# Other Japanese Mechanical Watch Manufacturers?



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Does anyone know of any from the past or present apart from Seiko,Citizen and Orient (including their prestige "Brands")? I`ve heard of Osaki and Urika but were/are there any others


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Only Alba Pulsar and Lorus but I think they are subsiduaries the brands you mentioned...


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

thanks Jason but weren`t /aren`t Alba,Pulsar and Lorus Quartz?


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Doh!!!!


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## Padraig (Jan 16, 2005)

Pulsar used to be a brand of the Hamilton Watch co. in the USA. Seiko bought them in the 1980's I think.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

just rememberd Roy has a "Jubilee" with Japan on the dial in his Vintage/NOS section.

The thing is there used to be over 100 Japanese motorcycle manufacturers,dozens

(at least) of car makers the same for electronic and photographic equipment, I`d

have thought there would be more watch makers


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## Padraig (Jan 16, 2005)

here's a link, it may be useful.

Japanese watch history


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

thanks for the link Padraig









searching through the historical section I found this;



> In 1946, immediately after the war, total production of wrist watches, pocket watches and wall clocks had been approximately 700,000 units; by 1961 -- only 15 years later -- it was 1.7 million units.


I wonder who was making them?


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## adrian (May 23, 2004)

Thank you for the link. Very interesting.

From the same website

History of the Japanese Horological Industry



> Edo Era (1603-1868): Unique "Japanese Clocks"
> 
> In the Edo Era, many highly ornamental clocks were crafted, called wadokei (literally "Japanese clocks"). They were unique in that, in the old Japanese time system, time was not measured in equal units (such as hours) as it was in Western countries. A day was divided into the daytime and the nighttime, in accordance with sunrise and sunset, and each was further divided into six segments. Time corresponded to the position of the sun, but the six daytime segments were not the same length as the six nighttime segments (other than at the equinoxes). Those segment lengths, moreover, changed slightly every season.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

oops! just realised I`d left Ricoh of the list and I`ve got two of their automatics

DOH!!


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