The All New Seiko Sportura Watch

Seiko provided the timing at the recent IAAF athletics world championships in Korea. Fierce competition saw world records broken and dreams realised for some of the best athletes in the world. The difference between winning and losing is frequently less than a second, the gaps between competitors can be almost imperceptible and that is why timing experts Seiko were called in to provide the timing for this prestigious event.

Accuracy is the only acceptable standard at this level. Seiko had a team of 50 highly trained timing engineers on site throughout the whole of the championship to ensure that every time, distance and height were measured flawlessly. Over the nine days of the championship the team measured over 15,000 individual times, heights and distances. Demanding work! But the special team from Seiko were well prepared and utilised the best technology available to ensure that there were no problems.

One of the highlights of the 2011 championship was the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team smashing their own world record, set at the Beijing Olympics. The new record now stands at 37.04 seconds. As the well known Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt said afterwards, “it is all about running fast”.

Seiko are a company with a long history of innovation, formed in the Victorian times they have consistently managed to stay ahead of the game and wow the competition with technical excellence and impressive designs. A Seiko watch earns its place in the affordable luxury category of watches, with a mixture of different kinds of watches from simple watches suitable for everyday wear to significantly more complex watches such as chronographs and automatics that use the latest technology to full effect.

To see our current collection of Seiko watches please follow the link.

This Perpetual Calendar Seiko is 50% off. Click the pic to see our whole range!

Seiko are one of our premier watch brands. Seiko watches represent affordable luxury. Every Seiko watch is made to a very high standard but there will be a watch in their range to suit every taste and budget. The following list is some of Seiko watches world firsts!

1969     Seiko Astron Watch – the world’s first quartz watchmakers. The quartz watch revolutionised the watch industry. The electromagnetic properties of quartz meant that it could be used with a battery to create a reliable time piece. Seiko’s utilisation of this technology still sets the tone for the majority of watch manufacture today.

1973     Seiko LCD Quartz Watch – the world’s first LCD quartz watch with a six-digit digital display. The Seiko digital watch also started a revolution in precision timing. It allowed milliseconds to be displayed on screen for the first time.

1975     Seiko Multi-function digital watch – The world’s first multi function digital watch. The Seiko multi function digital watch allowed elaborate timing capabilities to be widely available. This was great for sports professionals and enthusiasts.

1982     TV Seiko Watch – the world’s first watch that you could watch TV on. Although this Seiko watch was not very practical, compared to modern standards, it still changed people’s perception of what a watch could do.

1983     Recorder Seiko Watch – the world’s first watch that you could record sound on. This function is not very common in watches today but the technology is still impressive for this time.

1988     Seiko Kinetic watch – the world’s first automatic power generating quartz watch (only later known as kinetic watches) Seiko Kinetic watches laid the foundations for a whole raft of other automatic watch movements. This technology really was a breakthrough on a number of different levels, the convenience of a quartz watch without the need to replace the battery or for winding.

1990    Seiko Scubamaster Watch – the world’s first computerised diver’s watch. Divers could now have access to a much wider range of information when they were diving, allowing them to maximise their time underwater.

1991    Seiko Perpetual Calendar Millenium Plus – The world’s first perpetual calendar watch ready for the millenium. The millenium bug turned out to be mainly a false alarm. Owners of  Seiko watches had no reason to panic as Seiko had already overcome the difficulty.

1998     Seiko Thermic Watches – The world’s first watch powered by the body heat of the wearer. Although Seiko Themic watches are no longer in production they represent an innovative approach to the problem of renewable energy sources and new technology that can fit on the wrist.

1999     Seiko Spring Drive Watch – The first Spring Drive watch in the world. Seiko Spring Drive technology replaces a long tradition of mechanical watch making. The Spring Drive watches are designed to be more efficient, more accurate and more durable. This Seiko watch has been hailed as introducing a ‘revolution in time’, advancing technology that had remained in place for 500 years.

2005     Seiko 3 Band Radio Controlled Watch – Seiko watches introduced the first 3 band radio controlled watch. This technology allowed for more effective radio controlled timing.

2008     Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk Watch – Seiko make the first watch ever specifically designed for a space walk. Seiko were commissioned by Richard Garriot to create a watch that could be worn during a Spacewalk; an unprecedented challenge for any watchmaker due to the intense heat, pressure and radiation in outer space. They successfully completed the watch which worked absolutely perfectly the same type of watch was subsequently used by a professional astronaut on a 5 hour and 38 minute space walk. One hundred Spring Drive Spacewalk commemorative watches have been made by Seiko. They are available across the world if you have $28,000 to spare!

