Movements in a Seiko Clock

History

• Seiko founder Kintarō Hattori opened his first jewelry and watch store in Tokyo's Ginza district around 1881. Starting in 1892, Hattori also began manufacturing clocks and watches under the Seikosha company label, serving as a pioneer in the industry of Japanese clock movement. In 1958 to 1959, Seiko developed quartz technology and subsequently commercialized it for mainstream consumer use. This technology catapulted Seiko into the pantheon of top clockmakers and led to milestone achievements, such as the creation of the first kinetic-powered (auto quartz) watch and six appearances as official timekeeper of the Olympic Games between 1964 and 2002. Quartz movements are still standard in clocks today.

Quartz Technology

• Seiko's quartz clock movements use an ultrathin piece of synthetic quartz, which vibrates at a very high speed in response to the electrical charge generated by a battery, solar cell or kinetic movement. Synthetic quartz is preferable to its naturally occurring crystalline counterpart because essential properties are consistent within each piece of quartz. The vibrating quartz serves as the clock's oscillator, creating a motion that does not vary, thereby ensuring the consistency essential for maintaining accurate time. Quartz is especially ideal because it loses little energy when it vibrates and also responds to the battery’s electrical charge by generating voltage itself, which is crucial to the operability of quartz movement.

Quality vs. Cost

• Seiko's quartz movements deviated from that of other brands in the early 1990s when the company took a number of initiatives that increased its clocks' quality/cost ratio. First, the manufacturing process was changed to make full use of the materials needed, lowering waste and making the clock more ecofriendly. Second, expensive metal parts were replaced with high-quality plastics whenever possible. Third, new technologies and materials were introduced to increase quality and efficiency while decreasing the manufacturing time and the overall size of the movements. Examples of materials include corrosion-resistant zinc alloys applied to the shafts and magnetic anisotropic injection of plastic rotors to reduced the size of the clock motor. Fourth, Seiko created a highly efficient automated process from manufacturing parts to stock control to ensure consistent quality and lower costs.

Movement Categories

• Three major movement categories exist within the Seiko brand: wall clocks, table clocks and travel/alarm clocks. Within each of these categories is a subcategory based on style and aesthetic. Wall clocks are divided into standard three-hand models; world-time (calendar) models; chimes; pendulums; trigger models that play melodies; and extremely strong, high-torque models. Table clocks come in standard three-hand and world-time models. Travel clocks include standard four-hand models, beep alarms, bell alarms and multifunction models. Within some of these subcategories, consumers can also choose between second hands with a step or a sweeping movement. The movement thickness of wall and table clocks is about 14 mm, while travel clocks are generally 16 mm.