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Seiko Alpinist Titanium 8F56 For sale

Een bericht gedeeld door Vintageseiko.nl (@collectionist0) op 27 Jul 2020 om 9:05 (PDT)

High accuracy, perpetual calendar, huge 10 year battery life and a GMT related ability to correct for timezone changes or daylight savings time without affecting the minute/second hand. This watch just keeps on ticking without the need, paradoxically, to ever “set the time”. Get whatever models you want and can find with this high end quartz movement and do it now because when they're gone they are gone.

Apparently Seiko decided that the 8F caliber was just too competitive with caliber 8J inside their Grand Seikos, so they were phased out. It is a sobering thought that as even Grand Seiko did not have the calendar programmed into the movement.. which one is the better value?

Indeed, there are many worthy 8F watches to compete with GS, the Red Alpinist for which you pay the same as a vintage Grand Seiko, the Prospex, the Landtrek or the Perpetual calendar. All of these are made of titanium and finished to a very high standard and usability. So, this is not merely a Seiko Titanium quartz… In fact, the Seiko Alpinist GMT Titanium SBCJ019 (long since discontinued) is one of the rarest models ever made, setting you back well over a 1000 dollars.

Apart from the GMT complication, features include a dual direction rotating inner bezel compass and 10 bar water resistance. It is not only a collector’s item; it is a (slightly) more affordable watch in comparison to other Seiko collectibles which increases its popularity. Model numbers include, SBCJ019, SBCJ021, and SBCJ031. There are in fact four different Alpinist-models which feature the 8F56: the cream dial version with numeral dial that comes on a brown leather strap, markers in gold but with lume applied to the hands (ref. SBCJ031), or two models on the titanium bracelet, one with cream dial that is completely covered with lume and has black hands and stick/triangle markers (ref. SBCJ021). Or one with black dial and silver hands and stick/triangle markers covered with lume (ref. SBCJ019). There is also a limited edition Alpinist with a green-blue-ish dial, especially made for the SSASS (ref. SBCJ023) and limited to 500 pieces.

This SSASS watch was created to pay tribute to Japanese-American mountaineer Ken Noguchi and the foundation he created known as Seven Summits Actions for Sustainable Society (SSASS). Noguchi created this project in order to raise awareness of the growing heaps of garbage that were being accumulated on the mountains that professional climbers and their teams were leaving behind. Since Noguchi and his team had climbed the seven highest peaks in the world, the foundation was well respected and an estimated 7-8 tons of garbage were collected from Mt. Everest and properly disposed of. This was a major breakthrough and continues to provide much needed help in this growing problem. More recently, Noguchi donated 100,000 dollars to the families of the Sherpas whom were killed in avalanches or other accidents that happened on Everest. It is no wonder why the SSASS Alpinist is so highly revered among collectors; it is both wonderfully crafted and reminds people of the respect and admiration that is involved in mountaineering. Probably the most noticeable aspect of the SSASS is the aqua shade of blue used, which represents both the sea and the sky. Both the traditional 8F56 and the SSASS have the Alpinist mountain logo on the back of the case but the SSASS uses a limited edition numbering system.