Did Seiko Just Launch the Ultimate Outdoor-Ready GMT?

This special edition of a fan-favorite watch has a unique dial texture and a heritage color scheme.

close up of the textured black dial on a seiko SPB493J alpinist gmt watch

By Brad Lanphear

Published February 13, 2025

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Updated February 14, 2025

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Seiko’s Alpinist was born for adventure, and this might be the most rugged reference yet.

The Seiko Prospex GMT SPB493J isn’t the first Alpinist with a GMT complication, a feature that first appeared in 2003, nor is it the first textured dial. But those elements, combined with the collection’s signature color scheme, have never come together better.

a black gmt watch with a steel bracelet laying sideways on a table — The Seiko SPB493J comes with a steel bracelet.

Intricate and minute dial textures are Grand Seiko’s territory, but this Alpinist proves that more affordable members of the Seiko family can also pull them off. This fine, ornate detailing unexpectedly blends perfectly with the watch’s rugged overall appearance and practical applications.

Dialed up

The dial texture was inspired by the wing feathers of hornbills, a group of tropical birds native to Southeast Asia. Close examination reveals a collection of overlapping grooves scored into the dial, but at arm’s length, the matte black finish glistens just like bird feathers.

the textured black dial and gold hands of a seiko gmt watch — The bird feather-inspired dial texture enhances the green and black color scheme.

Two of the most famous Alpinist references, the SCVF009 from 1996 and the SARB017 from 2006, influenced the SPB493J’s color scheme.

The SARB017 featured a dial with a distinct shade of green that was first introduced on the SCVF009, as well as a black internal rotating compass bezel. The arrangement is swapped here with the Alpinist green on the bezel and a black dial.

The hour markers have a small but notable adjustment. Rather than alternating triangular dashes and sans-serif Arabic numerals, there are eight dashes, with numerals interspersed at twelve, three, six and nine.

a seiko alpinist gmt watch — This is the first Alpinist GMT to reference the green and black color scheme.

Additionally, the applied number and dash hour markers have sharper edges compared to the more rounded indices of the original model and subsequent updates. This gives the markers a more cohesive appearance against the textured dial.

Built to explore

The SPB493J is a special edition reference aimed at collectors, but it is still a practical field watch. Seiko’s Alpinist line was introduced in 1961. Initially called the Laurel Alpinist, it was designed for mountaineering and was influenced by the Rolex Explorer I.

seiko prospex alpinist green — A Seiko SPB121 Alpinist from 2006.

Since 2020, the Alpinist line has been a part of Seiko’s Prospex category of tool watches, as indicated by the stylized “X” placed under the Seiko logo on the dial. This limited edition model is visually similar to the SPB121, one of the flagship Prospex Alpinist models.

the exhibition case back of a Seiko watch — The exhibition case back displays a 6R54 movement with a GMT complication.

Just like the SPB121, this watch is built to handle the great outdoors. It has a 200 meter water resistance rating, sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, Lumibrite hands and indices and an internal rotating compass bezel.

a black gmt watch on a man's wrist with a bird behind it — The Seiko SPB493J comes with an additional black leather band.

Functionally, this limited edition Alpinist is more like the SPB377 production model. Both run on Seiko’s 6R54 movement, which contains a GMT complication. However, the new SPB493J is the first Alpinist with a black fixed GMT bezel.

Availability and pricing

With a watch like this, there is always a catch. In this case, the Seiko Prospex Alpinist GMT SPB493J is being sold exclusively in the Asian market for the equivalent of $1,650.

Complicating things further is an extremely limited run of only 500 units.

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on one, this special edition Alpinist comes in a decorative display case, which includes a black leather three-fold clasp band with white stitching details.