In celebration of the 160th birthday anniversary of Seiko’s founder, the brand has announced the Astron GPS Solar Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition watch. In order to pay homage to the life, career and achievements of Kintaro Hattori, the man responsible for creating and establishing the Seiko name, the brand has announced the watch will become available from October, Mr. Hattori’s birth month. With this timepiece, Seiko is hoping to encompass and beautifully showcases the founder’s vision for the company. A watch meant to make the “King of watches in the East” proud of how the legacy he left behind has developed.
The Man Behind The Watch
Kintaro Hatori has been one of the most influential people in the development of the Japanese watch industry. Almost single-handedly he modernized Japanese watchmaking and put Japan at the forefront of the and made Seiko one of the world’s leading watch manufacturers. Born in 1860 in Tokyo, Kintaro Hattori was an entrepreneur from a young age. At the time, after almost two centuries of isolation, began the Japanese industrial revolution. The country was faced with massive changes and manufacturing developments throughout all industries.
At the age of only 17, Hattori opened a watch repair shop. 4 years later he founded “K. Hattori & Co.” which was only the beginning of his later empire. The business dealt with importing and repair of watches and wall clocks until 1895. Already having established the Seikosha Factory three years earlier, the company produced its first pocket watch, the Timekeeper. 10 years later and the business had become the largest watch and clock dealer in all of Japan. Unsatisfied with mediocrity and always staying ”One step ahead of the rest” in 1924 a legend was born as Hattori created the first watch under the Seiko brand name. Not only a horological giant, Kintaro Hattori was also a philanthropist who founded the Hattori Hokokai Foundation. The foundation encourages education and grants scholarships to aid in technological and engineering progress.
The Watch
The Astron GPS Solar Kintaro Hattori Limited Edition watch is an horological marvel. Its case and bracelet are made of titanium and have a black super hard coating to increase durability. The case measures 42.8 mm in diameter and 14.6 mm in thickness. The ceramic bezel has a hand carved appearance. Creating an appealing contrast are the gold coloured crown and pushers. The dial is black and features thick indices filled with Lumibrite. The 12 o’clock hour marker and the dauphine hands are also gold coloured, tying in the case and dial design. The watch is limited to 2500 models and the case back features an engraving of the model’s limited edition serial number. It also has an engraving of the trademarked “S” and Kintaro Hattori’s motto ”One step ahead of the rest”. The watch comes with a black crocodile leather strap and a commemorative lapel badge featuring the trademarked design.
A date aperture features between the 4 and 5 o’clock indices. The watch is water-resistant up to 20 bars or 200 metres. Other functions on the include a dual time function, daylight savings time, a perpetual calendar to February 28th 2100, a power-reserve and day display, a power save function and a satellite acquisition status display.
The movement on the model is a GPS Solar with Calibre 5X53. It has a function to prevent the GPS signal reception in flight mode, a time transfer function and a worldtimer with 39 time zones alongside automatic hand positioning. The 5X calibre features enhanced speed and quality of the watch’s GPS connection. Due to its 3 independent motors the time zone change happens in only 3 seconds.
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