Who is the Founder of Seiko? – The Japanese Watch Giant

When we look at the world’s largest and most luxurious watch brands, we see that Seiko stands out from its competitors by being of Japanese origin. This is because, even though today’s production is largely institutionalized and mass-produced, watch brands were inevitably influenced by the culture they were in during periods when craftsmanship and artistry were paramount. Seiko has always reflected Japanese quality, discipline, and art to its customers. So, what are the stages that the Seiko Group, one of the world’s largest watch, jewelry, and gem organizations today, has gone through? In which years did they provide which services? Here are the answers:

Who founded Seiko?

In terms of its founding year, Seiko will be easily remembered by our readers: 1881. Yes; established in 1881 in Tokyo, Japan, and starting its services as a small business, the Seiko brand began its professional life with trade before production.

In the shop opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district, the buying and selling of watches and jewelry were conducted; this became an important investment tool for the brand to start watch production in later years. The person who opened this shop and is the founder of Seiko is Kintaro Hattori.

After 11 years of trading watches and jewelry, it was time for Seiko to expand the business. In 1892, the brand began watch production under the name Seikosha and soon expanded its activities in this field as well.

Although the shop named K. Hattori and the production of Seikosha watches were handled as different businesses for a while, in 1917, all services of the brand were unified under one roof and the Seiko brand was created. In 1924, the first watch models were released under the same name.

The year 1969 was the year when Seiko absolutely solidified its place in the global watch market: by producing the first quartz watches, it gave a new direction to the world watch market and prepared the ground for the growth it would achieve thereafter. With the new versions it produced later, such as kinetic and automatic, Seiko—accompanied by Japanese design skills—has continuously climbed its rank among the world’s most luxurious watch brands.

Who is the owner of Seiko?

Today, the Seiko brand, which has a revenue close to 220 billion Japanese Yen and around 7,000 employees, is headquartered in the Minato district of Tokyo.