Seiko Astron GPS Solar Gets Redesign For New Generation Celebrating 10 Years

Seiko has brought a welcome update to their Astron GPS Solar collection, bringing the watch visually inline with the design language we’ve seen established within their Presage and Prospex ranges. The newest Astron UTC features three new regular production references and a fourth limited edition, each getting GPS controlled time and time zone adjustment functionality via the Caliber 5X53 and slick titanium cases. If you’ve always liked the idea of the Astron but struggled with its size and aesthetic, this might be the one to shift the tide. The newest watch marks 10 years of the GPS Solar Astron, and the experience is starting to show. 

The Seiko Caliber 5X53 has been around for a number of years now, providing a host of awesome features to prior generation Astron watches. It is solar powered, and receives time updates via GPS signal multiple times a day, for multiple time zones. Even if it’s unable to receive a signal, it’ll still keep time to within +/- 15 seconds per month, all with the ability to track 39 time zones (yes, there are more than 24). The hour offsets from UTC are listed around the sapphire bezel insert, from -12:00 to +14:00.

The marked bezel makes a big difference visually, particularly alongside the new titanium case, which trims some of the visual heft of previous models. It’s a bit more angular, and measures 42mm in diameter and 12.2mm in thickness. The integrated bracelet keeps the lug about inline with the diameter of the case so this should wear quite comfortably as well. 

There’s no shortage of practical feature sets with the Astron GPS, as we’ve seen in previous iterations containing this movement. Wearers can swap the local time and home time with the press of a button, relegating one to the sub dial at 6 o’clock, and the other to the main handset. Each hand is moved independently allowing for super quick adjustments on the fly, though I can’t imagine a scenario where I need that change to happen instantly, rather than over the course of a few seconds, but hey, Seiko is saving us some time with this one. An AM/PM indication and full (perpetual) calendar round out the dial, but overall legibility remains strong. 

The new Astron GPS Solar will be offered in silver, black, and blue variants, with a limited edition 10th anniversary reference with a striped silver dial. The watches will be available this summer for the price of $2,500. Seiko.