Should the future of human civilization turn out to be flying among the stars and colonizing outer space, this could be the watch accompanying mankind on its journey.
Man has always been driven by the desire to explore the unknown. From the darkest, pressurefilled depths of ocean trenches, to the chilling altitudes of the highest mountain peaks, from the blistering heat of the widest deserts,
The Spring Drive as a spacesuit accompaniment. to the frigid cold of desolate arctic wastelands, there are few places that adventurous spirits have dared not to go. We followed their exploits. We read about them and we watched them. And long before man had exhausted all the exploration possibilities this planet had to offer, he had already turned his sights to the stars.
Throughout all these adventures and explorations, man’s companion had always been his wristwatch. Not just any ordinary wristwatch, but one specially crafted and designed to withstand the extremes of heat, cold, or atmospheric pressure. Why was it important for a watch to be durable and sturdy enough? It is because man’s own survival often depended on their watches keeping accurate time in such harsh conditions.
Watchmakers all over the world, eager to demonstrate the superior quality of their timepieces, had been competing not only to develop watches that would keep accurate time, but would also do so in the most extraordinary situations without malfunctioning or failing. After all, watch companies coveted the reputation of having created the BEST watch that would outperform the competition. And so, the partnership between explorer and watchmaker grew, showcasing to the world how both man and wristwatch would ultimately triumph over the worst the Earth could throw at them. 
Civilian space traveller Richard Garriot. But for them to deserve the ultimate bragging rights, watch companies had to look beyond the Earth. Space flight was and still is universally recognized as the greatest empirical test a wristwatch could be subjected to.
Quite a number of watch brands had already made the trip to outer space. The first watch in space was a Shturmanskie, worn by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin during his historic flight on April 12, 1961. A Breitling’s Navtimer Cosmonaute had the honor of being on the wrist of Scott Carpenter, the first American in space, in 1962. An Omega Speedmaster onboard the Apollo 13 mission, was used by astronauts in the critical role of determining when to turn the propulsion system on and off, after a leak onboard the space capsule had crippled its power supply. There were also documented instances of astronauts using a Casio Gshock, a Timex Ironman, and even a Rolex GMT Master during space missions.
The Seiko Watch Corporation refused to be outdone. Though these brands were recognized to have functioned properly above the Earth, it hadn’t escaped Seiko’s notice that these watches were worn in an enclosed environment, typically that of the manned space vehicle, or on board a space station. Save one instance in June of 1965, when astronaut Edward H. White left his Gemini 4 spacecraft for 22 minutes of extravehicular activity while wearing an Omega Speedmaster, none of the watches were subjected to the conditions of free space, where aside from being a zero-gravity environment, temperature variations could range between minus 20 to plus 70 degrees Celsius. The engineers at Seiko were thus challenged to design a watch that could function unerringly for extended periods in the void of space, as well as survive the forces of liftoff and reentry. 
Thankfully, they didn’t have to look any further than their very own Spring Drive line for the perfect movement. As the watch would be subject to extremes in temperatures, it was important for it to retain its accuracy despite such conditions. A mechanical watch with a conventional escapement that regulated time would prove unreliable. The Tri-Synchro Regulator within the Spring Drive movement used and generated mechanical, electric and electromagnetic power, and its design allowed for it to be less affected by temperature variations. Next, due to the extreme temperature conditions and the vacuum of free space, the engineers designed the watch with special gaskets using special rubberized material, in order for it to be completely air-tight. To permit freedom of movement, the watch had to be made of lightweight yet durable material. To achieve this, engineers selected high-intensity titanium for the case. The watch was also built with recessed sides, reducing the case volume by around 30%, yet it possessed the largest possible dial opening size for quick readability. An oversized crown was installed atop the watch case, flanked by equally oversized buttons that would permit greater accessibility and ease of use, despite the astronaut wearing thick protective gloves. The chronograph dials were positioned near the top of the watch face, and the hands and hour markers were given several extra layers of Seiko’s Lumibrite material, making the dial at least three times brighter than a standard luminous watch. The Spring Drive Spacewalk was now ready. And, apparently, so was the man who would test the timepiece in outer space.
Richard Garriott, renowned computer game developer and adventurer, had signed on with Space Adventures to become the sixth private individual to explore the outer reaches. Interestingly enough, Richard’s father, Dr. Owen Garriott, was an astronaut for NASA who had spent a total of 70 days in space during his two missions: aboard Skylab in 1973 and with STS-9/Spacelab-1 in 1983. Even more interesting, was that Dr. Garriot wore a Seiko wristwatch on both his missions. 
So, not only would Richard be the first “second-generation” astronaut blasting off into space, it would also mark the first time father and son astronauts would have worn a watch made by the same manufacturer. The partnership of Richard Garriott and Seiko was perfect.
Unfortunately, Seiko’s dream of actually proving the capabilities of the watch in an actual space walk was put on hold. As early as June 2008, Richard’s intended space walk outside the International Space Station was dropped from his mission. The following are excerpts from Richard’s website:
In April, Seiko Watch Corporation announced that I will be taking a specially designed “Spacewalk” watch into space with me. The intention was for me to wear this on a spacewalk, but unfortunately my dreams of a spacewalk have not materialized. But I still plan on taking the Seiko watch with me to the ISS.
I have been wearing the watch through my training and it has already provided great service and survived through some torturous training. Most recently, I performed a nominal 4g and a ballistic 9g re-entry simulation in the centrifuge. While these extremes challenge the human body and have recently destroyed a competitors watch worn by my backup in this simulation, the Seiko clearly had no problem with these conditions. I also subjected the watch to high temperature and humidity which also destroyed a watch I was previously wearing.
Not only has the Seiko Spacewalk watch proven to be a survivor in these difficult conditions, but it has proven to be invaluable as a critical timepiece and a beautiful addition to the amazing technologies of space travel. In my opinion it is something Seiko should rightly be proud of.
And so, on October 12, 2008, wearing his Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk, Richard Garriot took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft. He returned to Earth on October 24, after spending 12 days on board the International Space Station. Undaunted by this setback, Seiko remains positive that they will eventually be able to test the watch in the environment it was precisely designed for. It had already performed remarkably during Richard’s astronaut training, so now Seiko and Space Adventures are exploring the earliest possible opportunity to properly test the Spring Drive Spacewalk.
The aborted spacewalk did not mark the end of a partnership. If anything, it only served to strengthen Seiko’s resolve to subject its wristwatch to the ultimate test, in the final frontier. This is only the beginning of a partnership that would most likely take both man and watch to infinity and ... Well, you know the rest.
SEIKO Spring Drive Spacewalk
Calibre: Spring Drive Chronograph 5R86
Case: High-intensity Titanium Diameter 53.0 mm (12-6h) , 48.7 mm (3-9h) Thickness 15.2 mm Weight 92.5 g
Glass: Sapphire crystal with antireflective 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.