When King Seiko Return to Seiko - King Seiko KSK Re-creation SJE083

Seiko King Seiko KSK '44KS' of 1965

Seiko started the year off with a bang, where they commemorate their 140 years in the watch business since 1881. To commemorate this historical occasion, Seiko has decided to release a re-creation of the second series of King Seiko, known as the King Seiko KSK SJE083 (SDKA001 in Japan). Some of you may not have heard of King Seiko; however, the King Seiko line was a key factor that helped with the design and technical development that contributed to Seiko's foundation and success. Over the years, many Seiko factories were burned down from the cause of war. Thus, Seiko founder 'Kintaro Hattori' decided to split up the Seiko factory into two groups.

Suwa & Daini

The initial purpose for the split was because the Seiko factory was often put in the war production. While most of the factories were burned down or destroyed from the war, one of the factories located in the outskirts of Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, somehow managed to survive. The two groups had a different objective, where the "Daini" division focused on making timepieces, while the "Suwa" division focused on designing watch cases and dials. As time went on, it became an interdepartmental competition between the two divisions to see whose the better team. Watches designed by the "Suwa" division has marked the dials of their watches with a whirlpool logo. Whereas watches designed by the "Daini" division have marked their watches with a double triangle/lightning bolt logo.

Seiko - King Seiko KSK 140th Anniversary Re-Creation SJE083

The King Seiko KSK SJE083 is a re-creation of the second King Seiko "44KS" model of 1965. In terms of looks, the SJE083 closely resembles the original 44KS, other than minor tweaks and a slight change in size in order to accommodate the date display and new movement.

The crown of the King Seiko 1965 KSK is re-created

The 38.1mm stainless steel case is super-hard coated and sits a comfortable 11.4mm off your wrist. The watch is guaranteed a water resistance of 50m. The combination of the flat dial with the faceted indexes and broad, sharp hands are kept to look like the original. The razor-sharp angles, along with the bold, faceted lugs, are both Zaratsu polished to a mirror-like finish.

On SJE083, the faceted hour markers have fine ridges running down them on the top facet.

The faceted and textured twelve o’clock index enhances the visibility on the 12 o'clock hour mark. The design on the case back is kept the same with a gold emblem. The original 44KS of 1965 had a hand-wound, 25 jewel and 18,000 vibrations/hour movement, the caliber 44A.

King Seiko KSK SJE083 came with the gold plated case back and gold medallion

The re-creation SJE083 has been changed to an automatic movement, which is on the higher-end side of Seiko’s movements. This watch comes with the caliber 6L35, a 4Hz self-winding movement with a 45 hours power reserve. The King Seiko KSK SJE083 watch is limited to 3000 pieces and price is listed as US$3,300 at Seiko boutiques and selected retail partners worldwide.

Seiko - King Seiko KSK SJE083 Youtube Channel: (UptickWatchReviews)

Movement

・ Caliber Number: 6L35
・ Power reserve: 45 hours
・ Jewel count: 26

Case & Features

・ Size: 38.1mm x 11.4mm
・ Case: Stainless steel with hard coating
・ Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
・ Strap: 3-link stainless steel bracelet with tri-fold push button release clasp
・ Case back: Screw-down with King Seiko medallion
・ Water resistance: 50 meters (5 bar)
・ Limited to 3,000 pieces
・ Price US$3,300

Written by Sam , image sources as noted

Reference & image credit:

• seikowatches.com/sje083