Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST009

As the end of AZ Fine Time‘s week of Astron comes near to a close, today we are featuring one of the most popular models in the collection…. SAST009.

The Seiko AStron GPS SAST009 is the 1st model in our reviews to be in stainless steel, as opposed to High-Intensity Titanium. The stainless steel case is beautifully polished and comes on a very special silicone strap with an incredibly constructed three-fold deployment clasp. I say this silicone is special, as it is a new type of silicone, which Seiko has developed, and is 4 times the strength of a typical silicone strap. From what I understand, this strap is virtually tear resistant. This is definitely a great new product! I have fell victim to torn rubber straps in the past, so having something that I won’t have to constantly replace is outstanding.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST009

The dial is black, as with all the Astron GPS models. The hands and indexes are white and blue, which gives this piece a ton of character. The blue and white are to symbolize the view of Earth from space (maybe from a GPS Satellite) and give the piece a style all it’s own. This blue and white is made from Seiko’s proprietary Lumi Brite and in the dark, they glow brightly in 2 different shades of color. The bezel on this model is also black cermaic (as the other models), but one minor difference in this piece is that it does not have the city abbreviations on the inner bezel, only the + or – from UTC.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST009

Seiko has developed numerous technologies in order to make the Seiko Astron GPS Solar possible. In case you missed the other blog posts… Seiko developed a new GPS receiver that consumes only 1/5th the power of a standard GPS receiver. They also developed a new High-Sensitivity Antenna Ring, which sits under the ceramic bezel and allows for easier reception than using a standard antenna chip. Finally, a new integrated circuit was developed using a secondary back-up battery to ensure the watches solar rechargeable battery never loses its full power reserve.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST009

Another amazing feature of this watch is equipped with a new “smart sensor”. This new “smart sensor” enables the watch to detect bright sunlight, determine the last time the watch received reception, and whether or not the watch has enough energy to receive GPS satellite signal automatically. The watch will not always automatically receive signal, only once a day at most. This helps conserve the watches energy and will still keep the piece incredibly accurate. If the watch has not received signal manually (or automatically) recently, and the watch is exposed to bright sunlight, the watch will basically recognize that it has a good opportunity to receive signal, and if it has enough energy, will attempt to do so. How cool is that?!

Seiko Astron GPS Solar SAST009

Seiko is a manufacture with incredible capabilities. Over the last 10 years they have worked very hard to develop the Astron GPS solar and with over 100 patents in the movement, has proven it is a truly unique innovation. The SAST009 is a personal favorite, but the whole series is incredible. The launch of the Seiko Astron GPS Solar is a truly memorable moment and AZ Fine Time is proud to be a part of it. To help make this amazing technology even more memorable, AZ Fine Time will be hosting a tremendous party in honor of the release of the Astron. The Seiko Astron Release Party will be October 26th from 2-8, here at AZ Fine Time.