Seiko Wristwatch LordMatic Special 5216-6050 Vintage 1974

SPECIFICATION

Reference : Seiko Lordmatic Special 5216-6050
Movement : 5216 23 jewel 28,800bph
Age : January 1974
Case Size : 36mm
Case Thickness : 10mm
Lug to Lug : 42mm
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : used Seiko watch
Box & Papers : No
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty

POINTS TO MENTION

• In fantastic pre-owned condition, with light wear
• Case and bezel have some light scratches and marks
• Stunning vertically brush blue dial
• Fully serviced Hi-beat movement 
• English and Kanji day wheel
  
• Pair with an unworn stainless steel mesh bracelet

Discover the legendary Seiko Lord Matic. Seiko introduced the Lord Matic line with the intention of continuing the Lord Marvel legacy, setting the bar high for this new series of watches. Thanks to Seiko's design expertise, they achieved their goal and more!

This Lord Matic Special has an polished stainless steel case, a stunning vertically brushed blue dial and uses the Caliber 5216. It was produced by the Daini Seikosha Factory in the mid 70s. It is an automatic movement with a day and date complication. It has hacking and hand-winding, which is something you don’t get in similarly-priced modern day Seiko 5 watches with the 7S26 movement. It also has a rather pleasing instantaneous day and date change click at midnight, as opposed to the gradual transition from one date to another. It operates at 28,800 beats per hour, which was considered hi-beat at that era.

The 52xx family is a range of automatic movements, that equipped the Lord Matic Special and the King Seiko Special. They all have the stop second and the manual winding feature, their frequency is 28,800 bph.
The LM Special was only available in day & date configuration, with 5206 or 5216 calibre. Note that the 5206 and 5216 came in both 23- and 25-jewel variants. The main difference between these two is that the 5206 require one to wait for a “safe” time of day to set the date ( when the hands are below 3 and 9, this will avoid clashing, although its good practice to do this with all vintage watches)  This movement formed the basis for Seiko’s return to automatic watchmaking in the 90s all the way to 2013 as it was the inspiration for the 4S line of movements.

A BIT OF TRIVIA

Both Suwa Seikosha factory (the makers of Grand Seiko) and Daini Seikosha factory (the makers of King Seiko) produced Lord Matic watches. The Suwa Seikosha factory created those with the 5600-series movements while Daini Seikosha factory made the 5100-series and the 5200-series.

 Seiko's Lordmatic advertisements back then exemplified how Seiko positioned the Lord Matic watches as for “men on the way to the top.”. Today men and women wearing one have already reached the 'if you know you know phase'.

To those who wish to start their journey in vintage watches, the Lord Matic line is underrated and a lot more reasonably priced. If you want the functionality and the pedigree but without paying for the premium of the King Seiko and Grand Seiko, I highly recommend seeking out a Lord Matic.

OUR THOUGHTS

The Lordmatic Line was extensive and were available in a wide variety of dial and case configurations, we are lucky enough to have a few in the store. This special is an elite version, hi beat at 28,800bph with a wonderful sweep, English and Kanji day wheel, freshly serviced, which makes this vintage LM incredible value for any collector.