Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Seiko · Astron
Seiko Astron 43 mm Ice 18k
Reference 94349OR.61
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Seiko
- Collection
- Astron
- Model
- Seiko Astron 43 mm Ice 18k
- Reference number
- 94349OR.61
- Year / era
- 1966 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Time only
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Ice blue
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 43 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.8 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Ice blue
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 30 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 8F — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Time only
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1966 – 1978
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Seiko Astron 43 mm Ice 18k sits within Seiko's Astron line, introduced in 1966. It carries the house codes established since 1881 — 18k white gold case, ice blue dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Seiko
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1881
- Founder
- Kintaro Hattori
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Tier
- Japanese
- Major collections
- Prospex, Presage, King Seiko, Astron, 5 Sports
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Eco-Drive solar quartz · High-accuracy quartz · Spring Drive · Automatic, 24 jewels
- Notable watches
- Seiko Prospex 36 mm Green Stainless (1952) · Seiko Prospex 38 mm Black 18k (1977) · Seiko Prospex 38 mm Meteorite Platinum (1972) · Seiko Prospex 42 mm Green Sapphire (1997)
Brand history
Seiko has spent more than 145 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Prospex, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Kintaro Hattori established Seiko in 1881, working from Japan at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Seiko calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1881
Kintaro Hattori founds Seiko in Japan.
1899
Seiko earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Seiko to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Seiko enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Seiko continues to produce Prospex, Presage, King Seiko and other icons in limited numbers.