Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Daisy_Cutter
1288
Nov 13, 2017
So on my recent visit to Tokyo, I was fortunate enough to be able to make a detour to the Seiko museum. It's full of fascinating Seiko history and antique clocks and watches.
search
(Image: The Seiko 5 display case.)
Among other things, I learned that the humble, dinky Seiko 5 series has way more history than I imagined, dating back to the early 60s, and that '5' refers to the five features that Seiko thought a sporty watch should have (1. Magic lever winding system, 2. Day/date in a single window, 3. Water resistance, 4. Recessed crown at 4 o'clock, and 5. durable case and bracelet). Not quite the 5 features I would necessarily have picked, but well maybe that's why I don't run one of the most successful watch companies in the world.
Most interestingly, it seems that the 4 o'clock crown, which has become a Seiko trademark and appears in much more expensive Seikos, actually originates with the Seiko 5 series. So in a sense, every inexpensive Seiko 5 can trace its pedigree further back than many of Seiko's more modern and expensive watches!
Daisy_CutterThanks for sharing the pic. I'm one of those people that is drawn to stories behind companies and their products, and Seiko is second to none in that regard. As Stainless noted, lots of people mistakenly think of them as a cheap mass producer when in fact they do high quality stuff at a scale few can match.
I was in a nice boutique this past weekend and was wearing my new Turtle for the first time. All their sales staff asked to see it and were geeking out on it and lamenting the fact that their brand didn't offer more automatics.
Daisy_Cutter
1288
Nov 13, 2017
Thanks, Stainless (and Benz). Any account of watchmaking history is incomplete without a chapter on Seiko, not least because they almost killed Swiss watchmaking with their quartz watches.
If Tissot and Tag Heuer are the brands you start out thinking are good watches, and later learn they are not so good after all, then Seiko is the opposite. It is the brand you start out thinking makes cheap proletariat watches, and later learn actually make really really good stuff, some of which you can actually afford.
Daisy_CutterPlus the Snowflake which is on my "I just won the lotto" wish list.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in More Community Picks