Thursday, May 6, 2010

Seiko 17 jewels automatic watch




BRAND: SEIKO
ORIGIN : JAPAN
CASING : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT : SEIKO AUTOMATIC 17 JEWELS
DIAL: DARK BLUE
BAND : RETRO TYPE STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET (I THINK NOT ORIGINAL)
LUGS SIZE: 20mm
BAND WIDTH: 24mm

DIMENSION: APPROX. 35MM*35MM

CONDITION: GOOD RUNNING CONDITION

PRICE: RM140


SEIKO BRIEF HISTORY

Seiko Holdings Corporation (セイコーホールディングス株式会社, Seikō Hōrudingusu Kabushiki-gaisha?) (TYO: 8050), more commonly known simply as Seiko (pronounced /ˈsɛɪ.koʊ/ (SAY-koh)), is a Japanese watch company.

History and ongoing developments
The company started in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called "K. Hattori" (服部時計店, Hattori Tokeiten?) in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the name Seikosha (精工舎, Seikōsha?). According to Seiko's official company history, titled "A Journey In Time: The Remarkable Story of Seiko" (2003), Seiko is a Japanese word meaning "exquisite," "minute," or "success." (The meaning "exquisite" is usually written 精巧, while the meaning "success" is usually written 成功.)

The first watches produced under the Seiko brand appeared in 1924. In 1969, Seiko introduced the Astron, the world's first production quartz watch; when it was introduced, it cost the same as a medium-sized car. Seiko later went on to introduce the first quartz chronograph. In 1985, Orient Watches and Seiko established a joint factory. Recognized as a leader in timekeeping accuracy, Seiko products are often used as the official timekeepers of the major sporting events, including the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup editions in Argentina 1978, Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, and Italy 1990.


Grand Quartz, produced in 1978.The company was incorporated (K. Hattori & Co., Ltd.) in 1917 and was renamed Hattori Seiko Co., Ltd. in 1983 and Seiko Corporation in 1990. After reconstructing and creating its operating subsidiaries (such as Seiko Watch Corporation and Seiko Clock Inc.), it became a holding company in 2001 and was renamed Seiko Holdings Corporation as of July 1, 2007.

Seiko is perhaps known best, though, for its wristwatches. They are known for their advanced technology and are one of the few wristwatch manufacturers that produce all of their watches and movements entirely in-house. Even minor items such as the oils used in lubricating the watches and the luminous compounds used on the hands and the dials are produced by the Seiko factories.

Seiko produces both quartz and mechanical watches of varying prices. The least expensive are around ¥4,000 (US$45) (Alba); the most expensive (Credor JURI GBBX998) costs ¥50,000,000 (US$554,000).[2] Seiko's mechanical watches are the most prized by collectors—from the Seiko "5" series (the 5 reflects the five essential features of the watch, namely shock resistant, water resistant, automatic, and day and date display), which is the most common; the Seiko automatic Chronometer series; the "Bell-Matic," with a mechanical alarm; to the highly prized luxury "Credor," "King Seiko," and "Grand Seiko" lines. Seiko Kinetic watches account for a large proportion of sales nowadays and combine the self-energizing attributes of an automatic watch with quartz accuracy. The watch is entirely powered by its movement in everyday wear. On 7 October 2005, Seiko announced the launch of the Seiko Spring Drive, a new movement that provides 72 hours of power compared to 40 hours for mechanical and 3 years for battery powered quartz watches. This new movement uses a "Tri-synchro Regulator". The power from the spring is used to turn the gear train and a generator. The generator powers a circuit that includes a low consumption (~25 nanowatts) quartz crystal oscillator. The oscillator is a part of a continuous feedback circuit, which holds the speed of the generator close to eight revolutions per second. According to Seiko records the resulting movement delivers accuracy commensrate with other quartz timed watch movements.


Seiko Pyramid Talk, the world's first quartz talking clock, from 1984.
The Hattori Clock Tower in Ginza, Tokyo, former headquarters and main store building of K. Hattori & Co., currently houses Wako.To the frustration of collectors, Seiko does not release all of its watch lines in every region; some are exclusively available in Asia, for instance. Many online retailers will ship watches overseas, though.

Seiko Corporation of America is responsible for distribution of Seiko watches and clocks, as well as Pulsar brand 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 Coserv 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.

