I think that the head of marketing at Seiko should be shot.
The SARB017 Green Alpinist is probably the one I like the most from among my Seiko's watches. It's not flawless but I'm still happy that I managed to get one of the last SARB before they were gone.
If there is one thing that I wish it had it's a good AR because the flat sapphire is throwing a lot of reflections and light scattering. This is a bit distracting when trying to read the time through a hazy crystal and it get worse when I try to take a photo since digital sensors are less forgiving than the human eye.
But otherwise it's a fine watch that had an almost iconic status - until Seiko did what they do the best, which is messing with their product lines. It's a game they play all of the time and fails at it every single time. It's like they are ashamed of their brand name and wish they could rebrand themselves as something else.
But I see an alternative which I think is much better. Stop the sub-branding, because nobody cares about or want to buy a Prospex. We want to buy an Alpinist, a Samurai, a 62MAS, a Sumo, a Speedmaster, a Cocktail Time, a Turtle, or a Willard. So why not consolidate around these names instead of hiding them? Sell us a Seiko green & gold Alpinist instead of forcing us to remember what a Prospex SPBWhatever stands for. Dump the sub-brand logo and focus on the Seiko brand name.
They already do that with the 5. We all know what a Seiko 5 is and it seems to work well without Seiko having to fold them into an additional layer of branding.
What about the lesser known models, or those that don't sell well? I think that if we asked, @Mr.Dee.Bater his answer would be the same as mine, f*ck them and dump the dead weight on one of the affiliated companies, such as Lorus for example, and let them sort the mess without involving the name of Seiko, which will then be free to position itself better with a catalog of models that a human can understand.
So yes, I'm wearing today the last Alpinist which was not ashamed to call itself an Alpinist and speaking of shame - it's a shame that it's no longer branded as such.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Definitely need to get rid of the model numbers. It make no sense to regular humans. Even Orient has moved to using watch names…
I missed the boat in getting a 017 unfortunately 😞 which led me to custom build something similar instead cuz I wasn’t forking up $700. Completely agree with you on the names. Awsome post Claude
Awesome rant @Catskinner and highly justified. I also agree with @SpecKTator above.. I've given up googling my model number, which I immediately forget anyway. For Pete's sake Seiko.. it's a Turtle 🐢
Great watches deserve great names not numbers.
I missed the boat in getting a 017 unfortunately 😞 which led me to custom build something similar instead cuz I wasn’t forking up $700. Completely agree with you on the names. Awsome post Claude
What did you build?
Ha, I can immediately spot the fakery. The bezel and chapter rings are perfectly aligned, please try harder next time.
Am I missing the point here all watch brands have serial numbers and I've never paid any attention to any of them,my aqua terra was an aqua terra,my superocean a superocean,my 62mas a 62mas don't call it a prospex even though its wrote on the dial and after I've searched and purchased I never know or pay attention to the serial numbers,only ever here YouTubers spill them out 🤣if its part of your job there for totally get it other than that call it what you want 👌
Am I missing the point here all watch brands have serial numbers and I've never paid any attention to any of them,my aqua terra was an aqua terra,my superocean a superocean,my 62mas a 62mas don't call it a prospex even though its wrote on the dial and after I've searched and purchased I never know or pay attention to the serial numbers,only ever here YouTubers spill them out 🤣if its part of your job there for totally get it other than that call it what you want 👌
And I know my 62mas is really called seiko prospex Glacier 'Save The Ocean' 1965 Re-Interpretation SPB297J1 60 61 62 63mas but fuck all that I'm like borris johnson when someone asks what my watch is I just mumble like I've never spoke or had a stroke and say well huh a a well a huh well obviously I don't know its blue 🤣
The really REALLY most frustrating annoying and so avoidable thing about watch companies nowadays is they will release a watch and it will be a superb design.....amazing...you know everything right EXCEPT one glaring detail!!! Like a date window, or worse a minute date window at 4.30. Seiko are probably the worst culprits today. At least in the era of this lovely Alpinist they were very affordable watches so any glitches could be forgiven. Modern Seiko frustrate the f@@k out of me because im such a long time fan and on the whole love their designs particularly dive watches......i could go on but i won't.
I’m new to having an interest in watches and have tried to get interested in Seikos but have found trying to navigate their range very difficult. So whilst I’m sure there will be watches there which I could get excited about, I’ve not managed to get one on my next watch shortlist.
I think that move to more impenetrable numbering systems is happening across other industries like the motor industry. I’m happy enough for a washing machine to have a complicated model number but for something like a watch or a car, I’m all for a name which is evocative and has some romance to it.
Ah, you should look at motorcycle designations 🤯🤣
LOL! As a motorcyclist m'self, I totally get that! LOL! 😉
Too bad that the classic green/gold alpinist has gotten SO expensive. It's a grail of mine, but will likely remain unobtainium (which is the most abundant element in the universe BTW 😉)
LOL! As a motorcyclist m'self, I totally get that! LOL! 😉
Too bad that the classic green/gold alpinist has gotten SO expensive. It's a grail of mine, but will likely remain unobtainium (which is the most abundant element in the universe BTW 😉)
They became expensive because of Seiko obfuscation, first it was claimed that they ended the line and then that they may re-issue it and when they did it with the SPB121 they managed to make every change to the new model something that annoyed those who just wanted a new SARB.
The backlash just served to fuel pressure on the second hand market and caused a sharp increase in prices, which are not justified because the SARB017 is really only worth about 500US$. It's a nice watch but there's no great feats of horology there.
While I like the SARB, the new SPB121 doesn’t bother me. Plus, SARB buyers now have to worry about fakes, which is crazy for a watch that price.
The Alpinist is next on my list to buy.
