While Seiko is today best-known for their incredible value for money watches, their history is rich with timepieces that stand up to their Swiss counterparts. In the early 1950s, there was an internal arms race in Seiko to produce the best watches that brand had ever made. Indeed, Seiko’s Suwa Seikosha factory and the Daini Seikosha factory stopped collaborating with one another in instead began competing to produce as high quality timepieces as they could. This resulted in a split whereby the Suwa Seikosha factory produced Grand Seiko timepieces throughout the 1960s, and the Daini Seikosha factory produced King Seiko timepieces. As part of this arms race, each side would produce movements that were as accurate as they could, with King Seiko producing the 56KS collection between 1968 until 1975, when they would discontinue the King Seiko line in favour of Grand Seiko. Offered here we have a 5625-7041 made of stainless steel with Seiko’s iconic 44GS case, a silver dial that boasts King Seiko branding along with applied indices and a date aperture at 3 o’clock. A powerful watch for its time, its automatic Hi-Beat movement beats at 4Hz and truly stood the test of time, given that today, roughly 50 years later, it seems to not have aged at all. A wonderfully constructed timepiece, even by today’s standards, King Seiko, just like its sister brand, Grand Seiko, prove that Seiko truly were capable of standing up to their Swiss competition all of those years ago.

Watch is in good overall condition. Case is worn and has scratches visible on the surfaces, especially around the bezel. Dial has some faded print and spotting, visible as small circles on the dial. The original box, hangtags and instructions are included. Please note that while the movement is ticking at time of cataloging, we are unable to get a timing machine readout and suggest that the movement will need to be serviced by the new owner.

A wonderful exploration of Seiko's capabilities at the time, King Seiko was instrumental in the development of the high-end timepieces that enabled Seiko to challenge the Swiss' dominance.