A Seiko watch
Seiko is a Japanese watch company. The roots of the company are back in 1881. First watches with Seiko brand appeared in 1924. In 1969, Seiko introduces Seiko Astron, world's first quartz watch. In 1985, Orient and Seiko established a joint factory. Seiko is the parent company of the computer printer manufacturer, Epson, and is also the parent company of SII. They are also known for their series of Seiko Kinetic Auto Relay watches which debuted in 1999. They are powered by wristmovements, and when not worn for three days, the hands will stop moving. The watch still keeps time though, and will reset itself to the correct time when next put on again, for up to four years.
Some technologies used in Seiko watches include Kinetic, Kinetic Auto Relay, Kinetic Chronograph, and Perpetual Calendar.
Many Seiko watch series cannot be found all over the world. Some are exclusively available in Asia. One very nice Seiko series that was not released long ago is the Arctura.
Seiko Corporation of America is responsible for distribution of Seiko watches and clocks, as well as Pulsar watches, in the United States. The models available in the United States are normally a smaller subset of the full line produced in Japan. Seiko Corporation of America has its headquarters and repair center in Mahwah, New Jersey.
In the United States, Seiko watches are sold primarily by fine jewelers and department stores, as well as 19 company stores located in various cities across the country.
Seiko's 2004 marketing campaign emphasized that a watch, as opposed to other traits -- like what car they drive, for example -- tells most about a person.
According to Seiko's official company history, titled "A Journey In Time: The Remarkable Story of Seiko" (2003), Seiko is a Japanese word for "exquisite", "minute", or "success".
Seiko is also the official timer of many sports events:
- Tokyo Olympic Summer Games in Japan, 1964;
- World Cup Soccer Championships in Argentina, 1978;
- World Cup Soccer Championships in Spain, 1982;
- World Cup Soccer Championships in Mexico, 1986;
- IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Italy, 1987;
- World Cup Soccer Championships in Italy, 1990;
- IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, Japan, 1991;
- Nagano Olympic Winter Games in Japan, 1998;
- Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in USA, 2002;
External links
Last updated: 10-18-2005 12:56:43
