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Facts About Seiko – Interesting Things to Know

Seiko is one of the largest watch companies in the world. It is known all over the world and appreciated by all types of people of different ages and with different styles and purposes. Seiko is a company with a long and interesting history and the fact that Seiko is one of the largest watch companies in the world didn’t happen overnight. The road to success was long and met lots of challenges along the way.

Seiko is most known for making high-quality wristwatches for affordable prices. Their watches are appreciated for the superb relationship between price and quality. If you’re looking for an affordable, high-quality timepiece that you can wear and enjoy without breaking the bank, then Seiko is the perfect option.

Are you looking to learn more about Seiko and what the company is all about? In this article, we’re taking a look at interesting facts about Seiko, its history, and its watches.

1. The name means “precise” in Japanese

In 1892, the Seiko founder Kintaro Hattori opened his very own factory which he named Seikosha. The name aligns well with a watch manufacturer striving to make high-quality wristwatches with great accuracy and so the Seiko name we know today actually comes from the name of the factory. The name was shortened for the watch brand to make it more memorable and to look better on a watch dial.

2. The Seiko founder was only 21 years old when he opened up his first watch shop

21 years of age, the Seiko founder Kintaro Hattori opened up the K. Hattori watch and clock shop in Tokyo’s Kyobashi district. He began building and repairing watches and clocks. This is what would become the starting point for Seiko and eventually starting his own watch brand named Seiko.

3. Seikosha released its first pocket watch in 1895

Hattori launched his first pocket watch called Timekeeper in 1895. This was a 54.9mm socket watch with a silver case, powered by a 22-ligne movement imported from Switzerland.

Despite only focusing on the Japanese market at the time, he used English for the model as he saw an opportunity to expand his business with watch exports.

4. The first TV advertisement for Seiko was aired in 1953

Building the company, Seiko started to advertise its watches. The first television advertisement for Seiko was broadcasted in Japan in 1953. The advertisement promoted the Seiko Comet Flower Clock.

5. Seiko created the world’s first quartz wristwatch

Seiko essentially invented quartz technology in wristwatches and launched the world’s first quartz wristwatch – the Quartz-Astron 35SQ . Seiko launched the model in December 1969.

To celebrate this remarkable achievement, Seiko fitted the new quartz mechanism inside a gold case.

6. Seiko released the first electronic paper watch

In 2006, Seiko released the world’s first electronic paper watch with the name Spectrum. This watch features e-ink (electronic ink) and has an LCD screen that redraws itself. The benefit of this is that it only uses power when it redraws and does not need constant energy or back-lighting.

7. Seiko was the official timekeeper for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics

In 1964, Seiko was the official timekeeper for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. This led to the development of the world’s first quartz watch, the Astron.

For the Olympics, Seiko created 36 different timing models and 1278 instruments. One of which was a touch-pad timer for swimming, which also happened to be the world’s first. The technology used for this instrument is still used to this day and works when the swimmer puts their hand on the pad. The pad is designed to ignore water splashes and only react to the touch of the swimmer.

8. The first Grand Seiko was created in 1960

Grand Seiko is a sub-brand of Seiko that focuses on making high-quality, exclusive, and luxury timepieces. 

Today, Grand Seiko watches are appreciated for their impressive finishing and attention to detail and are considered a true luxury watch brand.

The story of this sub-brand begins in December 1960 when Seiko launched the first Grand Seiko watch. The watch was powered by a caliber 3180 with an accuracy of +12 to -3 seconds per day with a power reserve of 45 hours. This was the first watch to be made in Japan to meet the requirements of Bureaux Officiels de Contrôle de la Marche des Montres’ level of excellence. This is the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute which tests the precision and accuracy of Swiss timepieces. With this approval, Seiko could prove that Japanese watches could be just as good as Swiss watches.

9. Seiko created King Seiko in 1961

One year after launching the Grand Seiko in 1960, Seiko launched King Seiko, produced by Daini Seikosha. The purpose of King Seiko watches was to create the best timepieces Seiko had ever created. This led to an internal rivalry between the two sister brands Grand Seiko and King Seiko.

Grand Seiko won in the end and King Seiko was merged with the rest of the company. But Seiko still makes the King Seiko under the Seiko name today.

10. In 1966, Seiko beat the Swiss with a self-winding watch

Seiko released the Seiko Sportsmatic 5 in 1963. You are probably familiar with the Seiko 5 today as it is one of the most popular watches in Seiko’s collection. This was the original that laid the foundation for the Seiko 5 we know today.

The Seiko Sportsmatic 5 was a self-winding watch that displayed the date and day, and was water-resistant. Upon its launch, it was a great success. This success was further boosted by Seiko’s role as the official timekeeper for the Tokyo Olympics.

 The result was that in 1966, the exports of Seiko 5s from Japan exceeded the total number of self-winding watches that were produced that year in Switzerland.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking