Most people have probably never heard of the Astron but, that should in no way lessen its value to the history of watch making and engineering as a whole.  What makes this watch, which Seiko unvailed in Tokyo Christmas Day 1969 so special?  Well, chances are good that the watch on your arm uses the technology developed for this watch.

The Seiko Astron was the very first electric quartz wristwatch.

original 1969 18k gold Seiko Quartz Astron

The concepts behind quartz technology had been known going back to the 1920’s when Warren Marrison developed the first quartz clock but, the problem had been shrinking it down to a usable size.  Every major power in the post-war world had a group working on this now seemingly simple concept but, it only seems simple because it is so pervasive today.

The story begin in 1959 high in the mountains of central Japan where Suwa Seikosha (the predecessor of the modern Seiko Co.) embarked on a mission to develop the first personal quartz timepiece.  This mission became known as the “59A Project” and it bore much fruit over the next decade including a quartz marine chronometer, precision timing clocks for the Tokyo Olympics and the Japanese bullet train system.  One of the biggest problems with shrinking things is making a power source that can be that small so, the invention of the integrated circuit in the mid 1950’s was really what made this new technology possible.  With the vacuum tubes and transistors of the day it never would have happened.  When a prototype was finally produced in 1967 the company sent it to one of the most prestigious accuracy competition in the world, the Neuchatel Observatory competition* and nearly single handedly ended the era of mechanical watches over night.

original 1969 Seiko Astron electronic quartz movement

The Suwa Seikosha quartz wristwatch type 35SQ was released to the public on Christmas Day 1969 under the name Seiko Quartz Astron and within a week K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. (present-day Seiko Co.) had sold 100 18k gold watches at the amazing price of $1,250 which, at the time, was about the same price as a brand new Toyota!

The original Astron boasted ±5 seconds per month or about a minute per year!  In 1969 that blew most mechanical watches out of the water and the silver battery would keep it running for a year with no winding.  You can see how big of a splash this watch made just by looking at the market today.  How many quartz movements do you see?

The Astron also introduced the “dead second” to watch making, where the second hand stops at every marker instead of sweeping around the face.  This action became a hallmark of quartz watches everywhere for a very simple reason, power consumption.  This style of seconds readout was very tough on the power source. The battery needed to be drained continuously to move the hand. With a “dead second” hand the hand moves just once each second, thus reducing the power consumed from the battery. And low and behold that ticking seconds hand that is the hallmark of quartz watches was born. It is all about power consumption and keeping batteries alive in watches from 2-10 years.  All of this helped it to its rightful place on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) list of historic engineering milestones

2009 Limited edition 40th anniversary Seiko Quartz Astron, $5000!

For the 40 year anniversary Seiko released 200 brand new commemorative Astrons.  The case looks like the original except wrought from titanium instead of gold but, it got a big upgrade in the movement.  So, if you have $5000 to throw at a heritage quartz watch, actually no, I probably still wouldn’t  say buy this but, it is an amazing watch with an amazing story.

*Observatory testing regimes typically lasted for 30 to 50 days and contained accuracy standards that were far more stringent and difficult than modern standards such as those set by Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC).  Of the ≈250,000 “official chronometers” certified each year in the 1960’s only a few hundred of the very best mechanical chronometers from around the world would be sent to the observatory competitions.  When a movement passed the Observatory, it became certified as an Observatory Chronometer and received a Bulletin de Marche from the Observatory, stipulating the performance of the movement.  Observatory competitions ended by the mid-70’s with the proliferation of quartz movements.

There are a lot of iconic watches out there with brands holding storied histories that reach far back into an era of craftsmanship and handmade specifications.  Cartier is indeed in this elite group.  It in fact produced the very first wristwatch for men, the ‘Santos’ but, thats for another time.

Although many brands have a long history, most of their timepieces do not.  They are made to fit a need and become exquisite pieces of engineering in the process.  This is one of the many reasons we love them but, the watch I bring to you today is different.  It tells the story of a time in war torn Europe.

Louis Cartier, who had turned Cartier into one of the best selling watch companies in Europe, had a front row seat to the Great War.  France being the front line in the west, the Allies and their machinery were a normal sight all through out the war.  As the war continued and the Renault FT-17 light-tank became the standard for quick effective assault and Louis Cartier soon became inspired by the shape of these game changing machines.

The FT-17 with its long rectangular body and tall rotating turret became the inspiration for one of Cartier’s most iconic and best selling watches. The Tank.

The watch, released the same year that production of the FT-17 was building, 1917 toward the end of the war, mimiced the shape of the tank from a birds eye view.  With its blue bladed hands and crocodile bracelet gave a new look to what a watch could be.  The face has always had roman numerals and as Cartier’s signature the crown is set with a sapphire.

