Seiko's iconic green Alpinist GMT finally gets an international release as the Prospex HBC007
Seiko has announced the Prospex Alpinist GMT HBC007, an international release of a watch that Japan-based collectors have had to themselves for almost three years. This info was published by @plus9time on their Instagram account. The HBC007 is a direct international variant of the SBEJ005, which launched in Japan on October 7, 2023.
The watch keeps practically everything intact from the JDM original. It has a deep green dial with gold-tone hands and markers — it's the colorway the Alpinist is most closely associated with, going back to the cult-favorite SARB017. The case is stainless steel measuring 39.5 x 46.4 x 13.6 mm, and it is fitted with a brown calfskin strap. Inside is the automatic Caliber 6R54, which offers a 72-hour power reserve alongside a GMT hand for tracking a second time zone. Water resistance is rated at 200 meters.
The outer bezel carries a 24-hour scale for reading the GMT hand, while the inner rotating ring doubles as a compass — operated via the crown at 4 o'clock — again, another design trait that goes back to the original 1959 Alpinist. The sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective coating on the inner side.
When the mechanical GMT Alpinist line first came out in 2023, it was somewhat of a big deal — the Alpinist had previously only been available in a dual-time config as a quartz model. The black (SPB379) and blue (SPB377) variants launched internationally at the time, but the green dial SBEJ005 stayed as a Japan-exclusive, which made it a gray-market favorite.
The HBC007 will give global buyers an official route to the green GMT Alpinist for the first time. Pricing for the international market hasn't been confirmed yet; the SBEJ005 carries a Japan retail price of ¥141,800 (~$970).
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