In 1881, Kintaro Hattori opened a clock shop in Tokyo, which established a foundation for modern clock and watch making in Japan. This new brand was titled Seikosha. The store was the direct ancestor of the current Seiko Corporation, Tokyo, which is the parent company of Seiko Corporation of America. Eleven years later, Hattori opened a clock factory with ten employees. Two months after it is inception, the first dozen clocks were produced. In 1895, the production of pocket watches began. Following that trend, the company began to produce alarm clocks in 1899, which was followed by the introduction of table and musical clocks in 1902. In 1912, Hattori began considering ideas regarding the production of a Japanese wristwatch. The following year, his company began working on the first Seikosha wristwatch to ever be made in Japan. In 1924, the Seiko brand was officially created. After 43 years of the company's existence, the first Seiko wristwatch was made.

Applauded for its accuracy and craftsmanship, the Seiko watch became a resounding success and by 1938, demand for the timepieces pushed yearly production to well over one million watches.

Since that time, there have been many modern advancements to the world of watches. But, throughout the changing times, Seiko has remained a powerhouse in the timepiece industry. In 1956, they produced the first self-winding wristwatch made in Japan. In 1964, Seiko released the world´s first quartz chronometers and became the official timer of the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo. In 1968, they introduced the world´s first quartz wall clock. The following year, in 1969, Seiko released the first quartz watch. Also that year, Tiffany & Co. began selling the Seiko Astron 35SQ, which was encased in solid 18kt yellow gold. During the next several years, Seiko introduced many firsts to the world of watches, including the first multi-function digital watch and the first LCD quartz watch with six-digit digital display.

Seiko's many design innovations include the world's first quartz watch, the world's first LCD quartz watch with six digit display, and the world's first intelligent analog quartz watch with alarm and timer function.

In the 70's Seiko5 automatic watch series were introduced with great success. To be a Seiko 5, the watch has to have the following five attributes: 1. Automatic Mechanism 2. Water Resistant (usually 30m) 3. Shock Resistant 4. Date Display 5. Day Display.

In 1992, with the introduction of the Kinetic design, once again Seiko rewrote the state of the art. The Seiko Kinetic collection is a line of quartz watches that are electrically charged by movement. The Kinetic Auto Relay goes into suspended animation when unworn for three days, thus conserving energy. With a few shakes of the wearer's wrist, it wakes up and resets itself to the exact time.

Other trend-setting, multi-functional watches by Seiko include the Perpetual Calendar series which automatically reset their date settings for the next 100 years; the Chronograph collection with dual stopwatch features; the Seiko Prospex series, a combination of professional sports design and functionality; and the Ladies Jewelry collection, an elegant marriage of versatility and style

As with any timepiece, caring for your watch will promote a longer life for the product. If the battery is in need of changing, be sure to have this done immediately. Bodying advices customers contact authorized Seiko dealer for battery and other minor repairs. If the Seiko watch is under warranty, the repairs should be done at no cost. If the warranty has expired, however, the customer will be responsible for the cost of repairs and replacements.

Seiko quartz watches are designed to provide a lifetime of accurate and reliable service. However, every two or three years, or when you replace the battery, you should visit a Seiko appointed dealer or Seiko Authorized Service Center. They will inspect your watch for any worn parts that may need replacement, check whether it needs lubrication, and whether perspiration or water, dust, etc., have penetrated the case. 

Please contact the nearest Seiko Authorized Service Center shown on the Seiko world map. (http://www.seikowatches.com/support/customer/index.html)
Please note that Kinetic and digital watches should also be given checkups in the same way, as they also can suffer from the same effects of perspiration, dust, etc., and may need to be taken apart and cleaned.

Yes, many Seiko dive watches like the SKX779 and SKX781 models does have a dive suit extension link built-in for diving purposes.

Thanks for your question.

To set both the day and date, pull the crown out to the first position. Then turn one way to set the day and turn the other to set the date. Now, set the day in the language that you want and the date to the day&date prior to today ie. to yesterday's day&date. Next, pull the crown to the second position and advance the time until the day&date changes over. If you're in PM, you will need to turn the hands one more round to pass 12 o'clock again to indicate it is after 12pm.

