Unlike many high profile brands, Seiko watches have been producing good quality time pieces for a number of years which are well known for being affordable. Throughout its long history, Seiko has been at the forefront of many of the breakthroughs in watch technology, leading the way with its pioneering products.
Founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori, the first watch and jewellery store was opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district and named K. Hattori. Under the name Seikosha, Mr Hattori began making his own clocks in 1892, eventually shortening the company’s name to the Japanese word for “exquisite” or “minute”, Seiko.
In 1924 Mr Hattori began making his first wristwatches, and he quickly established a good reputation for creating pioneering and technologically advanced watches. Seiko released its very first quartz watch in 1969, and the Astron as it was called, cost approximately the same as a small car. The Seiko watch company also introduced the first chronograph watches.
Over the years Seiko has become renowned for creating every single part of its wrist watches in-house, from the smallest to the biggest components, even producing its own oil to lubricate the dials on the faces. This sets the company apart from so many of its competitors. The company produces watches for every budget, from around 35 right up to hundreds of thousands, and there are collectors all over the world.
Seiko has also been the official timekeepers for many sporting events from the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, right through to the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in the USA in 2002. Seiko have also sponsored Honda on their Formula 1 cars, as well as being the official timekeeper of the Gran Turismo racing game series by Sony. Seiko watches still have their head offices in Tokyo, and the company’s president is Shinji Hattori, a descendant of Kintaro Hattori the company’s founder.
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