The over-a-hundred-year-old watch brand began the business when Kintaro Hattori, an entrepreneur, opened a watch and jewelry store in Ginza, Tokyo. He started selling wall clocks, watches with alarm functions, and pocket watches; wristwatches came in in 1913. Seiko means different things to different people, including truth, success, force, or truth. The brand comprises a dazzling menu of watch product lines and sub-brands.
Seiko is a Japanese behemoth and timepiece manufacturer often referred to as the product of the Seventies quartz crisis, which isn’t true. Seiko initially copied Swiss watch movements, but only for a while; its watch designers soon began innovating independently. The company began experimenting with quartz watches, with its Astron becoming the first mass-produced quartz watch in 1969. Seiko now produces watches with quartz, solar, kinetic, and mechanical movements with prices ranging from 35 to 400,000 pounds.
Top Three Watch Creations of Seiko
Seiko recently started a watch called Grand Seiko, which has brought the brand more respect recently. The Grand Seiko line and re-launched Seiko 5 Sports line are highly sought-after by collectors. The latter is arguably the most wardrobe- and pocket-friendly way into the mechanical watch world. Below are three of Seiko’s iconic watch lines;
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Seiko 5 Sports Watch
This wristwatch is a new version of one of the brand’s most loved watch lines, the Seiko 5. The SRPD 65K2 is popular with true sports fans and hipsters alike. The “5” in Seiko 5 symbolizes the five key attributes of every watch in the Seiko 5 line. These include automatic movement, recessed crown at 4 o’clock, durable case and bracelet, day-date display at 3 o’clock, and water resistance.
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Prospex PADI Sumo Version SPB181J1
The PADI collection is affectionately called the Sumo by watch enthusiasts and is exclusive to Seiko. Seiko is the only watch brand that can use the official colors of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Seiko launched the PADI line as Japan’s first dive watch in 1965, consistently evolving the genre.
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Presage Style 60’s SARY193
This Seiko watch has a dressier look suitable for everyday use; it is an automatic watch designed for men. The watch represents the elegance of a sporty timepiece and can be categorized as Seiko’s best watch below $500. While the watch is vintage, it features the latest caliber 4R6 movement and water resistance to 100m depth. The watch design, costing below $500, takes watch lovers back to the 60’s era.
What Makes Seiko Watch Brand Special?
The Seiko brand offers watches at different price ranges, including high-end and affordable watches. The brand seeks to serve consumers on both spectra ends, exclusivity for the wealthy and affordability for the less wealthy. The watch brand has enough watchmaking experience and expertise to ensure its creations have high quality, regardless of price.
Cheaper Seiko watches don’t mean the brand compromised on the quality of its materials and movements. It cuts costs using in-house movements, allowing every collector to select their perfect model depending on personal style and requirements. Seiko frequently launches limited edited versions of some of its famous designs to celebrate its heritage. These limited edition watches are desirable timepieces popular with collectors.
Seiko rose to the occasion when the horological industry was facing a quartz crisis in 1970. While many traditional watch brands struggled with this new movement innovation, Seiko was at its forefront. It launched the world’s first quartz watch, the Astron, in December of 1969, which brought it great game and recognition. Seiko soon became a popular watch brand in its region and worldwide, being the first brand to launch a battery-powered quartz watch.
The Seiko brand is known for its premium-quality watches that get the admiration and interest of even the most critical collector. It often uses PVD plating on its watches, giving them a scratch-resistant and aesthetically endearing finish. Some Seiko watches are produced with titanium to achieve the ultimate robust and lightweight feature. Seiko’s use of top-quality materials is one of the reasons it is reputed for excellence and why it is special.
Seiko vs. Citizen
Seiko and Citizen have been around for at least a hundred years, with their names hitched in watchmaking history. There has always been a dispute among watch enthusiasts about which brand is better between Seiko and Citizen. In comparing both brands, one has to delve deeper into their intricacies because their watches’ style and shape aren’t enough. We’d have to compare their technology, style, design, quality, accuracy, and durability.
Seiko’s technology is synonymous with automatic movements, although it has watches with the Quartz and Solar technologies like Citizen. Meanwhile, Citizen doesn’t have a huge collection of mechanical watches because it focuses on watches with the Quartz movement. Citizen has the edge over Seiko with its eco-drive technology flagship solar-powered watches. However, Seiko has an edge in offering a high-quality, more accurate automatic watch movement.
As far as style and design go, Citizen is more inclined towards stretching the boundaries while Seiko prefers the tested and tried. Many of Seiko’s watch models are better known in the watchmaking industry than Citizen’s models.
The last debate is on which brand has the better quality, accuracy, and durability. Both brands have equal levels of quality, although one tiny detail can tip things in Seiko’s favor. Where Grand Seiko churns out timepieces of impressive quality and grace, Citizen doesn’t have the Swiss level watch type in its ranks. Nevertheless, both brands have churned out inexpensive and outstanding watches in their over one-hundred rich watchmaking history.
Conclusion
Seiko is one of the world’s most outstanding watch brands, producing watches of exceptional quality at every turn. Seiko watches are highly sought-after among watch enthusiasts, and they are among the most popular choices. Perhaps the best thing about Seiko is that while it offers exclusive products, it also has affordable options. It aims to make high-quality timepieces available to every watch collector without reducing their quality.
Seiko has several timepiece models, offering excellence, style, status, and brilliant innovation. It offers service and maintenance often for its watches, making them some of the longest-lasting watches globally.