In this particular specimen, which I had the opportunity to purchase at a Japanese auction, in addition to the symbols expected to be engraved inside the case, I was surprised by the presence of a Japanese character. There is also an 18-karat gold version of the Senbai case, which I can show you thanks to the kindness of the watch collector Tito Ogami (Instagram: the case we see again the SKS logo, followed by 18k which indicates the gold carat, and then the serial number. Inside the case we find the fan-shaped “SKS” logo, accompanied by 0,900 (silver) and the watch’s serial number. Some specimens have decorative engravings, usually with flowers or natural landscapes. This case is made up of 3 main parts, and is very similar to pocket watches of that era. The most authoritative sources suggest that the first version of the Laurel had a silver case with movable lugs, called “Senbai”, in Japanese characters “専売”.
The Laurel watches still in existence with the original case are rare, expecially those in good conditions. The Laurel was marketed with many different cases, but it is important to notice that, among the few examples that can be seen today, many use third-party cases, which have been replaced to the original ones damaged by time and wear. More than 100 years old, and it still keeps good time without missing a beat. In this video from my Instagram page you can see the movement in action. Most of the examples appear to have 7 jewels, while others have 10, and it seems that there is also a version with 11 jewels. It operates at 18,000 bph and has a diameter of 26.2 mm (12 lignes). Schild 55, but it appears that its components were produced, wholly or in large part, by Seiko in Japan. It is said that the Laurel movement was probably based on the Swiss A. In those years, wristwatches were rare also in Europe, but they were used by soldiers during the First World War (1914-1918), and subsequently steadily growth in popularity. It is said that, at least at the beginning, they were only able to produce a few dozen Laurels per day. The production of the Laurel was a major challenge for Seiko, which allowed the Japanese company to develop new techniques and sophisticated machinery. With the tools of the time, manufacturing and assembling components much smaller than usual was not easy. At a time when pocket watches dominated the scene, Kintaro Hattori, the founder of Seiko, realized that the wind was changing and decided to start the production of wristwatches.Īccording to Seiko, the Laurel was introduced in 1913 and is considered the first Japanese wristwatch, although its movement was originally designed for small pocket watches.