The watch will now continue switching over the day&date starting at around 11 pm and ending sometime around 1 am, and will stay in the language you specified.

Most Seiko watches with day function has 2 languages, some has english/spanish, English/Arabic, english/roman and etc. Let's say you set your primary language for your Day wheel to be in English and let's assume it is 11PM Saturday. Your Day will currently display SAT in English. At 1AM Sunday the Day wheel will finally begin to turn and will follow this pattern: • 1AM Sunday - 3AM Sunday it will show: SUN in Arabic • 3AM Sunday - 1AM Monday it will show: SUN in English • 1AM Monday - 3AM Monday it will show: MON in Arabic • 3AM Monday - 1AM Tuesday it will show: MON in English At 00:10 the date changes, at 01:30 the day changes to the same day in the second language, and the day/date transition is completed at 03:00, when the day changes in the chosen language. Saturday is displayed in blue, Sunday in red and the other days of the week in black. Best is to first set the day and date the day before, for example, today is 7th, first set the day to Sunday and 6th, then move forward by setting the time until it sets to the current day and time.

It doesn't usually affect digital quartz watches, but it can affect analogue watches, which use a tiny electric motor to turn the hands. Powerful magnetism can affect the performance of this motor.

The good news is that although analogue watches may gain time, lose time, or even stop under the influence of powerful magnetic fields, they will usually return to normal time-keeping as soon as they leave the source of magnetism. (You may need to reset your watch, of course.)

Avoid putting your watch near medical equipment, headphones, loudspeakers, or refrigerator door magnets. Electric mixers and blenders and a wide range of other electrical equipment may also have strong enough magnetism to affect timekeeping.

An automatic watch winds itself with the motion of your wrist, so you'll never need to change the battery. If the watch is worn daily, Seiko’s automatic mechanism will wind the mainspring automatically through normal wrist movement.

To initially start your watch, you are required to swing your watch from side to side in a horizontal arc for about 30 seconds. Once adjusted to your local time, you can wear it on your wrist and the movement's mainspring will wound automatically through normal wrist movement. If you have left the watch un-touch for a few days, it will stop. Repeat the above steps again to restart your watch.

The Seiko SNA411 and SNA413 have screw down crown buttons. Please unscrew the crown first before using the stop watch buttons. Please remember to screw back the crown after using the stop watch.

Do not press the buttons on the watch while the watch is submerged in water or still wet.

Tachymeter is actually a tool used to compute speed based on travel time over a fixed distance travelled (like one mile or one kilometer). Thus, the tachymeter bezel or dial is a logarithmic scale (actually it’s not, as spacings between the marks on the tachymeter dial are proportional to 1/t where t is the elapsed time) that simplifies the computation of speed of an object, by computing the following function:

Tachymeter Dial = 3600 / Elapsed Time In Seconds

Depending on the range of the scale printed on the bezel, tachymetre timer normally works and valid for all elapsed times from about 7.2 seconds to 60 seconds, thus only able to measure speed greater than 60 miles per hour or 60 kilometers per hour.

To use tachymeter, simply start the chronograph or stopwatch when the object measured passing the starting line. When the object reaches the next mile or kilometer marker, stop the chronograph or stopwatch. The point on the tachymeter scale that adjacent to the second hand of the watch indicating the speed (in miles per hour or kilometers per hour) of object traveling between the two points.

For example, we want to measure the average speed of a vehicle is moving. Start the chronometer or stopwatch function when the car passes the starting line, and stop the timer after the vehicle traveled exactly 1 mile or 1 kilometer. Then look at where the chronometer hand (the second hand of the watch) is pointing to, and get the reading or value of the corresponding number at the tachymeter bezel or dial. Let’s say the stopwatch stop at 3 o’clock position, meaning 15 seconds had elapsed for the car to travel 1 mile or 1 kilometer. At 3 o’clock position, the tachymetre value shows that number of 240, which means the average speed of the vehicle was 240 mph or km/h.

