When Seiko brought the Rotocall back last October, the detail I kept circling wasn’t the bezel or the astronaut history. It was the fact that the watch landed in the regular catalog instead of a limited run. Brands do that when they’re testing something. Nine months later we have the follow-up, and it takes the 1982 design somewhere the original never really went. Say hello to the silver and gold Seiko Rotocall, references HFL002 and HFL003.
The A829 Rotocall arrived in 1982 with an eight-sided rotating bezel that swaps functions based on physical orientation, no menu diving required. Astronauts brought their own examples into orbit, and the watch picked up the “Astronaut” nickname along the way. Seiko’s 2025 revival stuck close to that formula with three loud colorways, including the light grey and blue SMGG21 that I called my pick at the time.
What’s changed here is tone. Both new references pair a monochrome bezel and dial, silver on the HFL002 and gold-tone case and bracelet on the HFL003, and both swap the standard LCD for a reverse display with a black background and grey digits. Everything else carries over. You get the same 37mm case at 10.6mm thick and 43.5mm lug to lug, Hardlex crystal, 100 meters of water resistance, the five-row steel bracelet, and the A824 quartz caliber rated to plus or minus 20 seconds per month.
The gold one doesn’t work for me. Gold-tone plating on an early ’80s digital tool watch reads like a costume, and I’d rather Seiko had spent that effort on a larger case size, which is what readers have actually been asking for in our comments. The silver is a different story. Stripped of the color accents, the geometry of that octagonal bezel finally gets to be the loudest thing on the watch, and the reverse LCD makes it look like a piece of lab equipment. I want it. The annoying part is that it now competes directly with the SMGG21, and I’m not sure which way I’d go.
Pricing is where I have to eat a little crow. Last year I flagged the UK price of £480 as a little expensive since it converted to somewhere north of $600, and no U.S. figure existed. It now seems like these may be available for around the same as the current models ($550-ish), with U.S. availability expected around August or September. That’s a friendlier number than I expected but treat the gold premium as unsettled for now.
I think the reverse display will be the big deciding factor here for most buyers. The original blue version might still have an edge for me just because of that. But it’s undeniable that the silver version exudes a very cool, monochromatic look thanks to that display change. Either way, I’m glad to see that Seiko is still messing with these. I’ve always considered the Rotocall to be something of an affordable Breitling Aerospace alternative. Now you definitely don’t have to go digging through vintage Rotocall listings with so many reissue versions coming up. Keep at it, Seiko.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.