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Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

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yinzburgher
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Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by yinzburgher »

This post likely won't be helpful or even interesting to very many. But it might help a couple-few people now or even 10 years down the road and it gives me something to do.

Back in late May [mention]cel4145[/mention] linked to a blog entry from Strapcode. I'll also link below. I thought the wording of the title was a bit amusing. And I read the post and made a mental note of it. The gist of the article is that they discovered that that the solid end links for the aftermarket bracelets they had made for the Seiko Alpinist also happen to fit a Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic 38mm. They make a jubilee and an oyster bracelet for the Alpinist and showed pictures of the bracelets on a Hamilton H70455733 that comes on a black leather strap. It was somewhat interesting to me as a big fan of both Seiko and Hamilton. From what I can tell Strapcode started making these bracelets in 2017. Prior to that, if owners of the SARB017 Alpinist wanted a bracelet with solid end links, I believe they had to order a Seiko reference M0TZ111J0 or D3A7AB bracelet which also fit the SARB013 and the SARB015. They were expensive and many Alpinist owners were disappointed with the clasp.

Strapcode: Unexpected Relations Between The Hamilton Khaki & Seiko SARB017 Alpinist

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Here is the part that should probably be in the True Confessions thread. TC #1 - I have so many damn watches that there are often 1 or 2 that I have every intention of keeping but I haven't even "gifted" them to myself yet because I already have more than I can wear. I picked them up because I got a great deal. But given the excesses of my current collection, I'd feel guilty and unreasonable if I just started wearing and enjoying it. But if I ever get rid of some that I currently wear, I'll take the plastic off and start wearing one of these previously "ungifted" watches. One of those watches is the Hamilton Khaki Field 38mm H70455133. TC #2 - I owned the H70455133 because at some point along the way I decided that if I was reasonable about watches, I would only own 3. The SARB035, the H70455133, and a blue dial diver like the Citizen Promaster NY0040-17L. That is my affordable dream team collection if I were not so obsessed. So that's the embarrassing reason why I just happen to have extra Hammies laying around the house.

Back to the Alpinist. A little while back I bought a new SBP089 Blue Alpinist from a member in our sales section. Since then I've been trying it on different straps but kept seeing pictures on a bracelet and I thought it looked great. And then one day I happened to think of the blog post from Strapcode. If the Strapcode bracelet fit the 38mm HKF, it stood to reason that the factory bracelet from that watch should very well have a good chance of fitting the Alpinist. I wasn't ready to bust out the BNIB HKF at first but a couple more weeks went by and I saw a few more pictures and decided I needed to give it a shot. Rather than use the Seiko or Hamilton spring bars, I decided to use some thinner, cheaper ones that I had. I had to mess around for a minute or two longer than normal but I got the bracelet to fit and the spring bars to click in. I think maybe the spring bars are just a hair off and that's why it was helpful to use the cheaper, thinner bars so the tips could bend to fit just slightly. I think I probably would have had a tougher time using the Hamilton or Seiko bars.

But the fit of the end links against the case is absolutely perfect. There is ZERO play or wiggle to the bracelet. The profile of the lugs doesn't match up exactly with the profile of the bracelet but it does not look out of place at all. It looks good. The bracelet is comfortable and it drapes and folds nicely as the links are fulling articulating. It is all brushed. It has friction pins and was easy to size. It is 20mm at the lugs and tapers slightly to 18mm at the clasp. The clasp is nicely milled with a double push-button release. The one downside is that is only has two holes for micro adjustment, same as the Seiko. It drives me crazy that these companies do that but it isn't worth ranting here. Also, It could always be fitted with a different clasp with more adjustment, possibly a different one from Seiko. The reference for the bracelet by itself is H605.704.103. I'll link to the watch with the bracelet below. I have no idea what the Hamilton bracelet would cost on its own.

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm - H70455133 w/ H605.704.103 bracelet

So for the tiny population of people out there who have both watches or who have an Alpinist and have access to the Hammy bracelet at an affordable price, I highly recommend you try it. Or maybe you have an Alpinist bracelet and want to try it on your HKF 38 to see if that works as well. With as long as these two watches have been around I'm just surprised to not see any posts about this anywhere other than the one from Strapcode. Or maybe it has been well known but just not well documented. Anyway, I've been happy about the whole thing. And maybe it helps someone else too. That's all.


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Last edited by yinzburgher on Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dub Rubb
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by Dub Rubb »

That looks AWESOME!!! The blue on bracelet is a great fit. I am loving it.

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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by CVP33 »

Damn that looks good.
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by AndroidIsAwesome »

Not sure if you guys saw this.



I ordered one because it apparently also fits the Sinn 556! I'll try fitting it on my sarb017 when it arrives too
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yinzburgher
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by yinzburgher »

AndroidIsAwesome wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:11 pm Not sure if you guys saw this.
Nope, and I probably wouldn't have otherwise so thanks for posting. I really like the bracelet I already have but I might get this too at some point. He also makes a note about using thinner spring bars in the video's description. While I would guess the Strapcode bracelet is better quality, I think this one might look better.
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by AndroidIsAwesome »

Okay just put the parnis on my alpinist. Gotta say this is not a bad bracelet at all. Sure it's not 100% perfect especially the clasp not folding open all the way, but it's really good for the price. I think I'll leave it on for a while.
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by AndroidIsAwesome »

Well turns out the parnis fits pretty snug on my Sinn 556 using Alpinist springbars!
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by yinzburgher »

AndroidIsAwesome wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:33 pm Well turns out the parnis fits pretty snug on my Sinn 556 using Alpinist springbars!
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Looks good! I'm hoping for similar results with my Hamilton Khaki Field. I should have my Parnis jubilee soon.
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Re: Another bracelet option for the Seiko Alpinist

Post by yinzburgher »

There are multiple ebay sellers that have the Parnis Jubilee but I'm just adding the link to the one I bought.

20MM 316L stainless steel solid jubilee bracelet fit PARNIS 40mm mens watch

And also a photo of my Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic 38mm H70455133 with the Parnis jubilee bracelet.

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