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 () each (at the time, equivalent to the price of a medium-sized car).The price of Toyota Corolla E10 was 432,000 yen (US$1,200) when it was released in 1966. 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 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."The new SEIKO Quartz Astron: A demonstration of SEIKO’s four decades of dedication to the perfection of the quartz watch", Seiko press release, March 18, 2010
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.世界初。全世界39のタイムゾーンに対応。ソーラーGPSウオッチ<セイコー アストロン>衛星シグナルをキャッチし、地球上どこでも現在時刻をすばやく取得 - セイコープレスリリース（2012年3月5日）
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".
References
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 )