(L) original Cartier Tank 18k gold c. 1930    (R) Cartier Tank platinum with bladed hands c. 1960s

The watch was so connected with the Allied victory on the western front in Louis Cartier’s mind that when the war was over he presented General John Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force with the prototype that would go into production later that year.

The Cartier Tank has been in continual production ever since with very minimal changes.  Although, there are variations on the original theme I think the first design from 1922 has an elegance that hasn’t been matched often in both form and history.  On top of all that, Im pretty sure this is one of the most amazing and over looked watches still available out there.  I mean you always hear about Rolex or TAG or Patek or Omega but, Cartier is seen as a jewelry company and I think this watch would make a statement among all those divers.  Now, just to find the money…

I’ve talked about a few different watches at this point but, this is different.  Military spec watches sometimes referred to as field watches have been a long term project of efficiency and durability across international boarders around the world.  The ultimate of form follows function.  Every piece is there for a purpose and, as we see in the evolution of the specifications, if it isn’t needed its gone.  Every government has its own standards but, most have similarities.  Although Im focusing on the Allies specifically the US and the UK a lot of the specs look a lot alike.  There have been some special military watches over the years from big names like Rolex and Omega, which there will be more on later but, this will focus on the basic military specifications made by historic brands like Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, and Bulova.

6th Battalion, 31st Infantry Sniper, identified as Sgt. Waldron, with M-21 7.62mm Sniper Rifle, Vietnam, 1969 wearing a MIL-W-46374 spec watch.

Around the time of the First World War wrist watches were still a relatively new invention, read expensive and rare.  The point being that the majority of the military issued timepieces were simple pocket watches which were excessively common.  The pocket watch, being difficult to check quickly while holding a gun and easy to misplace, proved to be a problem on the battlefield.  Seeing this problem some enterprising officers would take a small pocket watch and attached it to a leather strap with a leather guard to protect the face.  These creations became the rudimentary beginnings of the hard wearing, affordable wrist watch the would become the mark of military issue.  Over the years the military spec watch went through many iterations but, kept the same general feel.

WWI Elgin ‘Officers Watch’ with swing lugs on an original pig skin strap, c. 1918. more

The first attempt by the US military to mark and standardize time pieces was in 1940 when the Ordinance Department published a list of requirements for various types of military watches.  As well as a system for retroactively marking watches that had been previously made.  This became the low standard for the general issue watch throughout WWII.

At that time, a watch was only considered necessary for ground and naval officers, aviators, and others with command or technical responsibilities. While official service watches were available, many enlisted men, and particularly officers, obtained their own stylish wristwatch or added a distinctive band to their military watch.  The type A-11 specification for production was published around the same time for use by the Army Air Force and the RAF.  A-11s were made by various watch companies throughout the war and in a variety of cases and sizes but, they generally have a few things in common such as; a black dial with large easily ready hour numbers, 1 to 12; high contrast white hands; a handwound hacking movement with a sweep second hand; a second scale with smaller minute/second numbers in increments of 10 on the outside edge of the dial; and matching minute and hour hands.  There were also technical specifications of accuracy, specifically ±30 sec/day and a minimum of 15 jewels which would continue to be the standard for the next 50 years.

(L) Bulova A-11 with fancy railroad markers c. 1944 (R) Waltham A-11 spec drawing

In March of 1956 the US published a new military spec which built on the A-11 and the in production A-17 of the early 50’s.  This line of watches starting with the MIL-W-3818a was again required to have a minimum of 17 jewels, a two year guarantee, a second hack function, luminescent hands and a level of magnetic shielding.  The face and hands were prescribed in the specification as well for greatest legibility. The W-3818a was designed as a to be used by pilots, navigators, and other personnel who needed time keeping instruments with greater accuracy and the capability for precise synchronization - hence the need for the hacking function, not for general military issue but, in 1962 the MIL-W-46374 specification solved the problem of a more basic and less costly wristwatch for the hundreds of thousands of troops during the ramp up to Vietnam War.  All that it required was a non-maintainable, plastic case watch powered by a non-hacking manual wind movement with no specific requirement for jewel bearings. It was required to have minimal water resistance, minimal protection from shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures, and enough luminous treatment to be able to tell time in the dark but, little else.

MIL-W-3818a spec figure with skeleton hands

While the MIL-W-46374 spec was designed to be the basic issue watch, in 1967 the GG-W-113 was published to be new high accuracy instrument to replace the old MIL-W-3818 pilots watch.  While the basic W-46374 had no bearing requirements the W-113 required a minimum of 15 jewels as well as a hack function all in a hard wearing metal case.  It had tougher requirements all around with higher bars for magnetism, shock, vibration, and water resistance.

