Return of the King

From the first Grand Seiko in 1960 to the automatic chronograph in 1969, the sixties was a decade of important advances in both technical and design development that laid the foundation for the company’s future success in the prestige watch arena. Alongside Grand Seiko, one other series in particular demonstrated the company’s ability to create mechanical watches with high accuracy. It was called King Seiko and, in addition to its precision, it offered a powerful yet graceful design that symbolized the high quality of its construction. 2021 marks the 140th anniversary of Seiko’s foundation and a re-creation of the second series of King Seiko, known as the King Seiko KSK, celebrates this landmark. 

The new re-creation brings the 1965 KSK back to life in every detail. The combination of the flat dial with the faceted indexes and broad, sharp hands re-creates the refined elegance of the original. The sharp, bold faceted lugs feature large flat planes and razor sharp angles and are Zaratsu polished to a distortion-free mirror finish.

While the re-creation is faithful in every aspect to the original design, it is completely updated in technology, function and form. Even with an automatic movement and the addition of a date window, the new watch retains its slim profile and is just 0.5mm thicker than the original, thanks to the thinness of Caliber 6L35. The case is slightly wider than the original at 38.1mm and the crystal is a boxed-shaped sapphire with an anti-reflective coating in the inner surface that delivers high legibility from any angle. The case’s durability is also enhanced by the super-hard coating which protects the watch from scratches.