This allowed Seikosha to create a better product at a more efficient rate of production, and within a few years Seikosha was the top producer of Japanese wall clocks. Instead, Seikosha opted for a vertical model of production-that is, they manufactured almost all of their own parts: dials, hands, and cases. The first pocket watch by Seiko – the Time Keeper / Source: Seiko MuseumSeikosha went against the horizontal business model adopted by the Japanese watchmaking industry, who often obtained their parts from a wide variety of suppliers. Hattori had chosen to focus on wall clocks because the demand was high, they were easier to make than pocket watches, and more cost effective to produce in Japan than paying the price for European imports. Its Roman numerals and octagonal wood case were elegant hallmarks of an era when Japan was emulating the fashions of the West-and fast catching up to European and American technical skill. The Eight Day Wall Clock went into production just two months after Seikosha was established. It was here that the company manufactured wall clocks, many of which are on display at the Seiko Museum. The home base of Seikosha was a Tokyo factory that had fallen into disuse and subsequently been sold off. The name was fitting some critics have conjectured that the technical skill and dexterity of the Japanese workforce played a large role in Japan’s economic rise, which is especially apropos to watchmaking.
Just a little over a decade later, Hattori was manufacturing clocks under the business name of Seikosha, which means House of Exquisite Craftsmanship. Kintaro HattoriOne such enterprising fellow, Kintaro Hattori, opened a watch and jewelry store in the Ginza suburb of Japan, which is still regarded as one of the most upscale shopping venues in the world, right up there with Champs Elysées (Paris) and 5th Avenue (New York).
Japanese entrepreneurs rose to the challenge of creating a domestic industry for watchmaking.