Seiko’s New Super Watch Heads to Outer Space for Inspiration

A sky full of stars.

Close-up of a black Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch with a textured blue dial and silver hour markers.

Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google

By Johnny Brayson

Published December 15, 2025

·

Updated December 15, 2025

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

The original Seiko Astron was one of the most impactful watches ever made, as its release on Christmas Day in 1969 marked the beginning of the quartz era and forever changed watchmaking.

Today, the Astron name lives on at Seiko as the brand’s most technologically advanced line of quartz-powered timekeepers, ranking as the world’s first GPS solar watches — i.e., their movements are both solar-powered and constantly communicate with satellites to automatically adjust to always-correct atomic time.

For its latest Astron GPS Solar models, Seiko looked to the heavens — literally — and crafted a pair of super watches with dials inspired by spiral galaxies.

Starry night

Two black Seiko Astron GPS Solar watches with textured blue dials and metal link bracelets on a swirling galaxy background. — Seiko has given a new galaxy-inspired dial treatment to two of its high-tech Astron models.

Seiko has dubbed its new Astron GPS Solar watches “Starry Sky” after their spiral galaxy inspiration. The new pattern, which Seiko created for these two new references — SSJ039 and SSH187 — features an embossed, swirling pattern emanating from the center of the dial. The pattern has a guilloché-like texture on its undulating waves, as well as a dark-turquiose background infused with glitter to represent sparkling stars.

It’s a complex and somewhat busy dial pattern, but its outer space-theme is a perfect match for the satellite tech inside the watches. These models are technically communicating with extraterrestrial objects, so why shouldn’t they look like they came from space?

Furthering the watches’ sci-fi aesthetic is their case and bracelet design and finishing. Both are made of titanium with a super-hard coating applied and given a jet-black finish. Both also feature angular designs with integrated bracelets.

Black Seiko Astron GPS Solar chronograph watch with textured blue dial and multiple subdials. — The SSH187 is the more complicated of the two models, adding chronograph and dual-time functions to its atomic timekeeping and perpetual calendar.

SSH187 is a bit more traditional looking. It’s a 43.3mm x 13.4mm chronograph with a round external bezel in ceramic and aluminum, and a lefthand-vertical alignment of three subdials. The 12:00 register measures 1/20th of a second for the chronograph, while the 6:00 subdial acts as a second time zone indicator, except when the chrono is running. Then, it converts to track the hours and minutes of the chronograph using its two hands.

The 9:00 subdial is the most complex, with several modes you can cycle through to display the day of the week, the power reserve and various information about the satellite communication for the atomic timekeeping, including an airplane mode to turn the function off while flying. There’s also a date window for the perpetual calendar at 4:30, with an AM/PM indicator above it for the second time zone.

SSJ039 has a cleaner dial that’s also better suited to its angular, sporty design. Its 41.2mm x 12mm case features a broad, vertically brushed, eight-sided bezel that recalls the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (sans screws), and though its crown is flanked by the same integrated pushers as the SSH187, it’s not a chronograph.

Black Seiko GPS Solar watch back with titanium case, limited edition engraving, and water resistance 10 bar. — Both models are finished in black super-hard-coated titanium and are limited to 1,500 examples each.

Those pushers are used to adjust the subdial at 8:00, which features similar functions to the 9:00 register on the SSH187, with a power reserve indicator, satellite information and an airplane mode switch. There’s also a date window at 3:00, and like the chronograph, this watch is a perpetual calendar.

Both watches boast 100m of water resistance, sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating, LumiBrite on their hands and indices and the same flat-link bracelet with an on-the-fly microadjustable clasp.

Pricing and availability

The dial of the SSH187 is a little busy, which I think gets in the way of the starry sky treatment a bit. The SSJ039, on the other hand, looks fantastic. The more open dial gives the beautiful dial treatment more room to amaze, and it’s a great stylistic fit for the blacked-out, angular design of the rest of the watch. This might be the best-looking Astron GPS Solar model you can currently buy.

However, you won’t be able to buy it for long. Both models are limited to just 1,500 pieces each, with the SSJ039 priced at $2,400 and the SSH187 chronograph coming in at $2,900.

Black Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch with textured blue dial and date display at 3 o'clock.

Seiko Astron GPS Starry Sky SSJ039

Specs

Case Size	41.2mm
Movement	Seiko 3X62 solar atomic quartz perpetual calendar
Water Resistance	100m

$2,400 at Seiko

Black and blue Seiko Astron GPS Solar chronograph watch with textured dial and metal bracelet.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Starry Sky SSH187

Specs

Case Size	43.3mm
Movement	Seiko Cal. 5X83 solar atomic quartz chronograph GMT perpetual calendar
Water Resistance	100m

$2,900 at Seiko

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.