The compass-less Alpinist

[rodia77]

I think it's only the green dial with gilt accents, and the date wheel does not match precisely on the black dial (go figure) but better than white for sure. Blue and green look nicely matched from the photos anyway. The exact opposite of what was reported. Maybe the Zach was phoning it in.

Edit: I guess they are black date wheels, but they actually look close to the dial colors on the green and blue, but the black (gray) dial, the date window sticks out more (still better than white).

Yes, I wasn't precise about the issues I had with that segment: 1. I see no gild in blue and black/grey, 2. the black date wheel matches the black/grey no better than blue or green (the former being too light for a 'precise' match, and the two latter ones being dark enough near the edges to look fine).

I really want one of these. Are they available yet?

Reportedly, yes.

Now, looking at those W&W pics, the cream and white mix looks better on the black/grey one than on the blue one, to me at least...

[gnuyork]

[rodia77]

^^^
Yep, saw that. I think we can stop calling it black/grey and just go with grey.

[gnuyork]

More in depth... Looks good, if a bit chunky. Now I'm wondering if I would prefer the blue or green after seeing the video. Green has the benefit of the bracelet but at the expense of the gilt.

[rodia77]

So the RP for SPB157 and SPB159 is ~€680-700. At some places they're now available for ~€540 in Black Friday deals, and even when then first wave of purchases is over, I don't think they'll go much lower in price, at least here in Europe. Back when I was on my Alpinist alternative hunt, I wouldn't think twice before grabbing one, and now I'm like... cream/white bad mebbe blue, mebbe not . Same with the European LE SPB199 -- they've been wiped from the shelves in no time, I know where they're still available, but again... the useless compass the unneeded cyclops . Am I spoiled for choice or what?

[Kronos]

I like this latest incarnation of Alpinists, but I struggle a bit with the pricing. A movement upgrade, elimination of the compass, including it as a Prospex model and new dial colors = 40% higher price.

That may be fully justified based on the quality of the watch vs. closest competition in 2020. But it makes me cling to my SARB017 more tightly than ever.


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[skywatch]

That may be fully justified based on the quality of the watch vs. closest competition in 2020. But it makes me cling to my SARB017 more tightly than ever.

My thoughts as well, although if someone wanted to buy my SARB017 for $700 I could be convinced to part with it.

[rodia77]

A good, laid back review of SBP157:



He'd like to see 'Alpinist' rather than 'Automatic' on the dial -- not a problem for me, but those shots showed how unnecessarily prominent that cream writing is. I'd so prefer for it to be in black and maybe red.

[jbglock]

Apexrare. All this time you have been vapor locked because of the now usual Seiko ridiculous pricing I have been enjoying my watch.

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[rodia77]

Good for you, but I'm not short of watches to enjoy, including Seiko and arguable Alpinist alternatives.

I don't think their pricing is ridiculous, either -- I wouldn't have a problem with spending the retail on an Alpinist, it's just certain aesthetic details I've got fussy about exactly because I have watches to cover that base (as I said in the OP), which wasn't the case two years ago.