King Seiko 45KS 45-8010
Better in motion
The 45-8010 always surprises me on the wrist. Lying flat in the watch box, it gives very little away. At a three-quarter angle the crystal rises much higher than expected, and the substantial dial furniture seems to rise and shine towards it.
The large markers have highly polished side walls. As the wrist moves, those surfaces generate a light play that a static photograph rarely explains. Their presence is quite different from a simple black-and-white reading of the dial.
That little kink
Then there are the flanks: sloping, sensuous surfaces ending in a small but decisive kink at the lug tips. Their reflections can be maddening to photograph, but in hand they give the watch much of its charm. It asks to be turned and handled rather than judged from above.
My example dates from August 1969 and carries the Chronometer Superior wording. The 36,000-beat hand-wound movement belongs comfortably with that ambition, but it is the unexpected richness of the case and markers that makes this particular 45 so memorable to me.
The watch
| Reference | 45-8010 |
|---|---|
| My example | August 1969 |
| Manufacture | Daini Seikosha |
| Movement | 4500A · manual wind |
| Beat rate | 36,000 vibrations/hour · 5 Hz |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, central seconds |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Dial | Light dial · Chronometer Superior |
| Case width, without crown | 37.1 mm |
| Thickness, including crystal | 10.0 mm |
Dimensions measured on this example.