Litt historikk tåler vi vel også, klokka har forøvrig gått ut av produksjon nå, så det gjelder å hive seg på tasturet hvis en passe stor klokke med grønn skive er fristende.
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 important because it was the first real attempt at making a sports watch by Seiko. Seiko Alpinist watches started being produced in 1961 and were 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.
Fast forward to 2006, Seiko released the Alpinist Green Ref. SARB017 and it was an instant success. The popularity of the SARB017 was due to the diversity and uniqueness of the watch, it can be worn in literally any situation, business or casual.
Powered by Seiko's automatic caliber, 6R15, operating at 21,600 BPH (3 Hertzs) with hacking and hand winding capabilities. It has 23 jewels with a power reserve of 50 hours through a Spron 510 mainspring. Another added bonus on this watch that is not in other SARB line watches is the Diashock absorber. Being a watch to be used in rough environment, the diashock will provide addition absorber protection to the movement from falls, drops or any moderate impact.
The case of this SARB017 has a diameter of 38mm excluding crown and 41mm including crown. It has a 46 mm length from lug to lug, with 20 mm lug width. The wrist watch is not too thick, at just over 12 mm in thickness.
The 38mm stainless steel case contains a unique 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 the easily recognizable and well-defined sunburst effect on its dial that gives out shine depending on the light condition. Different angle different tonality. Beauty you got to admire in person. The SARB017 has a 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.
It’s not difficult to know where Seiko took the inspiration from, greenery of the mountainous range of Japan, in line with the Alpinist concept.