SEIKO WATCHES
Established over 130 years ago by young entrepreneur Kinato Hattori, Seiko began as a shop, selling and repairing watches and clocks, located in central Tokyo. After eleven years, Kinarto bought a factory in Tokyo where he would produce his first clock in 1882. The factory was named the Seikosha factory. The meaning of ‘Seiko’ in Japanese is exquisite, minute or success, and the meaning of ‘sha’ is house; a very fitting name for what would come in the years ahead.
After twenty-one years of producing wall clocks and expanding into pocket watches, Kinarto debuted Japan’s first wristwatch, the Laurel. At the time, the company could only produce 30 – 50 watches per day but had established a reputation for innovation.
Disaster struck in 1923 with the Great Kanto Earthquake, causing the entire Seikosha factory to burn down. After rebuilding, the company debuted a new watch in 1924 and displayed the case name that is highly regarded today: Seiko.
Seiko is one of the few fully integrated watch manufacturers. They design and develop their own movements using leading-edge technology.
