When I was first bitten by the watch bug nearly a decade ago, one of the first watches I bought to support my budding addiction was the Seiko SARB017.
Better known as the Alpinist, the green-dialed SARB017 became a fan-favorite thanks to its unique and attractive design along with specs like a sapphire crystal and 200m water resistance that, for the time, were considered rare for the price.
The SARB017 remains the most beloved version of Seiko’s long-running series of mountaineering watches, which dates back to the original Laurel Alpinist from 1959.
So the enthusiast community was understandably distraught when Seiko discontinued the SARB017 in 2018. A year later, the brand debuted the SARB017’s replacement with a new line of “Alpinist-inspired” models in its higher-end Prospex series, with the nearly identical-looking SPB121 effectively acting as the replacement for the iconic SARB017.
In the six years since, Seiko has offered up several limited-edition Alpinists, but the core line has remained the same. That is, until now, as the Japanese watchmaker has just updated the entire Alpinist line — and I think fans are going to like the changes.