Seiko
Seiko Group Corporation (セイコーグループ株式会社, Seikō Gurūpu kabushiki gaisha), commonly known as Seiko ( SAY-koh, Japanese: [seːkoː]), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, and semiconductors. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world's first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969.
Seiko is widely known for its wristwatches. Seiko and Rolex are the only two watch companies considered to be vertically integrated. Seiko is able to design and develop all the components of a watch, as well as assemble, adjust, inspect and ship them in-house. Seiko's mechanical watches consist of approximately 200 parts, and the company has the technology and production facilities to design and manufacture all of these parts internally.
The company was incorporated (K. Hattori & Co., Ltd.) in 1917 and renamed Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd. in 1983 and Seiko Corporation in 1990. After reconstructing and creating its operating subsidiaries (such as Seiko Watch Corporation and Seiko Clock Inc.), it became a holding company in 2001 and was renamed Seiko Holdings Corporation on July 1, 2007. Seiko Holdings Corporation was renamed Seiko Group Corporation as of October 1, 2022.
Seiko watches were originally produced by two different Hattori family companies (not subsidiaries of K. Hattori & Co); one was Daini Seikosha Co. (now known as Seiko Instruments Inc., a subsidiary of Seiko Holdings since 2009) and the other was Suwa Seikosha Co. (now known as Seiko Epson Corporation, an independent publicly traded company). Having two companies both producing the same brand of watch enabled Seiko to improve technology through competition and hedge risk. It also reduced risk of production problems, since one company can increase production in the case of decreased production in the other parties. Seiko remains as one of the world's most recognised watchmaking brands.
Seiko watches are manufactured in Japan and several other Asian countries. In Japan, quartz and Spring Drive watches are produced at a Seiko Epson facility in Shiojiri, Nagano, while mechanical watches are manufactured by Morioka Seiko Instruments, a subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation, in Shizukuishi, Iwate. Additionally, some watches intended for export, such as the Seiko 5, are manufactured by Ninohe Tokei Kogyo, another subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation, in Ninohe, Iwate. Flagship mechanical timepieces such as the Grand Seiko Kodo are manufactured at Atelier Ginza, located on the 7th floor of Seiko House Ginza in Tokyo. Seiko has manufacturing facilities for watch parts and movements in Singapore, Malaysia, and China. In the late 1990s, the company transferred half of its movement production to a subsidiary in Singapore. In 2020, these overseas manufacturing operations were reorganized as subsidiaries under Seiko Watch Corporation.
In Ginza, where the company was founded, there are several Seiko-related facilities in addition to Seiko House Ginza, including the Seiko Museum and Seiko Dream Square. Several Seiko boutiques and department stores in the area frequently offer Ginza-exclusive models.
Seiko
- 2020-11-27T00:00:00.000000Z
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