Seiko Astron: The First Quartz Wristwatch and the Revolution It Started
On 25 December 1969 Seiko placed the Quartz Astron on sale in Tokyo. It was the first quartz wristwatch ever sold, cased in 18-carat gold and priced at 450,000 yen, about the cost of a small family car at the time. Within two decades, the technology inside it would transform the global watch industry.
How it worked
A mechanical watch keeps time with a balance wheel swinging several times a second. The Astron used a tiny quartz crystal that vibrates thousands of times a second when an electric current passes through it, counted by a circuit and turned into the movement of the hands. The result was accuracy to within seconds a month, far beyond any mechanical watch of the day.
The revolution
Seiko chose to share many of its quartz innovations with other makers. Over the 1970s quartz watches became smaller, cheaper and more accurate, and digital displays followed. The Swiss mechanical industry, slow to respond, entered a long crisis, while Japanese makers grew rapidly. The episode is now known as the quartz revolution, or the quartz crisis.
Collecting early quartz
- The Astron itself is rare and collected as a landmark.
- 1970s Seiko and Citizen quartz models, including high-accuracy Twin Quartz and Grand Quartz, are increasingly collected.
- Early digital watches with LED and LCD displays have their own following.
What to check
- Battery leakage: a battery left in a drawer for years can corrode the movement. Ask for photographs of the battery compartment.
- Function: early quartz movements can be difficult to repair; a working watch is worth considerably more.
- Case and dial: as with mechanical watches, originality and condition decide value.
Questions collectors ask
Is the modern Astron related?
Seiko revived the name in 2012 for a GPS solar watch, honouring the original.
Are quartz watches worth collecting?
Historically important quartz watches are. Their technology changed the world, and early examples are increasingly scarce in working order.
Do quartz watches need servicing?
Yes, though less often. Gaskets, contacts and lubricants age.