Early1895-45

Kintarō Hattori opened his Tokyo shop in 1881 and the Seikosha factory in 1892, building wall clocks before watches. The Timekeeper pocket watch followed in 1895, and the Laurel of 1913 became the first wristwatch made in Japan, produced in small numbers while imported Swiss and American watches still ruled the market.

The name Seiko itself only reached dials in 1924, the year after the Great Kantō earthquake burned the Seikosha factory to the ground. The decades that followed were spent rebuilding and refining, until production was redirected to the war. Wristwatches from this whole period are scarce, and honest survivors sit closer to museum pieces than to collecting staples.