1971 Benrus GG-W-113

The MIL-W-46374 became the standard issue field watch for all troops that didn’t have a special operational need.  While the GG-W-113 was the general spec for higher needs.  The new MIL specification was so good that it has been kept, with slight revisions over the years, all the way to modern day.  The W-46374 even replaced the powerful GG-W-113 with its D specification that was released in 5 types in 1986.  With the most recent iteration, the MIL-PRF-46374G, published in November of 1999 the DoD specifications made a somewhat historic turn by removing the government agency from the design and engineering side and simply laying out instructions as to performance (PRF = “performance”).  This leaves the specific design elements and make ups of the time pieces to the expertise of contracted watch manufacturers.  With the caveat that whatever they make must meet the criteria and pass the test procedures laid out by the DoD.

the evolution of the MIL-W-4637 the true American field watch

A field watch is that kind of thing you can beat the hell out of and be pretty sure it will be fine in the end.  The kind of watch that will stand up to whatever you are gonna throw at it.  These days vintage is definitely an option but, reliability might be a factor.  Now, there are so many good reproductions that you can also go with modern technology with the look of the original.  It seems like everyone is making there own field watches now.  Some of the high lights come from brands like Timex, Fossil, and Ram Instruments which all get the look almost right but, have a cheap quartz movement, making them very affordable.  On the other hand companies like Hamilton, Seiko, and Luminox are making very nice looking watches with high quality movements.  The Seiko even has an automatic mechanical work horse of a movement in their SNK models.  So, shop around see what you can find, maybe you’ll fall in love with a classic.

Longines was founded way back in 1832 in Switzerland.  Although it is now owned by the Swatch Group it is considered to be one of the top competitors in the Swiss luxury time piece game.  Longines also currently holds the oldest registered logo for a watch company, the winged hourglass that appears on all its watches.

It has a long standing history of colaboration with the aviation industry going all the way back to Charles Lindbergh but, thats not why I am writing about them.

It came to my attention recently, through our favorite watch site Hodinkee, that the watch worn by the great Dr. Albert Einstein would be sold at auction over at Antiquorum.  The watch itself isn’t anything to special but, the story behind it is what we love to hear.

This watch was a gift to Dr. Einstein in 1931 from Rabbi Edgar Magnin, aka ‘The Rabbi to the Stars’, at a gala luncheon in honor of the nobel laureate.  Its a simple 14k gold tonneau shaped (simply rounded like a barrel) Longines.  The special part is the inscription on that back that reads ‘Prof. Albert Einstein, Los Angelas, Feb. 16, 1931’.

Celebrity watches have been known to fetch high prices in the past but, many times the watch is as special as the previous owner.  Watches like Buzz Aldrin’s Omega Speedmaster, Steve McQueens Heuer Monaco, and Sean Connery’s Bond Rolex Submariner (more on these later) sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars with big names and specialty movements attached.  Einstein’s watch although simple was indeed expected to fetch quite a sum but, with estimates in the $25-35,000 range no one predicted the $596,000 closing price.  Just goes to show you, you never know how much something could be worth.

Finally, this watch is a great example of how a watch can make a great and personal gift.  A nice watch will last a lifetime and a simple, thoughtful inscription will always be remembered.

So, I have a list, a rather short list at the moment, of watches that either have historic relevance or are just plain cool that I would love to own but, will probably never be able to afford so, Im going to start another little series on here to shine a light on each of these. The first being the Breitling Navitimer Chrono-matic.

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When it comes to mens accessories, in my opinion, watches are one of the only, and by far the most important piece, of jewelry that a man can and will ever own.  The greatest part about a watch is that they come in every shape, size, and price range.  Quality watches can be had from $30 to tens of thousands.  A watch is a subtle way for a man to show off his personality or a great functional way to mark an occasion.  They have been given for retirements, graduations, bar mitzvahs and everything in between for at least a hundred years.  They can be as personal as a kiss with hidden engravings or as meaningful as a last goodbye.

Yes, there are many good and even great new watches to be had but, I think that there is nothing like a vintage watch.  They combine the importance of history with the craftsmanship of another era.  And giving one as a gift adds a new sentiment to an old machine creating an instant heirloom.

The problem with buying vintage is not knowing what to look for.  If you are looking for something in the higher quality, bigger name, and more expensive catagory, there is a new website that is perfect.

http://www.hodinkee.com/

Hodinkee reviews hundreds of watches and give you all the information you might want.  On the other hand ebay is always a great place to look.  You can find amazing watches for much cheaper and get off name brands that are just as nice. 

The most important thing is make sure you know the watch you are about to buy and fully research it before buying.  There are many markers to help you distinguish a good watch from crap, so take the time do the research and end up with a great gift.