Quick facts
- Caliber
- 4502(manual)
- Jewels
- 25
- Beat rate
- 36,000 vph
- Hacking / hand-winding
- Yes / Yes
- Water resistance
- WATER PROOF
- Crown
- 3 o’clock
- Production
- 1968–1974
- Modern equivalent
- SJE109 / SJE121
Variants
The 7000 and 7001 are the same watch a few years apart. The 7001 has a different crown and Water Resistant on the case back.
| Reference | Market | Day wheel | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4502-7000 | — | — | Pending verification |
| 4502-7001 | — | — | Pending verification |
Serial decoder
Enter the six-character serial from the case back. The decoder uses 1968 to 1974 for the 4502: Mizeni ends production in 1973, and Beyond the Dial says the watches were sold until 1974. Each serial points to a single year.
Possible production date, not a guaranteed date or an authentication. Production date is not the purchase date.
Full decoder with caliber and case codePrice guide
Prices appear after our first sampling of sold listings in November 2026.
| Condition | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
A · Collector | — | — | — |
B · Serviced original | — | — | — |
C · Running, unserviced | — | — | — |
D · Project or suspected franken | — | — | — |
Sampled —, n = —, eBay sold listings viewed manually.
Checks before you buy
Check the case lines and the dial first: heavy polishing and a refinished dial are the hardest things to undo. Then check the movement.
Dial and code Silver-white dial, applied markers and hands with a black center stripe, KS and HI-BEAT at 6, code 4502-7000T AD.
A refinished dial can keep the right code, so ask whether the dial has been redone.
Sources: Beyond the Dial; KingSeiko.info; Zeit Vintage (dealer). Our own photo comes with our first shoot.
Case shape Flat facets, winged lugs and a step underneath; the 7001 case changed around the undercut in 1973.
Rounded facets and soft edges from polishing.
Sources: Beyond the Dial. Our own photo comes with our first shoot.
Crown and medallion A KS crown, conical on the 7000 and with a small step on the 7001; a KS medallion with the Daini lightning bolt on the back.
A crown that doesn't match the case number, or a worn-away medallion.
Sources: Beyond the Dial. Our own photo comes with our first shoot.
Movement A 25-jewel 4502A at 36,000 bph with a seconds stop and an instant-change date.
A no-date 4500 behind a date dial, or a date that drags instead of snapping over at midnight.
Sources: Mizeni; Beyond the Dial. Our own photo comes with our first shoot.
Crystal and timekeeping A Hardlex crystal glued to a chromed inner ring on an L-shaped gasket; steady timekeeping after a service.
Clouded glue, a pinched gasket or corrosion at the crystal seat. A watch running far fast may have hairspring coils stuck together with old oil.
Sources: Adventures in Amateur Watch Fettling. Our own photo comes with our first shoot.
Common faults and service
A 36,000 bph hand-wound movement is under more stress than a standard Seiko. Have it serviced by someone who knows the 45 series.
The high mainspring torque can break barrel teeth or wear them down against the harder center pinion (Beyond the Dial)
Old oil can glue hairspring coils together, so the watch runs far fast (Adventures in Amateur Watch Fettling)
A pinched crystal gasket lets water in; the glue between the Hardlex crystal and its inner ring can turn cloudy (Adventures in Amateur Watch Fettling)
Broken or worn barrel teeth from the high mainspring torque
Hairspring coils stuck together with old oil
A pinched crystal gasket and corrosion at the crystal seat
Wrong endshake after an earlier balance bridge swap
Have it serviced by someone who knows Seiko's 36,000 bph 45 series. Seiko USA doesn't list the 4502 among calibers it won't service, but warns other old calibers may be returned unrepaired. Its estimate for mechanical calibers is $359.
Not on Seiko USA's list of calibers not to send (checked 2026-10-26). Seiko USA notes other old calibers not listed may also be returned unrepaired.
Where to look
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What is the King Seiko 45KS?
A hand-wound King Seiko with a Hi-Beat movement running at 36,000 vibrations per hour, ten beats a second, built at Seiko’s Daini factory from 1968. Collectors name King Seikos by movement family, so 45KS covers the whole 45 series: the no-date 45-7000 and 45-7001, and the date 4502-7000 and 4502-7001 on this page.
