First Generation (J1414)ĭaini’s development of the first generation King Seiko echoed Suwa’s development of the first generation Grand Seiko insofar as they took an existing movement and refined it to provide greater accuracy. During much of this time the King Seiko range would also include highly accurate chronometers. Each model iteration would move further from the classic circular design towards the sharp, edgy case designs that would see out the decade. During this time Daini Seikosha found its feet in terms of design language and established the King Seiko range as a home for quality and accuracy. In this article we will look at the early watches from 1961 to 1968. So what better time to revisit King Seiko as a brand and retrospect their vintage portfolio? 2021 SJE083 King Seiko Re-issue. In 2021, Seiko have again launched a limited edition King Seiko, the 6元5-00D0, aka the SJE083, echoing the styling of the 44-9990 to commemorate the Seiko company’s 140 year birthday. The 4S15 movement used briefly by Seiko in the early 2000s and then after by Credor is actually a re-issue of the King Seiko caliber 52 from the 1970s. In 2000, Seiko released a limited edition King Seiko SCVN001 as part of their “Seiko Historical Collection of the Year 2000”. The King Seiko brand as such has never been fully resurrected but neither did it completely die. Grand Seiko has become a considerable success story for Seiko, first as a home for their best finished and most accurate movements across multiple technologies: spring drive, quartz and mechanical, and secondly as a separate, distinct brand (even as a separate company in North America). However, in 1988 it was Grand Seiko that Seiko chose to resurrect when moving back into the luxury watch market and the result is well-known. In fact in my experience, they are every bit a match for their more famous cousins from the countryside and really lead their more conservative Grand Seiko competition from a design perspective. However, it does not necessarily follow that the King Seikos are in anyway lesser watches. While common hearsay has always positioned King Seiko as a lesser brand to Grand Seiko, the reality is more that the two factories used different testing regimes with Suwa using a higher standard for the Grand Seiko watches than Daini used for King Seiko. We have covered the real history between the two factories and the birth of the King Seiko and Grand Seiko brands in both a previous article and an earlier podcast episode.
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January 2023
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