Astron (wristwatch)

The Astron wristwatch, formally known as the Seiko Quartz-Astron 35SQ, was the world's first "quartz clock" wristwatch. It is now registered on the List of IEEE Milestones as a key advance in electrical engineering.

History

The Astron was unveiled in Tokyo on December 25, 1969, after ten years of research and development at Suwa Seikosha (currently named Seiko Epson), a manufacturing company of Seiko Group. Within one week 100 gold watches had been sold, at a retail price of 450,000 yen (US$1250 1969) each (at the time, equivalent to the price of a medium-sized car).[1] Essential elements included a XY-type quartz oscillator of 8,192 Hz (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.[2]

Anniversaries

In March 2010, at the Baselworld 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.[3]

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.[4]

Further reading

• "Seiko Quartz 35 SQ: The Seiko 35 SQ Astron was the first quartz watch on the market", Smithsonian Institution website.
• Thompson, Joe, "1969: Seiko’s Breakout Year", WatchTime Magazine, December 20, 2009

External links

• (alternate version )