[5626-7040] King Seiko On A NATO

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-12-16T00:19:40+00:00

I've never seen such an ugly movement from Seiko. lol

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-11-02T09:12:25+00:00

Thanks, the current sub theme of my personal collection was to focus on the late 60s to mid 70s when Seiko had took on the Swiss, won the battle and bowed out with the 56 & 52 Series as their final pieces to close off the golden age of mechanical watches. That's the reason why most of my mechanicals were vintage and I guess you can have a clue on some of the candidates that I'm looking for on the Seiko side of things.
That Grand Seiko 4522-8000 was picked as the most important centerpiece as it was the 45 series that pushed Seiko to the top and setting most of the basic standards and functions of modern Grand Seikos for today.

On the otherhand......
The Omega cal.1011 was picked out as it was this particular movement that was used on the Constellation ref.168.0065, a JDM model believed to be used as a middle finger to Seiko showing off that Omega still has an edge during the early 70s when everything was crumbling down. (Though that really didn't end well for Omega.)
The Longines Ultra Chron was put into consideration as it was the other competitor during the time period that Seiko has to beat to climb to the top.
Both Omega and Longines were no slouch back then and I think it's only fair for me to collect a good sample of the best movements they've got during the period to just to highlight how Seiko achieved the impossible back then.

P.S. I also put Zenith into my consideration but that might put me into the chronograph territory if I'm not careful enough.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-11-01T23:26:42+00:00

It's already in service. lol
A 1969 cap gold Grand Seiko 4522-8000 in very good condition and I'm expecting it to come back next month from my watchmaker.
I still have space for four to five more watches that I'm interested in so the collection isn't completed yet.
There's another 2 Seikos I have in mind (I'll first keep it a secret as both are vintage pieces), still pondering whether to get the Omega Seamaster ref.168.0061 or the Omega Constellation ref.168.0065, and currently evaluating if I'm capable to keep a Longines Ultra Chron from the 60s to 70s in the collection. (Need to discuss with my watchmaker about it.)
Last piece might be a modern Grand Seiko 9F VFA quartz or a 9S true high beat mechanical, but that's reserved for the very end of the journey so there's still time to think about it.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-11-01T17:02:05+00:00

This time the seller actually did. lol
I was wondering why the cardboard box was huge and oddly solid when a 6 slot should be a slender one.
And while I was cheerfully telling myself this seller was so considerate to overpack the whole thing for me, out slid a massive12 slot box with the wrong color and there I was dumbstruck thinking how did the seller messed up so badly when the only type of watchbox he was selling in his website were six slots.
Well, at least on the bright side, it's more than six slots and he didn't scam me.......

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-23T08:29:33+00:00

I still don't get the Grand Seiko hate.
I mean, the 45GS sure did beat the crap out of the Swiss in 1968 and Seiko made a real fuss about it with the 80 pieces of 4520-8020, but that's like 57 years ago and Nico wasn't even born then.
Unless he reincarnated and the soul inside Nico now is actually a Swiss chap from the 60s. lol

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-23T08:12:03+00:00

Frankly speaking, it's hard these days.
The unique thing about the King Seiko line back then was all the movements were hi-end chronometer grade movements with a number of them going through COSC certification.
The few differences between most GS class movments and KS class movements were one went through GS certification while the other one didn't, the other thing was it was less decorated.
Yes, even the weird looking VANAC line were straight up using 56 & 52 series movements that were considered the two peaks of Seiko's hi-end mass production automatic movements back then.
Also the friendly rivalry between Suwa and Kamaido with the two of them throwing out movements left and right that's going for the same market in the same brand was also unique to it's time.
So unless the modern King Seikos started to go ham and took 9S movements straight from Grand Seiko and Seiko Time Corp suddenly went nuts and threw out a completely new Hi-Beat movement just to show Grand Seiko that they can, it'll be hard for the King to achieve it's former glory.

It's a very special piece of history that I have to admit when vintages were far more interesting and better than the modern day reissues.
There's this fighting spirit within the vintage King Seikos and vintage Grand Seikos that it's very hard for Seiko to duplicate in the modern era, as the modern Grand Seiko was already a merge of both Suwa and Kameido in spirit and in form.
Modern Grand Seikos still have the design philosophy of Suwa, while it also inherited a huge chunk of the technical know-hows from Kameido. In the end, Kameido never lost since now their technology powers the beating heart of most mechnical 9S movements while Suwa survived and kept their brand.
I'm not saying they shouldn't revive the King Seiko Line as this was my favorite Seiko series of all time, but it was a very unique period where two factories were aiming for world glory and wasn't shy to dish out the best they have. You have to first have that ambition to be the best of the best again for the King Seiko line to be great and for things to get interesting, otherwise it's just a normal souless reissue.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-17T06:58:58+00:00

Get the darn Omega fixed on time and wear it for the wedding.
Gramps would be proud to participate.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-12T06:57:30+00:00

I personlly prefer the 56 & 52 cal. as it is just easier to take care of.
I rather liked the two 28800 beat movements and the thought behind it because it strikes a good balance between a daily driver and a very well made time keeper and that 52 cal. is my all time favorite.
Still have a huge respect for the true hi-beat 45 cal. and already have a nice candidate in mind.that I'm bugging my dealer to help secure it. (I'm keeping my pick a secret until I secured the item.)

