Description
For its 145th anniversary, Seiko has handed its top-of-the-range GPS-solar quartz a meaningful reset. The new Astron GPS Solar Dual-Time Chronograph arrives as a four-reference family — the regular-production HAB001, HAB002 and HAB003, plus the 2,000-piece anniversary HAB004 — built around a brand-new in-house multi-function calibre, a slimmer Grade-5 titanium case, and a push-button quick-release end-link system that finally fixes the bracelet criticism that has dogged Astron for a decade.
This isn't a colour refresh. The 5X63 inside is Seiko's first new Astron movement family since 2018, the case is roughly a millimetre thinner than the outgoing SSH187/SSJ039 generation, and the strap-and-bracelet system is borrowed straight from the Vacheron Overseas playbook. At EUR 2,800 for the standard titanium models and EUR 3,000 for the 145th-anniversary HAB004, this is the most complete quartz watch you can buy at the price.
Design
The case is 43.4 mm in diameter and just 12.4 mm thick — a substantial slimming for a calibre that does this much work. Hard-coated Grade-5 titanium handles the case and bracelet, with brushed top surfaces, polished facets along the lugs, and a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Four colourways anchor the launch: HAB001 in "Tesselate Nebula Grey" (blue-grey dial, full titanium bracelet); HAB002 in "Tesselate Astral Onyx" (black dial, titanium bracelet); HAB003 in "Tesselate Celestial Gold" (black dial with gold-coloured inner bezel ring, indices and hands, on a black silicone strap rather than the bracelet); and the HAB004 anniversary edition in white-and-blue, supplied with both the titanium bracelet and a bi-colour blue-and-white silicone strap in matching anniversary packaging.
The headline structural change is outside the case. Each end link houses a push-button quick-release, mechanically similar to the system on Vacheron's Overseas — push, pull, swap to silicone, push again, you're back on bracelet within seconds. Because the end link still attaches to the case via spring bars, the system may eventually be retrofittable to existing Astrons; Seiko hasn't committed to that publicly. The case-back is screwed down, water resistance is rated to 100 m, and the dial layout follows the established Astron architecture — central GMT hand, sub-dials for chronograph and 24-hour display, perpetual calendar window.
Specifications
- References: HAB001J1 (Nebula Grey) · HAB002J1 (Astral Onyx) · HAB003J1 (Celestial Gold) · HAB004J1 (145th-anniversary LE)
- Case diameter: 43.4 mm
- Case thickness: 12.4 mm
- Case material: Grade-5 hard-coated titanium
- Crystal: Sapphire with AR coating
- Case-back: Screwed-down titanium
- Water resistance: 100 m
- Dial: Four colourways (Nebula Grey, Astral Onyx, Celestial Gold, white-and-blue anniversary)
- Movement: In-house Calibre 5X63 — solar-powered quartz with GPS time-and-zone synchronisation
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, perpetual calendar (to 2100), second time zone, chronograph with 1/20-second resolution and 60-minute counter, automatic DST adjustment
- Native accuracy: ±15 sec/month (corrected by daily GPS sync)
- Power reserve: ~6 months on full charge
- Strap / bracelet: Quick-release titanium bracelet (HAB001/002/004) or silicone strap (HAB003), with push-button end-link release; HAB004 supplied with both
- Limited edition: 2,000 pieces (HAB004 only); HAB001–003 are regular production
- Price: EUR 2,700 (HAB003) · EUR 2,800 (HAB001 / HAB002) · EUR 3,000 (HAB004)
- Availability: Seiko boutiques and authorised retailers from June 2026
What's Exciting
The bracelet criticism has finally been answered. Grand Seiko addressed it earlier this year on the SLGB023 Spring Drive UFA Ushio diver, and now the technology trickles down to high-end quartz at a third the price. The push-button quick-release is the kind of small mechanical improvement that disproportionately changes how you live with a watch — five-second strap swap, no spring-bar tools, no scratched lugs. Pair that with a calibre that handles perpetual calendar, dual time, 1/20-second chronograph and GPS sync inside 12.4 mm of titanium, and the HAB001 quietly becomes the most useful sub-€3k watch on the market.
For the value play, look at HAB004. The 2,000-piece anniversary edition includes a bi-colour silicone strap that retails standalone for around €210, so the €200 premium over HAB001/002 is essentially absorbed by the extra strap and the special packaging. Anniversary releases this honestly priced are unusual, and the white-and-blue dial reads cleaner than the regular titanium colourways.
History
The original Seiko Astron arrived on Christmas Day 1969 — the Quartz Astron 35SQ, the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch, priced at the cost of a Toyota Corolla and accurate to ±5 seconds per month. It detonated the Swiss watch industry into the Quartz Crisis. Seiko revived the Astron name in 2012 as the world's first GPS-solar wristwatch, and refined it through five major calibre generations — culminating in the current 5X-series families that combine network time synchronisation with multi-function chronograph and dual-time complications.
The 5X63 is the first new Astron movement family since 2018. Its arrival on Seiko's 145th anniversary is no accident — Seiko was founded in 1881 in Tokyo by Kintaro Hattori, originally as a clock-repair shop in the Ginza district. The new Astron sits firmly in that lineage as Seiko's most technically dense quartz piece — and the bracelet swap is a quiet acknowledgement that the brand has heard the criticism.
