Vintage Seiko wristwatch

Seiko is a Japanese watch company that has been producing wristwatches for over a century. The company was founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori, who started out with a watch and jewelry shop in Tokyo, Japan. He began producing his own timepieces in 1892 under the name Seikosha, which translates to "House of Precision."

Seikosha's first wristwatch, the Laurel, was produced in 1913. It featured a 12-ligne movement and was powered by a cylinder escapement. In 1924, Seikosha introduced the Seiko Marvel, its first wristwatch with a chronometer-grade movement.

Seiko has a long history of producing innovative and high-quality wristwatches. In 1960, the company released its first diving watch, the Seiko 6217-8001, which was water-resistant up to 150 meters and featured a rotating bezel to measure elapsed time. In 1969, Seiko made history by introducing the Seiko Quartz Astron, the world's first quartz more... wristwatch. This watch was more accurate and reliable than traditional mechanical watches, and changed the watch industry forever.

In 1975, Seiko released the Seiko 7549-7009, the world's first professional saturation diving watch. With water resistance up to 600 meters, it quickly became a favorite among professional divers. In 1982, Seiko launched the Seiko Kinetic, a watch that combined quartz accuracy with a self-winding mechanism. This watch used the movement of the wearer's wrist to generate electricity, which powered the quartz movement.

Seiko continued to push the boundaries of watchmaking in 1999 with the release of the Spring Drive, a watch that combined mechanical and quartz technologies. The Spring Drive used a mainspring to power the watch, but also had a quartz regulator to keep time accurately.

Today, Seiko is still producing a wide range of wristwatches, both with quartz and mechanical movements. The company's reputation for innovation and high-quality timepieces has made it highly respected in the watch industry. less...