The Seiko Lord Marvel Hi-Beat 5740C -8000
I'm back! After two months of being away from this platform, I'm diving right back into our lovely hobby with a Marvel of a piece! wink wink
Cringe on the pun aside, this beauty dates back to the month of April in 1967, making it the oldest watch in my collection to date. The Lord Marvel is a defunct line that was, during the time of its introduction in 1958, the peak of mechanical Seiko watchmaking. However, two years later, that crown was ursuped by a line we all know by name, Grand Seiko. There are plenty of articles online regarding the history of the Lord Marvel line, do take a look at them! They're eye openers to the realm of vintage Seiko.
Coming back to this piece in question, let us address the elephant in the room, the Hi-Beat movement. The 5740C movement inside of this Lord Marvel is the second Hi- Beat movement ever produced in the WORLD, the first being produce by Girard - Perregaux of the Swiss in 1966. Just a few months later, Seiko came up with this technological marvel, forgive the pun hehe, in 1967, fully in-house, the 5740C caliber. Worn and Wound wrote a lengthy article on it, do give it a read!
My example is one of the earliest examples, with it having the very rare Seahorse caseback and gold wordings on the movement, as evident in the picture above. The movement picture was taken by the kind soul whom I've procured the watch from, as I am not nearly as ballsy to open up the caseback myself.
The watch has measurements true to that of its era, being 35mm in diameter and 41mm lug- to- lug. Its slim, sexy and the Hi-Beat Lord Marvel was the peak of the line back in the day. I am truly grateful to be able to own this piece of history! What are your thoughts on it? Do comment below, cheers!
1st, welcome back!
2nd, that’s a lovely watch. The execution on these older Seikos is incredible. Great job on acquiring it. Bravo 👏🏻
What a great piece. Thank you for sharing.
Welcome back mate 👍
I have nothing but good things to say about this line up of Seiko’s, a bit biased though as I own one as well with the Arabic numerals on the dial. Sorry I don’t know the reference number or production year, I’ll have to have a look when I get home from work, blasted night shifts. I’ll have to upload a picture of the watch 👍
Enjoy your beautiful watch my friend, their a true classic 🙏🏻
What an amazing combination of indices and dial colour! 👏👏👏
Thank You for sharing!
1st, welcome back!
2nd, that’s a lovely watch. The execution on these older Seikos is incredible. Great job on acquiring it. Bravo 👏🏻
Thank you for your kind words my friend! Appreciate the hearty welcome and yes, these older Seikos are gems!
What a great piece. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you kind sir!
Welcome back mate 👍
I have nothing but good things to say about this line up of Seiko’s, a bit biased though as I own one as well with the Arabic numerals on the dial. Sorry I don’t know the reference number or production year, I’ll have to have a look when I get home from work, blasted night shifts. I’ll have to upload a picture of the watch 👍
Enjoy your beautiful watch my friend, their a true classic 🙏🏻
Thank you very much for the welcome back! If I'm correct, the Arabic numerals with the gorgeous linen dial like yours should be produced towards the end of the Lord Marvel line, early 1970s. Do share a picture! Would love to see your marvellous piece! Pun alert 😁
What an amazing combination of indices and dial colour! 👏👏👏
Thank You for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Always a pleasure 🙏🏼
Thank you very much for the welcome back! If I'm correct, the Arabic numerals with the gorgeous linen dial like yours should be produced towards the end of the Lord Marvel line, early 1970s. Do share a picture! Would love to see your marvellous piece! Pun alert 😁
Love the pun, definitely appropriate 🤣
Wow! In another thread, somebody mentioned "Lord Seiko," and I thought they were joking around, just making fun of the whole "grand" then "king," etc. And, so, I said that "Lord Seiko" sounded like a Sith from the era of the Old Republic. Like this dude or something:
But, I guess it's a real thing!
Great watch!!!
Lord Marvel, Duke of Quartzdom, is 27th in line to the British throne. His son, the Earl of Watchstrap was my squash partner at Eton.
Wow! In another thread, somebody mentioned "Lord Seiko," and I thought they were joking around, just making fun of the whole "grand" then "king," etc. And, so, I said that "Lord Seiko" sounded like a Sith from the era of the Old Republic. Like this dude or something:
But, I guess it's a real thing!
Great watch!!!
