Ricoh worldtime watch, automatic ,made in Japan, 1960s and 1970s, Ota, Tokyo, Japan
Image details
Contributor:
Tony Smith / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2JC75R4File size:
61.9 MB (2 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
4832 x 4480 px | 40.9 x 37.9 cm | 16.1 x 14.9 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
7 April 2022Location:
6 Chome-10-1 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, JapanMore information:
The Ricoh Company, Ltd. ( Kabushiki-gaisha Rikō ) is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the Riken Concern, on 6 February 1936 as Riken Sensitized Paper (Riken Kankōshi). Ricoh's headquarters are located in Ota, Tokyo The origin of watchmaking at Ricoh comes from Takano, a clock manufacturer established in 1899, and a second company, founded in 1913. The company produced metal clocks before the war, and was merged into one company in 1924. It was incorporated in 1938 as Takano Seimitsu Kogyo Co., shortly after switching to weapons manufacturing. 1960s and 1970s: Ricoh made wrist watches for both the Japanese domestic market and international markets, briefly entering into a partnership with Hamilton Watch Company, for the creation of the Ricoh Hamilton Electric watch On May 8, 1962, Takano was taken over by the larger Ricoh company. Takano became Ricoh Watch Ltd. in 1963 and the watches were re-branded as Ricoh from late 1962 onward. Ricoh was founded in 1936 as Riken Kankoshi Co. Ltd., a producer of optics and was successful in cameras and industrial equipment. The joint venture with Hamilton (which owned a 60% stake) continued, with American movements assembled and cased in Japan for the domestic market there. The movement, Ricoh Cal. 555E, was the same as the Standard Time Cal. 130E or Hamilton Cal. 505. Sales were poor in Japan, with most taking place on US military bases where Seiko was not as strong a competitor. The venture ended in 1965, with some leftover stock sold under the Hamilton Vantage brand in the United States. Ricoh launched an automatic watch of their own in October 1962. Known as the Dynamic, it had a 33 jewel movement with instantaneous day and date change. After initial quality issues, which resulted in large-scale returns, the movement was perfected and remained in production until the 1990s.