There have been a lot of Seiko releases already this week with the launch of the Speedtimer 6R, Speedtimer 8R Mechanical and all the Datsun limited editions. However, the party doesn’t stop just yet as they’re also releasing a new Prospex Alpinist ‘Night Sky’ European Exclusive in midnight blue.
The Alpinist is a collection close to my heart because the SPB243 is the first watch that I wrote about for Oracle Time and then subsequently added to my personal collection. Although the Prospex Alpinist ‘Night Sky’ SPB531J1 is based on a different model from the Alpinist family, the SPB121, the compass variant.
It has a 39.5mm case was a double crown and pronounced crown-guards that emphasise its adventure watch status. The crown at 3 o’clock operates the winding, time-setting and date setting while the crown at 4 o’clock rotates the internal compass bezel. Check out our guide to using you watch as a compass for the full lowdown but in brief, by lining up the hour hand with the sun, the halfway point between the hour hand and 12 o’clock is south – by marking this with the compass bezel it allows you to take bearings and stay on course easier (not strictly essential but a nice convenience).
A key reason for including a compass bezel on the Alpinist is that they were originally designed to be used by ‘Yama-otoko’, Japanese mountain men who sometimes serve as guides to travellers in their region. The mountain landscape is often a point of inspiration for Seiko (and Grand Seiko) and that’s the case here too. Though the dial of the Prospex Alpinist ‘Night Sky’ SPB531J1 is actually based on what happens when you get to the peak and look up, to the night sky above.
With a deep blue tone, it conjures images of the deep night, lit only by stars and perhaps a warm campfire to keep you safe on the mountain slopes. There is a vertically brushed finish, which is understated compared to some of textures you find on Seiko’s more prestigious cousin Grand Seiko’s mountain dials, such as the Mount Iwate ‘Snowscape’. I like the elegance of it though, gentle and quiet. While it doesn’t depict any stars, you can almost imagine the lines are like the wheeling of stars overhead in a grand timelapse.
The other aspect of the Alpinist I like is that it is very much the gentleman explorer. No hybrid composite materials here, no full lume futuristic displays or skeletonization, just nice alternating numerals and indexes with lumed cathedral hands. There’s also a date window at 3 o’clock with cyclops lens, so you know how long you’ve been stuck on the mountain for. It almost feels like a hybrid dress-field watch, which is what makes it stand out from competitors like the Hamilton Khaki Field Expedition.
Powering the Seiko Prospex Alpinist ‘Night Sky’ SPB531J1 European Exclusive is the 6R35 automatic movement. Now this is a movement I do have experience with because it’s also the calibre in my own Alpinist. It’s really solid for the price with a 70-hour power reserve that keeps it ticking over the weekend when you put it down on Friday evening. Admittedly the accuracy leaves a little to be desired at -15/+25 seconds per day, but that’s not too much of a surprise for Seiko. If you want higher accuracy, save up for a chronometer or look at a quartz option instead.
The Seiko Prospex Alpinist ‘Night Sky’ SPB531J1 European Exclusive is priced at £780 in a limited edition of 3,000 pieces, available only from Seiko’s European points of retail. On balance I still prefer the cleaner look of the 1959 Re-Interpretation compared to the compass Alpinist. However, I think there’s a strong argument that this is the best-looking compass Alpinist to date.
Price and Specs:
More details at Seiko.