Due to the limitation and constraint on the tachymeter scale mentioned above which makes tachymetre measurements works and valid only for certain range of speed, so in order to calculate and measure slower speeds or higher speed, user can decrease or increase the unit of measurement (e.g. change to half-miles or half-kilometers, or ten miles or ten kilometres). However, simple calculation is needed in order to get the correct average speed by using this technique. It’s also true if the length of the distance does not exceed a unit of mile or kilometer, or other unit which the speed will be based on.

For example, if we want to measure how fast the 200m athlete is running. Start the chronometer when the race starts, and stop the stopwatch when the athlete crosses the finishing line.

Let’s say the athlete used 20 seconds to finish 200m running, so according to tachymeter, the speed of the athlete is 180 km/h. However, the athlete only ran one fifth (1/5) of a kilometer, so we should divide 180 with 5 or 1/5 of 180, which mean the actual speed of the runner is 36 km per hour.

The above example can be used for object or thing that moving too slowly too, as when the object travels 1 mile or 1 kilometer, the duration would have exceed 60 seconds, the maximum limit of tachymeter. So the possible workaround is to measure the time taken for the object to move a shorter distance (such as 100m) and divide the tachymeter value with 10 (as 100m is 1/10 of a kilometer).

What if the object travels too fast, such as a rocket or plane. In this case, user can increase the units of the distance covered by the object to measure a longer period of time so that the duration is greater than at least 7.2 seconds (typically the lower limit). We can measure the time taken by the object to cover 10 miles, let’s say it took 30 seconds, so the tachymeter will tell us the the speed is 120 miles per hour. However, 10 miles have been traveled, so that actual speed is 120 times 10, which is 1200 mph.

Seiko models that end with 'J' (eg SYMG35J1) are Made in Japan. These watches normally have English/Arabic day display.

                        Seiko SYMG35J1

Seiko authorized dealers which are not located in the Arabic and Asian regions as well as Japan are not able to purchase it. Therefore, Seiko retailers in these regions will not be selling it as well. Seiko retailers in this region (eg. USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand) only sells Seiko watches that ends with K, eg SYMG35K1.

                        Seiko SYGM35K1

All Seiko watches with 7S26 movement are non-hacking movements, which means that the second hand does not stop when you pull out the crown to set the time.

However, you can try the below steps to stop the second hand:

1. Pull the crown to the second position (when you can move the hands) and set your time.

2. To stop or even reverse the second hand, slowly move the minute hand back a few minutes. When you stop do not release the backwards pressure on the crown. You should see the second hand stopped or moving slowly backwards at this time. If it is moving backwards ease up a bit on the crown until the hand stops. On some watches the crown may have enough resistance that you can let go and the second hand will remain still. Make sure it is not moving in reverse.

3. At this point the minute hand should be a few minutes early. By this I mean if the current time is 7:30, the minute hand should be on or around 7:28. Wait for the seconds on the other clock/watch to match your watch. As soon as this happens begin to advance the minute hand forward to the correct minute. This should resume the second hand and in effect set your watch to the correct minute.

For more information about Hacking the 7S26 and other non-hacking movements: http://rongallant.com/2008/12/hacking-the-7s26-and-other-non-hacking-movements/

Please follow the below steps: 

Please go to time/calendar setting:

Press “B” for 2 to 3 seconds,

Press "D" to select the city representing your area,

Press "C" once the digital seconds will blink, change it if you wish,

Press "C" once the digital minute will blink, change to the correct current time (minute) as per your chosen city by pressing D.

Press "C" once the digital hour will blink, change to the correct current time (hour) as per your chosen city by pressing "D".

Press "C" once the Date will blink, change to the correct date by pressing "D".

Press "C" once the Month will blink, change to the correct Month by pressing "D".

Press "C" once the Year will blink, change to the correct Year by pressing 'D".

Press "C" once the 12/24 hour display will blink, change to your desired preference by pressing "D".

Press "C", it will show “SEC-SET-00” at top of display, 
Press "D" to adjust the analogue second hand clockwise towards and point at 12 o’clock position.

Press "C" to show “Hour-set”, Press "A" or "D" to set your analogue hour and minute hands to the current digital time that matches the city that you have just chosen.

Press "C" to check the displayed information again.

Press "B" to finished setting.

