Let's give a brief history of Seiko. Time-lapse back 100 years and then spin the globe 9.520 km away. The Meiji period, which began in Japan in 1868, was a time of promise and possibilities. The nation was transitioning from a feudal society based on isolationism into a modern nation state. This was a simple decision. Japan needed to flourish and to achieve this, it needed to adopt and study the most advanced technical innovations from the West. This also meant that Japan had to switch to the Gregorian Calendar and 24-hour days, resulting in an influx of imported pocket and clock watches.www.besttime.me
Kintaro Hattori, a man of great enterprise, opened his clock and watch shop in central Tokyo in 1881. In 1890, Hattori created the Seikosha Factory, which literally means "exquisite factory of success" (I have borrowed this name to give to my future wife's womb). The company's history in the early 20th century is littered by a series of trials that resemble the Old Testament story of Job. It was transformed into a munitions plant several times,Patek Philippe Replica Watches decimated during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which killed more than 140,000 people and had all its factories except one bombed or evacuated during World War II.
Seiko was able to rebuild its two major factories in Tokyo, the Daini factory (literally, the second factory) in Kameido and the Suwa Seikosha in Nagano Prefecture, in 1959. Seiko's genius was to encourage competition within these two factories, especially in terms of chronometric excellence, and technical innovations.
Seikos were regarded as reliable utilitarian timepieces by Japanese consumers up until 1959. European brands such as Rolex, and the mythical Patek Philippe, still held the highest place in their minds. But Seiko had greater ambitions.
It wanted to show that it was capable of creating a watch which, on all levels, including design and finish, but especially in terms of functionality, could compete with the horological elitist. The company wanted to compete with Swiss watches of the highest quality, so in 1960 it launched the Patek Philippe Replica Watches range, which was pioneered by reference 3180.