Seiko Watches

Kintarō Hattori founded Seiko in 1881 in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. His great grandson, Shinji Hattori is the company's current President. Seiko are famous for, amongst other things, the introduction of the world's first production quartz watch in 1969 called the Seiko Astron, although when it was introduced it cost the same as a medium sized car.

On August 28th 1953 at 7pm, Seiko became the very first TV advertiser with an advert for a Seiko alarm clock on Japanese channel, Nihon TV (now NTV).

Seiko have two workshops located in Japan and employ a number of award winning craftsmen. The Shizuku-ishi Studio near Morioka employs 60 craftsmen of whom 19 have earned Master Craftsmen status. These watchmakers manufacture Seiko's finest mechanical watches. The watchmakers at the Shinshu studio, located in Shiojiri near the Japanese Alps, are responsible for manufacturing Seiko's mechanical watches including the fascinating Seiko Spring Drive timepieces. These unique Spring Drive pieces utilise a design that took 28 years to perfect. Realised by Yoshikazu Akahane, the Spring Drive watch replaces the escapement with a new kind of regulator. The 'Tri-synchro' regulator results in greater accuracy and longevity. The hands glide smoothly with no tick.

Seiko's innovation doesn't stop with the Spring Drive. As a company, Seiko (formerly known as Seikosha) has designed many history changing timepieces. During the 1920's the JNR, Japan's rail network, was quickly expanding. In 1929 Seiko created the Seikosha pocket watch, the only watch to be approved by the JNR. The watch was used by train drivers to stay punctual and improve safety on the increasingly busy rail network. The latest Seiko railroad watch has the anti-magnetic rating of 200 gauss necessary for today's modern Super-conducting Magnetic Levitation trains. These 'Shinkansen' can reach speeds in excess of 360mph.

In 1988 Seiko achieved their dream of creating a watch capable of generating its own power. The Seiko Kinetic (initially named the A.G.S.) was born. The key to the Kinetic was to generate as much power as possible whilst using as little as possible. The modern Kinetic Direct Drive uses 0.71 micro-watts of power, less than 3% of that needed in Seiko's original Astron model. A modern variation of the Kinetic is the Seiko Auto-Relay; a Kinetic watch that enters a standby mode after a period of inactivity in order to save power. Seiko's innovation in power generation continued in 1998 with the release of the Seiko Thermic. The Thermic is capable of creating it's own power using surrounding heat.

Seiko's history of creating innovative, accurate timepieces has led them into the world of sports timekeeping. Seiko's sporting links began as far as 1964 when they became the official timer of the Tokyo Olympic games. Seiko were responsible for 1,278 timing and scoring devices used at the games including a new kind of mechanical watch that had far superior accuracy to any other mechanical watch at the time. They were also the creators of the world's first portable quartz chronometer, with an accuracy of 0.2 seconds a day, and marked an important stage in the development of today's modern quartz watches. Since then, Seiko have been the official timekeeper at a further 5 Olympic games plus every World Championship since 1987.

Seiko's watches have also featured in a number of iconic movies. Roger Moore wore a Seiko in four James Bond movies and Sean Connery had a Seiko watch in Never Say Never Again. Matt Damon's character, Jason Bourne wore a Seiko Chronograph in the film The Bourne Identity.

Seiko watches are also one of few international watch brands that manufacture all their own components. Seiko undoubtedly have an authentic claim to have made a substantial contribution to the history of timekeeping and watchmaking. Modern Seiko watches are exceptionally accurate and reliable and come with a 2 year Seiko guarantee.