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Kintaro Hattori
- 881 -- Kintaro Hattori opens the watch and jewelry shop "K.
Hattori" (Hattori Tokaiten in Japanese; currently named Seiko Holdings Corporation)
in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan.
- 1892 -- Seikosha is established in Tokyo as the clock
manufacturing arm of K. Hattori.
- 1917 -- K. Hattori becomes a company (K. Hattori & Co., Ltd.).
- 1937 -- The watch production division of Seikosha is split off as
Daini Seikosha Co., Ltd. ( "Daini" = "The Second" Seikosha).
-
- 1942 -- Daiwa Kogyo, Ltd. is founded in Suwa, Nagano by Hisao
Yamazaki.
- 1943 -- Daini Seikosha establishes a factory in Suwa for
manufacturing watches with Daiwa Kogyo.
FROM 1874 TO 1917, JAPAN HAD SHED HER ANCIENT OUT-DATED
WAYS AND MOVED WITH UNEXPECTED FORCE INTO THE MODERN WORLD.
JAPAN HAD BECOME A BUILDER OF HER OWN ARMAMENTS, SHIPS,
PLANES AND HAD EVEN IMPROVED UPON THE ADVANCEMENTS OF THE MODERNIZED WORLD.
IN FACT, AFTER THE 1904-05 ANNIHILATION OF TWO VAUNTED AND
POWERFUL RUSSIAN FLEETS, SHE HAD BECOME A WELCOME TREATY PARTNER OF THE USA, BRITAIN AND
THE WORLD AT LARGE.
BY 1917, DAINI SEIKOSHA WAS SEEKING WESTERN TECHNOLOGY TO
IMPROVE THEIR CAPABILITIES TO PRODUCE MODERN WATCHES. THEY INVITED SWISS AND
AMERICAN WATCH COMPANIES TO JAPAN. THEY DID WHAT THE JAPANESE DO BEST. UNDER THE BANNER OF
POSSIBLE EXPORTS, THESE COMPANIES WOULD, IN FACT, TEACH THE JAPANESE WOW TO MAKE WATCHES
THAT, BY THE 1950'S, WOULD COMPETE TOE TO TOE, WITH THE ENTIRE GLOBAL WATCH COMMUNITY.
IN 1917, JAPAN HAD AGREEMENTS WITH THE MOST ADVANCED COMPANIES IN
SWITZERLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. THE ABOVE ADD IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THIS OFFER AND
ITS HISTORY.
MANY EARLY SEIKOSHA MILITARY WATCHES HAD WALTHAM MOVEMENTS! IN
ADDITION, SWISS TECHNOLOGY AND FINISHING TECHNIQUES CAN BE FOUND IN THE LIMITED ANTIQUE
VINTAGE TIME PIECES, SUCH AS THIS 1929/30 SEIKOSHA NATION MOVEMENT WITH ITS "SWISS
BARS" FINISH.
NOTE "NATION" IS LISTED AS A SEIKO ON PAGE
28 IN THE BOOK "Museum of Japanese Made Watches". WHAT WE HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND IS THAT SEIKO WAS NOT A SEPARATE COMPANY IN 1929. IT WAS A BRAND. SO, TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS. READ THE FOLLOWING AND REMEMBER THE ADVERTISEMENT FROM WALTHAM
ABOVE.
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In 1881, Kintaro Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called "K. Hattori" in
Tokyo, Japan.
From 1892 to 1913, Hattori produced only WATCH FOBS, ALARM, MUSICAL and WALL CLOCKS under
the name Seikosha.
The first WRIST WATCH ( NOT SEIKO) produced in Japan occurred in 1913.
Coinciding with the HIGHLY PUBLICIZED 1917 agreement with WALTHAM WATCH CO for WALTHAM
MOVEMENTS AND WATCHES , K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. becomes a public company.
The first WRIST WATCH produced BY SEIKOSHA under the SEIKO BRAND (seiko is not yet a
separate company) appeared in 1924. It was a design FAMILIAR WITH EARLY WESTERN WRIST
WATCHES, it was, more or less, a pocket watch with lugs.
Not until 1937, a year after the Japanese repudiated their obligations of the World Navel
Armament Treaties and walked out of 1936 negotiations -- both in the US and in Britain --
did Hattori Seikiosha watch production split off as Daini Seikosha Co., Ltd., an
independent predecessor of today's Seiko Instruments Inc.
Thus Military and General watches built before 1937 are completely unique and were a mix
of western and eastern technology. On the other hand, watches built AFTER 1937 were
designed and produced with the experience and knowledge that the Japanese gleaned from
western companies.
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SOME
OF THE HATTORI-SEIKIOSHA "SEIKO NATION" BRAND WATCHES OF 1929/30 HAD "SWISS
MADE" ON THE MOVEMENTS AND OTHERS HAD "SEIKIOSHA" AND SOME WERE NOT SIGNED
AT ALL.
THE NATION WATCH
IN THE LATE 1920'S, WITH JAPAN ON THE MOVE. HER EMPIRE ON THE BUILD -MOTIVATED BY THE
RIGHT WING IMPERIAL MILITARY WING) WITH, AT THAT TIME, FULL SUPPORT OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY (THE " RIGHT TO COLONIZE" KOREA WAS OFFERED
TO JAPAN AFTER THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR BY THE US-BRITISH AND FRENCH GOVERNMENTS) THE ONE
AND ONLY POWERFUL SEIKOSHA COMPANY DECIDED TO PRODUCE A LINE OF STANDARD & MILITARY
WATCHES (THERE WERE MILITARY ACTIONS IN KOREA, CHINA, MANCHURIA AND OTHER PLACES 24/7)
WITH THE NAME "NATION"; SIGNIFYING THE JAPANESE NATION.
THE ABOVE PICTURE IS DATED 1929-1930. YOU CAN SEE
THE "SWISS BARS" FINISH ON THE MOVEMENTS -ALTERNATING LINES- YOU ALSO SEE THE
WIRE LUGS AND TWO WITH PIN-LUGS.
THE ABOVE PICTURE SHOWS THE MILITARY VERSION WITH
RED 14 HR MIL TIME. THIS MODEL HAS A CHROMED CASE AND PIN/SPRING BAR LUGS.
THE ABOVE PIC SHOWS VARIOUS CALIBRE.
THE ABOVE PIC SHOWS THE DATE AGAIN AS 1929 1930.
WATCHES WERE VALUABLE COMMODITIES IN THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY. MANY ANTIQUE VINTAGE JAPANESE
MILITARY CAPABLE WATCHES THAT REMAINED AFTER W.W.II, WERE ACTUALLY MADE FROM 1929 THROUGH
1936.
THIS NATION IS LIKE THOSE IN THE
HISTORIC PICS ABOVE
IT HAS
THIS NATION HAS THE
ORIGINAL MILITARY DIAL
NOTICE
IT IS NOT A REDIAL
&
THE 24 HR TIME IS NOT STAMPED
RATHER
THE 24 HOUR MILITARY TIME
IS HAND PAINTED
NOTICE
THE 22 OFF THE # 10
EARLY ORIGINAL
JAPANESE MILITARY
WRIST WATCHES
HAD HAND PAINTED
24 HOUR NUMBERS
THE FONT
IS ALSO UNIQUE
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