The Astron wristwatch, formally known as the Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ, was the world's first "

quartz clock Quartz clocks and quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks and watches are at least a ...

wristwatch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

. It is now registered on the

List of IEEE Milestones The following timeline tables list the discoveries and inventions in the history of electrical and electronic engineering. History of discoveries timeline History of associated inventions timeline List of IEEE Milestones The following l ...

as a key advance in electrical engineering.

History

The Astron was unveiled in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

on December 25, 1969, after ten years of research and development at Suwa Seikosha (currently named

Seiko Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

), a manufacturing company of

Seiko Group is a Japanese corporate group consisting of three core companies Seiko Group Corp. (Seiko), Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII) and Seiko Epson Corp (Epson). The three companies are linked by a common thread of timepiece technology. Epson has establi ...

. Within one week 100 gold watches had been sold, at a retail price of 450,000

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

(US$1,250) each (at the time, equivalent to the price of a medium-sized car). Essential elements included a XY-type quartz oscillator of (8192 = 2¹³), a hybrid integrated circuit, and a phase locked ultra-small stepping motor to turn its hands. According to Seiko, Astron was accurate to ±5 seconds per month or one minute per year, and its battery life was 1 year or longer.

Anniversaries

In March 2010, at the

Baselworld Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show is a global trade show of the international watch, jewellery and gem industry, organized each spring in the city of Basel, Switzerland, at the Messeplatz. The last Baselworld was held March 21–26, 2019. In ...

watch fair and trade show in Switzerland, Seiko previewed a limited edition new version of the watch and related designs of the original Astron watch, commemorating the fortieth anniversary in December 2009 of the debut of the Astron watch.

Second Generation

Seiko used the "Astron" trademark again as "Seiko Astron" when it released a satellite radio-wave solar-powered wristwatch using GPS satellites in 2012.

50th Anniversary Model

In 2019, Seiko released several limited edition Astron models to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the quartz Astron.クオーツアストロン 50周年記念限定モデル
- セイコー Among them, the model produced in a limited edition of 50 pieces (3.8 million yen) mimics the original case design and has a rough engraving pattern by craftsmen belonging to Epson's "Micro Artist Workshop".

Footnotes

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alternate version
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History

Anniversaries

Second Generation

50th Anniversary Model

Footnotes

References

Further reading