Seiko Men's SARB017 Automatic Analog Display Japanese Automatic Brown Watch

I should preface my comments with a disclosure: green is my favorite color. So while the dial may seem off-putting to some, it's catnip to me.Such a beautiful, unusual watch. The green sunburst dial is striking and photographs don't really do justice to how it plays with the light, especially natural light in the out of doors, where this watch was designed to be. That dial and the inner rotating compass bezel (operated via the second crown at the 4 o'clock position) make this a very unusual timepiece. The 39mm case size follows vintage proportions (this would have been considered a fairly large watch 30 years ago) and looks great even on my freakishly small wrists.The sapphire crystal (a rarity on sub $500 Seikos), Diashock technology and impressive 200 meter water resistance rating are nice features and combine to make this an unusually rugged mechanical watch. Which makes perfect sense given it's original target market: outdoor adventurers operating in some pretty harsh alpine environments. Yet the watch's classical design - especially those cathedral hands - allow it to wear reasonably well for dressier occasions.I normally give products I like no more than a 4 star rating because few are absolutely perfect. I suppose this one isn't either - that faux crocodile strap, while real leather, is a little stiff. But then again, it appears to be treated with some sort of extra waterproofing, so perhaps that explains it's less than supple feel. But the rest of this watch is so balanced and finely executed that in my mind it's much closer to 5 stars than 4.Grab one of these while you can; Seiko has unwisely discontinued further production of this watch, which has already developed something of a cult following among watch aficionados. This is one of the few timepieces in this price range that is likely to appreciate in value over time.FYI: the compass bezel feature on the Alpinist is not a true magnetic compass. It merely capitalizes on a little known technique for accurately obtaining bearings with any analog wrist watch. As long as you can see the sun. First, account for daylight savings time: if it's the summer months, you'll want to fall back one hour to get an accurate compass reading (either by physically resetting the time, or mentally accounting for it when you take the initial bearing). Next, position the watch dial so that the hour hand is pointing straight to the sun. South will be half way between the hour hand and 12 noon. Use the Alpinist's secondary crown to align the 'South' marker on the inner bezel with due south and that inner bezel will now show true bearings in every direction.The above works if you are in the northern hemisphere. If you are in the southern hemisphere, use the same method, except the initial bearing will be showing true north.Note that you don't actually need a special watch with a compass bezel to use this technique. The only difference is with an ordinary watch, once you've located due south (or north), you need to translate the hour markers to the cardinal points on a compass.

Sorry to be a party pooper, ‘cause I know this watch is popular and well liked. It didn’t work for me. I fell in love with it when discovering it out here and do like and respect Seiko a great deal. It’s also so cool that we can get these Japan market items here on Amazon.Part of it may be my age. I may not be in the demographic this watch appeals to.Pretty much immediate disappointment. The green face is probably the most intriguing part of this watch, yet to me, live and in person, it became the most dislikable. With the gold numerals and markings, and the shiny stainless steel, it was just too much for me, too overwhelming, and almost looked like an ostentatious and cheap watch designed to look like a fancy, exquisite watch.Surprisingly the leather band was the least of my concerns. It’ll break in and will be fine. And I’ve had similar quality in a Hamilton I owned, also criticized by reviewers. But the brown complements the green and gold nicely, and unless inspected closely can be acceptable at worst. My friend likes it alot with a bracelet he saw it on in someone’s posting.It is hardly sleek or tapered. It is high at 12mm, and combined with the 38mm diameter, which I liked, it looks kind of odd. I can perhaps fault myself for that, and since have become more aware of dimensions. I am also just starting to get back into automatics, and I guess there’s no way around it; a mechanical movement is gonna be kind of thick. I guess the compass, which is kind of cool but also unnecessary, adds to the thickness. I came to terms with this and though it is kind of thick, I came to accept it.It’s kind of cool to have the compass as a smooth moving little apparatus controlled by an eye catching crown, all part of the design of the watch. It looks interesting. But I’ll never use it or have any use for it and can barely even see it.I did love the way the second hand moved so effortlessly and smoothly around the dial. And though not here long, it didn’t seem to lose or gain any time.The locking crown I gather is a nice feature that usually comes with finer watches. I am not so sure how much I liked it, finding it a little tricky and difficult for me to handle. Again, I am an older dude and not used to this stuff.Ultimately, it was the overly bright and shiny appearance of the green, gold and stainless that kind of overwhelmed me.But yet I can recommend this as a cool and unusual item of substantial quality. It didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good item. Seems like alot of value here.

