Retro Gadgets That Have Gone High-Tech

Astrolabe Watch ($70)
Today, GPS systems and computers tell us where to go and how far away stuff is. To the best of our knowledge, however, that kind of technology didn’t exist 2,000 years ago. So instead, old-timey dudes used astrolabes. They were the first astronomical instruments used for navigation, and owning one back then would have been like owning an iPad now … if there were like 100 iPads in existence and they cost a zillion dollars apiece. The point is, you can now wear an astrolabe on your wrist, and that’s kinda cool. The scribbles on the face are actually a recreation of the device’s components, which helped navigators figure out longitude and latitude coordinates. You probably shouldn’t use the Astrolabe watch — which can keep track of time in multiple timezones — to find your way to the 7-11.