Besides Switzerland, Japan has produced top-notch wristwatches for every category and at nearly every price point. They have brands that have made their marks in watchmaking and up-and-coming ones that produce high-quality timepieces. Undoubtedly, they are a country that’s highly regarded as a leader in the global watch market.
Japanese brands made some of the world’s finest and wildly popular watches. Their creations are still seen on wrists worldwide, worn by different people. They’ve also designed many notable watches that aren’t as popular as others but are as stylish, accurate, and useful as many of their counterparts.
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You can learn more about Japanese watchmaking in this article that lists six of the best Japanese watch brands you need to know.
1. Casio
Casio was famous for making electro-mechanical calculators in the 50s before making their first watch in the 70s. From then on, Casio took off and became one of the most recognizable brands in the global watch market. Their trademark wristwatches are known to be tough and affordable, making them a popular choice for people looking for a watch they can wear anywhere regularly.
Today they are prominently known for their G-Shock line, which are icons of toughness in watchmaking. They introduced advanced and upmarket G-Shocks in the past decade to appeal to more wearers. One of their most recent releases is the G-Shock Frogman GWF-A1000, a new version of their celebrated Frogman diver watch equipped with an analog-digital display.
2. Seiko
Seiko produced theirs and Japan’s first wristwatch in 1913. They are the most synonymous brand with Japanese watchmaking, with popular timepieces sold worldwide. A Seiko watch gives most Swiss watches a challenge because Seiko’s trademark is designing watches with more value than their prices.
Seiko has an amazing watch manufacturing capability displayed in their watches that span a wide range of price points. Besides designing Japan’s first wristwatch, they also made the world’s first quartz watch, the Astron. It is their most talked about milestone because it caused the “quartz crisis,” an event that made life difficult for Swiss watch manufacturers.
3. Citizen
Along with their biggest competitor Seiko, Citizen started the mass production of affordable and highly accurate quartz watches. Then in 1976, they took quartz technology further with the creation of the world’s first solar-powered analog quartz watch. So when you talk about Japanese watchmaking, Citizen certainly earned their place in that conversation.
Citizen has come a long way, and is now the proud designer of one of the world’s most accurate watches, the Eco-Drive Caliber 0100. It has an astonishing accuracy of +/-1 second per year and also uses quartz movement. Aside from their outstanding timepieces, they also produce movements for several other brands through their group of companies.
4. Credor
Credor is part of Seiko, but nothing on their watches indicates that. Today, many Credor watches feature Seiko’s Spring Dive movements, combined with technical enhancements and high-level hand finishing. Their signature timepiece is the Eichi, which was first released in 2008.
Eichi was replaced by Eichi II in 2015. It is one of the most beautiful showcases of Japanese hand craftmanship in watches, another thing they share with Seiko. Credor also shows Japan’s craftsmanship in their watches, which is why they deserve to have a higher profile.
5. Grand Seiko
Grand Seiko is Seiko’s luxury brand that they made to produce watches as good as any of the luxury Swiss watches. In 2017, Seiko separated Grand Seiko and established it as its own brand. Their watches are recognized for their craftsmanship that only expert Japanese watchmakers can craft.
One of their most iconic designs is the SBGA011, also known as Snowflake. They also produced top-notch diver watches, such as the Grand Seiko SBGA229.
6. Orient
Orient is also owned by the Seiko Holdings Corporation but is a totally separate entity. They were established in 1950 and are known for designing, at its time, the thinnest self-winding watch with a day-date complication. Orient’s most popular watch nowadays is arguably the Bambino.
Also, they’ve made their mark in the watch market with their dive watches.
Summary
Japanese watch brands are also at par with many popular watch brands in the global watch market. These six brands have made a name for themselves and deserve more recognition from the rest of the world.
About The Author
Luther Abrams
Luther Abrams is quite a jack of all trades type of guy. He loves exploring new things and cultivating his knowledge every now and then. Today, he grows more and more interested in jewelry and watches and even writes about such things in his free time.