Este es un reloj que al verlo y tenerlo en la mano se entiende xq se ha convertido en un clásico. El tamaño es perfecto, no es enorme, no es pequeño. Lo que es seguro es que la correa es su punto débil. Yo se la cambié por una de cuero café tipo cuero vintage. Le va bien correa café, negra, en ese sentido es más versátil de lo que parece. Y el mío me salió muy pero muy preciso hasta ahora (llevo dos semanas con él), con un +3 o +2 segundos por día. Reserva de marcha, lo he dejado casi dos días completos sin usar y sigue marchando. No me arrepiento, es un relojazo

First off, I’ll say I got this as an amazon warehouse deal for $518 CAD which is a good discount from the new price ($630 as of writing this). Only thing that was listed was that the box has some damage to it.When it arrived the box had very minimal damage and the watch was absolutely flawless. So quite the steal of a deal if I do say so myself.Now the watch. It’s absolutely stunning. I catch myself staring at it numerous times throughout the day. It is very versatile too. It can be dressed up with a metal or nice leather band, or dressed down with a NATO strap. Both suit the watch amazingly and it’ll look good either way.Speaking of watch straps... the one it comes with is pretty disappointing. Very stiff, not the quality it should be at this price that’s for sure. I immediately changed it to a NATO and got another leather strap for it.This watch also sports 200m of water resistance. Yep that’s right. And also sports sapphire crystal. In other words, it’s highly durable. For this price point, 200m water resistance is very welcome.The watch also comes with a screw down crown (hence good water resistance) and hand-winding, hacking etc. It also has a “compass”, which to be honest isn’t really useful unless you’re actually mountaineering, but is a nice feature nonetheless.The dial is love it or hate it. Most people love it, and that’s why it’s so popular. The green is eye-popping and catches a lot of attention. The gold compliments the green so well, but also creates an interesting contrast at the same time.Would I recommend this watch? Absolutely. If you’re looking for a great everyday watch, this is for you. It can be both your dress watch, and your field watch. But it all depends on if you like the green dial or not.

Orologio fantastico, soprattutto in rapporto al prezzo. Elegantissimo ma con un tocco di sportività dato dalla bussola interna e dalla resistenza alle immersioni fino a 20bar. Qualità generale molto alta, finiture ottime di cassa, quadrante e lancette. Solo il cinturino è migliorabile, la pelle è rigida e si adatta poco alla forma del polso ma portandolo dovrebbe migliorare. In ogni caso un orologio con grande personalità, riconoscibile al volo, e non teme il confronto con marchi più blasonati.

The actual looks of the watch is amazing. Most parts of the watch case are polished, while the front of the lugs are brushed. The dial displays different tones of green at different lighting angles. The strap needs to break in, as it’s too tough and feels weird when you wear it for the first time. Happy to be able to still own one as it’s already discontinued and most sellers are asking for high prices for existing stock.

Most of the times I look at my wrist is not to check the time! Seriouly what a watch.. the dial is beautiful. The band is poor but I would have bought some extras anyways.The package seems to be just the regular Seiko one, not the J alpinist. But do not really care.. this is a forever keeper! Amazon is probably one of the only places where you can get them. This sarb version is the classic original beloved one. The movement is still a good one and the dial is superior in my opionion. Cheaper than the new version for me was an obvious choice.Love it