Following the great success of the Seiko and Hodinkee collaboration of the US Limited Edition blue Alpinist SPB089, it looks like the Alpinist is going blue… Again. This time with yet another limited edition release, the Seiko Prospex SPB199J1.
It appears like the recent release of the 2020 “Alpinists” being transitioned from the older Alpinist lineage to the Seiko Prospex lineup, this new model will seem to follow suit. Although this marketing image provided by Seiko does read “Seiko Alpinist Limited Edition”, there is no Alpinist logos or branding anywhere on the watch. Instead, it’s replaced by the signature X of the Prospex line, at the 6:00 position.
The new SPB199J1 has a glacier blue dial, described by Fratello Watches as a green/grey. The color is awfully similar looking to the Rolex Milgauss Z-Blue, however, seeing this watch in person will be the most telling of how it actually looks in true lighting situations.
Like the rest of the Alpinist/Prospex models, the SPB199J1 shares a rotating internal compass, a date wheel, and applied hour markings alternating between arabic numerals and pointed triangles.
This variation, like the rest of the Alpinists released in 2020, comes in at 39.5mm in diameter, with a thickness of 13.2mm, and a lug width of 20mm.
It also has a sapphire crystal with a single-sided AR coating, as well as a sapphire crystal protecting the see-through case back.
The SPB199J1 is powered by the upgraded Seiko calibre 6R35 movement, an improvement over the former Alpinist’s 6R15. This new upgraded movement boasts an impressive 70 hour power reserve, to keep your watch ticking almost all weekend.
Limited to only 2,020 pieces, you may have a hard time getting your hands on this one, not to mention it’s intended to be a European-exclusive release on November 13. Guess I’ll have to try my hand at tracking down another Hodinkee Blue Alpinist instead…
What do you think of this new “Alpinist”?
