Seiko Watches

Japanese manufacturing giant Seiko Holdings Corporation, are widely known, among other things, for their impressive spectrum of luxury wristwatches, which all run the gamut from quartz and kinetic, to solar and mechanical. Seiko has a rival in Omega when it comes to pop cultural representation – both have been displayed prominently in the James Bond film series and both have worn the title of Official Timekeeper for the Olympics. In addition to the Olympic Games, Seiko has found itself a timekeeper for other major sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup and IAAF World Championships. In 2004, a Seiko campaign put forward the idea that the essence of a person boils down to the sort of watch their wear. 135 years ago in Tokyo, Seiko was founded in its earliest form, a watch a jewelry shop named “K. Hattori,” opened by a man by the name of Kintaro Hattori. In 1924, the first official Seiko brand watches were released. Over the decades, Seiko made waves in the world of luxury watches, notably the “Astron (1969),” the world’s first quartz watch, which, upon release was the price of a mid-size car. Seiko’s penchant for innovation didn’t stop there, however. In the ‘80s, the company went on to create the first kinetic watch that combined the self-energizing attributes of an automatic watch with quartz accuracy – in short, the watch was powered entirely by everyday movement. The Seiko method of production (a fully integrated in-house system) is still practiced in Japan for luxury watches. Product prices range from $45 to a whopping $554,000, ensuring something for everyone. With such an inspiring history in the realm of wristwatches, it’s not hard to understand why Seiko is so beloved.

Over a hundred years ago, Seiko was founded in Tokyo, initially as a watch jewelry shop named “K. Hattori,” opened by the entrepreneur himself Kintaro Hattori. In 1924, the first official Seiko brand watches were released. Over the decades, Seiko made waves in the world of luxury watches, notably the “Astron (1969),” the world’s first quartz watch, which, upon release was the price of a mid-size car. Seiko’s penchant for innovation didn’t stop there, however. In the ‘80s, the company went on to create the first kinetic watch that combined the self-energizing attributes of an automatic watch with quartz accuracy – in short, the watch was powered entirely by everyday movement. Seiko later on went to produce the first quartz chronograph. The Seiko method of production (a fully integrated in-house system) is still practiced in Japan for luxury watches. Watch prices range from $45 to a whopping $554,000, ensuring something for everyone, whether you prefer your stainless steel watches mechanical, solar, quartz, or kinetic. At one time, like its subsidiary Pulsar, Seiko produced all watches in-house in Japan. Among the items produced were motors, hands, batteries, LCDs, sensors, dials, etc. The dial movements for the quartz watch models Spring Drive provide 72 hours of power compared to 40 hours for mechanical and 3 years for battery-powered quartz watches. Seiko maintains that the new “tri-synchro regulator” movements in these watches delivers accuracy on par with other quartz-timed watch movements. Watch models sold in Seiko’s America branch (Seiko Corporation of America) are fewer in number than the full line sold in Japan. The watches are typically sold in fine jeweler stores. With such an inspiring history in the realm of wristwatches, it’s not hard to understand why Seiko is so beloved.