Orient and Orient Star are Japanese mechanical watch brands owned and operated by Seiko Epson.
Established in 1950 as an independent watchmaker, primarily manufactured mechanical watches (self-winding & hand-winding), but also produced quartz, light-powered (solar) and radio-controlled models. Wristwatches produced by the company had been marketed under the Orient Watch brand (Orient, Orient Star, Orient Star Royal, Royal Orient). Outside of the main business, in the 1990s, the company diversified its business by manufacturing electronic components for Epson printers. To strengthen production of piezoelectric inkjet printheads for Epson, Orient Watch and Epson deepened their capital alliance, and Orient Watch became a functional subsidiary of Epson in 2009. Its watch business operation was fully integrated into Epson in 2017.
Orient Watch products are primarily manufactured in Japan, with movements produced in-house by Akita Epson Corporation (formerly Akita Orient Precision Instruments Co., Ltd.) in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Some of its low- and mid-range models are manufactured at Epson's subsidiaries in Thailand and China.
Epson is one of the major manufacturers of Seiko timepieces. It develops and manufactures high-end quartz and Spring Drive watches for Seiko (also it produces quartz watch movements for third-party brands), but Orient is an independent brand owned by Epson and is not marketed by Seiko Watch Corporation. The Orient and Orient Star watches are marketed by Epson Sales Japan Corporation.
History
The origin of Orient Watch Company dates back to 1901 when Shogoro Yoshida opened a wholesale shop called "Yoshida Watch Shop" in Ueno, Taito, Tokyo. Yoshida Watch Shop was successful, selling imported pocketwatches. In 1913, Yoshida commenced production of wristwatch cases, and in 1920, established Toyo Tokei Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Initially producing only table clocks and gauges, in 1934 Toyo Tokei Manufacturing started manufacturing wristwatches. In 1936, the Hino factory was built in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. For several years, Toyo Tokei Manufacturing boomed at the Hino factory. However, the company shut down in 1949 in the Japanese economic devastation following World War II.
In 2003, the Orient Technical Center (OTC) was established and the assembly of luxury watches began in Ugo, Ogachi, Akita, Japan.
In 2001 Seiko Epson (one of three core companies of the former Seiko Group) became the majority shareholder (52%) of the company. Orient Watch became a wholly owned subsidiary of Epson in 2009. After transferring its business operations to Epson in 2017, Orient Watch Co., Ltd. had remained dormant until it was dissolved in February 2026.