Seiko Quartz Astron: original module with reproduction exterior

Historical significance

• The Smithsonian record explicitly states that the case and band are reproductions of those originally supplied with the 1969 Astron. Inside is an original module. The exterior photograph must therefore not be presented as an entirely original 1969 watch.
• The museum describes a hybrid circuit, an oscillator at 8,192 cycles per second and a miniature stepping motor moving the hands. It identifies Christmas Day 1969 as the first commercial sale in Tokyo, and attributes manufacture to Suwa Seikosha. These historical statements are the institution’s account, not a test of the preserved object.
• The claimed ±5 seconds a month is attributed by the museum to Seiko, not to a modern measurement of this example. The catalogue number is 1998.0248.01; accession 1998.0248 and web record nmah_1204788 are separate identifiers. A previously circulated 1991 accession must not be substituted for this record.
• Present operation, service history, battery condition and current public display have not been verified. The photograph is an identification view, not a condition report or an accuracy test.

Sources & references

1. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1204788

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.