Reply With QuoteLiking this. Like how they kept a lot of the character - shame about the date IMO. Too pricey I think and this mania with limited editions (especially in the thousands) needs to end.
The return of the king , Seiko kicks off 2021 with the king Seiko KSK . Seiko celebrates its 140 anniversary with a limited edition re-creation of a classic 1960s timepiece . A stunning looking watch IMO , but out of my budget .
https://www.watchonista.com/articles...king-seiko-ksk
Last edited by Tazmo61; 15th December 2020 at 16:14.
Liking this. Like how they kept a lot of the character - shame about the date IMO. Too pricey I think and this mania with limited editions (especially in the thousands) needs to end.
Agreed, perfectly sized too at 38mm. Also out of my budget, sadly.
I wonder whether this will be the first step in a new price tier / sub-brand for seiko. Not quite GS, but a step above presage.
OP - your first pic is of the old KS
Originally Posted by Marios
Thanks , now put right
There was this one too, the limited-to-2000 pieces SCVN001, from the year 2000:
Movement was the 4S15
Paul
Like the watch and love the size. I can see why they’re raiding their back catalogue, in the 60s they made some absolute stunners, and not just the GS or KS. It’s a pity that they’re re-releasing them as a series of LEs that are a fair bit more expensive than I’d like to pay, but I guess it’s a niche market.
That's bloody lovely, and I have no issue with the date window whatsoever. Pricey, and it would have been nice to have seen a high-beat movement in it for that money (even though it's already an improvement on the original).
I'll be seriously tempted by this one, and it's not unlike an old one I owned myself.
A nice watch but a bit too pricey in my opinion.
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Spotted this yesterday, too expensive but looks really lovely!
Nice watch. I'm loving the case back motif based on the history of the brand name. What disappoints me is the depth of the case back engraving around the steel part of the case back. It looks laser etched and very shallow. For £2400, why do Seiko not give their buyers some better quality case backs based on their price point. It's so frustrating and it's not good enough.
Compare this 50 year old to the new model.
I wonder how legible this case back will be (when compared to the original models) after 50 years.
Last edited by j111dja; 16th December 2020 at 11:23.
Absolutely stunning! I've always admired the vintage ones - I think they've done a great job with the re-issue. Unlike many of Seiko's GS mechanical offerings, this doesn't appear to be overly thick.
Too bad about the LE, and the price of course...
As a 44-9990 owner I love it! Of course for this price it should be GS branded with a GS movement and non LE cause this is just a great everyday watch.
Seiko is having too much of a LE retro fest, would be nice if they could make a really nice core line and stick with it.
As stated above, that looks gorgeous in all respects except the painfully cheap looking shallow acid etching on the caseback.
Next to the gold medallion it looks very poor.
Dave
The case back markings on modern GS are shallow and look like you could wipe them off with a polishing cloth. Seiko say that the case back cannot be polished during service.
Furthermore, the reissue of the 44GS, the SBGW047, appeared to have the same technique on the case back as this watch for etching the markings around the centre.
I'm not sure that this offering is any worse than anything else Seiko makes these days, at least you get the medallion in the centre.
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Regarding the polishing issue, I'm guessing Seiko are using Diashield. I wish they wouldn't and that they would concentrate more on their case back designs looking more high end than they do now.
You are right. There are other high end Seiko's with the shallow engraved case backs. This is certainly not the only model with this issue. They appear to have stuck to their guns with this case back design, and it isn't working for me.
Would the watch be a 'no brainer' if it had a GS 9S63 hand winding calibre or 8xxx derivative of one?
The 6L35 used in this piece, is distinctly different than the myriad of 4Rxx and 6Rxx calibres that are derived from the humble 7S26.
Nonetheless some say that the 6L35 isn't enough for this price point, despite the calibre being the basis of the design of the Soprod A10.
I'm not sure if the comments on Watchuseek and elsewhere, are particularly informed on whether the watch should should have a better calibre, or whether it is sufficient and perhaps the main value lies simply in the quality of case dial and hands.
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Last edited by AKM; 16th December 2020 at 20:08.
I suspect that a similar GS, for instance a slim hand wound re-issue of the glorious Self-Dater in this size, would be at least twice the price. Which is not to say it should be, but that’s the world we’re living in. For £3k, this is the branding and the movement you get.
BTW, looks like there will be a new GS released on the 18th, so who knows, maybe we’ll find out if I’m right.
Where did you get the info they would be releasing a new watch on the 18th?
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Instagram, another American market one possibly, the post came from Grand Seiko usa. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of GS, since 18th December 1960.
Absolutely lovely, good they chose the shield medallion from early models.
Sizewise it's perfect too.
Would this old boy raise in value finally?
It's a pity King Seiko is overshadowed by Grand Seiko even though they were on the same level and competing each other back in 60s.
Good to see it coming back even if it's positioned slightly below Grand Seiko.
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Inevitably. Nice watch.
I reckon Chrono24 and Ebay have seen a rush in interest since this announcement.
Ps. I reckon one Chrono24 seller has added £100 and an EBay seller £50 in the last few days.
Would this old boy raise in value finally?
Last edited by BillyCasper; 26th December 2020 at 20:24.
I've just bought one of the reissue King Seiko KSKs. I was quite obsessed with this watch when Seiko first announced it, but then cooled off; the COVID lockdown shifted my focus and, perhaps that of other prospective buyers, to more casual watches.
I'm very impressed by the watch and thought I'd share my observations particularly over how the watch differs from how it appears online in photos or videos. Unfortunately, I don't have have any equipment with which to easily photograph these observations.