Note:
"A" = Bottom Left button
"B" = Top Left button
"C" = Top Right button
"D" = Bottom Right button

Seiko models that end with 'J' are Made in Japan. These watches normally have English/Arabic day display. 

While Seiko "K" models are assembled or cased elsewhere in Seiko factories in Asia using Japan made exported parts under the same management and quality control. These watches normally have English/Spanish day display.

There are exceptionally cases where these watches might have English/Arabic day display. 

There are no quality or functional difference between Seiko "J" or Seiko "K" models.

The 5 stands for the Five main Features of Seiko 5 watches:

1. Automatic
2. Day display
3. Date display
4. Water-resistant
5. Shockproof

According to Seiko, the loss / gain in monthly rate is less than 15 seconds in normal temperature range of 5 Celsius to 35 Celsius. (20 seconds for Some calibers) 

(note: this is subject to change without prior notice from Seiko)

According to Seiko, the loss / gain in daily rate is within +45 and -35 seconds.

(note: this is subject to change without prior notice from Seiko)

LumiBrite is the latest development in Seiko luminous paints. Conventional luminous paints all used to rely on radioactive substances to generate their afterglow. Then came fluorescent paints that glowed in the dark by releasing light energy stored while the surrounding light was bright. Their freedom from radioactivity and its potential hazards was a great advantage, but their glow tended to be short-lived, fading rapidly as the stored light-energy was discharged. LumiBrite is a dramatically improved fluorescent luminous paint that quickly absorbs more of the light-energy falling on it and glows brighter, for much longer, in the dark. Safe and harmless to human beings and the environment, it is completely free of radioactivity and can be used without restriction--covering the entire dial, for instance.

A LumiBrite dial will glow at its full brightness after only brief exposure to bright light. For instance, just ten minutes under normal room lighting will often be enough--much less under sunlight. LumiBrite, as its name suggests, starts glowing brightly in the dark, and fades slowly. It is the ideal successor to both radioactive luminous paint and conventional fluorescent paints.

A Seiko Kinetic watch is not the same as a Seiko Automatic watch.

'Kinetic' is Seiko's name for a category of watches that differ from standard quartz watches in that they never need a battery change. That's because a Kinetic watch generates its own electrical power. It uses the simple motion of the wearer's arm to create electricity to run the watch.

What so special about Seiko kinetic watch? Seiko Kinetic is the first quartz watch powered by human movement, a development so significant it led to the application for more than 50 patents. The process uses an oscillating weight that is rotated by the movement of your wrist: this movement is transformed into a magnetic charge, then into electricity, which is stored in a tiny capacitor or a rechargeable battery. A Power Reserve Indicator shows exactly how much energy you’ve created.

Special Features:

    * Never needs winding

    * Never needs a battery change

    * Captures and stores energy for up to six months (most models)

    * Environmentally friendly

A Seiko Kinetic watch has the same, extremely high accuracy as a standard quartz watch, accurate to within 15 seconds per month. Both use a paper-thin piece of synthetic quartz crystal as an oscillator in the watch movement.

Kinetic represents the newest, most technologically advanced energy generation and storage technology available for watches. It has three major advantages over standard quartz technology.

For most people, the greatest advantage is convenience. The biggest problem with standard quartz watches is that the battery runs down every few years and the watch stops. That's a nuisance because to get the watch running again you have to take it to a jeweler or watch repair centre and have the battery replaced.

That never happens with a Kinetic watch. Worn regularly, a Kinetic watch will never stop; it continually generates and stores electricity. Consequently, it is virtually maintenance free. Since the battery never needs to be changed, there's little need to open the case. That eliminates problems that can occur when the case is opened, like dust or dirt getting into the mechanism or damage to the water-resistant seal when a battery is changed...

Finally, Kinetic is the only quartz watch technology that generates its own electric power. Solar watches, for example, which Seiko also manufactures, use an older technology, which relies on an external source - the sun or artificial light - to power the watch. Without an external light source, solar watches can't work. Kinetic watches rely only on their own inner, independent power source that works rain or shine.

Seiko Kinetic watches create electricity from simple arm movements through an engineering feat that many people consider the greatest advance in quartz watch technology since Seiko launched the world's first quartz in 1969.