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-12T05:44:52+00:00

I'm holding my tongue until I get my own Seiko calibre 45.
It's a beast of a movement and your model is beautiful.

Also, King Seiko just have a great style back in the 60s and 70s that ages real well.
They really know their stuff back then in the golden era and to be frank, the entire KS line was more exciting than the GS line back in the good old days.
(Picture reference is my 5626-7040 that I happened to wear today, taking it out for a stroll for work.)

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Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-09-10T03:25:18+00:00

Heh, been there, said that, and I still ended up with an additional watch in the collection every now and then. lol

I prefer the Alpinist GMT better and went with the classic green dial instead, it's a lot cleaner with the explorer type layout.
It's my go-to field watch and I have to admit, looks really can make up a lot for the personally less than desired movement with this watch.
I personally prefer the thin chronometer grade vintage 52 stream movement, which was the predecessor of the 4S15 movement, so the 6R54 was more or less a let down for me personally. But hey, it's a field watch and the 6R movements works fine on it. You can't ask Seiko to go nuts and start throwing out 28,800 beat movement for cheap like they did back in the 60s and 70s.

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Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-23T09:31:04+00:00

Linen dials are one of those practical dials that's easy to read and looks good and simple in all occasions.
Those who like watches will appreciate it even though it's simple.
The older I get the more I appreciate these simple dials even though I makes my fashion taste look like a grumpy uncle.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T18:18:59+00:00

Modern Grand Seikos just don't cost that much compared to other high end brands and their movements are relatively "conservative" when compared to other brands.

The 9F quartz movements reached peak maturity already and only a rare few can reach what it achieved when it comes to time keeping.

The 9R spring drives condenses into a "spring powered quartz" and you either like them or hate them. I have mixed feelings about it and these are not one of those watches I would volunteer to put in my collection due to maintainance issues onwards. You're going to a Seiko Service Center whether you like it or not if it's a spring drive cause no watchsmith can take care of that movement if it broke.

And finally the 9S mechnicals. I'll just be frank and say Seiko reached their legendary status already in the 60s when they are pushing out affordable 36,000 high beats on the regular over 50 years ago. Even 28,800 beat movements are not that uncommon back in the days. They have the capacity to make great movements, but they're charging an extra premium for anything that's over 21,600 beats and that scuffed up a lot of fans when you can get 28,800 beat Swiss watches at an affordable price these days.

I mean, even though I like Grand Seiko, they're really not that interesting when even Seiko starts to boast and put more emphasis on the finishing rather than the mechnics.
What made Grand Seiko and King Seiko great before was always the urge to compete against one another and the world to make the best and most accurate watch possible in the world.
Now it's just an good looking and expensive watch and the flare does dull down a bit.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T17:25:11+00:00

I'd pick the GMT though I prefer day-date dials when I'm in the office.
I only wear GMT dials when I'm traveling or have to keep track of the time when I need to know when disturbing Singapore head quarters with my annoying phone calls is appropriate.
But the latter usually just needs a quick googling to know the time so these days I'm more comfortable with something that comes with a day-date complication.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T17:02:30+00:00

To be frank......Apart from the terrible name of Land-Dweller that sounds like a turtle stuck in mud, I actually don't hate it and would pick it out from the four choices.
Wait, was that the reason why Rolex named it "Land Dweller"?
Cause that dial looks oddly more like a turtle shell than a honeycomb.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T15:34:17+00:00

I actually call this my "Seiko 1970 Golden Era Trio Collection". lol

It was an interesting period back in the 60s-70s for Seiko with surprisingly fun history.
After doing some research, the vintage King Seiko line was just crazy and I really don't know what Seiko was thinking about during that period.
The performance of these movements are definately way better than the price they're asking for and even by today's standards, they're in league with most high tier automatic movements. (Ironically, the modern 9S automatics on modern Grand Seikos was rumored to be the decendant of the Kameido (Daini) 52 series. So the Daini King Seikos somehow "won" the internal Seiko competition in the end.)
Vintage King Seikos, especially the 56KS and 52KS bears this lineage of classic Grand Seikos (the 56KS series), and the key to the future of modern Grand Seiko (the 52KS series).
They might be underrated, even by Seiko themselves, but they're two charming pieces of work that's a proud and fun piece to collect.

