Today I’m thinking of the first time I saw an Alpinist dial. It was the Seiko Alpinist SARB017 with its beautiful green dial, lumed golden cathedral hands and golden markers (Arabic even numerals and stretched bullet shaped odd hour markers). I was smitten. Research helped me learn a little of the interesting history behind the Seiko SARB017 and the Alpinist range that it sits in. Released in 2006 and discontinued (allegedly, Seiko never actually confirm these things) in 2020, it’s a so-called modern classic released alongside its lesser seen brothers, the SARB013 and SARB015 with cream and black dials respectively. It superseded several other Alpinist models dating back to 1961, some of which are reasonably rare and very collectible now, and by Seiko standards at least, quite expensive.

Seiko really know how to do dials. People often talk about their blue sunburst dials which are just sublime, some being almost fumé-like in their subtle graduation across the face. In particular the vintage sunburst dials from the seventies caught my attention since very early in my Seiko addiction. I have some modern pieces, but the dials in my price range are never as good as those from the sixties and seventies. Maybe as someone born in the late sixties it’s in my genes; a love of seventies simplicity with bright designs, of simplicity and cartoon colour palettes giving the dial an optimism that the following decades wiped away in their pursuit of wealth ahead of love. Janet would never approve. Maybe that’s for another review.

The Alpinist was originally designed to work with the traditional pastime of men who work or hike in the mountains of Japan, the Yama-Otoko, with its internal rotating compass bezel and screw down crown allied with a solid and engraved caseback and 200m water resistance. It’s recently had a new range of models released and it’s even popular enough to have have gotten the Hodinkee treatment with an instantly sold out blue dialled special edition recently. At least it wasn’t a travel clock. When you are working on a small budget it’s not quite as simple as finding one on ebay and mashing the Buy It Now button. Besides, where would the fun be in that? Forum sales and other avenues drew a blank with my financial limitations. Then about a year into the hunt one came up on ebay not too far from me with decent price and offers accepted. I contacted the buyer to see what he was looking for and after a bit of back and forth we sealed the deal.

It was head only from July 2012 with no box or papers, but they only go into a cupboard and the OEM strap is meant to be a piece of crap anyway. A couple of nervous days later (I always think I’m about to get ripped off) it arrived and I was really pleased. The Seiko Alpinist SARB017 was lovely to look at, ran well and was in pretty good condition. I put it on the Hirsch strap I’d saved especially for it and…meh. Not feeling it. And then I tried it on different straps, different colours, on NATOs, on bracelets and despite getting some compliments I didn’t like how it looked or felt, I just could not connect. Disappointed, I had decided to sell it when a mate suggested one more go with a selection of value straps from Cousins. And Bingo! Not to everyone’s tastes but I love it on the tan leather fake croc. I love it enough that I’m planning to spring for a proper one at some point. I’m still working within that budget though and Fifth Wrist has me looking at too many watches… far too many watches. It may be a while.