

Hattori & Co., Ltd.) in 1917 and was renamed Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd. In 1985, Orient and Seiko established a joint factory. In 1991, to increase popularity, these watches were relaunched under the name Seiko Kinetic. The watch is entirely powered by its movement in everyday wear. In the late 1980s, Seiko produced the first automatic quartz that combined the self-energizing attributes of an automatic watch with quartz accuracy. Seiko later went on to introduce the first quartz chronograph. In 1969, Seiko introduced the Astron, the world's first production quartz watch when it was introduced, it cost the same as a medium-sized car. In order to avoid an ill omen, believed to be associated with the word "GLORY" in Japanese, Seikosha changed its trade mark to "SEIKO" in 1924. Hattori began to produce clocks under the name Seikosha ( 精工 舎, Seikōsha), meaning roughly, "House of Exquisite Workmanship." According to Seiko's official company history, titled A Journey In Time: The Remarkable Story of Seiko (2003), Seiko is a Japanese word with the character meaning "exquisite" ( 精巧, Seikō) it is homophonous with the word for "success" ( 成功, Seikō). Hattori & Co., the 31-year-old Kintaro was asked to take up two important positions in industry, one as a director of the Tokyo Clockmaker and Watchmaker Association and one as a member of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce.Įight years later, in 1895, the successful watch dealer purchased the whole corner of Ginza 4-chome (the present-day location of WAKO), constructed a building with a clock tower (16 meters from top to bottom), setting up shop at the new address. In 1891, 10 years after the establishment of K. The amount of support from his customers encouraged Mr Hattori to pursue the next step, which was becoming a manufacturer himself, an endeavor he would pursue shortly after by purchasing a factory in Tokyo and renaming it ' Seikosha' ( 精工舍). This growing success allowed him to relocate the company to the main street of Ginza (Tokyo), still the epicenter of commerce in Japan to this day. Hattori's shop became increasingly popular due to the rarity of the imported watches the shop was selling, items that couldn't be found anywhere else in Japan. and Siber & Brennwald, allowing him to obtain exclusive imported timepieces and machinery which was not available to anyone else at that time. Over the years, Kintarō Hattori developed a close partnership with multiple foreign trading firms, including the likes of C&J Favre-Brandt, F. Perregaux & Co., Zanuti & Cie. Hattori began dealing directly with these foreign trading firms in the Yokohama settlement focused on the wholesaling and retailing of western (imported) timepieces and machinery. Japanese wholesalers needed to purchase all the imported timepieces from foreign trading companies established in Yokohama, Kobe, and other open port areas. Pioneers in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya were studying and producing pocket watches based on Western products. In 1881, a new age of Japan-made clocks and watches was dawning.
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Kintarō Hattori had been working as clockmaker apprentice since the age of 13, with multiple stints in different watch shops, such as “Kobayashi Clock Shop”, ran by an expert technician named Seijiro Sakurai, “Kameda Clock Shop” in Nihonbashi, as well as “Sakata Clock Shop” in Ueno, where he learned how to both sell and repair timepieces. With generations of Seiko Alpinist watches that have been introduced over the years, there’s bound to be a model that intrigues you to add to your collection.Seiko's history began in 1881, when its founder Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called "K. Even if the latest model may or may not be as appealing to you as some of the previous models with reasons such as the price, or things that have been added or removed from the design, it does not change the fact that Seiko Alpinist is a great watch. With a rich history that Seiko Alpinist model watches have, they will continue to be one of watch enthusiasts preferred sub brand from Seiko for a long period of time.
