{"id":7083,"date":"2021-10-22T23:01:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T21:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watchandvintage.fr\/?page_id=7083"},"modified":"2025-11-21T11:55:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T10:55:46","slug":"seiko-lord-matic-and-lord-matic-special-1968-1975","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.watchandvintage.fr\/fr\/histoire-et-informations-sur-les-gammes-montres-emblematiques\/seiko-lord-matic-et-lord-matic-special-1968-1975","title":{"rendered":"Seiko Lord matic et Lord Matic Special (1968-1977)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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These informations were mainly gathered through my own experience, from watches I actually had in hands. They reflect what I observed and are not the holy truth. Page amended October, 2nd 2025. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text & Pictures : D. Broglin – Watch & Vintage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lord Matic was the mid to high range of automatic watches introduced by Seiko in 1968 and based on the freshly developed 56xx movement. As you might probably know, there was actually two ranges of LM, the one produced by the Suwa factory, based on the 56xx movement and the LM Special introduced a couple of years later by the Daini factory and based on the 52xx movement.<\/strong>

List of all models Seiko Lord Matic (LM)<\/strong><\/a>
List of all models Seiko Lord Matic Special (LM Special)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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It is commonly admitted that the first LMs were introduced in 1968 by Suwa and mostly replaced the Seikomatic <\/a>range. However, it seems that some models were released as early as December 1967 (ref.<\/a>).
Until the early 70s, most models had a rather classical design, the cases were often monobloc ones, meaning you couldn’t access the calibre by the back. The “LM” acronym probably appeared lately in 1968, the first models produced had “Lord Matic” in full letters on their dial and the clasp of the bracelet only had “Seiko” embossed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A Lord Matic from January 1968<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the 70’s, the range became more diverse with the introduction of quite excentric models with coloured dials, facetted crystals and sometimes weird cases.
The LM Special models from Daini probably appeared in 1971 and adopted from the start a kind of mixed classical\/funky style.

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Lord Matic 56xx : movements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 56xx family is a big and famous range of automatic movements, that equipped not only the Lord Matic but the King (5621, 5625, 5626) and Grand Seiko (5641, 5645, 5646) as well. They all had the stop second and the manual winding feature.
The Lord Matic was available in time-only, date-only or day & date configuration, with respectively the 5601, 5605 and 5606 calibre. The frequency of these movements is 21,600 bph and they had 23 or 25 jewels. The 5606 has a double language day disc, one of the language always being English. The second language can be Kanji, German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Dutch. This system of double language will be then adopted in almost all Seiko movements (6106, 7019, 7009, etc…). The day and date quickset is one of (if not the only) the weaknesses of the calibre. Unfortunately, Seiko had the bad idea to use a plastic transfer wheel which tends to break or unseal from its metal support when you try to set the day or the date between 11 pm and 2 pm. Many, many movements are affected by this issue and replacement parts are rare and expensive.

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Lord Matic 56xx : variations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I wrote earlier, the first models (from 1968 to ca 1970) had a classical design, with white, black or silver dials. All cases were made of stainless steel or were gold plated. Some very rare early models had a 18k solid gold case. The crystal was generally made of glass, glued on a flat bezel surrounding the dial and maintained by a pressed ring, but some models had acrylic crystals as well, especially the ones with shaped cases (oval, squared…).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All Lord Matics had a stainless steel bracelet, with a “LM” embossed clasp. The very early models had only “Seiko” embossed on their clasp. You can watch the endlink of a bracelet to know if it matches the case. It wears two numbers, the calibre reference and the first 3 digits of the case reference. (see picture for a LM 5606-7040)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In ca 1970, Seiko started to produce more casual models, following the general trend of the 70’s. There are a lot of variations and it would probably difficult to list them all. The dials could be green, blue, brown, grey, two-toned, with a colour gradient, etc… Only red dials are rare (Seiko didn’t use much that color, I don’t know why…). The crystals were often facetted, with different patterns as well. Finally, the cases could be square, oval, rectangle…

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Lord Matic Special 52xx : movements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 52xx family is a range of automatic movements, that equipped the Lord Matic Special and the King Seiko Special. They all have the stop second and the manual winding feature, their frequency is 28,800 bph.
The LM Special was only available in day & date configuration, the first couple of years with the 5206 calibre (with instant day & date shift at midnight) and then with the simpler 5216 calibre (without instant shift). It has a double language day disc, like the 5606 movement. The day and date quickset is working well and hasn’t the same potential issue than the 56xx.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to know that these 52xx movements have been reengineered in the 90’s to lead to the excellent 4S calibre range (4S12, 4S15, etc…) which can be found in the Seiko Alpinist and SUS ranges and some Credor as well.

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Lord Matic Special 52xx : variations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The design of the Lord Matic Special is an association of classical and more excentric elements. All cases were made of stainless steel or were gold plated. They were quite small, they almost never exceed 35 mm in diametre. The crystal is as far as I know always made of glass and is sometimes facetted. The dials can be coloured (blue and green are the most common ones) but is often white or black.
Finally, the cases are generally round but some models had square or rectangle ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All LM Special had a metal bracelet, with a “LM” embossed clasp.
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Before buying a Seiko LM – Issues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Seiko Lord Matic are quite easy to find, except for some models. Generally speaking, the points you will have to verify are the following ones :<\/p>\n\n\n\n