Sigourney Weaver’s Aliens Watch Makes a Comeback
Predicting the future of technology in science fiction films sometimes requires a bit of borrowing from the real world, which is why the timepiece worn by Sigourney Weaver in Aliens is making a comeback.
Japan’s Seiko has reissued the distinctive Giugiaro 7A28-7000 watch worn by Weaver’s character Ripley in the 1986 film dedicated to escaping the clutches of the acid-blooded xenomorphs.
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the watch, released back in 1983, had the honor of being the first analog quartz chronograph on the market. Remember, this was way back in Japan’s technology heyday, when the country began leading the world in all manner of innovative gadgetry.
Giugiaro is particularly well known for designing some of the most futuristic cars in automotive history. Even if you’re not a car enthusiast, you’ve probably been exposed to one of his most iconic works, the DeLorean DMC-12, which appears in the Back to the Future movie series.
The new version of the Seiko Giugiaro 7A28-7000 comes in black and silver and will be a limited edition, with Seiko selling only 3,000 of each color. Sporting a waterproof case, the timepiece has a five-year battery life and will almost certainly prompt a few people to ask you what that honking piece of retro-futuristic tech is on your wrist.
The return of this piece of movie history was noticed by watch site A Blog to Watch. Seiko Japan doesn’t appear to be launching a major marketing push in the west, despite the device’s science fiction cred with U.S. fans.
Until now, the only way to get your hands on the piece of science fiction history was to troll the pages of eBay and find someone offloading a dinged up model for prices hovering around $1,000.
Those devices are about to plummet in value, as the new versions are less than half that price: The black version is selling for about $290 (36,000 yen) and the silver version is available for about $260 (32,000 yen).
Sure, the watches aren’t “smart” like the Apple Watch, but for those who recognize your watch’s sci-fi DNA, the insider geek compliments alone will be worth the price.
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