Seiko introduced the Alpinist wristwatch in 1961 with the intention of it becoming a reliable timepiece for Japanese mountain climbers and other sports enthusiasts alike. The production of this watch was vital because it was the first real attempt at making a sports watch by Seiko. Seiko Alpinist watches started being produced in 1961 and inspired by Yama-Otoko, which is Japanese for mountain men. Mountains cover much of the Japanese landscape, and the mountain men that worked or spent time in the mountains during their free time were supposedly the inspiration of this line of Seiko watches. These men required excellent gear that could handle the rugged terrain and that they could depend on for accuracy.
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Seiko Prospex Alpinist GMT Green Ref. SBEJ005
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Fast forward to 2006, Seiko released the Alpinist Green Ref. SARB017 along with another two that were often forgotten; the SARB013 (Cream white) and SARB015 (Black dial) vairents, and they were an instant success. The popularity of the SARBs were due to the diversity and uniqueness of the watch. It can be worn in any situation, business or casual.The green dial of the SARB017 and gilt markers along with its one of a kind case design have hit home-run for many watch enthusiasts for almost a decade and a half until it is about to run dry.Did Seiko eradicate such a purposeful everyday sports watch due to its long run? At first, that’s what many of us have beliefs and not hoping for, but Seiko surprised us once again with the new Seiko Prospex Alpinist Green SBEJ005 equipped with their latest 6R54 GMT caliber and several upgrade features.
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Original Alpinist hour markers and hands set
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Let’s start with the prominent upgrade of the New Alpinist. The old Alpinist Sarb017 used the 6R15 automatic movement during its launch. Well, since the 6R15 produced in 2005, the Seiko Sumo range adopted this movement since day one, and have relied on it until 14 years later, where Seiko decided that they should refresh the collection with the latest engine- the 6R54. This movement is totally new in 2023, making this timepiece the first few to feature Seiko's new automatic caliber with a GMT function. Maintaining operation at 21,600 BPH (3 Hertz) with hacking and hand winding capabilities, this engine has 24 jewels and a longer power reserve of 72 hours (3 days), a whopping 22 hours more than the 7R and 6S.The case of this Alpinist GMT has a new diameter of 39.5mm. It has a 46.4mm length from lug to lug, with a 20 mm lug width. The wristwatch is not too thick, at just over 13 mm in thickness. The case continues the classic Alpinist design ethos, but now with the addition of 24-hour markings on the fixed bezel.Now, the Alpinist gets a much durable domed sapphire crystal withou a any magnifying Cyclops. Like the SARB017, it bears a unique forest green dial with gold applied indexes and matching gold hands. The beautiful sunburst dial is one of the most striking features of this watch, which has an easily recognizable and well-defined sunburst effect on its dial that gives outshine depending on the light condition — different angle different tonality. The beauty, you got to admire in person.
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| Beautiful case with internal rotating bezel |
Since the new generation of professional tool watches in the Prospex line gets the “X” emblem on the dial side, along the new “GMT” wording in red to match with its GM hand. The Alpinist kept all the golden applied hour markers and handset, keeping the original look of the coveted SARB017.
The main traits of what this the “Japanese Explorer” has to be its internal rotating bezel, which doubles up as a compass for the mountain climbers which the watch was intended for and is operated by rotating the second crown at 4 o’clock.
The Alpinist GMT comes paired with the 20mm black calf leather strap with matching stitchings, enhancing a certain vintage touch of yesteryears.
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| Seiko luminous glows brightly in the dark |
Summing things up, the all-new Seiko Alpinist GMT is a first for Seiko but its spirit came a long way since 1961, springing up from the ever modest beginning as an entry-level sporty explorer watch to become a concurring horological marvel in continuation with the livery today. It’s not difficult to know where Seiko took the inspiration from, greenery of the mountain range of Japan, in line with the Alpinist concept with the much-needed upgrades that all of us in agreement terms of its value proposition.
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