Watch Launch: The King (Seiko) returns, All hail the King (Seiko) 

 There is a common saying in jest that in the 1960s, Seiko had become so dominant in its watchmaking that it had to turn to itself to create competition which it did by setting up 2 separate companies. While the first part of the statement will certainly be up for debate, the second is not. One of those two companies, Grand Seiko, has become a household name in horological circle. The other, King Seiko has become something of a forgotten historical brand. Not anymore though. As part of its 140th Anniversary celebration, Seiko has opted to release a celebratory watch, the SJE087J, which is a reissue of the second King Seiko, commonly referred to as the King Seiko KSK.  

History of King Seiko 

First, a little bit about the history of King Seiko. In 1959, Seikosha formed two companies, Suwa Seikosha (Grand Seiko) and Daini Seikosha (King Seiko). As mentioned above, the concept behind this was to spur the two companies to outdo each other which would ensure that Seiko would always be at the forefront of watchmaking innovations.   

The 3180 reissue in 2017 

Grand Seiko won the race to release the first watch, a simple curvy chronometer dress watch that is referred to as the 3180 for the caliber that powered it. However, it was King Seiko’s second watch, the KSK, that arguably has had a greater enduring impact to this date. It was designed by Taro Tanaka and incorporated what would come to be known as the Grammar of Design. If that term sounds familiar, it is because it is now the defining philosophy in Grand Seiko’s design language. Where its first watch was more of a response to Grand Seiko’s 3180, the KSK was an entirely different beast, far sharper and more angular. It’s sharp angles and mirror-finish allowed it to play with light and shadow in a way that had never been seen before. In fact, the iconic 44GS case, that today makes up a significant portion of the Grand Seiko line-up has its roots in the King Seiko KSK. After all, one would imagine that its launch in 1967, just three years after the KSK was released in 1964, must have been a direct response to the KSK given the manner it also incorporated Taro Tanaka’s Grammar of Design principles.   

Scottish Watches and Bark and Jack

Despite the wonderful innovations of both Grand Seiko and King Seiko in the 1960s and 1970s, they both fell victims to, ironically, the quartz crisis/revolution, something Seiko was at the very forefront of. And when mechanical watchmaking started making a comeback in the 1980s and 1990s, Seiko ultimately opted to only relaunch the Grand Seiko line in 1998. It was a fully justified decision as well since Seiko had to compete with with repositioned luxury Swiss brands while attempting to shake off its more affordable watch status. Focusing on a single luxury brand that was accessible to the mass market (in contrast to the Credor line), allowed Seiko to carve out the wonderful niche that Grand Seiko now sits in. King Seiko was the unfortunate casualty of that decision. 

 King Seiko SJE083 

 

That all changes with this latest celebratory King Seiko reference SJE083, well, sort of. The SJE083 is a splitting image of the original KSK and you’d be forgiven for thinking Seiko launched the exact same watch, because that is what did, but in a marginally larger size. Where the original was 36.6mm wide, this is now 38.1mm and as we all know 1mm is a huge deal in watch circles, what more, 1.5mm. Similarly, where the lug-to-lug was once 43.3mm, this reissue is now a whopping 44.7mm. In all seriousness, this is a very well-proportioned watch especially when it comes in at a relatively slim 11.4mm. 

 

The slimness of course is not common place in the current Seiko and Grand Seiko line-up. For comparison, Grand Seiko’s latest innovation, the Hi-Beat Caliber 9SA5, which is allows for a thinner automatic Grand Seiko which is still thicker at 11.7mm. The Seiko movement that allows for this thinness is the 6L35 which is a slightly more premium movement allows for thinner watches. It was first debuted two years ago in the SJE073 that was a steel “Baby Snowflake” so named for its dial similarity to the actual Grand Seiko Snowflake. This movement is not often used but has found its home primarily in the higher range Presage watches. On this watch, this movement was the perfect choice as it allows what is essentially a dress watch to wear like one, despite what appears to be a relatively high dome crystal.  

 

Apart from the size difference, everything else is virtually the same as the original, with the beautiful angular corners and zaratsu-finished surfaces that should capture the eye. It even has the golden-coloured (I am unable to confirm the material used on the case back) that bears the King Seiko shield emblem that the original featured. Other vintage touches are also retained such as the “W” with the “Seiko” brand on the crown. If there is one thing that I am not completely certain it would be the size of the lugs and whether they cause the watch to wear too wear bigger than it is. That would be a shame given that this watch, despite its elegance, is meant to be worn as reflected by its 50m water resistance which is higher than most typical dress watches today, as well as Seiko’s proprietary hard-coating that helps minimise scratches.  

 

Overall this is a beautiful looking watch that I believe will be a hit among both long-running fans of the brand as well as the newly initiated to Seiko. I personally find the timing and pricing of this watch rather interesting and perhaps provides a peak into Seiko’s long term strategy. After all, it has over the past few years been inching its (Grand Seiko inclusive) upmarket. Based on my extensive research (which is basically me walking into my local Seiko authorized dealer often enough) while it has generally obtained acceptance in the S$1,000 to S$2,000 range, it has had some difficulty pushing its more premium pieces that go for anything from S$3,000 to S$6,000. This seems to be particularly because of the brand perception of Seiko, as well as the massive value propositions that the lower priced models of Grand Seiko are. Enter the King. If Seiko relaunches, the King Seiko branding as a whole new current line, it would have something that could slot easily between the current Seiko positioning and the price range that Grand Seiko has been gradually pushing up to. And because it could be launched as a slightly different brand than Seiko, it could perhaps be easier for those who primarily see “Seiko” on the dial to accept. Of course, I have absolutely nothing to back this up though I’d argue that a 140th Anniversary seems like an odd choice to reissue something like this without plans for a full collection especially when considering that the last King Seiko reissue was way back in 2000. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, we have this beauty enjoy and though it is limited, 3,000 is not a number to scoff at and it will likely be relatively available. What do you think of this reissue? 

 

 

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