This 4823, like its co-habitant the 5855/6 in the Japanese catalogues of 1975, is a very solidly made quartz (your watchmaker will love it!). It is however a thicker watch than its descendants. To be sure, it has huge presence and its thermo-compensation, due to its relative thickness, is still excellent after all these years. The 48 series was a development on the 38series of high quality quartz movement, the first Seiko quartz movement to be produced in large quantities. That earlier movement featured a 16382 Hz quartz oscillator but the 48 series doubled that to 32768 Hz.
The Navy Blue dial work is impeccable, this truly is a high end watch. You noticed of course the black striped hand? It gives this watch something extra..... great legibility and some "punch".
That punch is also implemented in the mechanics of this watch, it has that special Seiko gimmick of the "jumping seconds hand". This means that it will jump ahead 10 seconds when you pull the crown to adjust the time. It makes time setting so much easier!
In my experience these single quartzes are among the most accurate vintages; the twin quartzes like the 99 series have the specs for sure, but after 40 years or so… build quality and robustness gain the upper hand. The early King Quartzes truly shine!
The King Quartz at hand is fully original with a new leather strap and runs precisely to specs.
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Manufacture: Seiko
Model:             King Quartz
Reference:      4823 8000
Movement:     Quartz at 10 spm Seconds PM
Battery:           SR936SW~394
Serial No.:       5NXXXX
Case:               Tanaka design 37x42x11mm without crown
Crystal:           Acrylic 30mm, Serial#: 300W88GA
Dial:                 Blue Slate
Lugs:               19mm lugs, springbar diameter: , clasp diameter: , clasp pin:
Production:     1975