Seikosha Clocks

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Seikosha Clocks

The Beginning: Kintaro Hattori (1860-1881)

Kintaro Hattori, the founder of Seiko, was born in 1860. He apprenticed in a clock shop at the age of 13 and established K. Hattori & Co., a small enterprise specialized in the repair and sales of timepieces, in 1881.

In 1877, Kintaro Hattori started a clock repair service, Hattori Clock Repair, which laid the foundations of modern clock and watch making in Japan. Kintaro's success earned him the nickname "King of Timepieces".

Historical Context

The story of Seiko begins in 1873, long before the company was founded, when Japan adopted the solar calendar in place of the lunar system. The old Japanese time system had come to an end and no one in Japan had the experience or know-how to make clocks that could be used for the new time system. It led to the creation of an entirely new horological industry in Japan.

Founding of Seikosha Factory (1892)

In 1892 Kintaro Hattori bought a disused factory in Tokyo and Seikosha was formed (In Japanese, "Seiko" means "exquisite", "minute" or "success" and "sha" means house). It was here that Kintaro Hattori produced his first clocks and these marked the beginnings of a company that was to become one of the world's most important manufacturers of timepieces.

Seikosha, a timepiece-manufacturing factory, was established in May 1892. Thanks to the efforts of its technical director, Tsuruhiko Yoshikawa, the company succeeded in manufacturing wall clocks just two months later in July.

Seikosha Factory was established with around a dozen of employees. The 31-year-old Kintaro and 28-year-old Tsuruhiko, the factory's chief engineer, committed all of their efforts to coming up with a Japan-made clock.

Early Training and Research

Before founding Seikosha, Kintaro is believed to have visited Jiseisha in Nagoya to study the manufacturing of wall clocks together with the chief engineer Tsuruhiko Yoshikawa.

Rapid Growth and Innovation (1895-1913)

Pocket Watches (1895)

Seikosha Clock Factory introduced pocket watches in 1895, three years after its founding. In 1895, Seikosha began manufacturing its first pocket watch, the Timekeeper.

Becoming Japan's Largest (1897)

By 1897 Seikosha had become the largest wall clock manufacturer in Japan.

Japan's First Alarm Clocks (1899)

Seikosha introduced alarm clocks in 1899. In 1899 the company achieved another 'first' for a Japanese clockmaker by producing alarm clocks.

Japan-made clocks and watches were now strongly positioned in a market dominated by imported timepieces. The company's alarm clocks with nickel-plated rust-proof cases became a special favorite and soon dominated the Japanese and Chinese (Shanghai) markets, taking the market away from popular alarm clocks from Germany (iron cases).

Explosive Alarm Clock Production

In 1906 Seikosha's alarm clock production had grown to 70,000 units. By 1907 this jumped to 120,000 and by the following year 170,000 units. By 1908, 170,000 units were manufactured.

International Expansion (1899)

In 1899, Kintaro Hattori took his first journey to the West to study timepiece factories and purchase new steam engines and large troves of the most advanced machine tools.

Kintaro looked out to the world from his very first days in business at the Seikosha Factory. He was determined to learn advanced clock-making techniques from the West and cultivate a market in the world to establish a Japan-made timepiece industry. Kintaro started exporting in 1895, three years after the company's founding.

General Timepiece Manufacturing

This is how Seiko Clock Factory became Japan's only general timepiece factory producing three categories of product – wall clocks, table clocks, and pocket watches – within only a decade from its founding.

Japan's First Wristwatch (1913)

In 1913, Kintaro succeeded in creating Japan's first ever wristwatch, the Laurel. In the early days, the company was able to produce only 30 to 50 watches a day, but, for the first time, Kintaro had established a lead on the rest.

Corporate Organization (1917)

In 1917, K. Hattori becomes a company (K. Hattori & Co., Ltd.).