HAHAAHA yes, the Lord Marvel was indeed considered a Sith Lord in the Swiss dominated industry post WWII. That being said, I think you may have just knighted this particular watch. Henceforth, this watch shall be known as the Darth Malgus😂🤝
Lord Marvel, Duke of Quartzdom, is 27th in line to the British throne. His son, the Earl of Watchstrap was my squash partner at Eton.
OMG! I’ve always wanted an autograph from the Duke, I heard he’s a stud! Do send it to me, I beg of you sir! 🥺😂
Beautiful watch with a BEAUTIFUL movement! And that is one of the cleanest examples I've seen. Top stuff, well done.
Lovely piece,I love the vintage seiko's so well made and top quality, on the look out for a tidy king seiko high beat to go with my twin quartz. Enjoy that lovely lord seiko 👍
Beautiful watch with a BEAUTIFUL movement! And that is one of the cleanest examples I've seen. Top stuff, well done.
Thank you very much for your kind words! Appreciate it!🙏
Lovely piece,I love the vintage seiko's so well made and top quality, on the look out for a tidy king seiko high beat to go with my twin quartz. Enjoy that lovely lord seiko 👍
I just saw your King twin quartz as well! Fantastic piece! Thank you for your kind words, good sir👍
So, I know this is an old thread, but I recently got one of these myself!
I'm wondering, do you know what the power reserve of a 5740C is supposed to be? I can't find any info on that specifically online.
So far mine only last about 12 hours! But I am also very afraid of overwinding it. Maybe I'm not winding enough? Or maybe the power reserve is less because it is high-beat? Maybe it needs a new mainspring or better lubrication? I figured these should last about the standard 30+ hours on a full wind.
Any advice or experience of your own would be appreciated!
Hey there! Thanks for reaching out, I'll do my best to provide some help.
Theoretically, the 5740C movement has an approximate power reserve of around two and a half days. Speaking from personal experience, mine is right around there as well. There is a direct correlation between the around of crown winds and the approximate power reserve. I can't remember the black and white source of this information, but it was on a WatchUseek thread, you may want to search for it.
Therefore, in your good self's case, 12 hours is extremely poor and I would definitely take it for a service. It could be just a lubrication issue but to be sure, do ask your watchmaker for details. Has the watch been serviced before?
As for overwinding, I would like to comment on this myth as well. From my personal experience, there should not be worries on owerwinding, IF, your timepiece is in good condition. (Serviced regularly etc etc). I personally own many vintage pieces (my oldest being from 1908) and I do my best to wind them to their stop. Of course, this takes experience and never go PAST a full stop once you've felt it in the crown.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hey there! Thanks for reaching out, I'll do my best to provide some help.
Theoretically, the 5740C movement has an approximate power reserve of around two and a half days. Speaking from personal experience, mine is right around there as well. There is a direct correlation between the around of crown winds and the approximate power reserve. I can't remember the black and white source of this information, but it was on a WatchUseek thread, you may want to search for it.
Therefore, in your good self's case, 12 hours is extremely poor and I would definitely take it for a service. It could be just a lubrication issue but to be sure, do ask your watchmaker for details. Has the watch been serviced before?
As for overwinding, I would like to comment on this myth as well. From my personal experience, there should not be worries on owerwinding, IF, your timepiece is in good condition. (Serviced regularly etc etc). I personally own many vintage pieces (my oldest being from 1908) and I do my best to wind them to their stop. Of course, this takes experience and never go PAST a full stop once you've felt it in the crown.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
I figured something might be wrong. The watch came serviced with the purchase, and it actually runs very decently. However I'm not sure on the qualifications of the person who serviced it. And I'm quite certain there is some sort of issue there, whether it be the main spring or lubrication.
I usually wind it until I feel that stop. I start a bit fast and slow down as I feel more resistance. I can do about 20 winds before it feels like it reaches that stop point which also seems low. Most of my manual winds can take closer to 30 winds. But again, I'm a vintage novice to be honest.
Thanks for the advice!
I figured something might be wrong. The watch came serviced with the purchase, and it actually runs very decently. However I'm not sure on the qualifications of the person who serviced it. And I'm quite certain there is some sort of issue there, whether it be the main spring or lubrication.
I usually wind it until I feel that stop. I start a bit fast and slow down as I feel more resistance. I can do about 20 winds before it feels like it reaches that stop point which also seems low. Most of my manual winds can take closer to 30 winds. But again, I'm a vintage novice to be honest.
Thanks for the advice!
No worries, good sir! Always a pleasure to help out.
As a reference, my Lord Marvel takes approximately 40+turns to reach its full stop. Do let me know if you need more details, have a great one!