Last Sunday I boarded a plane in Melbourne and made the 8,000-odd kilometre trek to Tokyo. And in the last week I have travelled, by Shinkansen, bus and car a further 1500 or kilometres across Japan. On my wrist every step of the way – from airport lounges to traditional Ryokans – was the Seiko Astron. The Astron is a tremendously important and innovative watch for Seiko – it takes its name from the first quartz wristwatch, developed by the brand in 1969. The orginal Astron was a major milestone, not just in watchmaking, but in the history of electrical engineering. Seiko is hoping that the current Astron, released in 2012 will prove to be just as significant; it is the world’s first GPS solar watch, and aims to be an unfailing, ever-accurate timepiece, no matter how obscure your timezone. There’s no doubt it sounds impressive, but what’s it like on the wrist? My first impression was…Confusion. I’m a mechanical watch kind of guy, and the Astron, for all its appearance as a conventional watch, is a very hi-tech product. At first glance it appears to be a chronograph, but closer inspection reveals that the subdials are actually a second time zone, the…
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