The Great Kanto Earthquake (1923-1924)

The Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1923 burnt down the factories and offices of K. Hattori & Co., forcing the company to suspend production and sales. Through sheer fortitude, K. Hattori opened up for business only a month later and Seikosha Factory resumed production in March of the following year.

Birth of the "Seiko" Brand (1924)

In 1924, the first post-earthquake year, a new brand called Seiko was born. By launching Seiko, Kintaro Hattori hoped to go back to the founding spirit to 'produce Seiko = precise timepieces'.

Major Expansion (1928-1933)

From 1928 to 1933, Seikosha Factory constructed a succession of modern production plants, refurbishing production lines with state-of-the-art machines. The growth over those five years firmed the foundations for K. Hattori's subsequent progress in the production of clocks and watches.

Railroad Watch Certification (1929)

The Seikosha pocket watch was certified as Japan's official railroad watch in 1929. Japan's railroad company launched in 1872 had long used railroad watches from the West. By choosing Seikosha as the most accurate and reliable railroad watch available, the railroad gave Seiko confidence. At last Kintaro Hattori's company was catching up with its Western competitors in the timepiece industry.

Division and War Years (1937-1945)

In 1937, Seikosha Factory divided its watch section to establish Daini Seikosha (in Kameido, Tokyo), a new firm dedicated to the enhanced production of watches.

The consecutive outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, World War II in 1939, and the Pacific War in 1941 forced both Seikosha Factory and Daini Seikosha to shift to full-fledged production for the war effort. The production of watches and clocks for civilians was reduced year by year and virtually suspended by the end of war in 1945. Daini Seikosha (Kameido factory) was devastated by war damage.

Post-War Recovery (1945-1950s)

At the end of 1949, all evacuation factories but Suwa were shut down to redirect resources to the restoration of the Kameido factory (the Suwa factory later became Suwa Seikosha, the present-day SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION).

While production got on the right track to some extent, the company still suffered a number of quality-related problems resulting from the aging of machinery, inferior materials, and technological stagnation during and after the wars.

Government Support

After the war the Japanese government promoted the "recovery of civilian productivity" as a top priority goal and adopted a policy of building Japan into an export-oriented nation. The timepiece industry, one of Japan's light industries, was assigned top priority and given continuous support from academia and the government to improve quality.

Innovations and Milestones

Television Commercial (1953)

In 1953, Seiko sponsors Japan's first TV commercial.

Tokyo Olympics (1964)

In 1964, Seiko served as Official Timer of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

World's First Quartz Watch (1969)

In 1969, Seiko introduced the world's first quartz watch.

Clock Innovations

Seiko introduced the world's first quartz wall clock for home use and the world's first quartz alarm clock.

Corporate Evolution (1970-Present)

In 1970, Seikosha became an independent company.

In 1996, Seikosha Co., Ltd. was divided into Seiko Precision Inc. and Seiko Clock Inc.

In 2021, Seiko Clock was merged with Seiko Time Systems to form Seiko Time Creation Inc.

Dominance in Japanese Market

The other manufacturers of wall clocks, most based in Nagoya, went bankrupt within a few years from the founding of Seikosha. Most had been joint-stock companies enmeshed in price competition in a market for lower quality products.

As a result, Seikosha is said to have been the only manufacturer still capable of developing and producing pocket watches as of 1910.

Legacy

Sustained by honest management efforts and reliance solely on family capital, Seikosha, a producer of a single wrist watch, the Laurel, in 1913, expanded to become the prosperous international presence in the timepiece industry it is today. Kintaro Hattori, the "King of Timepieces in the East," contributed more to the development of the Japanese timepiece industry after the Meiji Period than anyone other inventor or industrialist.

Seikosha's story is remarkable: from a dozen employees in 1892 to becoming Japan's dominant clock manufacturer within just five years, surviving the Great Kanto Earthquake, pioneering Japan's wristwatch industry, and eventually revolutionizing global timekeeping with the quartz watch. The company's commitment to quality, innovation, and domestic manufacturing established Japan as a world leader in horology.