The ‘Seiko’ Laurel Story
1913 Laurel by Seiko / Credit: Seiko
As we’ve previously discussed, Seiko was founded by Kintaro Hattori in 1881 in Tokyo as a watch and jewelry shop (in Ginza, Tokyo). It wasn’t until 1892 that they started to produce clocks. However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, pocket watches continued to be more popular for men, while wristlets or wristwatches were still seen in the same light as jewelry for women. As such, it was only at the advent of the First World War that wristwatches started to gain prominence among the male population. Soldiers, in particular, led the charge, as wristwatches were far more convenient to check while holding or using a rifle.
Hattori had noticed that wristwatches were slowly starting to gain traction but that there were not many manufacturers of wristwatches at the time. So, he decided to foray into wristwatch production, and as it turned out, Seiko was perfectly in line with the trend when they released the first Seiko ‘Laurel’ (branded Laurel at the time) in 1913. As it was branded Laurel it is not actually considered to be the first Seiko wristwatch (Seiko technically didn’t exist). It is, however, considered to be the first Japanese wristwatch. In reality, the first Seiko wristwatch would come when Seikosha announced they were starting a new brand, ‘Seiko’ and released a model in 1924.
One feature that stands out on the Laurel is the enamel dial, something that the Seikosha/Seiko factory debuted that same year, in 1913. There were a number of production challenges but accuracy and size were the most significant. Generally, pocket watches had remained more popular not only for stylistic reasons but also for technical ones; larger movements were considered more accurate and the miniaturization of the watch movement components had not yet led to particularly good results. To overcome this, Hattori not only had to solve the issue of precision and decreased size, but also create completely new production equipment to manufacture these new movements.
The Laurel by Seiko / Credit: Seiko
The Laurel was released very successfully and quickly became popular in Japan, despite low production levels by the Seikosha factory. Notably, when the Seiko Laurel was released in Japan, it was popular not only for its novelty but also for its ability to be worn by both men and women.
Although it may not be discussed much today, the Laurel was the wristwatch that set the pace for all the Seikos that have come since; the Grand Seikos we love today. However, it was made at a time when the Japanese still relied heavily on Swiss manufacturing prowess and components. It would only be in the 1950s that the first fully in-house Seiko was produced, along with the first automatic Seiko.
By: Andres Ibarguen