Grand Seiko Automatic Cal.5646 A 1974

Seiko

Seiko Watch Corporation is a renowned Japanese watchmaker, founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo. Known for its innovation and precision, Seiko has a rich heritage of crafting high-quality timepieces, ranging from luxury models to accessible everyday watches. The company introduced the world’s first quartz watch in 1969, revolutionizing the watch industry. Seiko’s diverse portfolio includes mechanical, quartz, and solar-powered watches, often celebrated for their craftsmanship, reliability, and advanced technology. With a commitment to excellence, Seiko continues to be a leader in the global watch market, blending tradition with cutting-edge innovation.

Description

The Grand Seiko 5646-7030 is a vintage classic that exemplifies the precision, craftsmanship, and elegant simplicity that Grand Seiko is known for. Released during the golden era of Japanese watchmaking in the early 1970s, this timepiece hails from the renowned 56GS series and houses the caliber 5646, a high-beat automatic movement with a quickset day and date function.

The example we have here is completely original, unrestored and untouched yet remains in outstanding condition. The dial in silver has a very delicate texture and matches the stainless steel 37mm case which houses the very high grade calibre 5646A, 25 jewel automatic movement.

The Dial

This remarkable watch carries a beautiful, fully original, unrestored and untouched silver dial with incredible black features. The original ‘baton’ hour indices are swept by very clean ‘index’ hands. All of which, look simply stunning against the silver, textured dial and the stainless steel case. This dial also has the addition of a day and date window at three that carries a cyclops window, the date being having a quickest function.

The dial is simply signed ‘Seiko Automatic’ at the top of the dial below 12, ‘Hi-Beat’ just above 6 and ‘Japan 5646-7040T’ at the very bottom of the dial.

This dial is original and unrestored and has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The movement within this watch is the Seiko, calibre 5645AS, 25 Jewel automatic hi-beat movement. Beating at 28,800 beats per hour rather than the semi-hi-beat at 21,600, or the more usual 18,000 or 19.800. When one listens to this movement ticking, one can really tell this is something special as it races at almost twice the speed of a normal movement. Generally speaking, the higher the beats per hour, the higher the accuracy of the movement, all other factors remaining the same.

This movement is in sparkling condition and has been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only the correct original parts where required before careful calibration and testing. Upon returning to stock, the watch is now running to within +10 seconds per day which is truly outstanding for any vintage watch of this age!

With care and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily for many decades to come. We are therefore more than happy to offer this watch with our 12 months’ warranty* and to assist with servicing again in the future.

The movement is correctly signed ‘Seiko’, ‘25 Jewels’ along with the movement calibre number 5646A and the movement serial number 161062.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

The incredible stainless steel case measures an oversized 37mm, excluding the correct signed crown. This watch carries a very thin, plain bezel which gives the dial a larger feel when worn on the wrist. This case really is in tip-top condition from every aspect.

The case has been carefully inspected for fatigue marks and there are none. It has received a light clean and gentle hand-polish, simply to remove any tarnish and to bring back to the almost new condition you see here. Even under close examination, there are no scratches, dings or signs of wear, visible to the naked eye which leads us to suspect that this watch has seen little, if any, use. The case-back is of full thickness having never been inscribed.

The exterior of the case back is correctly signed ‘Stainless Steel 5646-7030 Water Resistant’ along with the the case serial number 477512.

**Please note – even though this watch was specified as waterproof when new and the rubber seals have been replaced on the case-back and crown, the water-resistance of this watch has not been tested and is not guaranteed.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a high quality grey leather strap which we believe matches perfectly with the dial and bezel, along with a plain stainless steel buckle, which we feel suits the watch perfectly. If, however, a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1973.

Detailed particulars will be included with our receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a truly first class original example of a fully original Seiko automatic watch.  This watch is perfect for every day / every occasion use. It will make an excellent investment and heirloom piece. Even though vintage watch prices have risen markedly of late, we still feel first class examples such as this remain undervalued. And as each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches continues to expand, prices will inevitably climb ever higher.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage steel watches.

Thank you.