Jun Watanabe, President of Orient Watch Co., Ltd.
- We want to be a company the nearest to the customer
The left lion in our company's facing-lions symbol mark represents our company, and the right lion represents our dealers and partners. The crown in the center represents our customers. This symbol was born from the idea of providing quality products for the benefit of our valued customers, while building a strong partnership by combining the efforts of the manufacturers, shops, and the partner companies that produce the watches. Our management policy also shares this same approach. From product development through our various services, we want to become a company that thinks primarily about the customer. From the executives to the front-line employees, as long as we approach our work with a focus on customers, we will always make the right judgment. Also, we want to respond to customer expectations through a win-win relationship, while gaining the cooperation of those around us, not just within the company. We hope to be the manufacturer that customers feel closest to. Because none of our competitors use a symbol mark with this type of motif, I personally think it is extremely stylish.
- Mechanical watches are amazingly close to humans
I believe that the beauty of mechanical watches will be recognized more and more in the future. If I were to mention some of the positive qualities, the first would be that they are extremely clean products because they do not use batteries. Although solar powered watches are also clean, they use a secondary battery for recharging. The second point is that mechanical watches are truly ecological products because they will return to the earth in the end since they are made entirely of metal components. Other types of watches use plastic parts, which do not return to the earth. The third point is that mechanical watches keep moving along with the movement of the body powered by human strength. It won't move unless you move around. If you don't wear it on your arm for a while, it usually stops. You could say that mechanical watches are amazingly close to humans. Some say this is a demerit, but for the watch, it's better for it to stop when you're not using it. The reason is that when the gears are constantly moving, they gradually start to wear. It's better for mechanical products not to move when not in use. That allows them to last longer.
Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, because mechanical watches are made entirely out of metal, if you wanted to recreate a part, you could do so at any time. With products that use electronic circuits, it is relatively difficult to produce parts when they break. However, with mechanical products, because they are built by combining single precision parts, you can use them almost indefinitely by replacing parts and performing maintenance. They're products that can be handed down to the next generation and continue to be used.
- Seeking the value in design
At our company, we are preoccupied with focusing on mechanical watches. Our mechanical watch building technology has its own history, and because we have been working on it for many years, we take pride in it. Also, we've been known for our designs for many years. We challenge ourselves in new areas, including new designs. The reason for this is that large companies target eighty percent of consumers when developing a product, while conversely our company is happy with ten percent or even five percent. Highly focused craftsmanship is our principle, and I believe it will be the engine to create a new market in the future. We want to concentrate on the least common multiple rather than aim for the greatest common denominator. First, think thoroughly about who the customers are. Then, face the customers and discover how to satisfy them through trial and error. By doing so, many characteristics start to appear from a design aspect as well, and your product also starts to become distinguished. Although it is very common to produce the same product just because another company is selling it, by doing so sales may go up temporarily, but it will be very difficult to establish the brand.
- 2010 Conceptual Vision of the Future 60 Project
Our company will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2010, though including the predecessor's period it's more than 100 years now, and I am hoping to do something at that timing. Currently, we are moving forward with various projects. We would name the 60th anniversary project something like "Conceptual Vision of the Future 60 Project." As part of such project, I would like to incorporate employee opinions as "this is how we want the company to be." In this way, I want to make the 60th anniversary a milestone and a year to start anew. I want to make products that will be representative of Orient in the future as well. There are twelve months in a year, and mechanical and analog quartz watches display twelve hours. The number sixty, which is a multiple of twelve, could be considered an important milestone for a watch company.