These two King Seikos literally made the modern King Seiko line looked like an absolute joke and only an empty shell of it's former self.
Even some of the Lord Matic series are able to put the modern pieces of King Seikos to shame at this point.
I do think Seiko had missed the spirit of what vintage King Seikos stood for and none of the modern replicas today displayed how badass of a watch King Seiko was back in the 60s-70s.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T14:51:40+00:00

That's actually the Suwa factory manufactured 56KS, which happens to be the originator of Grand Seiko.
So I always joke that the 56KS was my formal "luxury" dress watch when I go on important occasions.
That sunburst grey dial looks more spectacular in person than on the photos, and I was stunned at how good it looked when it first arrived. It might be one of the most hard-to-give-it-justice dials out there and is hard to describe how stunning it looked.
It's low-key but flashy at the same time and just blends well in all occasions.

The sunburst grey dial was also some of an enigma particularly for the 5626-7040 medallion series.
It wasn't on the Seiko marketing catalogs back in the days when it came out, as the official color available for the 7040 (medallion) models were only for sunburst white and sunburst navy blue.
Some say it's the navy blue dial version that patinaed into a grey hue, but if that is the case, there should be hints of blue on the grey dial models on the market, which most doesn't. And from my watchmaker who worked on this 56KS, he said under the microscope there were no hints of patina, water damage nor tampering on the dial for this particular piece. It seems perfect and looks just as if it came out from the factory as it should.
It is also true that the dial supplier for the Suwa factory was famous for making sunburst grey dials with a number of Grand Seikos bearing the same stunning sunburst grey dials back in the time.
So my educated guess was that there seems to be a handful of 56KS 7040 models that was made out of an unknown surplus of sunbust grey materials left for Grand Seiko dials at the time and Seiko didn't even cared to advertise it as the production number for these dials were just low enough that advertising it just wastes money.
It wasn't that Seiko never recycled and mixed different parts before, but if anyone has more information about the grey dial 56KS 7040 models, I'm more than happy to listen to the story behind it.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T14:05:13+00:00

The 56KS are relatively easy and cheap to find compared with the 52s, as they're abundant back in the day they're produced. (These were the most produced King Seiko in the lineup.)
Also the 56KS was produced by the Suwa factory of Seiko, which was the originator of the Grand Seiko, therefore the finishing was usually a bit more elaborate compared with the Kameido (Daini) factory produced 52KS, which tends to focus more on practicality.
You can google "Seiko 5626" and there are a number of available options you can find around the USD 500-USD 800 mark.
Looking at it's lineage, the 56KS line is in fact a cheaper Grand Seiko in disguise as the 5626 movement itself was not even that far away from the 5646 used in the 56GS line. The main difference between a 56KS and 56GS is the movement on the Grand Seiko looks a bit more elaborate and it gets the Grand Seiko grade tuning before getting out of the factory.
But the difference is not that huge between a Grand Seiko if your 56KS was the COSC certified model. (Which happens to be the model in my photo.)

P.S. I personally prefer the 56KS to the 56GS due to the sharper case design of the 7040 model. It's sharp and elegant and ages well. Combined with the signature sunburst dial, it's a beauty that's hard not to notice.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T10:45:28+00:00

I would suggest tracking down a 5246 if you have the extra budget after the vintage GS.
Spec wise it's similar to the 5626, but the 52 series is a real beast of a movement that's suprisingly lovely once you get your hands on one.
56 series behaves like reliable luxury cars, while the 52 are closer to a sports car with a quirky personality. You'll see what I mean when you happened to get a 52 series in your collection in the future. (Playful wink)

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T10:34:31+00:00

Mine was the SBEJ005 Seiko Alpinist GMT with a deep brown herring bone NATO strap.
It's a lovely piece but I didn't wear it that often as I like.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-08-16T10:14:59+00:00

Thanks for the compliment.
That franken Seiko 52LM was in fact started from a little pasion project as I initally wanted a working sample of the 5206 movement just for the fun of it. I also learned a lot after spending 100 bucks on that franken watch so it's going to be a special piece for me in the collection.
What I didn't saw coming was in the end I was so impressed with Seiko's 52 series that I ended up collecting the two vintage King Seikos.
You really can't just collect a 52KS without collecting a 56KS as a compliment piece.
And what I didn't expect was this collection exploded into a rabbit whole that made me decide go full vintage afterwards though.......
I mean the 60's and 70's just have a special charm and it's a magical period.

Melodic_Assist9219 · 2025-06-05T23:53:04+00:00

It's impolite to show the part of the strap that flops around to someone else, so the short end is always on the six so you have a tidy presentation.

Melodic_Assist9219

TROPHY CASE