The story of the Lord Marvel is a cornerstone of Seiko history. The first “flagship” of the brand, the Lord Marvel was a playground for technical prowess on the part of engineers at Seiko. Introduced in 1958, they “Lorded” over the brand for two full years before the arrival of the first Grand Seiko. The early GS models were an evolutionary merger of the Marvel and Crown movements, and a close relation to the Lord Marvel. Fortunately, the GS did not replace its direct predecessor, and in 1964, Lord Marvel shifted into its second generation of movements, the larger 5740 series. The 5740 would develop over three iterations, A,B, and C, the latter of which would become Seiko’s first “high beat” offering. While the 36,000 bph references attract most of the attention give to the Lord Marvel Series, the earlier A and B variants can’t be ignored. The 5740A with a beat rate of 18,000 bears more than a passing resemblance to the GS 3180, and is a beautifully finished hand wound calibre with few shortcomings. A serialized train wheel bridge, second setting (hack) lever, and a tadpole fine adjustor on the balance speak to its stature as a front runner of the brand. The 5740A is housed within two references: the 5740-1990, and the 5740-0010, and both saw fairly large production runs over the course of two years. This brings us to today’s offering, and it is unquestionably the rarest of the 5740 trifecta. The 5740B, with further refinements over the “A” version kept the second setting feature, but added a “rack and pinion” fine adjustor in place of the “tadpole,” and the beat rate was increased to a smoother 19800. In production for less than a year, the 5740B was housed in, to my knowledge, the only Seiko reference to to technically house two movement variants, the 5740-8000. Nearly identical to its “high beat” successor, the 8000 “B” is a mid century masterpiece. An exercise in minimalism, it foregoes the black treatment given to the dauphine hands and Arabic markers of the high beat, and the sunburst finish of the silver white dial is even more subtle beneath the glossy lacquer finish. The dial text consists of only two lines; a flowing “Lord Marvel” in script beneath the SEIKO badge, and in small print above the six, “Diashock 23 Jewels.” Even the Suwa “S” is absent. The case is identical aside from the “Crowned Sea Horse” motif of the screw down case back denoting its finer quality and water resistance. This example from October of 1966 is absolutely stunning, and is unpolished and completely original aside from a replacement crystal. Post service, it’s keeping near perfect time, and we’ve paired it with a textured grain leather in black with white stitching for clean, crisp finish. The rarest of the Lord Marvel set, this is the first, and likely last, opportunity we’ll get to share this offering, and it’s sure to be a highlight in any rotation.

CNS Textured Grain Black Leather with White Stitch

Serviced 4/24/23

Diameter- 35mm

Lugs- 19mm