The Seiko Corporation began in 1895. The first time pieces manufactured by Seiko were wall clocks. These were followed by five watches, also known as pocket watches. But in 1923, the only Seiko factory and the corporate headquarters were destroyed in the fires initiated by the Kanto earthquake, which devastated Tokyo. The company had yet to begin manufacturing Seiko women’s watch.

When Japan seated a new emperor in 1912, Mr. Hattori considered this a good sign, and began to manufacture a new watch, the first ever with a Seiko brand. All Hattori wristwatches manufactured since then has carried the Seiko brand name, while wall clocks continued under the Seikosha name. At this time, the manufactured wristwatches were small by current standards, measuring only slightly more than an inch in diameter.

The terminology we use in describing watches can be confusing to most people. The term movement, for instance, refers to the moving parts of the watch, with exception of the hands. The most common types of movements are mechanical, quartz, and electronic. Except for the mechanical watches, very few moving parts exist within the movement.

The invention of the digital Seiko watch is as interesting as it is an excellent example of how paradigm shifts in business are both difficult and devastating. The original digital watches were made in the 1930s, but were not very accurate. Later, in the 1960s, several makers produced electronic watches which were more accurate, but had limited life spans and were very pricey, selling in the 2,000 dollar range. Nevertheless, these watches inspired the Swiss to re-look the notion of the quartz movement.

There are times in the business world when a maker becomes so powerful they become almost synonymous with the product they make. Swiss watch technology had so outpaced the rest of the world that they became accustomed to their place at the top of the watch-making community. The Swiss were completely dominant. In 1925, the Swiss held an annual watch show called Baselworld to show off the many types of watches manufactured in their country. In 1967, one of the exhibitions presented their first ever quartz movement wristwatch. Because it lacked the traditional mainspring and moving parts, they considered it a novelty and did not protect the technology. This allowed the rest of the world the opportunity to strike.

The world was ready for a new, less expensive accurate wristwatch, and the quartz movement allowed for a much greater variety of watches. Miniaturization allowed for the size of watches to be pretty much whatever the mind could imagine. Watches for Women in particular began to become more and more a piece of jewelry as well as a functional timepiece. Designs even allowed for a single timepiece and a series of casings of different colors and types to make color and style coordination even simpler.

Watches have morphed into more than just a mobile accurate timepiece. In addition to fashion flair, they are increasing equipped with additional functions to increase their utility for the wearer. Need to calculate the tip at a restaurant? Use the calculator built into your watch. Changing time zones? Push a button and your watch is current wherever you are. No more trying to calculate from Greenwich Mean Time!

Throughout the last one hundred years, watches have made surprising changes and adaptations to stay an integral piece of technology for the individual. Changing sizes, increased accuracy, and affordability have kept them a staple product for the masses. By constantly updating the technology and paying attention to the demands for convenience, style, and functionality, wristwatches have prevented their replacement by other technological wonders. One can get the time from a laptop or cellular phone, but almost everyone still wears a watch. With Seiko ladies watches introducing new technology in the form of electronic ink men’s fashion watches, they will not be going away anytime soon.