I have a lot of vintage King Seikos and appreciate them for their unique Seiko aesthetics as well as their "stealth" top-quality vintage movements. I rather agree with this article that the recent release of new KS models based on the distinctly mediocre 6R31 movement was a mistake: https://www.beyondthedial.com/post/opinion-why-the-2022-king-seiko-relaunch-was-a-misstep/ Back in the day King Seiko was (variously) on par with, or only just below Grand Seiko in quality and percieved status. The 2000 and more recent SJE083J1 special editions didn't do much harm to that image, but it seems to me that these recent 6R31 releases represent a deliberate repositioning of KS as a mid-to-entry level label rather than a high-end one. I'm curious how people think this will affect how vintage King Seikos are perceived. On the one hand, reintroducing the label as a non-one-off line will make people more aware of the vintage models. On the other, the distinctly mid-level postioning of the new King Seikos might rub off on the vintage ones. Or are these new models just not prominent enough in the market for it to make much difference? I love my King Seikos and certainly didn't acquire them as investments, but I admit to have taken a certain satisfaction in the steady increase in their value on the used market over the last 5 or 10 years, as more and more people have become aware of their quality and their fascinating history. I wonder if these new King Seikos are going to further encourage that or largely undo it..
It won't make any difference, vintage is vintage, and introducing new versions with the same name is a completely different market.
While it does tend to reinforce the impression of KS being below GS (which wasn't really true in the 60s), as @Evitzee mentioned, vintage prices have a life of their own and vintage KS seems to be gaining recognition along with vintage Seiko in general.
KS will always be something special...for me, 44-9990 is perfect vintage KS and nothing modern cant change it.
I was rather disappointed with the new KS in the metal. It felt like Presage quality but at a higher asking price. Not really worthy of the King Seiko name IMHO.
Seiko did the same with the 62MAS reissues, why should this be a surprise? For those who can afford it, there's the SLA017; for everyone else, there's the SBDC101/105/051/053. As with the SPB053/051, I expect a superficially similar, even more affordable "reinterpretation" is already on the way.for KS. Here's a gratuitous pic of my '66 KSK on a bracelet: