KINTARŌ HATTORI

JAPAN, 1860 – 1934

Kintarō Hattori, the founder of watch manufacturer Seiko, is credited with modernising Japan’s timepiece industry, earning him the moniker ‘King of Timepieces in the East’. He started his own clock and watch repair business when he was just 17, and four years later he founded his own company that repaired, imported and sold clocks and watches. In 1913 he introduced the Laurel, Japan’s first wristwatch, and in 1924 he introduced the first Seiko watch.