In the year 1894, a factory called Seikosha was started. This factory started producing wall-mounted timepieces. Slowly the factory expanded its operations and began making the Fob timepiece. The Fob consisted of a small clock with a leather strip, which could be fixed to the belt of the wearer. These were later referred to as pocket timepieces. However, in the year 1923, the city of Tokyo was hit by a huge earthquake that leveled all buildings including the Seikosha building.
The year 1912 saw a new emperor take charge in the country of Japan. It was at this time that the founder of Seikosha launched the Seiko Company. In order to differentiate between the brands, wall-mounted timepieces had the name Seikosha imprinted on their faces whereas pocket timepieces and wrist timepieces had the name Seiko imprinted on their face. The first wrist-worn timepieces only measured a little more than one inch.
Almost every single individual on the street uses a watch and does not pay attention to how it works. The most used word for timepieces is motion. If we try to define motion in layman terms, we are talking about the different components hidden beneath the face of the timepiece which keep the two hands moving. Two common terms used to define motion in timepieces are Digital motion and Quartz motion. While both these technologies use very little motion in comparison to the earliest timepieces, these terminologies are used till date.
The period starting from 1960 saw the timepiece industry move away from mechanical to digital and quartz motions. It started with 2 watch-making organizations from the United States of America manufacturing timepieces that did not use any mechanical motion. This set the ball rolling and in the year 1967, watchmakers from Switzerland introduced the world to timepieces operating on quartz motion. This had a domino effect across the globe. Suddenly watchmakers were no longer restricted by mechanical motion. They started experimenting with designs, sizes and shapes. The use of timepieces with a digital face in a famous movie increased the popularity of such watches.
Seiko watches have also evolved with time. While initially design was a main feature to purchase a wristwatch, today more and more users are looking for multifunctional watches. However, men’s wristwatches have more technology stuffed into them than women’s wristwatches. The primary reason is that most women users still prefer design over functionality. The Seiko watches of today encompass technologies like watches that run on solar power, watches which run on the human motion, watches that can self-correct time and date etc. These watches also allow users to do calculations, know the temperature of the day, change the date and time automatically when the user moves from one country to another etc.
As you can see from the above article, the wristwatch continues to evolve and move ahead by incorporating new technologies. So does your wristwatch only show you time and date? Go ahead and explore the world of the technologically advanced Seiko watches.