Ricoh Chestnut Dial 36mm 1960's Japanese Made Manual Winding Watch
A very original, and quite rare manual winding Japanese watch. It has a chestnut and black dial, a new crystal (Glass) and looks good, some plating loss to the case - Really unusual case, by comparison with European watches of the time, so something out of the ordinary. The chrome on brass case measures 36mm by 42mm excluding the winding crown and is 10mm deep. It has a wierd quickset date which actuates when the crown is pulled outwards, no quick set day. The dial is superb, the entire watch is presented in lovely condition with new crystal and strap. The stainless-steel case back has the Ricoh logo engraved
Ricoh's watch history began in 1962 when Ricoh (then Riken Optical Co.) acquired the struggling clock and watch maker Takano Seimitsu Kogyo. They quickly rose to become the fourth-largest mechanical watch movement producer in Japan, behind Seiko, Citizen, and Orient.
1962: Riken Optical took over Takano, rebranding it to Ricoh Tokei Co. Ltd., and launched their first in-house automatic model, the 33-jewel Dynamic.
1962–1965: Partnered with the Hamilton Watch Company in a joint venture to produce electric watches for the Japanese market.
1971: Released their own proprietary quartz watch (Riquartz), beating Citizen to market and cementing Ricoh's technical ambitions.
1980s–Present: Mechanical production slowed and eventually ceased in the 1980s as the company shifted focus to office equipment and cameras, though specialized lines like the rugged WG watch series emerged later.