I posted a couple of months ago that all Seiko models will now be in named model ranges, from Seiko 5 up. All unnamed watches will be discontinued. Everyone seems to be very angry about this green and gold watch.
Well, okay then...moving along. LOL Enjoy the hobby
Shot?
That's a bit harsh.
I have already (sort of) addressed this. You might like my post "Seiko Board of Directors - The Follow Up" which is still here to be read on WatchCrunch.
I'm not sure Seiko has a head of its marketing department. I'm not sure there even is a marketing department.
Shot?
That's a bit harsh.
You may be right here. Maybe throwing him into a pool full of hungry sharks then?
I really wish the Prospex Alpinists kept the solid casebacks. At least the watch would have the word “Alpinist” somewhere on it.
Imagine a Submariner or Seamaster without those names anywhere on those watches.
I love my Seiko.. it's probably the only dive watch I'll ever need or buy. But FFS Seiko SRPE93K1 is so unsexy
It’s a Japanese flaw
I thought it was obvious that I was referring to the Prospex sub branding. A Seiko 5 is a Seiko 5. This is something most of us know to what it refers. We understand it's a Seiko watch and that it belongs to the "5" series. Simple, clear cut, not confusing.
On the other hand, a Seiko Prospex SPBXXX is less clear cut because it's impossible to define exactly what a "Prospex" watch is. I would rather have Seiko sell me a Seiko Alpinist, or a Seiko Cocktail Time rather than referring me to some obscure SKU under an amorphic umbrella.
Unless you really want to buy a Prospex because it means anything to you. In this case please feel free to dismiss what I wrote.
It was my understanding that the Prospex line was intended to be the more 'tooly' watches in Seikos line up while the Presage is the more 'dressy'. Full disclosure that I am generally not a fan of the sub branding that Seiko uses as I really want just Seiko on the dial. I like the older dials that just had the applied Seiko Logo and Automatic in script at the bottom. I kinda get why they don't put the names on the watch. First of all, for the most part the names are actually created by Seiko but adopted by them. The Willard is called the Willard because of the movie reference. Also, the copyright nightmare of having the secure the rights for the name Turtle or Samurai in all the countries where they sell said watches would probably be its own level of hell.
Anyways, here's my Seiko Prospex SRPA71K1 that I like to call the 'Working Man's Alpinist'. Or as one clever YouTuber once said, this is the watch of the person who rescues the person wearing an Alpinist who got stuck on the mountain 😂.
I recently bought a used SARB033 because I missed that boat myself. I was really debating paying that much for a used Seiko, but I have bigger problems haha.
I share your sentiment, but ironically the SARB033 is mostly known as the "SARB". It has some cute knicknames like "baby Grand Seiko" but nothing that could actually be used for marketing. Maybe it does have a proper name I've just never heard of?
In any case, I did some minor maintenance to it which I'll save for a post, and it is working and looking great! The lack of the stupid "X" cannot be understated. That logo kills the dial of every watch it's on with exception of the dive watches IMHO.
The only way I've rationalized their current naming conventions are around pricing really. SRP models are all sub $1k, SPB $1-2k, SLA $2-6k. Maybe that's easier for the financing department haha.
PS. If you want me to change your crystal I'll gladly do it for free. Crystal Times sells replacements for SARB models with proper AR. AliExpress has them too for flat crystals.
Calling for some naming-convention-induced homicide.
Classic WatchCrunch... or is it?
Be that as it may: As soon as you hear someone say 211, 033 or some other well known number, you know exactly what they're talking about, down to the colorway.
Like it or not, these numbers and shorthands actually say something and mean something. A nickname means something as well, albeit something entirely different and more arbitrary.
But who am I to be the killjoy... Shoot away, my dear enraged Cruncher 😅
I love my baby land Prospex baby little green spb155 alpinist... And no one absolutely no one will get shot.
No one.
Period.
The sheer amount of watch models they produce probably explains a lot of it, they aren't like Rolex who chug along with the same few models decade after decade. But it does seem like brand vandalism when they removed Alpanist from the case.
Definitely need to get rid of the model numbers. It make no sense to regular humans. Even Orient has moved to using watch names…
Seiko has no interest in making sense to regular humans.
Incitement to murder. This is disgusting. The head of marketing is a real person with a family. It's wrong to say someone "should be shot".
I recently bought a used SARB033 because I missed that boat myself. I was really debating paying that much for a used Seiko, but I have bigger problems haha.
I share your sentiment, but ironically the SARB033 is mostly known as the "SARB". It has some cute knicknames like "baby Grand Seiko" but nothing that could actually be used for marketing. Maybe it does have a proper name I've just never heard of?
In any case, I did some minor maintenance to it which I'll save for a post, and it is working and looking great! The lack of the stupid "X" cannot be understated. That logo kills the dial of every watch it's on with exception of the dive watches IMHO.
The only way I've rationalized their current naming conventions are around pricing really. SRP models are all sub $1k, SPB $1-2k, SLA $2-6k. Maybe that's easier for the financing department haha.
PS. If you want me to change your crystal I'll gladly do it for free. Crystal Times sells replacements for SARB models with proper AR. AliExpress has them too for flat crystals.
My SARB did have a nickname - the RGB! Seiko did a JDM SARB ~ 2008 in sunray/fume blue, green and red, the blue was the bomb and one I got. Looked amazing and will always regret selling. Bought it new at Umeda Osaka.
I think any of us oldies know and loves the name SARB and mentally pictures what it looks like.
bad photo but you get the idea
My Seikos have numbers that describe them.. but I know them as Sakura, Moonlit Ocean, Turtle, Monster, Blue Glacier .. all that are named that way from Seiko so I'm happy to use the words instead of numbers (though, since they are my watches, I also know the numbers)