Arctos is a German brand of watches with a long history – dating back to the 1920s — you can read more about their history here.
This particular watch has a NEC module in it, which appeared in other watches of the period including one manufactured by Elgin.
Functions include time, day/date, hourly chime and alarm, chronograph and a light.
The light plays a bigger part than usual — it’s an integral part of the watch setting function.
To set the time, the date, or the alarm, you first enter that mode, then hold down the light button and the select button. Once the watch is set, you hold down light and select again to finish.
There’s another function too — 12/24 hour time — only it can’t be set by any combination of button pushing.
Instead, there is a jumper on the circuitboard which has to be unsoldered and switched to its opposite.
From the factory, the jumper is set to display the time on a 24-hour clock (so the PM doesn’t display) so it was designed to be a military time watch.
Interestingly, there were several combinations of buttons that could have been used to make the switch between 12/24 hour time (like on most other digital watches) but the manufacturers opted for a hardware solution.
I originally bought this watch because of the curves and lines of the case and bracelet – it’s almost seamless (the main photo doesn’t do it justice as the stand it is sitting on is distorting the bracelet).
It’s a great looking watch, thin and comfortable to wear, and a great collection of functions to boot.