Not many people geek out over King Seiko, so I'm loving this! I gifted my vintage KS 56 to my mom (she loves vintage Seiko). Nothing like a vintage KS or GS from the 60's. You could tell Seiko were out to prove something to the world with the Lord Marvels, KS and GS, and this KSK reissue is a beautiful homage to that spirit.
For what it is, and where Grand Seiko is today heading with their oversized offerings, this is actually the best find. Look at that sharp design and undeniable heritage. Beautiful. Such understated elegance.
@@AttilatheMike Lol what land are you living on. GS dress watches are at least 13mm thick, except for the latest ones, but they don't have this incredible lug design and sharp lines. Period. GS is a monkey brand, they have some stupid looking dials, some are just too exotic. This instead is all business. It harks back to the 1960s, when both KS and GS were at the top of the game. Today it's all gone down the drain. At least they succeeded. Don't buy it, stick to their freakish offerings, it's not for you. KS all the way baby.
@@gmshadowtraders As you note GS is a brand that has a rich designl egacy that really reflects the postwar form making confidence of Japan in the 60s. Think of Kenzo Tange's Aquatic and Gymnastic Buildings for the 1964 Olympics or the Bullet Trains introduced the same year. The 44GS case from 1967 is spectacular in its composition and integration of its multple case surfaces. But yes in 2021 the cases are often too large and too thick but as you note the latest ones are beginning to address that. As I type this I am wearing the SBGA 407 Skyflake which is 12.8 MM thick and could probably approach a similar thickness of the King Seiko at 11.4mm if it did not have a display caseback. Beautiful dial and while I may be in the minority love the uniquely Japanese wabi sabi ness of the power reserve design and location. The case itself is same in profile to the King Seiko's and the lugs while a little longer and more curved clearly descend from those of he 44KS and visually mediate the thickness. I say this as someone who picked up the Skyflake in trade for a previously owned Seiko/Grand Seiko dial Hi Beat GMT 44GS case. I wanted to love it but it was too large for my smallish wrist and way too thick at 14.5 for anyone but I could stare at its lugs all day. All to say I agree with some of your points but I would not agree that ALL has gone down the drain as I could argue that the newly released datejust dial motifs definitely reflect someone looking towards the East for inspiration just like this KS dial and those of GS of a similar era have a familiarity right out of 1960's Geneva. The question is will GS look at the downsizing of the Explorer 2 and plot their next move? Turnabout is fair play. Cheers.
@@davidr2802 I have little to add to those well-thought and researched points. The Skyflake is a strong contender if I had to pick only one new GS. That thing is artwork. It's case is actually uniquely different to the more aggressive 44 case, much softer. I can even forgive the power reserve on the dial face. Maybe that will change, ala Rolex now downsizing and copying Seiko's dial game (lol).
Glad they brought the king back. The finishing is top notch. Hope they bring back their great watches of the 90's too, e.g. the Baby Credor scvk001/2, Baby GS scvs007, etc. These are gems.
Great review. I’ve had my eye on this since it came out, but the price was just too high for me to justify on a dress watch that I just won’t wear every day. I work in a semi-formal setting (slightly above business casual) and do wear dress watches to work maybe two or three times per week, but I’m just as likely to wear a field or dive watch. Fast forward two years and a Seiko dealer that I’ve bought a lot from offered me their display model (can register as new) at 50% off. At that price, I just couldn’t refuse and ordered it yesterday. I am so excited as I used to own and wear a very well-preserved 1967 model 44-9990, which is the very watch that this one is based on. At 37mm with no date window the vintage was pure perfection on the wrist, but when I was offered almost double what I paid for it, I ended up selling it on and have regretted it since. The new one at 38mm is sort of a mixed bag. On my 7.25” wrist the 37mm original looked great and so does this one, with each having aspects that I prefer over the other. I don’t usually like a date complication, but with the bigger dial size I think it was a good choice here. Also, while I thin overall the 37mm case size better captures the 1960s feel (as it should being a 1967 model), the 20mm lug width on the new one opens up so many more strap and even bracelet (I love these on Milanese mesh) option while keeping the lugs in perfect proportion to the case. Finally with an outstanding (not to mention new and modern) automatic movement with barely any thickness penalty, combined with modern water resistance (50 meter is just fine for anything short of watersports) makes a far more useful watch that has all of the mid-60s cool, without the usual niggles of owning a vintage watch. The fact is that while vintage watches can be reliably worn every day, just like vintage cars they require a bit more care in handling, as well as more frequent and often more expensive service. I own a 1956 Omega Constellation (35mm pie pan) that I also really enjoy, but tend to limit to the occasional evening out or special work day. My other dress watch is a Glashütte Original Sixties, and this King Seiko actually compares very well that watch that came at double the price. The GO has a nicer dial finish (GO is rightly famous for their exquisite dials), but the King Seiko has far nicer case polishing (both are fully polished). The King Seiko also has a nicer sapphire crystal and a more modern, if not as nicely finished movement (GO has a display back showing off the GORGEOUS Caliber 39). While the GO movement is much fancier in decoration, the Seiko is a more advanced and more capable movement. The GO only winds in one direction and has a roughly 40 hour power reserve, while the Seiko 6L35 winds in both directions and and runs a bit longer. Both have similar accuracy, but the Seiko is considerably thinner and tends to run more consistently accurate as the power reserve runs down (the GO is slightly more accurate than the Seiko when both have full charge). This is now my favorite dress watch.
