salvage buttons from … easier said than done.

UPDATE: I found a donor watch with buttons intact in July 2018 … So it really did take a while !!

I don’t have a manual for this watch although the game isn’t too difficult to work out. Numbers and letters count up on the right-hand side and you must match them at the right time with the one on the left. It becomes quickly more difficult as you only get to see some of the numbers and have to guesstimate when they will match. More fun to play than I’ve described here and not easy to master.

The speed calculator I haven’t got the hang of yet so if you have a manual for this watch please let me know (and/or buttons — that would REALLY be a bonus).

There’s an hourly time signal and alarm and either of these must be active if you want sound in your game, otherwise it will play silently. Add a stopwatch and it’s a great all-in-one watch. There’s probably a smartphone app that has replaced the speed calculator, but it’s unlikely you’ll ever see the games in these watches replicated in the app store — pity.

The Y761 fits nicely with all the other Alba game watches, and the module — while small — is of similar quality to those of its parent company, Seiko.