Seiko Watches

In 1913, the new emperor on the throne is a Seikosha company began manufacturing the first wristwatch ever made in Japan, the Laurel. It was not until 1924 that dependable Seiko was used on a wristwatch. This wristwatch was a 10 or 15 jewel movement, likened to the Swiss Moeris caliber. All of the watches from this time period were small, about 28 mm in diameter (approximately 1.1 inches).

Much like many modern devices, people can use watches very well without knowing how it works internally. Nevertheless, we commonly use the word movement in reference to watches, even if we do not know exactly what it means. Simply put, the movement refers to all the parts of the watch that move, except for the hands, with which we tell time. Although digital and quartz movements have far less motion than the original watches with years in a mainspring, we still use the term.

Digital watches were first introduced to the marketplace by two separate American companies. The resulting excitement within the world of watch-making is a revealing lesson for all businesses. While these first few were more accurate, they had problems with high price and short lifespans. Their introduction, however, sent a spark through the Swiss watch making industry as they took another look at the quartz movement.

In the late 1960's, the first quartz wristwatch was manufactured by the Swiss and displayed at a watch show. The Swiss, however, greatly underestimated their own invention. The Swiss watch making industry had been the dominate force in high quality timepieces for a very long time. They reasoned with traditional opinions that this new watch, with its lack of a mainspring and gears, could not possibly be the future of wristwatches or timepieces. They were so convinced that they displayed the watch at a show and never bothered to patent it. The race was on.

The world was ready for a new, less expensive accurate wristwatch, and the quartz movement allowed for a much greater variety of watches. Miniaturization allowed for the size of watches to be pretty much whatever the mind could imagine. Watches for Women in particular began to become more and more a piece of jewelry as well as a functional timepiece. Designs even allowed for a single timepiece and a series of casings of different colors and types to make color and style coordination even simpler.

The complexity of the timepiece would continue in pace with the increase in other technology. The days of the comic strip two-way radio watches are approaching. It is no longer uncommon for a watch to include special features. Some come with built in calculators, and others with primitive scheduling programming. Aviator watches not only tell time where you start your day, but keep time for all the time zones on earth, changing with the push of a button.

Throughout the last one hundred years, watches have made surprising changes and adaptations to stay an integral piece of technology for the individual. Changing sizes, increased accuracy, and affordability have kept them a staple product for the masses. By constantly updating the technology and paying attention to the demands for convenience, style, and functionality, wristwatches have prevented their replacement by other technological wonders. One can get the time from a laptop or cellular phone, but almost everyone still wears a watch. With Seiko introducing new technology in the form of electronic ink men's wrist watch, they will not be going away anytime soon.