Last year Seiko presented its Astron GPS solar at BaselWorld. This watch could automatically adjust to any of the different time zones around our planet. Furthermore, it uses solar power to do so. This technological breakthrough was made possible when the engineers at Seiko succeeded in simultaneously harnessing the signal from four or more satellites in order to determine precisely the position of the watch and immediately display local time, wherever in the world it may be. You simply have to press a pushbutton to activate the signal receiver.

According to the brand’s executives, “in just a few months, this Astron GPS Solar has gained a big audience”. So this watch whose name “Astron” comes from the world’s first quartz watch, launched by Seiko in 1969, has been a commercial success.

At BaselWorld this year, Seiko presented a new design for this high technology piece.

Let us be clear: it is a brilliant success in terms of design. It is a design inspired by the view of the Earth from outer space: a blue sphere floating in space. The dome-shaped sapphire crystal that entirely covers the case middle, which does not have a bezel, gives a genuinely space-like impression. This complex sapphire crystal – 10 hours of polishing for each one – protects (like a thin atmospheric layer) a luminous dial marked by four large blue hour markers. Decorated by a representation of the Earth viewed from above the northern hemisphere at the centre, it has the codes of the towns and their time difference to UTC (Universal Time Coordinated), based on International Atomic Time (TAI). The different time zones, printed in bold on the edge of the dial, are perfectly readable, including on the side of the watch, thanks to the dome-shaped crystal.
A splendid success.

Astron GPS Solar by Seiko

Specifications:
Calibre 7X52 GPS-controlled time and time zone adjustment. Hour, minute and second hands, date, perpetual calendar correct to February 2100. Signal reception result indication. World time function (39 time zones). Daylight saving time function. Power saving function. Accuracy: +/-15 seconds per month (without receiving a time signal and at temperatures between 5°C and 35°C) Case diameter: 48.1 mm, thickness: 18.1mm. Stainless steel, or stainless steel with pink gold-colour hard coating or with black hard coating. Screw-down crown and screw case back. Water resistance 10 bar, magnetic resistance 4,800 A/m Extra-strength silicon band with three-fold clasp with push button release or crocodile strap with three-fold clasp with push button release. Approximate recommended retail prices in Europe: Euro 2,300 to Euro 2,400.

It is almost as if the three big Japanese brands – Seiko, Citizen and Casio – had passed the word around: 2014 will be the year of the GPS watch, capable of displaying the exact time instantaneously, wherever you may be on the planet.
Read also:
- Thinner, lighter, faster… The new CITIZEN ECO-DRIVE SATELLITE WAVE F100
- CASIO, “SYNCHRONIZED TIMEPIECES”

Source: Europa Star April - May 2014 Magazine Issue