King Quartz Rootbeer Sunburst

The Caliber 0853 was Daini-Seikosha's top quartz model during the late 70s, after the first quartz models, Caliber 39. The Cal.08 series has no Grand variant so the King modules is where Daini put all their efforts when it came to the movement and finishing. First, the movement has an interesting Ordinary or First position. Where you would typically find hand winding in a mechanical movement and where Suwa-Seikosha's is free spinning, the Cal.08 has two time setting adjustments. Winding backwards will click causing a pause of 1 second and winding forward will click a fast forward of 2 seconds. Whether practical or not, this is a pretty neat trick. The case and finishing on this particular example is very good. The case is unpolished so the bead blasted top surface is still as original. There are some dings and dents about the corners but the case is overall in good condition. The rootbeer dial has starburst brushing and looks almost new. The dial color often looks black and sometimes blue. Despite being a quartz model, the technology of the time hadnt yet worked though miniaturization so the movement and resulting case is quite thick. The markers also stand off of the dial giving the watch a physical and visual depth and thinness. The bracelet is vintage and aftermarket but suits the watch quite well. It's also in excellent condition.

This watch makes for an excellent daily wearer. It has a calendar function for both day and date and its quartz movement will only vary by seconds per month. It isn’t particularly dressy but wouldn't’ be out of place at the office or out to a fancy dinner. The case diameter isn't much bigger than typical watches of the time however it is thicker than most. This might make the watch feel front heavy on an unpadded leather strap or overly bulky on a nato strap.

• Sternkreuz High Quality Mineral Crystal: This crystal is dimensionally the same as the original, depleted Seiko OEM crystal.

36mm Case Width

42.5mm Lug to Lug

17mm Lug Width

11.5mm Height

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Quartz

9 Jewels

NA

Quickset Day and Date

Hacking Seconds

English and Kanji

30mm Sternkrutz Mineral Crystal

3 O'Clock Crown

Push/Pull

Daini-Seikosha

Average Deviation:

±15 seconds/month