The big question is whether the KSK is an over-priced Pessage, or a stealth Grand Seiko with the 'wrong movement''? The answer is perhaps predictably neither and whilst there are some GS worthy components, the watch is, if anything, a continuation of a niche product line starting with the JDM SCVN001 from the year 2000. I suspect that were it not for Seiko's determination to expand globally (to reduce dependency on domestic sales) the KSK is the sort of Seiko product we would not normally have seen outside of Japan.
The watch looks and feels vintage in the hand and does not seem overly large, the bold lugs are very attractive and a reminder of how smaller cases allowed more expression than can be had with today's tuna can cases and correspondingly stubby lugs. The KSK also feels slimmer than expected and has a less noticeable gap between the lugs than it appears in videos. I thought that the strap would be thicker and too fancy, but in person it's quite discrete. I really appreciate the care and attention with the design of the case sides, where the case band has a subtle step and ressembles my vintage Omega Constellation hidden crown, whereas modern watches, by comparison, tend to be slab-sided and featureless. The sunburst dial has a lot more 'pop' than how the watch appears online.
So where are the GS bits? Well, as mentioned above I perceive this watch as being within an odd niche. I've examined it with the naked eye, reading glases, an LED magnifying ring lamp and a 10x triplet loope. Under everything, bar the loope, it looks immaculate throughout. The external polishing of lugs is exceptional and they are like glass mirrors, like GS. The handset under a loope looks flawless and I confidently believe the hands to be of GS quality and with the same care during assembly; though the applied dial furniture and printing is of a lower standard, where small imperfections and undulations can be seen in the surfuce of the hour markers and date window surround and also, the applied Seiko logo is rougher than on a GS. My watch has also a tiny extra black dot within the dial printing though again, this needs the use of a loope to see it. The quality is very good, but my experience of GS, has been dials and dial components that have a better finish and tighter quality control and so I suspect the KSK hasn't had the same level of scrutiny under a microscope as its GS cousins.
Nonetheless, the dial does not have the common imperfections associated with Seiko's cheaper product lines, such as visible distortion including where holes have been made for the date, applied logo or applied hour indices - instead, it's pleasingly flat and free from aberrations. I definitely live with it unlike my SARB033.
The movement is running at 0s per day in the dial up position, though in the hanging positions with the case on its side, the precision varies between positive and minus and doesn't want to settle. I don't think I'll have an issue with daily rate, but both my GS and Longines watches perform better on a timegrapher with a perfect flat trace, with no errant /extra spots and they are less affected by position - again it's neither your typical Pressage nor is it anywhere near GS.
The value for money remains a very personal and subjective assessment. Almost all Seiko retailers have them in stock and I suspect that sales have been slow, with likely factors being the watch's presentation as a dresser piece during COVID lock down and consumers' uncertainty about the value on offer at the RRP. I suspect that there'll be bargains to be had on these as we approach black Friday and perhaps in the New Year. There's also one on Sales Corner at a very reasonable price the last time I looked.
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Last edited by AKM; 17th November 2021 at 09:55.
I bought the one that Coot listed for sale in late August 2021. Without digging out the box to check, I think it was originally bought in March 2021 and was barely worn. I did list it for sale two or three weeks after it arrived. But there wasn’t any particular interest and I stopped bumping the advert. It’s been my daily wearer since it arrived and the novelty of looking at the side profile, the distinctive lugs, hands and 12 marker remains strong. It runs at a consistent plus 3 seconds each day.
I’d sooner wear this than my only only watch, a Grand Seiko SBGX343. I wouldn’t have paid RRP, but the £1800 I paid here placed it in bargain territory. I’d not say no to a KS 4402-8000, but I’m not actively looking for one.
Nice, detailed review. I very much like the design but am not sure about the quality of the movement. My sense is that Seiko are trying it on a bit with the price of this watch, but I could well be wrong in my assessment. Thanks for taking the time to review and hope you continue to enjoy your King Seiko.
Thanks. I'll try and add some pics when I can, particularly if there's any comments that I can illustrate, though my macro lens isn't the greatest.
Longines' modern upgraded ETA calibres seem unbeatable in this pricing segment. It would be great if Seiko could be as competitive; achieving consistency in 'out of the box performance', I think would improve confidence, as there doesn't seem to be any design issues with the 6L35.
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That's good to know - it seems to have the vintage feel and I'm intending to wear mine so wearability and daily use is important to me. Also, my GS watches are on bracelets and I was attracted to how the KS looks on a leather strap.
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Interesting review, thanks.
I don't generally follow watch company sales but I have to say that it surprises me that Seiko's sales in Japan are declining.
I see it as more fundamental than that: It is only ever going to be on niche interest. It's a recreation of a vintage watch, a Seiko, that most people will never have heard of or care about.
I was rather under the impression that this would be a very limited edition due to limited potential interest, so it surprises me that it's widely available.
I've corrected it to 'reducing dependence' as it was inaccurate and depends upon which source, which data and which years we're talking about. Seiko's proportion of exports has reduced significantly since the 1980s and they are more dependent upon their domestic market, but they had a big drop in sales of 18% in 2016 due to factors affecting the Japanese economy reduced consumer spending in their domestic market and disruption from smart watches overseas.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/he...atch-producers
Seiko sales since recovered, but I think it's reasonable to say, they are wanting to sell more watches outside of Japan as a more sustainable long term strategy.
In a recent interview the current CEO describes their strategy and also stated that they nearly gave up on the Grand Seiko brand:
https://amp.ft.com/content/eabf51ad-...3-068451fc75f4
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Last edited by AKM; 17th November 2021 at 12:00.
^^^ Thanks for the info.
Did you buy one yet? The KS is a fab watch, I’m really glad I got one. The more I’ve worn it the more it’s grown on me. The finishing is fantastic and it really looks great in low light. I like it so much that I wear it more than my JLC Geophysic 58 when I need to wear a dressier piece.
Hope it grows on you the way it did with me.
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