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Seiko had been a pioneer of quartz controlled timekeeping: their quartz clocks were used at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. But they were certain that LCD was the wrong technology for watch displays. They preferred liquid crystal displays - more complex but potentially more versatile. 
Liquid crystal doesn't emit light but it can block it. Put it between two polarised filters and apply a current and the liquid crustal can create shapes that block out parts of the backlight - shapes like numbers or letters. It's complicated stuff!
Seiko launched their first LCD watch, the 06LC, in 1973. A field-effect liquid crystal display showed six digits of time continuously - you didn't need to press a button. The display wasn't as bright as an LED watch, But it wasn't as expensive.
Then in 1974 Casio made the move into digital watches with the Casiotron. Using the new twisted nematic LCDs from its calculator range the Casiotron was a neat, robust design that looked like a traditional wristwatch. It also had a unique feature: a digital calendar!
