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Just a few days ago, that the Seiko A829-A6019 was one of the ‘other’ watches that went into space. Besides the official Omega Speedmaster Pro and a bunch of other ‘unofficial’ watches that made it there, it seems that Seiko was at least selected by astronauts.Former astronaut Wubbo Ockels mailed me the other day, that the Seiko A829-A6019 (and he also wrote there is a ‘A0′ behind this reference number) was selected by a couple of astronauts and they arranged a nice procurement deal for this specific type of watch. Furthermore, Wubbo Ockels emailed me the serial number of his specific Seiko A829-A6019 (which he still wears): 334602.Perhaps a Seiko collector or owners of the Seiko A829-A6019 ‘Astronaut’ can look up their serial numbers and see how far they are ‘away’ from the one that made it into orbit.Make sure to visit the over at WatchUseek.

TweetEmailIf you're a Seiko fan, then you've probably heard of the Seiko OrangeMonster. It's a must-have for all Seiko collectors. And if you're areal Seiko diver fanatic, you might even have the Seiko Yellow or BlackMonsters, as well. But now, there's a new monster to add toyour collect: the Seiko Blue Monster.The Seiko Blue Monster (Ref. SKZ213K1) is a beautiful, limitededition piece. Features include:Thick, brushed stainlesssteel case.Domed sapphire crystal.Uni-directional rotatingbezel.Screw-down caseback.Water-resistant to 200meters, or about 650 feet.Screw-down crown (at the fouro'clock position).Luminescent hands and hourmarkers.Automatic movement (23jewels).Double folding safety claspwith diver's extension (to fitover a wet suit).I have the Orange Monster myself, and it's a great watch witha very robust feel. They have a reputation for being high-qualityautomatic watches sold at a reasonable price, and for having unusuallybright luminescent hands and hour markers. Seiko uses a material calledLumibrite which is very effective, especially on hands as wide as thosefound on the monster series.As far as I can tell, the primary differences between the newlimited edition Blue Monster and the Orange, Yellow, and Black Monstersare:The Blue Monster has a newermovement: the 7S36 rather thanthe 7S26. Both movements have the same features (quick-set day anddate, no hacking, and no manual winding), but the 7S36 has two morejewels, which leads me to believe it's slightly more refined.The Blue Monster has a domedsapphire crystal rather thanthe Hardlex crystal of the Orange, Yellow, and Black models. Hardlexis, well, harder, meaning it is less prone to cracking or shattering,but sapphire is far more scratch-resistant. Given the choice, I'dprobably go for the sapphire.The Blue Monster willprobably run you $100 to $200 morethan its more pedestrian siblings.If you're interested in one of these, you'll have to do somedigging around the Internet to find one, or take a watch-buying trip toJapan.  I would expect it to run you between $300and $400.Update: I was recently informed that the Yellow Monster actually can't be grouped together with the Orange and Black Monsters. The Yellow Monster is a limited edition, as well, and also has a sapphire crystal, a slightly different movement, a cyclops over the date, and a couple other unique features. For details, check out this thread on TimeZone.Related Articles:Review of the Seiko Orange Monster