This year marks the 145th anniversary of Seiko, and while 145 isn’t exactly the most notable round number anniversary, it’s still, well, a very long time. And as we’ve mentioned countless times in these pages, the watch industry simply doesn’t let an anniversary year go to waste. Seiko has just announced a new collection of watches in the Astron line to mark the occasion, because of course it makes a lot of sense to commemorate longevity and a proud history with the most modern contemporary line in the catalog. Right?
Kidding aside, the Astron holds a special place in the Seiko collection for a few reasons. It was the name of the brand’s very first quartz watch, famously introduced on Christmas Day in 1969. It was a watch, and a technology, that not only changed the company, but the watch industry altogether. It ushered in the Quartz Crisis across most of the watchmaking world, except of course in Japan, which rose to a level of prominence in watchmaking as a result of quartz.
Today, the Astron is special as it is reserved for the most newfangled Seiko technology available, very much in keeping with the tradition inherent in its name. That means, primarily, tech forward GPS enabled timekeeping, as well as the use of Seiko’s solar technology. Astron watches typically inhabit a very contemporary design language, which tends toward sporty, angular, and often oversized.
The anniversary watch introduced this week is the new GPS Solar Dual Time Chronograph, reference HAB004. It has a vaguely integrated bracelet design, in a multifaceted titanium case with a super hard coating to protect against scratches. It measures 43.4mm in diameter, but is only a little over 12mm thick. It’s a large watch, but should wear reasonably well at that case height, and it looks like the case facets might hide some of that height on the wrist regardless.
It runs on a new movement, Caliber 5X63 , which incorporates a chronograph into its GPS synched timekeeping, and runs on solar power, so it never needs a battery replacement. The GPS technology is incredibly useful for frequent travelers, as it allows the watch to automatically synchronize to the correct time wherever you are in the world based on a connection with a GPS satellite. With the push of a button, the watch will make adjustments to the correct timezone.
The anniversary edition features a colorway of gray and blue, with a geometric grid pattern running across the dial. The new movement changes the layout of the watch from previous editions with similar complications, with subdials now located at 3, 6, and 9, with a circular date window at 4:30.
In addition to the limited edition anniversary reference HAB004, Seiko has also unveiled a trio of permanent additions to the collection with the same case, movement, and dial layout. HAB001, HAB002, and HAB003 have dials in blue, black, and black & gold, respectively. The HAB003, in addition to gold accents on the dial, features a gold inner bezel ring. This reference is also the only one available on a rubber strap.
Pricing for the limited edition HAB004 is set at $2,900, and a total of 2,000 examples will be produced. The HAB001 and HAB002 references are priced at $2,700, and the HAB003 is priced at $2,600. Seiko
