# Seiko Alpinist will be back but expected double at price



## mitadoc (Sep 25, 2010)

Fresh from today from SeiyaJapan

*
The Alpinist will make a comeback in Jan 2020.
*

POSTED BY *SEIYA KOBAYASHI* · SEPTEMBER 06, 2019



It has been newly fitted with 6R35 movement. The power reserve has been upgraded to 70hr. *(The 6R15 movement had a 50hr power reserve.)


It will keep the 20 ATM water resistance but will come with a see-through back.


The green dial will remain pretty much the same. It was announced that a black and white contrasting dial will be offered as well.


There aren't any available photos, and details are subject to change.
But I still can't wait for it to come out.

SBDC091
Green dial + Brown leather strap -- 75000 Yen

SBDC089
White dial + Black leather strap -- 75000 Yen

SBDC087
Black dial + SS bracelet -- 77000 Yen

SeiyaJapan.com


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## Tazmo61 (Oct 3, 2016)

Beat me to it :laughing2dw: I will be looking forward to this one .

https://www.seiyajapan.com/blogs/news/the-alpinist-will-make-a-comeback-in-jan-2020


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

ooooOOOOOOoooo :thumbsup:


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## Jet Jetski (Feb 10, 2019)

mitadoc said:


> Fresh from today from SeiyaJapan
> 
> *
> The Alpinist will make a comeback in Jan 2020.
> ...


 I so nearly bought the old one. 70 hrs is good.


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

Fine watch,70 hrs is excellent.


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## mitadoc (Sep 25, 2010)

Just killed the sales of the blue LE one.

Lol


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## Speedy112 (Jan 24, 2016)

Always been tempted to buy one and have tried one on the wrist many times.. the main reasons I guess I never made the purchase was I wasn't impressed that the compass crown was not a screw down and would keep moving about in daily use and it always gave me concern about the Water resistance not that I would probably ever wear it anywhere near water..Also the Bezel also being highly polished for me would always be a scratch magnet as with the Rolex GMT its always been a reason I have never made the purchase.. but its a great looking piece IMO.


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## ZenArcade (Aug 17, 2016)

Retail price close to £600 the original one was about £350. Could be had at a discount for about £270 but then that was also back when the pound wasn't the laughing stock of the world.

Some slight improvements, better movements I expect it will be found at less than retail and for all the people comparing the price to micro brands most of them are now going north of £4-500 half the time with a Seiko movement in them.

Interesting times with this and the new Seiko 5 divers out. Both with slight improvements just enough for people with no intention of actually using those functions on the watch to complain about.


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## mitadoc (Sep 25, 2010)

I use to ha e a green one, SARB017. It was alright, just too tall for the diameter of 37mm and this freely rotating bezel just niggled me all the time with its continuous misalignment as no click or stop to fix it. Sold it easily. The green sunburst dial with goldfish accents was gorgeous though.


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## ZenArcade (Aug 17, 2016)

mitadoc said:


> I use to ha e a green one, SARB017. It was alright, just too tall for the diameter of 37mm and this freely rotating bezel just niggled me all the time with its continuous misalignment as no click or stop to fix it. Sold it easily. The green sunburst dial with goldfish accents was gorgeous though.


 It was always a bit of one of those watches nobody really wanted until they sold out.


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## MSC (Dec 12, 2018)

I had a few years break from watches and the first thing I noticed on my return was the Seiko prices have risen ALOT.

Not all of them, the 5 range still seems roughly the same but the next tier up like Prospex seems to have gone up dramatically.


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## JonnyOldBoy (Mar 28, 2017)

ZenArcade said:


> but then that was also back when the pound wasn't the laughing stock of the world.


 Chinese currency often produces a fuller belly laugh.


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## GASHEAD (Aug 27, 2009)

Interested in seeing a white version but as per comments above I had a green one once but whilst it was a beautiful looking watch it was slightly too chunky for its size and didn't quite sit right, so off it went.


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## Yanto (Sep 27, 2018)

Looked at buying one maybe two years ago. Nice looking model. I'm a Seiko fan too. But ended up buying my Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic. For me nicer to wear, better power reserve too. And better vfm. If the new ones are much more expensive, then in my eyes they are way overpriced


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

The reason why the Alpinist doesn't have a screw-down crown or other locking/ratchet mechanism for the compass bezel is that, if you were using it for its intended purpose, you'd need to be taking frequent readings and making adjustments as necessary. The sun isn't screwed into the sky! Unlike dive-time or even dual time zone bezels, in this case (pardon the pun) a locking mechanism would not only be a hindrance it'd be a major design flaw.

Serious field/outdoor watches shouldn't have display backs either. Ugh!


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## AlexC1981 (Jul 26, 2009)

Seiko seem to want to move up a tier. I can't see many buyers who have only a passing interest in watches spending that sort of money on a Seiko. Most casual buyers would lump Seiko, Citizen, Accurist, Sekonda and Rotary all in the same group.


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## Bonzodog (Aug 29, 2018)

At that price for me ,it's a bit steep.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

It will be interesting to see if they increase the diameter from the original's 39mm

Looking forward to the pictures!


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

Must admit, I did like the original light blue Alpinist, and the limited edition USA dark blue version is lovely, but not at £1K.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-Alpinist-SPB089-watch-limited-edition-for-Hodinkee-/333320331305


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## Solar Pilgrim (Aug 26, 2019)

I never understood the appeal of the Alpinist. Is it partially the initial rarity of them that has carried over?


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