Is Seiko’s Most Accurate Watch Now Also Its Best Everyday Watch?

The latest Astron model makes a strong case with its mix of restrained luxury sports watch design and next-level tech.

Published September 25, 2024

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When Seiko debuted the original Astron on Christmas Day in 1969, it changed the watch industry forever.

As the first commercially available quartz watch, the Astron introduced a new era of accuracy. Because the brand made its new technology available to competitors, highly precise quartz-powered watches became affordable within just a few years, and they largely replaced mechanical watches by the 1980s.

Of course, mechanical watches ultimately survived thanks to a heightened focus on luxury and craftsmanship, and we remain in the midst of a mechanical watch renaissance that’s been going on for the past three decades.

The Astron also lives on as one of several lines in Seiko’s vast catalog. Just like before, the name represents the pinnacle of the Japanese brand’s timekeeping technology thanks to the modern Astron watches’ use of GPS signals that automatically adjust to the correct time throughout the day.

Seiko has released several of these solar-powered, GPS-synced Astron watches, and most have been overdesigned, oversized or both. But today, the brand has released a new Astron model in three references. And it might just represent the best way to get Seiko’s most accurate watch on your wrist.

Seiko Astron Solar GPS 3X62

An Insanely Precise Luxury Sports Watch

The new Seiko Astron GPS Solar watches feature a look reminiscent of the ever-popular integrated luxury sports watch trend while keeping the design restrained — something with which many previous Astron GPS Solar models have struggled.

The three-link integrated bracelet features flat brushed links with polished bevels on all sides, ensuring the watch catches light at all angles for a sparkling presence on the wrist. The bracelet is also fitted with a toolless micro-adjust clasp — a rarity for any Seiko — for on-the-fly sizing adjustments.

seiko watch with a blue dial — With its more restrained luxury sports watch looks, Seiko’s newest Astron watch may be its most versatile yet.

The case eschews the Royal Oak-esque octagonal shape of other recent Astron models for a more traditional oblong shape with a two-piece bezel that reminds me of another Swiss luxury icon. The bi-color bezel consists of two layers of metal, with the top layer featuring notched cutouts reminiscent of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas.

The dial is similarly restrained, as it does away with extra features and heavy patterns in favor of a simpler sandy texture and subtle gradient color scheme. A date window appears at 3 o’clock, while a subdial at 4 displays the power reserve, GPS signal status, leap second information and an airplane mode to turn off the GPS receiver while in flight.

The hands are semi-skeletonized with plenty of LumiBrite, and the massive applied indices are similarly well-lumed. The case measures 42mm across with a thickness of 12mm and a lug-to-lug measurement of 47.9mm. It’s not the smallest watch in the world, but it’s not oversized either and should wear just fine on most wrists.

seiko watch on a black background — The two-part “futuristic” bezel, seen here on ref. SSJ026, is a key design aspect of the new model.

The case and bracelet are both made from super hard-coated titanium, the crystal is AR-coated sapphire, the water resistance is 100m and the magnetic resistance is 4,800 A/m — all specs that indicate a solid daily wearer.

Finally, there’s the movement. The Seiko Cal. 3X62 movement is solar-powered with a six-month power reserve, and its GPS signal also requires the sun. When sunlight hits the dial, the watch links up with a GPS satellite to receive the correct time, doing so up to twice per day. If you don’t go outside, the watch remembers when it last updated and will still search for the signal at that same time the next day.

The movement also features a perpetual calendar, so the date will always be correct without requiring manual adjustment. Without the GPS feature, the movement is basically your standard quartz movement and is accurate to within +/- 15 seconds per month. But as long as you’re receiving a signal regularly, the watch will be accurate to one second every 100,000 years.

Pricing and Availability

With its combination of luxurious looks, decent size, robust sports watch specs and absurdly accurate movement, Seiko’s new Astron GPS Solar 3X62 makes a compelling case as one of the best everyday watches in the brand’s lineup.

However, at $2,400, this is not a cheap watch. Although it’s in line with the rest of Seiko’s current Astron lineup, all of which are priced above $2,000, some people will definitely take issue with paying so much for a quartz watch from Seiko. Fair or not, it’s going to be something that some enthusiasts will complain about.

three seiko watches in outer space — All three of the Astron GPS Solar 3X62 references take aesthetic inspiration from celestial bodies.

But at the end of the day, it’s probably a non-issue. After all, Seiko keeps making $2,000+ Astron watches, so somebody must be buying them. And out of all the models the brand has released, the latest one looks the best to me by far.

The new Seiko Astron GPS Solar 3X62 comes in three celestial body-inspired references: SSJ023, with an Earth-inspired blue dial and bezel; the moon-inspired SSJ025, with a gray dial and bezel; and the luxe-looking SSJ026, which takes inspiration from the sun and features gold-tone hands and indices and a gold-and-black bezel.

All three references go on sale next month.