IntroducingSeiko Brings Back The 'Rotocall', A Digital Quartz Reissue That Turns Our Bezel

Seiko is releasing a new digital watch that is all about the bezel. You turn it to choose the digital function, which allows you to switch to a dual-time, an alarm, a stopwatch, a counter, a timer, and, of course, time-setting. Super cool, and guess what? We've seen it before. This is basically a re-issue of a model from the early 1980s - the Seiko A829 - that may have found particular favor with astronauts because – you guessed it – the bezel functionality could be operated while wearing (space suit!) gloves or simply by those who didn't want to fiddle with pushing little buttons. 

The A829 and other similar models quickly earned the nickname the "Rotocall," due to the turning bezel. Seiko says some others called it the "Seiko Astronaut."  It's a well-deserved moniker. A slew of space travelers have chosen to wear the Rotocall on mission. They include Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels, NASA astronaut and the first mother in space Anna Fisher, Paul Desmond Scully-Power, the first Australian in space, and Ulf Merbold, the first West German on a NASA mission.

The Rotocall was never standard issue for NASA or other space agencies. The astronauts chose the watch themselves, underscoring the functionality and usefulness of the model. It was, and in its new iteration is, a true tool watch.

The reissue, of course, comes in an era when you can get all this functionality on your phone. Like the astronauts who chose to wear the original on mission, we choose to wear watches to express our interests, thoughts, needs, and personality.  Then we bring them with us on our own adventures through everyday life. This watch says you appreciate a timepiece that got the job done while on the wrists of some brave and uniquely talented men and women who were picked to go to space. That is a weighty provenance for the reissue to live up to. 

It does so by sticking extremely close to the original with a very wearable diameter of 37 millimeters with a relatively svelte thickness of 10.6 millimeters for the stainless steel case. With a compact lug-to-lug measurement of about 43.5 millimeters, the new digital alarm chronos are aiming to be light and easy to wear, with flat lugs enhancing the experience. The re-edition has also added an AM/PM indicator and battery level gauge, bringing even more information and utility to the timepiece and its no-nonsense LED display. 

That minimalist steel case puts the timepiece's differentiator (the bezel) front and center. They come in three versions, with the same colorways as the original: yellow, red, and blue that contrast with black for the first two and with grey for the blue. The blue and yellow bezel models have orange accents, and the red has yellow accents on the bi-directional bezel that's turned to find your function. Simple and easy to navigate. The bracelet is simple too, a steel, five-link, jubilee-style that should keep the new Rotocall chrono alarm securely fastened to your wrist while you go about your business. 

Pricing is set at $550 for your choice of any of the three colorways via Seiko retailers. You can find the complete specs below. 

It's truly great to see Seiko, with its storied history of reasonably priced, quality, and purpose-driven watches, step back into the digital quartz arena. This is a more than worthy entrant with an amazing backstory from the original. It isn't a limited edition and will be part of the regular collection. It's an obvious shot across the bow at Casio and its multiple metal G-Shock models in a similar price point, with a reminder that Seiko has been and wants to again be an alternative choice for sturdy digital quartz watches. 

Brand: Seiko
Model: Digital Alarm Chronograph "Rotocall"
Reference Number: SMGG17, SMGG19, SMGG21
Diameter: 37mm
Thickness: 10.6mm
Lug-to-Lug: 43.5mm
Case Material: Steel
Dial Color: Digital screen, with black or light grey bezel
Lume: LED Lighting of the digital display
Water Resistance: 10 bar (100 meters)
Strap/Bracelet: Steel bracelet

Caliber: A824
Functions: Alarm, dual-time, chronograph, timer, counter
Battery Life: 3 years
Accuracy: +/- 20 seconds per month
Additional Details: Digital Quartz 

Price: $550
Availability: November in the U.K., Europe and Japan, April 2026 in the U.S.
Limited Edition: No

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