King Seiko Watch Hi-Beat 45-7001 Vintage 1972

SPECIFICATION

Reference : Seiko 45-7001
Movement : 4500, 36.000 bph
Age : December 1972
Case Size : 36mm
Case Thickness : 10mm
Lug to Lug : 41.5mm
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : used Seiko watch
Box & Papers : No
Case Material : Stainless steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty

POINTS TO MENTION

• In great pre owned condition, with light wear from use
• Light scratches and marks to the case and bezel
  
• Fully serviced hi-beat movement
  
• The gold medallion is in great condition 
  
• KS sign crown 
  
• Paired with an unworn grey leather strap
  

The King Seiko 45-7001 features the manually wound, hi-beat (as marked on the dial) caliber 45A. As part of the famous 45~ series of King Seiko movements, the 4500 runs at 36,000 bph, or 5 Hz, which provides greater accuracy to the wearer. The 4500 is a 3 hand no date caliber.

The applied hour markers on the sunburst silver dial are neatly faceted. Both the markers and hands are executed without lume and instead feature a clean black striping through their central portion. The case is also a highlight here; it shares a close similarity to the famous Grand Seiko case designs, with clean lines, sloping angles, and a high polish throughout. One of our favorite details is the gold King Seiko medallion placed in the center of the case back, a testament to the quality of construction and design present in the watch.

A BIT OF TRIVIA

The inter-corporate competition between Grand Seiko and King Seiko in the 1960s and '70s is a story that has fascinated all who have heard it. At that point in time, Seiko had two factories to create watches. Grand Seiko was produced at the Suwa factory; King Seiko was produced at the Daini factory. The rationale between having these two separate factories was to promote internal competition in order to build the absolute best watches possible. This 1970 King Seiko is an excellent example of exactly that.

The 45 King Seiko is the first 10-beat watch manufactured by Daini Seikosha Kameido Factory.
The 45 Kings became the new-generation 10 beat, thin high-end machines that was released and officially certified by the Japanese Chronometer Inspection Institute (est 1968) As for the manufacturing method, the watch was assembled separately from the normal line, carefully adjusted and inspected before being cased.
The case features large lugs, and the silver dial is a wonderful design that gives a simple yet powerful impression. It is a masterpiece of its time, and still today its awesome.

OUR THOUGHTS

We love all things Seiko, Lord matics, Kings and Grands, in all weird and wonderful shapes sizes and complications, but there's something about the simplicity of the 45-7001 that screams class, With no date on the dial, it is clean and symmetrical and the perfect sweep of manually wound 36.000 bph movement, makes its simple, elegant and wonderful.