I have finally found a quiet moment to read this thread (albeit with a cup off coffee and some chocolate), it is fascinating. While reading the first post I kept wondering what was happening in Japan at the time so thank you for the additional post Paul.

For some slightly strange reason which may become apparent one day I have been making my way through the Seiko catalogues of the 1970s and early '80s. What stands out more than anything else is the progress quartz watches made over those years. From being top end, very expensive watches with a limited number of models through to being a similar price to the mechanicals and then being cheaper and more prevalent than mechanical. And half way through that the digitals burst on to the scene in all of their futuristic wonder. This even included early solar powered ones.

Seiko always seemed to have a huge product range before quartz watches appeared but boy did it explode when quartz took off. I haven't counted (maybe I will given a particularly miserable winter weekend and no chores) but there must be hundreds of different models. It makes me wonder how they could hope to make any money.

Thank you again Paul.