Seiko Wristwatch LordMatic Special 5216-7080 Vintage 1974

SPECIFICATION

Reference : Seiko Lordmatic Special 5216-7080
Movement : 5216 23 jewel 28,800bph
Age : September 1974
Case Size : 35mm
Case Thickness : 10mm
Lug to Lug : 40mm
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
• White sunburst dial
  
• Fully serviced Hi-beat movement 
• English and Kanji day wheel
  
• Paired with an unworn blue leather strap

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 and stainless steel case, a crisp white sunburst 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 calibres. 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 broad and diverse, featuring a wide range of dial and case styles—and we’re fortunate to have several in stock. This particular model is a standout, a high-end version with a smooth 28,800 BPH hi-beat movement and a bilingual day wheel in English and Kanji. Recently serviced and running beautifully, it offers excellent value for any vintage watch collector.