Seiko says its history began in 1881, when Kintaro Hattori opened a shop in central Tokyo to sell and repair watches and clocks. The brand’s heritage pages state that Hattori founded Seikosha in 1892 and began producing wall clocks there. Seiko also says that its company produced Japan’s first wristwatch, the Laurel, in 1913, and its site presents this as part of a history of more than 140 years.
Among the milestones documented on Seiko’s site, the brand says the Seiko Quartz Astron was released on December 25, 1969. The heritage pages also describe Seiko Kinetic as the world’s first automatic generating system watch and present Spring Drive as a Seiko technology. Seiko’s heritage and sports-timing material further state that the company served as the official timer at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964.
On Seiko’s product pages, collections have included King Seiko, Prospex, Presage, Astron, and 5 Sports. The site also lists Seiko power design project, Coutura, and Diamond Collection. Seiko’s Astron history material links Astron with quartz technology, and Prospex material ties that line to the brand’s diver’s watches and sports timing history.
Seiko’s website places the brand’s origins and early development in Tokyo, including Ginza. A September 6, 2023 news release on the site marked the 110th anniversary of the 1913 Laurel with commemorative watches in the Presage, Prospex, Astron, and 5 Sports collections. The same release says Seiko’s history began in Ginza in 1881.
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