The 4502A has 25 jewels, a seconds stop and an instant-change date that snaps over at midnight. Beyond the Dial notes that the same 45 family went into Grand Seiko’s 45GS, which used the higher-grade 4520 and 4522.
4502-7000 vs 4502-7001
The 7000 came first, in 1968. Beyond the Dial records two changes when it became the 7001 in 1970: the crown went from a pronounced conical center to a much smaller step, and the case back went from Water Proof to Water Resistant. The dial code stayed the same, 4502-7000T AD, so don’t expect a 7001 dial to read 7001.
The 7001 case changed again in 1973, with a larger step cut into the underside and thinner wings on the lugs (Beyond the Dial). Not every 7001 has the same profile.
Both have a KS medallion on the back with Daini’s lightning-bolt logo moulded below the KS. Beyond the Dial says the medallion design didn’t change during the 700x run, and that the 45-700x and 4502-700x stayed on sale in steel and gold plate until 1974.
Other 4502 cases
The same movement went into other cases. KingSeiko.info lists the 4502-7010 and the 4502-8000, and the 4502-8010 Chronometer with CHRONOMETER and OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED on the dial. Beyond the Dial says Superior Chronometer movements appear to date from mid-1969, after the Japan Chronometer Inspection Institute was set up in December 1968. These are separate references; check the case back before you compare prices.
What goes wrong with a 45KS
Beyond the Dial warns that the high mainspring torque can break barrel teeth, or wear them down against the harder center pinion. Adventures in Amateur Watch Fettling’s teardown of a 4502-7001 found hairspring coils stuck together with old oil, which made the watch run far fast, and a crystal gasket pinched during an earlier repair, which let water in.
Seiko USA doesn’t list the 4502 among the calibers it no longer services, but warns other old calibers may be returned unrepaired. Its estimate for mechanical calibers was $359 before tax and shipping in October 2026. In practice, look for an independent watchmaker who has serviced 36,000 bph Seikos before.
Is there a modern 45KS?
Not a direct one. Seiko’s 2022 SPB279 line, and the 2021 SJE083 before it, re-create the 1965 King Seiko KSK. The KS1969 line launched in 2024, including the SJE109 and the 800-piece SJE121 of 2026, draws on the 1969 King Seiko 45KCM, the chronometer branch of the 45 series. None of them runs at 36,000 bph. Our vintage 45KS vs modern King Seiko comparison sets them side by side.
Sources
- Beyond the Dial, Collector Guide King Seiko Part 2: Upping the Beat Rate: references, the 1970 and 1973 changes, dial code, medallion, faults, 45GS.
- KingSeiko.info, 45KS: case references and collector measurements.
- Mizeni, Seiko 4502: movement specifications.
- Adventures in Amateur Watch Fettling, Rise and Fall: The King Seiko 4502-7001: teardown and faults.
- Seiko: the KS1969 press release and Seiko USA’s service page.
FAQ
What is the King Seiko 45KS?
A hand-wound King Seiko with Seiko's 45-series Hi-Beat movement, beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, made at the Daini factory from 1968. The 45-7000 and 45-7001 have no date; the 4502-7000 and 4502-7001 add one.
What is the difference between the King Seiko 4502-7000 and 4502-7001?
The year and a few details. Beyond the Dial says the 7000 became the 7001 in 1970, when the crown lost its pronounced conical center and the case back changed from Water Proof to Water Resistant. Both use the same 4502-7000T AD dial code.
Does the King Seiko 45KS hack?
Yes. The 4502A has a seconds stop, so the seconds hand stops when you pull the crown. It's hand-wound only, with 25 jewels and an instant-change date.
Is the King Seiko 45KS the same movement as the Grand Seiko 45GS?
Same family, different grade. The 45KS uses the 4500 or 4502; Grand Seiko's 45GS used the higher-grade 4520 and 4522 (Beyond the Dial).
How much is a vintage King Seiko 45KS worth?
It depends on the case condition, whether the dial is original, and steel versus gold plate. Our sampled ranges appear on this page after our first sampling in November 2026.
Is the modern King Seiko a reissue of the 45KS?
Not exactly. Seiko says the 2022 SPB279 line re-creates the 1965 King Seiko KSK, and the 2024 KS1969 line, including the SJE109 and the 2026 SJE121, draws on the 1969 King Seiko 45KCM, the chronometer branch of the 45 series.