King Seiko 45KS 45-8000
Boxes, not batons
The grey 45-8000 is a 45KS from a rather different universe. Its rich sunburst dial and box-like markers turn the familiar relationship between hands and indexes into an exuberant contrast experiment. I do not reach for it in every mood, but when that mood arrives its presence is difficult to equal.
The broad case gives the dial plenty of room to make that impression. Yet this is no concession of function to appearance: the hand-wound 4500A has given me the same compelling precision that I value in the quieter members of the family.
Where the case meets the bezel
One of its most revealing details is easy to overlook. The case surface curves in two directions as it approaches the bezel. That allows the meeting line to form a flat circle, parallel to the dial, rather than the tilted ellipse familiar from many of the more canonical Seiko Style cases.
It is a small departure with a large effect. The case seems to gather itself around the dial differently, and the relationship becomes much clearer when the watch is turned away from the frontal view. This is the kind of variation that makes the more eclectic references worth spending time with.
The watch
| Reference | 45-8000 |
|---|---|
| My example | December 1968 |
| Manufacture | Daini Seikosha |
| Movement | 4500A · manual wind |
| Beat rate | 36,000 vibrations/hour · 5 Hz |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, central seconds |
| Case | Stainless steel · broad shield case |
| Dial | Grey sunburst with box-like hour markers |
| Case width, without crown | 38.4 mm |
| Thickness, including crystal | 9.1 mm |
Dimensions measured on this example.