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Theresa O’Connor / Treasa Ní Chonchúir

can hardly believe it, but

Seiko has reissued the Rotocall!

Three digital wristwatches sit on a brown table. They are identical except for their dial and bezel colors. One is black and yellow, one black and red, and the last is blue and gray.
The new Rotocalls

Via Plus9Time’s Instagram, a great source of news about Japanese watch releases: Seiko has granted a wish of mine by reissuing the , the most iconic watch of the ’ Shuttle era. When Sally Ride became the first queer woman (and first American woman) in space abord STS-7, she had one on her wrist. Kathryn Sullivan wore two of them when she became the first American woman to go on EVA during STS-41-G. The Rotocall flew on over 160 missions over the span of twenty years—only the Moonwatch and the G-Shock square have been to space more.

Three models will be widely available: a black-and-yellow SMGG17, a black-and-red SMGG19, and a blue-and-gray SMGG21. (There are also two JDM-only limited editions; I’ll keep an eye out for them when I’m in Japan next month.) I’ve got a vintage one in my collection, the red-and-black A829-6040, so I’m aiming to get a blue-and-gray SMGG21—the same colorway as the one Sally Ride wore.

See coverage from Fratello and Hodinkee for more detail on the releases.

A steel digital watch on a black rubber strap. The positive digitial display is divided in two. The upper half displays the day and date, while the lower half displays the time. An octagonal rotating bezel surrounds the black dial. Each side of the bezel is labeled with a function. The upper right bezel segment is organge; the rest of the bezel segments are black. The bezel has a red rubber strip along the edge for easier gripping.
My vintage A829-6040