What Seiko has done is, in effect, to install a miniature power plant in each Kinetic watch. The wearer's arm movement causes an oscillating weight to rotate. Gear trains transfer this movement to the rotor, whose spinning generates voltage across a coil block. That's electricity. The electrical current is stored in a tiny component called the ESU ('electrical storage unit') and is released when needed to power the watch. Electricity stored in the ESU powers the watch even when it is not worn.

A Seiko Kinetic watch stores energy in a Kinetic Electricity Storage System that is unique to Seiko. Some Kinetic models have a power reserve indicator on the dial. To check how long the watch can operate on its current charge, wait until the second hand reaches the 12 o'clock position and push the button located at 2 o'clock on the watch case. The second hand moves along the scale and stops at the number of hours of power remaining. The second hand automatically resumes normal operation in 30 seconds or less.

Shocks: Your watch is a precision measuring instrument. Treat it carefully, and it will serve you well. Avoid undue shocks (such as dropping on hard surfaces). The normal shocks caused by sports like tennis or golf present no threat, but “Twin Seiko” (extra-high precision) watches should not be worn while participating in such sports.

Perspiration: You should aim to protect your watch from heavy perspiration. Please remember to wipe it dry as soon as conveniently possible.

Temperature Extremes: Quartz watches are much less affected by extremes of temperature than mechanical watches, and are designed to keep good time if worn on the wrist for eight hours a day with ambient temperatures between -10°C and +35°C. If removed completely from the wrist, your watch may lose time during the winter, but will return to normal accuracy as soon as you start wearing it again.

If your watch is stored at temperatures outside the normal range (as low as -10°C or as high as +60°C) the electronic components may cease to function normally.

The response time of liquid crystals used in the displays on digital watches at temperatures below freezing is slow, and they tend to look very dark at high temperatures, but normal performance returns at normal temperatures.

Battery life can be significantly reduced at high temperatures (above 40°C), and battery fluid may even leak out.

Chemicals: Chemical substances, gases, mercury, etc., may change the color of cases, bracelets and straps. Mercury (for instance, from a broken thermometer) can cause particularly unsightly grey discoloration of gold plating.

To Get Instruction Booklets:

You can download the PDF file of the caliber below to know how to operate.
To know the caliber code, please refer to the markings on the caseback of your watch by checking the caliber code of your watch on the case back.

Caliber 5D22-5D44: Download

Caliber 5J22 : Download

Caliber 5J32 : Download

Caliber 5M62-5M63 : Download

Caliber 5T82 : Download

Caliber 7C46-7N36-7N85-V736 : Download

Caliber 7D46-7D48 : Download

Caliber 7L22 : Download

Caliber 7S26 : Download

Caliber 7S36 : Download

Caliber 7T62 : Download

Caliber 7T82 : Download

Caliber 7T92 : Download

Caliber 7T94 : Download

Please refer to Seiko Watch official Website for full details about Caliber Operation at http://caliber.seikowatches.com/

Other then assembling in Japan, Seiko watches are also assembled or cased elsewhere in Seiko factories in Asia (ie, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia) using Japan made exported parts (Movement Japan) under the same management and quality control. 

Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII) is part of Seiko Holding Corperation has based on more than seven decades of dependable precision timepiece design, development and manufacturing.

A Seiko 5 watch is an automatic watch which its 7S26 / 7S36 movement is powered by the movement of your wrist.

To initially start your watch, you are required to swing your watch from side to side in a horizontal arc for about 30 seconds. Please note that if you have swung your watch for less than 30 seconds, it might not wind the mainspring to the fullest.

As everyone's wrist movement is different, from non-active to active, it might wind the watch's mainspring differently. For example, a person who loves to jog while wearing a Seiko 5 automatic watch will help in winding up the mainspring more and its power might last up to 3 days.

On the other hand, a person who sits in the office all day working with his computer might have less winding of the mainspring and its power might last up to just a few hours. Therefore, if you have left the watch un-touch for a few hours, it will stop. Kindly repeat the above steps again to restart your watch. It is recommended to wear the watch daily in order for watch to run everyday.

Alternatively, please refer to the Seiko blue guarantee booklet on 'How to start a mechanical watch'.