A personal alarm which can be manually actuated to produce a high-intensity sonic alarm signal, and which is compact, portable and fashionably designed. In one embodiment, this personal alarm is structurally incorporated into a wrist watch with the alarm components arranged thereon in a fanciful yet highly functional manner. This alarm may also be structurally incorporated into other conventional items such as a bracelet, pendant, necklace, keychain ornament, or any other conventional item which is often carried by the persons to be protected. In a further embodiment, the compact size is achieved without sacrificing intensity in the alarm signal by incorporating a specially wound autotransformer and an efficient switching device so as to provide a tuned warbling signal upon a piezoelectric transducer.