Seiko Corporation
Although the Seiko name was adopted in 1924 with the introduction of its first wrist watch, the company was actually founded 43 years earlier by a clockmaker in Tokyo's Ginza District. Applauded for its accuracy and craftsmanship, the Seiko watch became a resounding success and by 1938, demand for the timepieces pushed yearly production to well over one million watches. Dedicated to technology advancement and precise manufacture, the Seiko Company has repeatedly staked its reputation on performance, acting as the Official Timer of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Sapporo, Barcelona, Lillihammer and Nagano. It has also been the Official Timekeeper in four World Cup Soccer championships.
Seiko's many design innovations include the world's first quartz watch, the world's first LCD quartz watch with six digit display, and the world's first intelligent analog quartz watch with alarm and timer function. In 1992, with the introduction of the Kinetic design, once again Seiko rewrote the state of the art. The Seiko Kinetic collection is a line of quartz watches that are electrically charged by movement. The Kinetic Auto Relay goes into suspended animation when unworn for three days, thus conserving energy. With a few shakes of the wearer's wrist, it wakes up and resets itself to the exact time.
Seiko Chronological Timeline
1881
Establishment by Kintaro Hattori of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd., predecessor of todays's SEIKO CORPORATION.
1892
Foundation of Seikosha clock supply factory. Production of wall clocks begins.
1895
Production of fob watches begins. Seiko brand watch (1924)
1899
Production of alarm clocks begins.
1902
Production of table clocks and musical clocks begins.
1913
Production of the first wrist watch made in Japan begins.
1917
K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. becomes a public company.
1924
SEIKO brand first used on watches.
1937
Watch production split off as Daini Seikosha Co., Ltd., independent predecessor of today's Seiko Instruments Inc.
1942
Establishment of watch producer, Daiwa Kogyo Ltd., predecessor of today's Seiko Epson Corporation.
1955
Production of the first self-winding wrist watch made in Japan begins. Replica exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum from 1999.
1958
Introduction of quartz clocks for broadcasting use.
1959
Introduction of transistorised table clocks.
1963
Development of portable quartz chronometer.
1964
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
1968
Establishment of subsidiary in Hong Kong.
1969
Introduction of Seiko Astron, world's first quartz watch (35SQ). Seiko was simultaneously taking a fresh look at quartz and so it was the Japanese company who unveiled the world's first quartz wristwatch - the 35SQ Astron Watch - in Tokyo on 25 December 1969. It was expensive, costing 450,000 yen ($1,250 at the 1969 exchange rate). It had a plain face, was chunky (unlike the slimline Swiss mechanical watches) and also suffered so many technical difficulties that Seiko ended up recalling it after only producing just 100 watches.
1970
Establishment of Seiko Time Corporation in USA.
1971
Establishment of Seiko Time (U.K.) Ltd.
Seiko Time Corporation in the USA opens its first office in Canada.
1972
Introduction of the world's first ladies quartz watch.
Establishment of Seiko Time GmbH in the former Federal Republic of Germany.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Sapporo Winter Olympic Games in Japan.
1973
Introduction of world's first LCD quartz watch with six-digit digital display (06LC).
1974
Establishment of Seiko Time Ltd. in Brazil.
1975
Introduction of world's first multi-function digital watch.
1976
Introduction of world's first quartz alarm clock.
1977
Establishment of subsidiary in Australia.
Establishment of subsidiary in Panama.
1978
Introduction of world's first very-fine adjusted ultra-accurate Twin Quartz watch, with less than five seconds deviation per year.
Establishment of subsidiary in Switzerland.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Argentina.
1979
Introduction of Pulsar brand.
Introduction of Alba brand.
Establishment of subsidiary in Sweden.
1980
Establishment of subsidiary in the Netherlands.
1981
Introduction of Lassale brand.
Establishment of representative office in Dubai.
1982
Introduction of world's first TV watch.
Introduction of Lorus brand.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Spain.
1983
Introduction of world's first watch with sound-recording functions.
K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. renamed as Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd.
1984
Introduction of world's first watch with computer functions.
Introduction of world's first "talking" clock, the Seiko Pyramid Talk.
1986
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Mexico.
1987
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of 2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Italy.
1988
Introduction of world's first intelligent analogue quartz watch with alarm, chronograph and timer functions controlled by an IC "computer on a chip"
Introduction of quartz watch with sweep second hand.
Introduction of AGS quartz watch powered by the wearer's movement, requiring no batteries.
1989
Establishment of subsidiary in Thailand.
1990
Introduction of the Seiko Receptor MessageWatch incorporating a miniaturised FM subcarrier.
Introduction of the Seiko Scubamaster, world's first computerised diver's watch to incorporate a dive table.
Introduction of the Seiko "The Age of Discovery" collection.
Major associated companies overseas begin to use the SEIKO name.
Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd. renamed as SEIKO CORPORATION.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Italy.
1991
Introduction of the Seiko Perpetual Calendar with the world's first "millennium-plus calendar".
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of 3rd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, Japan.
Establishment of subsidiary in Finland.
Establishment of subsidiary in Taiwan.
1992
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Barcelona Olympic Games in Spain.
1993
Introduction of the Golf-Club (S-YARD).
1994
Introduction of Seiko KINETIC series.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games in Norway.
Establishment of a representative office in Beijing.
1995
Introduction of Alba "Spoon" series.
1996
Establishment of SEIKO Clock Inc.
Establishment of SEIKO Precision Inc.
Establishment of SEIKO Optical Products, Inc.
1997
Introduction of SEIKO KINETIC ARCTURA.
Establishment of SEIKO Watch Sales Inc., merger of watch operations and marketing functions.
FEstablishment of SEIKO Jewelry Co., Ltd.
Change Japanese company name to SEIKO Kabushiki Kaisha.
1998
Introduction of Perpetual Calendar watch driven by world's first ultrasonic micromotor.
Introduction of the SEIKO THERMIC, the world's first watch driven by body heat.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of Nagano Winter Olympic Games in Japan.
1999
Introduction of the SEIKO KINETIC AUTO RELAY watch, which automatically resumes correct indication of current time.
Introduction of hand wound spring-drive watch with quartz accuracy.
2000
Establishment of SEIKO S-YARD Co., Ltd