From November 1973 comes another fine example of Seiko's 1970's styling - the Vanac KS (King Seiko), with their high-beat 25-jewel cal. 5256 movement with day & date, 9-facet crystal, chunky indices and colourful dial - in this example an ocean-blue.
Even the case is sculptured, with bevelled edges, and the crown is signed (KS).
The leather strap is not original - I believe that these watches were issued with stainless-steel bracelets. Trying to find an original item may well be an impossible quest.
A fabulous design and probably the most highly-valued watch in my collection of Seiko's.
UPDATE :
I was so taken by this watch that a month later another one became available - a very similar dial, same design for the case but with the 5246 movement. In excellent condition.
It was such a nice item that I couldn't resist! Now they share the same box, like peas in a pod. :)
Even the case is sculptured, with bevelled edges, and the crown is signed (KS).
The leather strap is not original - I believe that these watches were issued with stainless-steel bracelets. Trying to find an original item may well be an impossible quest.
A fabulous design and probably the most highly-valued watch in my collection of Seiko's.
UPDATE :
I was so taken by this watch that a month later another one became available - a very similar dial, same design for the case but with the 5246 movement. In excellent condition.
It was such a nice item that I couldn't resist! Now they share the same box, like peas in a pod. :)
Bruce,
ReplyDeleteVery nice blog. I am a Seiko mechanical watch fan. I focus on Seikos from 1965-75 with mid to high grade movements. I'm currently researching the 5256 movement for an article on my blog. The 5256 is an advancement of the 5216 which is an advancement of the 5206 & 5246. The difference between the 5256 and 5246 is the date setting mechanism. The 5256 can be set at any time rather than certain periods as with the 5246, otherwise they are identical.
The 5256 is on par or better than movements like the ETA 2892-A2. The KS 5256 is a true high end time piece. I'm not surprised that it is one of your favorites. They are on the top of my list also.
Rob.
Thank you for your comments and information, Rob.
ReplyDeleteHa! On par? Seiko crushes ETA movements! I love Seikos. I used to be big into Swiss watches. I collected Rolex and Omega watches. Now I'm selling all my Swiss watches to buy Seikos. My daily wear watch is a 1969 Lord Marvel with the 36000 bph manual wind movement (5740C). Did you know that when Seiko made this movement, Rolex's best movement was only 19,800 bph? And to this day, Rolex's best movement is a 28,800 bph movement. Great article. Thanks!
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