Reply With QuoteLovely. Thanks for the post, I didn’t know about these.
Looks like a cheaper reissue with a no-date 6R31 movement and smaller diameter of 37mm. Also lacks the gold medallion in the caseback. I’m sure the finishing and performance won’t be up to the SJE083 but for me this is a definite buy.
https://www.seikowatches.com/uk-en/news/20220125
Lovely. Thanks for the post, I didn’t know about these.
A few thing put me off - firstly the pictures here. The proportions look a bit off, I’ve no problem with 37mm but it looks quite thick. Brands like Seiko (and all the others) used to do wonderfully elegant thinner watches, the GS Self-dater and Seiko Skyliner for instance. The movements are tough as old boots and the ones I’ve had keep good time >50 years later, what happened? When did they forget how to do that?
Secondly, the ‘King Seiko Automatic’ text on the 6 side of the dial looks too big. I suppose I should see the real watch as you need to see text in its actual size to judge, but this is generally a deal-breaker for me. All the watches I like use a contrast of font sizes with fine detail for text on the 6 side, which makes them feel more sophisticated, while oversized text on the 6 side feels a bit clumsy. Finally of course, there’s the 1700 euros / dollars price. For that amount I’d be looking for a nice original vintage KS or GS.
Look nice. What are they pricing them at? £800ish?
Looks great, a bit underwhelming movement for a £1400 watch although the finishing should be a few leagues up.
£1400? Jesus! Seiko have lost the plot.Originally Posted by jonasy
A nice looking reissue but will the bracelet fit my 44KS? Lug width is the same so I hope it's good and fits!
Wasn’t there a post recently of an interview by someone in Seiko Japan who wanted to reduce the number of lines in Seiko’s catalogue and not blurring the lines between Seiko and GS?
In spite of this, I think this looks lovely. I’m surprised by the comments of pricing. Any automatic that’s not a Seiko 5 is going to be closer to £1k RRP now.
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I think these look great. But it would much better suit a thinner manual wind movement. It would make an excellent dress watch then.
Very nice, but apart from a longer power reserve I can't see anything you don't get with a £400-600 Presage.
Indeed. This one may be better but the 6r movement in my Sarb031 was shocking at time keeping yet still within Seiko's stated spec. These KS look good and are a nice vintage size but I'd be putting the money into something else.
Over the 10 years I’ve worked on watches I’ve found the cheaper Seiko movements to be notorious for being poorly regulated and out of beat. I’ve no experience with the 6R31 or 35, from what I can see the only change is the mainspring which must be slightly longer to get the power reserve up to 70hrs. I’m assuming the spring is fractionally thinner but if that’s the case the material myst be slightly stiffer to compensate. With earlier 7S26 and 6R15 the rate changes significantly with falling amplitude over the 240-270 degree range that the watch typically runs during normal use, this is less than ideal and goes some way to explain the variable results owners exoerience.
If carefully regulated and kept in a high state of wind these movements can give v. good results and that’s why I always recommend fully hand- winding if the watch has been allowed to stop. The latest versions with 70 hr reserve should be better, but I’d like to play around with one and see if this is true.
I agree with others that a manual wind and a slightly slimmer profile would be welcome but I still think it’s logically priced if they’re trying to reposition king Seiko between standard Seiko and GS. £1k would be better but it’ll easily be available at around that with the mandatory 20% Seiko discount in a few months.
I agree. In the photos in the article you linked the vintage models look much better proportioned. I wonder how much of that is due to the crystal. The reissue seems to have the same high hat type crystal the vintage models had, but thicker. Especially when photographed directly from the front, the crystal seems to obscure part of the dial (at the edges) making it look smaller and throwing of the proportions. Or maybe I'm just imagining it.
Either way, it's always good for people who like the orginal to have the opportunity to buy a similar, but perhaps a bit more practical modern version of that watch. For me, at this price point, I'd go for a vintage 4420 KS chronometer.
This is a known issue where replicating a boxed acrylic crystal in sapphire. It was a much debated point with the 36mm Smiths Everest, which again looks smaller than it actually is due to the box sapphire crystal.
Sapphire is a great material for watch glass, but compromises are unavoidable if you want to use it in a vintage style.
only from pix available online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJBxhF4KQ5c&t=589
Last edited by seikomatic; 26th January 2022 at 04:15.
Great bit of video that, looks lovely, I wish it was longer! Amazing how much difference it makes to the proportions between the two models, one at 38.1mm and 11.4mm thick, the other at 37mm and 12.1mm thick. The larger SJE083 looks spot on, with plenty of space on the dial and the relatively smaller ‘King Seiko’ and much finer font of ‘Diashock 25 jewels’ giving everything balance and harmony. The dial feels generous, while at 38.1mm it will be still be a very wearable size for any wrist. Whereas the 37mm version feels cramped and unbalanced by comparison. It’s possible it looks better in person of course, I’ll be interested to see it.
They could have been enhanced if they'd pulled the "SEIKO" - "KING SEIKO" dial script.....It took them a while for Grand Seiko to go that route and it's better for it IMHO.
Whilst I prefer the no date of the permanent line, the SJE083 does appear a better proportioned watch, more in keeping with the original. It just looks that bit more classy from those photos.
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