King Seiko 56KS 5625-8001
What a little difference makes
This is one of those watches that is easy to recognise and surprisingly easy to underestimate. It looks like a familiar 56KS. Yet a collection of small revisions gives the 8001 a clarity and openness that I find particularly compelling.
My May 1975 example has a scattering of freckles across the dial. They have become part of its identity, without obscuring the precision of the composition underneath.
Making room
The dial grows from 27 to 28 millimetres while the case retains its familiar size. A narrower bezel rises close to the top of the crystal, protecting its sides and leaving more room around the markers. The reference lettering now sits outside the minute track.
The case changes with it. The strips along the tops of the lugs become narrower, the lug tips end more directly, and the cutout accommodates a smaller crown. Each revision is modest. Together they make the watch feel more sharply cut and more contemporary.
On the wrist
The larger dial catches the light readily and makes this example wear larger than the earlier iterations. Its appeal is not simply that it is a late version. It is the sense that a familiar design was still being examined, adjusted and made more lucid.
The watch
| Reference | 5625-8001 |
|---|---|
| My example | May 1975 |
| Family | King Seiko · 56KS |
| Manufacture | Suwa Seikosha |
| Movement | 5625 · automatic, date |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Beat rate | 28,800 vibrations/hour · 4 Hz |
| Case width, without crown | 36.1 mm |
| Thickness, including crystal | 10.1 mm |
Dimensions measured on this example.
SGP, February 1975
The February 1975 SGP example puts the same late 8001 composition into a warmer register. It retains the larger dial opening and crisp disposition of the case, while the gold-plated finish changes how those edges catch the light.
| My example | February 1975 |
|---|---|
| Case | SGP · gold-plated |
| Case width, without crown | 36.3 mm |
| Thickness, including crystal | 10.1 mm |
Dimensions measured on this example.
I measure this example at 36.3 mm across, compared with 36.1 mm for the steel Freckles. Both are 10.1 mm thick. The measurements belong to these individual examples.