Seiko Japan
HISTORY
Seiko Group Corporation (セイコーグループ株式会社, Seikō Gurūpu kabushiki gaisha), commonly known as Seiko , is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969.
Seiko is perhaps best known for its wristwatches. Along with Rolex, Seiko is one of only two watch companies considered to be vertically integrated.Seiko is able to design and develop all the components of a watch, as well as assemble, adjust, inspect and ship them in-house. Seiko's mechanical watches consist of approximately 200 parts, and the company has the technology and production facilities to design and manufacture all of these parts in-house.
The company was incorporated (K. Hattori & Co., Ltd.) in 1917 and renamed Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd. in 1983 and Seiko Corporation in 1990. After reconstructing and creating its operating subsidiaries (such as Seiko Watch Corporation and Seiko Clock Inc.), it became a holding company in 2001 and was renamed Seiko Holdings Corporation on July 1, 2007. Seiko Holdings Corporation was renamed Seiko Group Corporation as of October 1, 2022.
Seiko watches were originally produced by two different Hattori family companies (not subsidiaries of K. Hattori & Co); one was Daini Seikosha Co. (now known as Seiko Instruments Inc., a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings since 2009) and the other was Suwa Seikosha Co. (now known as Seiko Epson Corporation, an independent publicly traded company). Having two companies both producing the same brand of watch enabled Seiko to improve technology through competition and hedge risk. It also reduced risk of production problems, since one company can increase production in the case of decreased production in the other parties. Seiko remains as one of the world's most recognized watchmaking brands.
At present, quartz and Spring Drive watches are manufactured in Shiojiri, Nagano (Seiko Epson), and mechanical watches in Shizukuishi, Iwate (Morioka Seiko Instruments). Some of the watches exported abroad, such as the Seiko 5, are also manufactured in Ninohe, Iwate, by Ninohe Tokei Kogyo (Established in 1974 as a parts factory for Seiko). source(wikipedia)
Seiko founder Kintarō Hattori
History Of Seiko Automatic Watches:
In 1881, Seiko founder Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called "K. Hattori" (服部時計店) in Tokyo.[12] Kintarō Hattori had been working as clockmaker apprentice since the age of 13, with multiple stints in different watch shops, such as “Kobayashi Clock Shop”, run by an expert technician named Seijiro Sakurai; “Kameda Clock Shop” in Nihonbashi; and “Sakata Clock Shop” in Ueno, where he learned how to both sell and repair timepieces.
Military watches produced for Japanese troops during World War II were manufactured by Seiko, which by 1938, produced 1.2 million timepieces a year. The scarcity of raw materials during the war diverted much of Seiko's production to on-board instruments for military aircraft and ships. In contrast to Japan, Germany utilized both domestically produced and Swiss-produced watches. (Switzerland maintained neutrality during the conflict.) Japan's isolation in the Pacific meant the country could not rely on importing foreign timepieces.
Seiko Group
K. Hattori & Co. (currently Seiko Group Corporation) was one of the three core companies of the former Seiko Group. Seiko Group consisted of K. Hattori (SEIKO), Daini Seikosha (currently Seiko Instruments Inc., SII), and Suwa Seikosha (currently Seiko Epson Corporation, EPSON). Although they had some common shareholders, including the key members of the Hattori family (posterity of Kintarō Hattori), the three companies in the group were not affiliated; they were managed and operated independently.
On January 26, 2009, Seiko Holdings and Seiko Instruments announced the two companies would merge on October 1, 2009, through a share swap. Seiko Instruments became a wholly owned subsidiary of Seiko Holdings as of October 1, 2009. On October 1, 2022, Seiko Holdings was renamed Seiko Group. Epson still develops and manufactures some of the Seiko's highest grade watches, but is managed and operated completely independently from Seiko Group.
Seiko 5:
Seiko 5 is a sub brand that spawned with the introduction
of the Seiko Sportsmatic 5 in 1963. Since then, many models
have been introduced into the lineup
, comprising a variety of different styles.
The name of the Seiko 5 sub brand is a reference to
5 attributes that any watch belonging to it would typically exhibit,
those being:
- An automatic watch movement
- The day and the date displayed on the dial
- Water resistance to an acceptable degree
- A recessed crown at the 4 o'clock position
- A durable case and bracelet
Seiko Lord Matic:
The Seiko Presage series is an all-mechanical lineup, a step up from the entry-level Seiko 5 models. It has slightly more elaborate designs and complex movements, such as urushi-lacquer dials, and self-winding movements with power reserve indicators. The Presage line watches are usually priced between US$200 to US$3,000.
Seiko entered a cooperation with the traditional cloisonné maker Ando Cloisonné Company from Nagoya to produce the dial for the limited edition in 2018.
Seiko Prospex:
The Seiko Prospex series includes their
professional series of watches such as
their diving watches, which are typically
ISO 6425 rated from 200 to 1000 metres
of water resistance. Other watches in the
Prospex line include field and pilot style
watches.In 2021, Akio Naito, President
of the Seiko Watch Corporation, said that
enthusiasts' respect for the brand can
"influence the wider range of consumers."
This influence can be seen in the Prospex
range, where Seiko fans' nicknames resulted
in the company eventually adopting these product names. For example, Seiko's own London boutique identifies the Prospex SPB191J1 watch using the fans' sobriquet: "Nicknamed 'Shogun' by fans, meaning Japanese 'Commander-in-chief', because of its strong looks."
Grand Seiko:
Prior to 1960, to challenge the status of
Swiss watches and change the perceptionof Japanese watches, Daini Seikosha andSuwa began the discussion of a product line that can match the quality of Swisswatches under the suggestion of the parent company. At the time,Suwa Seikosha Co. was in chargeof manufacturing men's watches, so it was decided that Suwa would beproducing the first Grand Seiko (GS).
The first Grand Seiko, released in 1960, was based on Seiko's previous high-end watch, CROWN. This Grand Seiko has a 25-jewel, manual-winding, 3180 caliber,
and its production was limited to 36,000 units
. The watch was also the first chronometer-grade watch manufactured in Japan and was based on Seiko's own chronometer standard.
Some Grand Seiko timepieces also incorporate the company's Spring Drive movement, a movement that is a combination of both automatic and quartz timekeeping methods, leading to unparalleled accuracy in the world of automatic wristwatches. The most famous example is the SBGA011 Grand Seiko "Snowflake", housing the 9R Spring Drive movement.
With the repositioning of Grand Seiko from a Seiko subbrand to an independent brand in 2017, Grand Seiko aimed to transition to a true luxury brand. In 2022, 'Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon SLGT 003', featuring the world's first combination tourbillon and constant-force mechanism on the same axis, was released, priced at 370,000 euros.
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