This long list of Seiko firsts is an indication of why they are pioneers of the watch industry, where they are likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

If you would like to see our collection of Seiko watches please follow the link.

Click here for the whole range of Titanium Watches

The 40^th anniversary of the moon landing has been and gone, so it seemed appropriate to write a short tribute to titanium as it is known as the ’space age metal’. Named after the legendary Titans of Greek mythology titanium has been instrumental in the progress of space travel and is consistently used in aircraft and many other industries from dentistry to weaponry and of course it is also used watches. Titanium has become an essential part of modern engineering thanks to having loads of useful qualities. The best feature of titanium is that it has the highest strength to weight ratio of all metals. Plus it’s low density makes it exceptionally light weight but it is still as strong as some steels.

This means that titanium has loads of practical applications including being used as a building material for watches. It is certainly suited to use in watches because it is lightweight and strong but it is also corrosion and dent resistant. Anything worn on the wrist is destined to take a lot of hits in its life so titanium which is unlikely to be damaged by daily wear and tear is perfect for protecting the delicate workings of watches.

Titanium has a metallic white colour which is suited to contemporary watch design. It is also quite ductile when in an oxygen free environment which means that it can be easily shaped to create watch cases and bracelets. Watches like this ladies titanium Seiko, pictured above, are made from titanium and are modern, stylish and practical because of it.

One more reason why titanium is used for watches is that is is generally found to be biocompatible. This means that it is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction when in contact with skin, which is why it is often used in body jewellery and for surgical implements and implants.

Altogether titanium is a really practical metal to make a watch out of. However it does have one drawback. In the earth’s crust it is the ninth most abundant element yet it is never found in high concentrations, it is scattered around all over the place. This combined with the high number of uses there are for it means that the price of titanium remains high. Often watch makers consider it prohibitively expensive to use in watches. Although Sekonda make this titanium ladies watch and this titanium gents watch available which are both a really great price and best sellers on Find Watches. Alternatively there are many high end watches made from titanium that normally have a host of other features for those that demand a lot from their watch. This Citizen eco-drive titanium chronograph is one example of this it is an elite watch designed with 200m water resistance and made to be exceptionally practical and durable. 

 You can view the whole range of titanium watches available here.

F1 Honda Seiko Sportura - Click for more Sportura Watches

Constantly striving for innovation Seiko regularly bring out new and innovative products. The new Seiko Sportura watches are inspired by the cutting edge of motor sport technology they are ‘engineered for the new road ahead’. The Sportura range has been re-developed this year to meet the needs of Seiko’s discerning customers with a selection of cool new designs. This popular range has not lost its quintessential characteristics; Black faces, 10 bar water resistance, sapphire crystals and red and orange accent colours. But the range now features a whole new selection of fresh designs.

The 10 bar water resistance makes these watches ideal for most water sports including snorkeling. They are perfect for diving and swimming and have screw back cases so that they are effectively protected against water damage. If you are not likely to be engaging in water sports any time soon then this level of water resistance is still good to have. It means that you can rest assured that your watch will not fail even if it is worn in the shower or the bath or accidentally submerged in water.

The sapphire crystal that protects the dial is the strongest and most reliable type of watch crystal. Sapphire is one of the hardest materials known to man rating a 9 on the Mohs scale. This means that it is highly scratch resistant and unlikely to break.  Sapphire crystal for watch glasses is grown in laboratories specifically for the purpose. Synthetic crystal has all of the properties of a naturally occurring sapphire, such as its’ Moh scale rating. It is made synthetically because it can be grown to the ideal shape and size needed for use in watches. Diamond is one of the only substances that can scratch sapphire so the most important safety warning I can give you about the Seiko Sporturas is to avoid scratching them with diamond jewellery!

Designed to incorporate racing colours, the Sportura watches are accented in orange and red. The ladies watches have diamond set dials and a focus on silver and bronze tones to make them ultimately feminine, whilst remaining true to the core values of the range, practicality and sporting excellence. One of the watches has been designed alongside the Honda F1 racing team. Branded with the Honda teams signature on the dial this watch, styled in black and red, would clearly not be out of place on a racing drivers wrist.

You can view our whole collection of Seiko Sportura watches here!

At Find Watches you can save up to 40% on Seiko Sportura watches!