Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
Seiko is a watchmaking company that was founded by Kintaro Hattori in 1881. Japan was heavily reliant on European watch designs and movements during this period, so Hattori regularly dealt with brands such as Siber & Brennwald. Due to the popularity of European timepieces in Japan, Hattori’s shop became a lot more popular than his rival sellers. This increased favoritism allowed him to set up and manufacture his own watches under the brand name Seiko. Although there is no direct translation of Seiko into the English language, it means something similar to both words “exquisite” and “success”.
In 1969, Seiko turned the entire watchmaking industry on its head by revealing the very first quartz watch to the world. This was an event that made watches affordable for everyone and no longer luxury that only the rich could afford. The quartz crisis sent shockwaves to Switzerland and caused many longstanding and established watchmakers to go bankrupt. Eventually, the Swiss government had to bail out companies due to the severity of the impact.
From this day forward, Seiko has made leaps and bounds into what was once an exclusively European-dominated marketplace. The Japanese giant continues to produce both quartz and mechanical watches at a similar standard to any of its rivals.
In modern-day, Seiko is a gigantic company that is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange. In 2020, the company had over 3.4 billion yen of income and owns other watch brands such as Pulsar, Lorus, and Orient. The company is quite unique in that it offers watches in all styles and price points, so there quite literally is a model that everyone will like.
Table of Contents
Is Seiko Considered A Luxury Watch Brand?
Seiko is a good watch brand, but certainly not a luxury watch brand. The company produces entry-level mechanical watches (Seiko 5) and a variety of Epson-based quartz movements. They have also branched out into newer technologies such as the Seiko Astron, but these watches cannot really be considered luxury either.
Perhaps in more recent years, Grand Seiko can be considered an entry-level luxury watch, although this is not really the same brand as Seiko. Granted, the company owns both watches, but there is a vast difference between a $100 Seiko 5 and a $10k spring drive Grand Seiko.
This can create some confusion, as there are not really any other watch brands in the world that make both $100 and $10000 watches. Therefore, it is probably best to say, Seiko does now manufacture some luxury watches but is certainly not a luxury brand.
Are Seiko Watches Worth The Money?
Yes, literally any Seiko watch you can think of is good value for money. This is true from the absolute budget quartz range to the highest spec models of Grand Seiko.
Almost any Seiko watch that comes to mind is generally very good value and inexpensive given the competition.
As an example, there are not too many other watch brands that can produce anything like the Seiko 5 for the price. Granted, some brands can get close and make something similar for the price, but nobody can really beat it.
The same can be said for a Grand Seiko. Given the specifications of these watches, if they had another brand’s name on them, they may well be selling for double the price that Seiko asks.
Overall, you cannot really go wrong when buying a Seiko watch, they are certainly worth the money spent.
Why Are Seiko Watches So Cheap?
A lot of Seiko watch models are cheap as there is little to no research and development costs. Their in-house quartz movements were designed 20-30 years ago, and mechanical watches such as the Seiko 5 are in the same boat.
Therefore Seiko can mass produce a lot of watch parts by machine and not have to worry about any hidden costs. This saving is then passed on to the consumer.
Seiko is also a business that makes money by economies of scale. The idea of the company is to sell a lot of watches at a cheap price. Rather than using a Richard Mille style strategy in which you will sell only a few watches at a very high price.
Lastly, unlike other brands, Seiko does not spend a massive amount of money on advertising. The company is well known for producing reliable and good value watches. It doesn’t have any celebrity endorsements to pay staggering amounts of money to.
Are Seiko Watches A Good Investment?
Seiko watches are not really an investment since they do not cost that much money, neither are they in short supply. Seiko watches will hold value a lot better than other brands, but if the watch only cost $300 in the first place, then it’s not really going to do too much for you in the future.
In terms of investing in watches, there are only a few models in each brand that actually appreciate in value. Seiko may produce limited-edition models which go up in value, but you’re mostly speculating on the future when doing this. There is no surefire way to buy a Seiko and claim that you’ve made a good investment. Overall, the brand is not a good investment, but more of a solid watch purchase.
Is Seiko Respected?
Seiko are an extremely well-respected watch brand. Even in the super-competitive quartz and entry-level mechanical market of Japan – Seiko is #1.
Given that margins are relatively low on budget watches, alongside the fact that there are massive marketing budgets as well as huge research costs. Seiko is really one of the best and most established watchmakers outside of Switzerland.
Whilst the brand name “Seiko” doesn’t carry the same clout as Patek Philippe or Rolex, it is in a completely different category to them. Seiko are extremely well known and respected for making a range of solid watches at very affordable prices.
Where Are Seiko Watches Made?
Seiko watches are made in a variety of countries. Generally, as the watch becomes more expensive, the more likely it is to be made in Japan.
Watches such as the Seiko 5 are now able to be fully produced and assembled in China. By producing models like this in China, the company is able to save on production costs and give consumers the lowest price possible.
