After a brief resurgence in 2020, it looks like King Seiko may be back for good with a new collection
Grand Seiko is globally regarded as the beacon of Japanese fine watchmaking. But did you know that during the '60s, it had a cousin that was also gunning for the same position?
Called King Seiko, it shared the same pursuit as Grand Seiko in superlative watchmaking. While Grand Seiko was developed for the overseas market to compete with the best Swiss watches, King Seiko remained strictly a domestic line, albeit a luxury one. It was discontinued in 1975.
In 2020, and no longer just for the Japanese market, King Seiko made a brief comeback as a limited edition, recreating the original King Seiko KSK design to commemorate Seiko's 140th anniversary. More than a year later, it's back again with five new watches in a new collection that hints that the model may be back on a permanent basis.
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The new watches have kept the clean design of the original. Despite the minimalist aesthetic, they boast strong features. Think faceted indexes, razor-edged hands as well as mirror and hairline finishing on flat surfaces. The crown and caseback are adorned with a new King Seiko emblem inspired by that of the classic 1965 KSK watch, of which the collection's design is based on.
Powered by an automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve, it is available in five dials—silver (similar to the 1965 KSK), light grey, charcoal grey, brown and red. The light grey version is finished with a hairline pattern while the rest are given sunray finish.
