Manufacturers
Seiko
6 collections · 121 references
Overview
Founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori as a Tokyo watch shop, and manufacturing from 1892 as Seikosha. Watch production was later split between two internal companies, Daini Seikosha and Suwa Seikosha, which developed competing calibers and competing model lines — King Seiko at Daini against Grand Seiko at Suwa — and marked their output with a lightning bolt and a whirlpool respectively. Seiko produced the first production quartz wristwatch in 1969 and one of the first automatic chronographs in the same year, and remains vertically integrated to an unusual degree, making its own hairsprings, oscillators and lubricants.
Notable innovations
- · First production quartz wristwatch (Astron, 1969)
- · One of the three automatic chronographs to reach the market in 1969 (caliber 6139)
- · Titanium monocoque saturation diver without a helium escape valve (1975)
- · Spring Drive: a mechanical going train regulated by a quartz oscillator
- · Kinetic: automatic winding generating electrical power
- Official name
- Seiko Group Corporation
- Country
- Japan
- Founded
- 1881
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Status
- active
- Manufacturing sites
- Seikosha (Tokyo) — the original watch and clock factory, Daini Seikosha (Tokyo) — successor entity Seiko Instruments Inc., Suwa Seikosha (Nagano) — successor entity Seiko Epson Corporation, Shizukuishi Watch Studio (Iwate) — mechanical high-end assembly, Shinshu Watch Studio (Nagano) — Spring Drive and quartz high-end assembly