Seiko is a Japanese watch company. The company was founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori. Hattori opened a watch and jewelery shop called K. Hattori in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. In 1892 he began to produce clocks under the name Seikosha. According to the official company history, Seiko is a Japanese word that means “exquisite,” “minute,” or “success.”
Seiko first manufactured watches in 1924. Seiko premiered the world’s first quartz watch, Astron, in 1969. The Astron cost the same as a medium-sized car. Seiko later introduced the first quartz chronograph. Three core companies comprise Seiko Holdings. The companies are; Seiko Holdings Corporartion (Seiko), Seiko Instruments,
Inc. (SII), and Seiko Epson Corporation (Epson). The three Seiko Group companies are not affiliated, they are managed and operated independent of each other. Seiko Watch markets Seiko watches, and SII and Epson manufacture their movements.