On the other hand, luxury watches such as the Grand Seiko are all produced in Japan, as many parts of the watches movement are only be able to be made by hand. Not to mention, you must be an extremely skilled craftsman to assemble a luxury watch perfectly.
How Long Do Seiko Watches Last?
Seiko watches use a variety of different movements – each movement will last a different amount of time, so it would be silly to give a singular number.
Quartz watches made by Seiko will typically last around 15-30 years before the movement would need replacing. Of course, like any other quartz movement, you will need to replace the battery every few years when it runs out. However, in terms of lasting a long time, you are more likely to become bored of your watch or lose it before it breaks.
Kinetic or Solar watches will last for around 10-15 years before their capacitor needs replacing. This process is more complex than changing a battery, but any watch technician worth their salt will be able to perform it in 10 minutes or so. Once the capacitor is changed, you are only really worried about when the movement will die. On average, you should expect this movement to last 30 years or so.
Mechanical Seiko watches vary greatly. Some of the movements in the Grand Seiko timepieces are excellent, whereas the movements in entry-level Seiko 5 watches are a lot more basic. Overall, you would expect a Seiko 5 movement to last around 5-10 years before it starts misbehaving. At this point, it will likely lose or gain a lot of time and not be worth servicing.
At the luxury end of the mechanical range, you should really be getting a watch such as a Grand Seiko serviced every 3-5 years. As a result of this constant upkeep, you can expect a Grand Seiko to last a very long time. Really it should keep working until you badly damage it. Other than this, there is a chance it will outlive you if kept in good condition.
Best Seiko Watches By Model
Seiko 5
The Seiko 5 watch is a timepiece that is incredibly affordable, yet has a rich history. For a watch that has been to the surface of the moon and back, it is quite astonishing that you’re now able to buy similar models for under $100.
When first released (and still to this day), the Seiko 5 must adhere to five different specifications that gives the watch its name. These are, it must show the date and day on the dial, the watch must be water-resistant, it must use an automatic movement, the crown must be at the 4 o clock position and the case must be durable. Whilst this is fairly easy with modern-day technology, the Seiko 5 was released in 1960, so this was quite groundbreaking at the time.
Kinetic
Watches with kinetic movements may be viewed as dead technology by some people. This is because they are neither battery-powered watches, neither are they strictly mechanical. Kinetic movements are a good watch for people who want something which is automatic but cannot be bothered to wear their watch all the time. It produces a nice balance between the world of quartz watches and automatic movements.
A kinetic watch is powered by a rotor in a similar way to an automatic movement. However, the difference is that the kinetic movement stores the energy in a capacitor (similar to a battery) for when the watch isn’t moving. The power is kept in a similar way that a mechanical watch would use a power reserve.
Astron
The Seiko Astron is a legitimately groundbreaking watch in its own way. As of now, the Astron is the only watch (not including smartwatches) that is able to change timezone by itself. Due to its inbuilt GPS, the watch is able to find the timezone and update by itself. So if you’re stepping off the plane in a foreign country, the watch will just change by itself similar to the way that a phone would do so.
It should be noted that Astron watches also run off solar technology, but are far more advanced and therefore more expensive than standalone solar models.
Grand Seiko
Grand Seiko watches are extremely different from almost every other Seiko watch mentioned or produced. These watches are legitimately high-end luxury timepieces that often do not get the credit they deserve. Anyone who knows about watches will tell you about the high specifications of the Grand Seiko, however, the general public do not really know anything about this line of timepieces.
The higher-end models of Grand Seiko often use the proprietary spring drive movement which has neither an escapement nor a balance wheel. This high-end movement is accurate up to 1 second per day, which is really quite incredible for a mechanical watch.
Solar
Seiko solar watches work in a very similar way to kinetic models, in that the energy from the light source is stored in a capacitor for later use. If you are aware of the Citizen Eco-Drive range of watches, a Seiko solar is more or less the same thing as this.
The watch will draw in energy through the dial from any available light source (sun, lightbulb, etc). This energy source is then stored inside a capacitor for when it is needed.
Presage
Seiko Presage watches are the next level up from Seiko 5 models. These watches vary a lot in price depending on the movement. You can pick up a Presage between $250 – $1500, so there really is quite a lot of variability in the price. Presage watches are available in a huge variety of designs and color schemes and are generally well known for having much louder and original dial designs than other Japanese watches.
Presage have a lot of collaborations with other companies and designers to make the dials for Presage watches. So there will be something for everyone within this budget and also stylistically.
Prospex
Prospex stands for professional specifications. These watches are built to a higher standard than almost all other Seiko watches (with the exception of the Grand Seiko). Mostly you will find that prospex watches are dive watches. This is because dive watches have to be built to a certain standard to resist water pressure, as well as just being waterproof in the first place.
Of course, you will pay more for a Seiko prospex than a standard Seiko watch that looks visually similar. This is due to the fact that the finishing will be to a higher degree of quality, as well as the movement being developed to a higher standard as well.
