alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 what a beaut! - just had to share. I'm a big fan of the spring drive movement and believe I've found my new "Holy Grail" Specifications Caliber : Spring Drive Chronograph 5R86 Case : High-intensity Titanium Diameter : 53.0mm (12-6h) , 48.7mm (3-9h) Thickness : 15.2mm Weight : 92.5g Glass : Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating Water resistance : 10 Bar Bracelet : The final specification is yet to be decided. SEIKO is now working with the Russian Federal Space Agency on the optimum design. Spring Drive Chronograph Caliber 5R86 * Hour, minute and second hands with calendar * GMT hand * Power reserve indicator * 50 jewels * Movement Diameter : 30.0mm Thickness : 7.6 mm * 416 parts * Power reserve : 72 hours with/without chronograph function in use * Chronograph to 12 hours I'm sure you have heard about Richard Garriott the video game designer following his fathers footsteps into space but in case you haven't : Richard Garriott returns safely to earth after space flight. And SEIKO Spring Drive proves its merit. At 11:37 EDT, on October 23, 2008, a Soyuz TMA 13 spacecraft landed safely and on target in the Kazakhastan steppes. Aboard were two Russian cosmonauts, Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov and the American space tourist, Richard Garriott. Richard had blasted off from the Baikonur Space Centre 12 days earlier arriving at the International Space Station on October 14. During his stay in space, Richard conducted numerous scientific experiments on behalf of NASA, The European Space Agency and conducted a number of educational out-reach programmes including a NASA-sponsored teleconference with students from all over the world. On landing, Richard said, “This mission to the ISS fulfilled a lifelong dream to experience spaceflight as my father first did 35 years ago; it's an honor to be the first American to follow a parent into space.†He said the experience was more gratifying than anything he could have imagined. “While in space, I had the opportunity to conduct scientific experiments and environmental research, but what was most rewarding was speaking to students,†he said. “Growing up in an astronaut family, I firmly believed that every person could go to space, and now I have. I took this opportunity to inspire them with my adventure and let them know they can achieve their wildest dreams as well with hard work and perseverance.†- Please refer to http://www.spaceadventures.com. Throughout his mission, Richard wore the Spring Drive Spacewalk watch that SEIKO EPSON's engineers and designers had designed expressly for the space mission. It performed faultlessly, keeping perfect time, and requiring no winding or adjustment. Richard praised its performance: Richard was wearing Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watches in ISS “During the flight, SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk has performed admirably for me. Even before the flight, Spring Drive Spacewalk had already provided great service and survived through some torturous training such as a nominal 4g and a ballistic 9g re-entry simulation in the centrifuge. While these extremes challenge the human body and have destroyed a competitors watch worn by my backup in this simulation, Spring Drive Spacewalk performed perfectly under all those conditions. I am proud to have the opportunity to wear it.†SEIKO now seeks to demonstrate the suitability of this watch on a real space walk and is in active discussions to make this possible on a future space tourism mission. SEIKO congratulates Richard on his great achievement and thanks both Richard and Space Adventures Ltd. as if one wasn't enough Born in 1961, in Cambridge, England, Richard is one of the leading designers of video and on-line games. He created his first game, Akalabeth in 1980 but his major success was the Ultima series, which is still popular today in its MMOG form. His latest game, Tabula Rosa, has just been released. In addition to his work in the gaming industry, Richard is a serial adventurer. He has trekked across Antarctica in search of meteorites, tracked mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and led a research mission to investigate the hydrothermal vents deep on the Atlantic Ocean sea floor. Richard now lives in Austin, Texas, where he supports a variety of cultural and environmental charities, including a Shakespeare Festival which takes place in a replica of the Globe Theatre that is on his Britannia Manor estate. and some watch porn to finish off : Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 994 Posted July 13, 2009 Yeah, let's see how well it copes with a good period of solar activity. No space agency has adopted these yet. With the exception of Virgin of cause. Do they count as a space agency? Obsenely expensive tho. For the price of one of these you could buy an actual ex NASA Speedy. The Chinese have a rather nice space watch out too. Not shure I like the design, a bit too thick for my tastes. Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 Yeah, let's see how well it copes with a good period of solar activity. No space agency has adopted these yet. With the exception of Virgin of cause. Do they count as a space agency? Obsenely expensive tho. For the price of one of these you could buy an actual ex NASA Speedy. The Chinese have a rather nice space watch out too. Not shure I like the design, a bit too thick for my tastes. Col. I can see how it's not for everyone I read somewhere $25,000 which is why I only consider it a holy grail watch - ya never know :sh_h: as far as I know, every NASA issued watch sent into space is government property and must be turned in when they get back on the ground it's as thick as a speedmaster and this thing is a big 52mm - very nice proportion imo this pic better shows the thickness as for solar radiation interfering with the spring drive, that's an interesting point Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massimo 53 Posted July 13, 2009 I love the technology, both inside the watch and the case too. Seiko has been pushing its brand prestige for a while now so this looks like the watch to get right up there with the big boys. The prices are eye-watering though so I'd be buying the gen Speedy first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 994 Posted July 13, 2009 There's a cpl of gov issue ones out there in the market. The thing lookes thicker than it aperantly is even in that last shot. Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 expensive but keep in mind it's a limited production of only 100 - buying hype really There are some sweet spring drives in the $3000 range which are a better value than the speedmaster imo I've always respected Omega as well - they both make quality timepieces that I'd feel more comfortable forking the $ for As NASA was testing the "moon watch", Omega was totally unaware. They weren't pushed to make a special timepiece for space, they just made a damn good watch - while the likes of Rolex, Breitling and others continued to fail, the Omega kept on passing NASA's tests - they must have been quite proud of their accomplishments when they found out it would be on the moon Giving Seiko's track record for innovation coupled with the fact that they built this watch specifically for space tells me it shouldn't have issues with solar radiation in the slightest the fact that they're focused on space tells me we'll see some wowzers in the near future Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 Yeah, let's see how well it copes with a good period of solar activity. No space agency has adopted these yet. With the exception of Virgin of cause. Do they count as a space agency? Obsenely expensive tho. For the price of one of these you could buy an actual ex NASA Speedy. The Chinese have a rather nice space watch out too. Not shure I like the design, a bit too thick for my tastes. Col. from what I read they are working with the Russian Federal Space Agency on the optimum design Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 994 Posted July 13, 2009 Don't get me wrong, I love Seiko. They make (and I own a cpl of) one of the top three quartz MVts of all time. Not any more regretably as the 7A38 is no longer made and current Seiko MVTs are no match for this classic piece of watch making. AFIK this came about thru Virgin Space Lines and is designed to have their clients spend an extra 25Gs on a watch memento of their trip. If the Ruskies are now involved it's got a bit more serious. They have used Moonies up till now. Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 check out this champ Rare Seiko 7T59 1/100 sec Chronograph Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 994 Posted July 13, 2009 Alpha, stop tempting me! Nice chrono but still not as accurate in the long term as the 7A38. 1/60 sec a day is the benchmark for the 7A. That's six sec a year! Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alphakazi 0 Posted July 13, 2009 I should be saying stop temping ME! :P http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=277623 very accurate but luckily for me, not quite my style Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
