The precursor to the Seiko Corporation was called Seikosha clock supply factory, and it was established in 1892. With its inception, the company began manufacturing wall clocks. The next step in the evolution of the factory was the beginning of the production of Fob watches. A fob is a short leather strap that connects the watch to a lapel or belt. Fob watches are also known as pocket watches. Before the production of Seiko men’s watches began, the great earthquake of 1923 leveled Tokyo and started great fires, which destroyed the Seiko factory and headquarters.

When Japan seated a new emperor in 1912, Mr. Hattori considered this a good sign, and began to manufacture a new watch, the first ever with a Seiko brand. All Hattori wristwatches manufactured since then has carried the Seiko brand name, while wall clocks continued under the Seikosha name. At this time, the manufactured wristwatches were small by current standards, measuring only slightly more than an inch in diameter.

Although watches have been around for a very long time, their internal workings remain a mystery to most people. One of the most confusing parts of the internal workings of the watch is the movement. The watch’s movement involves all the moving pieces of the watch, with the exception of the hands. This type of movement was obviously much easier to understand since mechanical watches used gears and a mainspring. In keeping with tradition, even quartz and digital watches continue to use the phrase movement.

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 Seiko ladies watches 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 advent of the accurate quartz movement allowed for a revolution in the watch-making industry. With size no longer the defining factor in manufacturing, watches could be made in any size and shape, as long as the face remained flat. Digital readout watches became famously popular, especially after they appeared in a blockbuster science fiction movie. Watches for women became more than just a functional accessory, they became fashionable.

Watches have morphed into more than just a mobile accurate timepiece. In addition to fashion flair, they are increasing equipped with additional functions to increase their utility for the wearer. Need to calculate the tip at a restaurant? Use the calculator built into your watch. Changing time zones? Push a button and your watch is current wherever you are. No more trying to calculate from Greenwich Mean Time!

Throughout the last one hundred years, watches have made surprising changes and adaptations to stay an integral piece of technology for the individual. With Seiko women’s watch introducing new technology in the form of electronic ink mens wristwatches, they will not be going away anytime soon.

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