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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.
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.
Other trend-setting, multi-functional watches by Seiko include the Perpetual
Calendar series which automatically reset their date settings for the next 100
years; the Chronograph collection with dual stopwatch features; the Le Grande
Sport series, a classic combination of contemporary European design and
functionality; and the Ladies Jewelry collection, an elegant marriage of
versatility and style.
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).
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
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
Establishment of
subsidiary in Switzerland. SEIKO serves as Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Argentina.
Introduction of world's first very-fine
adjusted ultra-accurate Twin Quartz watch, with less than five seconds deviation
per year.
1979
Establishment of
subsidiary in Sweden.
Introduction of Pulsar brand.
Introduction of Alba
brand
1980
Establishment of
subsidiary in the Netherlands.
1981
Establishment of
representative office in Dubai.
Introduction of Lassale brand.
1982
SEIKO serves as
Official Timer of World Cup Football Championships in Spain.
Introduction of
world's first TV watch.
Introduction of Lorus brand.
1983
K. Hattori & Co.,
Ltd. renamed as Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd.
Introduction of world's first watch
with sound-recording functions.
1984
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 quartz
watch with sweep second hand. Introduction of quartz watch powered by the
wearer's movement, requiring no batteries.
Introduction of world's first
intelligent analogue quartz watch with alarm, chronograph and timer functions
controlled by an IC "computer on a chip
1989
Establishment of
subsidiary in Thailand.
1990
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.
Introduction of the Seiko "The Age of
Discovery" collection.
Introduction of the Seiko Scubamaster, world's first
computerised diver's watch to incorporate a dive table.
Introduction of the
Seiko Receptor MessageWatch incorporating a miniaturised FM subcarrier.
1991
Establishment of
subsidiary in Finland.
Establishment of subsidiary in Taiwan.
SEIKO serves
as Official Timer of 3rd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo,
Japan.
Introduction of the Seiko Perpetual Calendar with the world's first
"millennium-plus calendar".
1992
SEIKO serves as
Official Timer of Barcelona Olympic Games in Spain.
1993
Introduction of the Golf-Club (S-YARD).
1994
Establishment of a
representative office in Beijing.
SEIKO serves as Official Timer of
Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games in Norway.
Introduction of Seiko KINETIC
series.
1995
Introduction of Alba
"Spoon" series.
1996
Establishment of SEIKO
Optical Products, Inc. Establishment of SEIKO Clock Inc.
Establishment of
SEIKO Precision Inc.
1997
Establishment of SEIKO
Jewelry Co., Ltd.
Establishment of SEIKO Watch Sales Inc., merger of watch
operations and marketing functions.
Change Japanese company name to SEIKO
Kabushiki Kaisha.
Introduction of SEIKO KINETIC ARCTURA.
1998
SEIKO serves as
Official Timer of Nagano Winter Olympic Games in Japan.
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.
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. |
