In 2021, Seiko will commemorate 140 years in the watch business since its first launch in 1881, and as a result, the next year is slated to be one of the biggest yet for the Japanese watchmaker. To kick off the celebrations, the brand this week unveiled possibly its least expected revival of a vintage model, which it has dubbed the Re-creation of King Seiko KSK.

The new model is based upon the King Seiko KSK (vintage model pictured below) released in 1965, and represents a very faithful re-creation. The original vintage watch was produced, as its name indicates, under the King Seiko label, which was one of two luxury lines produced by Seiko during the mid-20th century ? the other, of course, being the famous Grand Seiko collection, which still exists today as its own independent brand.
The existence of both King Seiko and Grand Seiko during the era came about a result of friendly-ish competition within the larger Seiko brand, itself made up of two large subsidiaries at the time, Suwa Seikosha and Daini Seikosha. These two subsidiaries were separated in 1959, with the express purpose of driving competition between them and, by extension, innovation in the brand. Today it is mostly Suwa?s creations that the market remembers ? among them the Grand Seiko ? but Daini also made many significant contributions, most notably the luxury-focused King Seiko collection.

Seiko’s introduction of the Re-creation of King Seiko KSK is significant not only because it is...