Amazing review Uptick! I had almost forgotten about this reissue over the past few months with the lockdowns and W&W etc. Then I saw your previous unboxing/teaser video. I have the vintage 44-9990 and wanted to eventually add this piece. Thank you for rekindling the fire....I think...lol Also thank you for shattering the White Birch for me lol 😅
Nice pickup, Uptick. When you see it blend in so well with the other beauties in the box, it truly does punch up in the value stakes. Avagoodwk’end dude. 🍻
Missed this post a whopping two years ago. Love this timepiece with huge wrist presence, especially as posters have noted from the crystal and high attention to detail. A great timepiece for a little stealth cause if you know you know.
I got mine on a dark brown short suede strap from W&W and it took on a different feel, its looks more casual and the case pops with so much personality and character. It looks so much different and unique to other watches. Even next to my SLGH003 with the 9AS5 caliber this KS looks fantastic.
Great watch. So glad you like it! Love mine. Excellent movement, stunning design, high quality, natural strap, world beating crystal. Designed by a bonafide genius. Put these things together and don't you have a bit of a bargain? Nothing this good until JLC or Blancpain (or GS). And you'd be lucky to find anything this well designed/finished from them. I'd prefer no date, but whatevs. White Birch ain't close, but let's wait until that movement comes to a great design - it will. BTW, totally holds its own in your collection!
Your collection (from what i saw) is 👌🏼... I agree with you on every aspect about this watch. For me Its such an honest office watch. Understated Class.
This product line is so underrated, we may never see anything like this from seiko at this price anyway ever again. It bombed bad! But this watch is a near masterpiece. If they converted that 6l movement into a no date/ manual wind system- it would do this so much more justice and PLUS : they would have finally, a manual wind movement worthy for the alpinist laurel reissue, King seikos and higher end presages.
I’d say the finishing is pretty much on par with my GS sbgk005, however I’ve put more hairline scratches on my new KS and than in the 2 years I’ve had my GS. I have a feeling the scratches are actually in the Diashield coating or something?
@@UptickWatchReviews I agree, presage is the Seiko new bridge watch in terms separating lower price tier to GS. I believe Seiko presages will hit the 4-5K at some point because the GS spring and mechanical prices are climbing.
I was offered one at 20% off but I could not get over the intrusion of the calendar window. Although many King Seikos did have date complications, the expression of the grammar of design is best without the intrusion of a date window. While Taro Tanaka, Seiko’s first industrial designer hire who started in 1959, is famously associated with the grammar of design, what became known as the grammar of design was already in practice at Seiko by 1959 at both the Suwa and Danai facilities. I will wait for either a reissue without a date complication or just look to the vintage King Seiko market.
Perfect watch besides the movement (which is fine for itself but not good enough for the price). However since this is a limited edition and the finishing is superb it is worth it
I have found that the oem Seiko Alpinist bracelet fits mine, it also looks great on the Uncle Seiko beads of rice bracelet which was designed to fit the omega seamaster 300. A couple of photos are out there on instagram, I have just ordered the Uncle Seiko bracelet a few weeks ago- it looked brilliant.
It might just be the least expensive of your collection what is shown in this video but only the Patek can compete with it looks if you ask me. People say that no watch is perfect but this one comes pretty darn close. To be completely honest, I would never thought that I would consider buying a 3K watch... up until now that is....
