Seiko Alpinist

[Joey Ramone]

Love this watch on a bracelet.



Anyone got one? How does it wear at 39mm? And are you willing to part with it? Take pity on me. I'm in the midst of a divorce so can't stretch to a Milgauss.

Seriously, retailers seem to have run out. Same with the Monster variants I've been searching for. Shame, such a good looking watch.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Can't help with finding you one, but I've seen one on a tan leather strap and that was lovely too.

Great looking watches.

[MantaMike]

one sold on ebay last week, with both bracelet and brown croc leather straps. it went for £355.

[Jobbo]

I have one - the included strap is not very exciting at all but the watch is probably my absolute favourite. And it goes nicely on a wide variety of alternative straps. I'm not that fussed about it on the bracelet, which was never offered by Seiko on the green SARB017 but which you can buy for a quite extortionate price from Seiya Japan: clicky. Alternative bracelets don't look quite right due to fit. So if the bracelet is important to you, prepare to add 50% to the cost.

Since it's not a UK market watch, it's more expensive now than when I bought with a more favourable exchange rate. You've also got to watch out for duty. There are a couple of eBay sellers who ship from within the EU, which is the safest option to make sure you don't get clobbered for VAT and handling fees - e.g: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEIKO-SARB017-MECHANICAL...

[sad61t]

Amazon US list some at just over $400 (remember you'll need to add VAT):
https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SARB017-Mechanical-Al...

[Joey Ramone]

MantaMike said:

one sold on ebay last week, with both bracelet and brown croc leather straps. it went for £355.

Yeah, I was bidding on it. No way I was going to pay that much for it though

Hmm. The link below is handy. Seen it before but may well pursue it. Still don't like the watch on the supplied leather strap but I'm sure an aftermarket strap can be found that shows it off to best effect.

[marcosgt]

Yes, nice watch.

The OEM strap is horrible, though.

I've got mine on Tobacco Colareb Venezia, not sold on it on a bracelet, personally, but each to their own.



I would say, though, that when mine I arrived I nearly stuck it straight on eBay.

The initial thought was that it was too small - It definitely looks smaller in person than it does in photos (or everyone who posts wristshots has tiny arms! ) - but it grew on me and I wear mine quite often now.

M

[dimots]

I gave mine to my Dad. I just never wore it as I almost exclusively wear my Rolex Hulk these days but the Alpinist is a lovely watch, especially for the money.

[dai1983]

Jobbo said:

Since it's not a UK market watch, it's more expensive now than when I bought with a more favourable exchange rate. You've also got to watch out for duty. There are a couple of eBay sellers who ship from within the EU, which is the safest option to make sure you don't get clobbered for VAT and handling fees - e.g: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEIKO-SARB017-MECHANICAL...

Anyone ordered from these sellers as to me they seem too good to be true. Cheaper than buying from Creation etc and no extra to pay. Maybe I'm just over cautious after buying a fake premium hairdryer for the Mrs!

Wanted a sarb033 for about a year

[Jobbo]

I got mine from Citywide Online - think that's the one I linked to. There is definitely something odd going on because the seller's details which you see on the invoice etc are in Hong Kong but it comes quickly from Ireland, hence no duty.

It's eBay; pay with PayPal and you're protected. Nice as an Alpinist is, it is a mass-manufactured watch so there's no reason to fear grey imports.

[Balmoral]

Worth noting that these have been discontinued, many sellers are now out of stock and the last few still available are fetching a high price.

[Percypercy]

Here's mine on an aftermarket strap (I can't remember where I got it from), it's a lovely watch but the prices since Seiko announced their discontinuing the sarb range are stupid, I saw one on eBay bnib for £795.

Edited to spell sarb correctly!

[tobinen]

Lovely watch. I may do some more research. When were they discontinued?

[Percypercy]

tobinen said:

Lovely watch. I may do some more research. When were they discontinued?

Hi Tobinen, It was announced towards the end of February, if I remember correctly, after that Creation Watches pretty much sold out of all the sarb range and the prices on eBay got a bit silly.
I did have an email from Long Island Watches saying they had the 033 and 035 in stock but I haven't checked myself.

[oddman]

I've got one - very small which is OK on my spaghetti wrist

Original strap is absolute bobbins must get a nice one like the one above

Popped over to Seiya to see if the rumours are true - looks like all the SARB watches are sold out - shame

[Wadeski]

I have a 12 year old Ti one, was my daily wear for 10 of those years.

As others have said, it wears small, but since so many other watches these days are hyuuuge, it is good for those who want something for a smaller wrist.

[dai1983]

Jobbo said:

I got mine from Citywide Online - think that's the one I linked to. There is definitely something odd going on because the seller's details which you see on the invoice etc are in Hong Kong but it comes quickly from Ireland, hence no duty.

It's eBay; pay with PayPal and you're protected. Nice as an Alpinist is, it is a mass-manufactured watch so there's no reason to fear grey imports.

Ended up buying a Sarb033 from this seller around Xmas time when there was a 20% off everything. It cost me £198 and seems the cheapest new are now double that! Lovely watch and knew it was going to be small but it’s tiny.

[Jobbo]

Tiny? The case is 38mm according to Seiko but seems to measure 39mm in reality. It doesn’t feel tiny, or even particularly small, after wearing my Seiko Monster or Seamaster Pro.