Seiko's 2004 marketing campaign emphasized that a watch, as opposed to other traits (such as what car they drive, for example), tells the most about a person.

Various Seiko watches were worn by the cinematic James Bond 007 in four films starring Roger Moore from 1977–85. Also, a Seiko watch was worn by Sean Connery in the 1983 Bond film Never Say Never Again. A Seiko Chronograph is also worn by Jason Bourne in the book "The Bourne Identity" by Robert Ludlum.

Seiko also produces other electronic devices. Notably, during the 1980s, the company produced a range of digital synthesizers, such as the DS-250, for use in electronic music. Today, the music division, a part of Seiko Life Sports, produces metronomes & tuning devices.

Official timekeeper
Seiko is also the official timer of many major sporting events:

Tokyo Olympic Summer Games in Japan, 1964
1978 World Cup in Argentina
1982 World Cup in Spain
1986 World Cup in Mexico
IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Italy, 1987
1990 World Cup in Italy
IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo, Japan, 1991
Barcelona Olympic Summer Games in Spain, 1992
Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games in Norway, 1994
Nagano Olympic Winter Games in Japan, 1998
Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in USA, 2002
Seiko is also named as the official timekeeper of the Gran Turismo racing game series, published by Sony.

Currently, Seiko has agreed to sponsor Honda (previously known as BAR [British American Racing] Honda). The Seiko name cannot currently be found on the Honda racing cars because Seiko Japan refused to be advertised whilst the names of tobacco companies are still appearing on the cars. They can, however, be found on the lollipop used in the pitlane.

Operating companies (products and services)
Seiko Watch Corporation — watches: Seiko (Grand Seiko, Dolce & Exceline, Brightz, Lukia, Prospex, iu, Ruse, Spirit, Alpinist, Ignition, Premier, Coutura, Arctura, Sportura, Criteria, Rivoli, Vivace, etc.), Credor, Galante, Wired, Wired XYZ, Alba, Pulsar, Lorus. Seiko Watch is a planning and marketing company. Seiko Holdings delegates a large portion of the manufacturing in its watch business to Seiko Epson and Seiko Instruments.
Seiko Clock Inc. — clocks, kitchen timers: Seiko, Decor Seiko, Seiko Emblem, Seiko Premium, Seiko Melodies in Motion Musical Clocks, Pyxis
Seiko Service Center Co., Ltd. — repair and after service for watches
Seiko Time Systems Inc. — system clocks (outside, building wall, monument, floral clocks), sports timing equipment
Seiko Sports Life Co., Ltd. — golf clubs, stopwatches, musical accessories (tuners, metronomes)
Seiko Precision Inc. — printers, time servers, electronic devices, micromechatronics devices, camera shutters, etc.
Seiko NPC Corporation — semiconductors
Seiko Jewelry Co., Ltd. — jewelry
Seiko Optical Products Co., Ltd. — optical lenses & frames
Seiko Instruments Inc. — electronic components, precision parts, watches, analysis and measurement instruments, machine tools, printers, network items, information systems and services, IC dictionaries, etc.
Wako Co., Ltd. — upscale specialty retails
Cronos Inc. — retail sales of watches, jewelry items and eyeglasses
Seiko Business Services Inc. — human resources
Ohara Inc. (Seiko owns 32.2% TYO: 5218) — specialty optical glass (glass materials for lenses and prisms)

Seiko Group
Main article: Seiko Group
Seiko Holdings is one of the three core companies of the Seiko Group. The Seiko Group consists of Seiko Holdings Corporation (Seiko), Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII), and Seiko Epson Corporation (Epson). Although they have some common shareholders, including the key members of the Hattori family (posterity of Kintarō Hattori), the three companies in the Seiko Group are not affiliated. They are managed and operated completely independently. Seiko Watch, an operating subsidiary of Seiko Holdings, markets Seiko watches, while SII and Epson manufacture their movements.

On January 26, 2009, Seiko Holdings and Seiko Instruments announced that the two companies will be merged on October 1, 2009 through a share swap. Seiko Instruments became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seiko Holdings as of October 1, 2009.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you still buy antique seiko watches? I have one if you still buy please email me at jerwin_li2002@yahoo.com

baharuddinaziz said...

Thks.Currently, I just want to reduce my own collection.

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