Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Here's a bit of a late spot on eBay Germany, with just over a day of the auction left to run ....

A 7A38-7010 fitted with a (pretty obvious) non-original bracelet.

No mention of the model number in title or description.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222097682120

Zum Verkauf kommt hier eine Quartzuhr aus dem Jahr 1985. 

Bei der Seiko Quartz Chronograph wurde das Originalarmband ersetzt und das Chronoteil ist defekt.

Die Batterie wurde just getauscht. 

Da es sich um eine Privatauktion handelt können Rückgabe, Garantie und Umtausch nicht gewährt werden. 

Viel Spass beim Bieten.

The above eBay auction for a 7A38-7010 fitted with a non-original bracelet ended earlier this evening, selling for 76 Euros (approx. £60) after 18 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222097682120

This average worn condition 7A38-7010, which I strongly suspect is fitted with a non-original bracelet (of more anon), was listed a couple of days ago by a US eBay seller, offered through the Global Shipping programme.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351737944060

RARE VINTAGE , VINTAGE CHRONOGRAPH DAY DATE CALENDER SEIKO MEN WATCH Japan 7A38-7010,Black Bezel.. ALL STAINLESS STEEL... DAY DATE 2 WINDOW,, ALL WORKS GOOD.. KEEPING TIME... Bracelet Fits 7.5 Incs WRIST OR SMALLER... BLACK DIAL,, WHITE HANDS..SERIAL;;395486..Comes Seiko Blue Box....SEE ALL PICTURES THANKS../

The seller makes no claims for originality of the bracelet - just states the wrist size. It's not immediately apparent in the head-on views. To spot the non-original bracelet, you need to look carefully at the last 3 photos. I suspect that it's possibly one of those cheap Feiko 20mm repro' aftermarket bracelets, discussed in this thread, which has been fitted with the Seiko SQ 7-hole clasp from the original p/n Z1118S bracelet. Apart from the the underside of the end pieces / fixing tubes looking all wrong, look at the roughly finished ends of the two links closest to the seller's thumb. 

The above eBay auction for that 7A38-7010 with a suspected non-original bracelet, ended in the early hours of this morning, selling for  $176.50 (approx. £121.60) after 33 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351737944060

This Really Rare (not) 7A38-7010 was listed late yesterday evening by a UK eBay seller. When I skipped through the photos this morning, I had an ovewhelming sense of 'Deja Vu' - homing in on the polished bezel surround and non-standard Seiko p/n B1424S bracelet. At first I thought it might be the same 7A38-7010 sold by US eBay re-seller Worldwideweb66 (Wai Phyo) back in September 2015 (see previous page), which also had a polished bezel and non-original bracelet, but the wear on the bezel inlay doesn't match. Regardless, there are better examples to be found than this. Great condition ? Erm, I don't think so. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302006791127

Very Rare Gents Stainless Steel Seiko Quartz Chronograph Watch. 

40mm Wide Including Crown. 

Watch has had new battery and is keeping good time. 

Time Keeping & Chronograph Functions Work OK.. 

Day & Date feature at 3. 3 Sub Chronograph dials. 

Case back stamped 304728 7A38-7010. 

The watch is in really nice condition and appears to be working fine but as it is from a watchmakers estate is being sold as seen with no guarantee or warranty. 

Please look at pictures.... this really is a stunner !

Indeed, it's worth studying the photos - particularly the last two. Both the crown and the pusher button @ 4 o'clock are non-original.

The above eBay auction for a somewhat less than original 7A38-7010 ended yesterday evening, selling for £195 after 31 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302006791127

It would be remiss of me not to mention this. Seeing as we don't have a 'Rare 7A38 Spare Parts spotted' thread in the eBay section, the 7A38-7010 thread is as good a place as any. After all, this part is specific to this particular model and its condition is usually a good indicator of the overall condition of the watch. NOS replacements fall into the 'rare as hen's teeth' category.

A week last Friday, an Italian eBay seller listed a NOS 7A38-7010 bezel, Seiko p/n 82390102.

It certainly wasn't cheap with an opening bid price of 70 Euros. I duly added it to my eBay watching page.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232022992994

New Old Stock bezel part no. 82390102 for Seiko Quartz model 7A38-7010. You are bidding on a very hard to find and one of the very few items still available worldwide, so don't miss out on it!

The seller obviously knew what he had. He later made a few revisions to the listing ....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemRevisionDetails&item=232022992994

.... adding a couple more photos and a rather ambitious Buy-it-Now option for 115 Euros. 

By tea-time on Friday, noone had taken the bait and there were half a dozen watchers besides myself. I assumed everyone else was sitting on their hands, waiting for the last second shoot out. It didn't happen - I ended up winning it for the opening bid price. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232022992994

This used but mint condition 7A38-7010 SAA001J was listed on eBay late yesterday evening by a UK seller, with a confident opening bid price of £195.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302042522799

For sale here we have a very rare Seiko 7a38-7010 watch. 

It is in mint condition having been stored most of its life. It has been worn but only a handful of times. As you can see it is boxed but we are not certain if it is the original box or not. 

Keeping good time and date. 

It has had a new battery fitted earlier this month (although this may have to be removed for postage if asked about the contents). 

There are no instructions/manual. 

Not sure what else to write about this watch, hopefully the pictures speak for themselves but if you do want to know anything else please just ask. 

Buyer welcome to collect if local, in which case payment can be made by cash upon collecting. Alternatively payment is to be made via Paypal and we will post it within 3 working days of the auction ending.

Not exactly 'very rare', but certainly seldom seen in such well cared for, almost pristine condition.

There must have been quite a bit of intial interest in that 7A38-7010, possibly in the form of 'back-door' offers, because less than 12 hours after listing it, the seller added a footnote to their description.

On 15-Aug-16 at 07:37:14 BST, seller added the following information:

Please note we will not be accepting any Buy It Now offers so please do not ask. It is up for auction only to the end of the listing.

Bids weren't exactly forthcoming though and for most of the week it hovered around the £240 mark. The listing did receive some 600+ views over the course of the 7 days, but didn't end in the snipefest one might have anticipated. That said, it finally sold late yesterday evening for a very strong £443.33 after nine bids - that's almost 'Vulcan' money. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302042522799

This auction for an average / decent worn condition 7A38-7010 was listed by a German eBay seller a couple of days ago.

Yeah - O.K., I may have had a little play with the bidding since (currently high bidder), but I honestly don't need another. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132035323369

Original Seiko Quartz Chronograph 7A38-7010, die Uhr wurde um 1983 gebaut und war das weltweit erste auf Langlebigkeit ( ohne Plastikteile) ausgelegte Analog Quartz Chrono Kaliber und ist somit eine echte Rarität!!!

Der Durchmesser sind ca. 38 mm, die Uhr ist voll funktionstüchtig und wurde gerade beim Uhrmacher mit neuer Batterie ausgestattet, ebenso die Dichtungen überprüft, sie hat natürlich dem Alter entsprechend ein paar Gebrauchsspuren, kleiner Kratzer auf der Zehn, insgesamt befindet sich die Uhr aber in gutem Zustand und wenn es noch Fragen gibt, gerne!

Am 16.12.16 hat der Verkäufer die folgenden Angaben hinzugefügt:

Im Lieferumfang enthalten ist nur die Uhr!!!

The above eBay auction for a 7A38-7010 ended a couple of days ago, selling for 267 Euros (approx. £227) after 29 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132035323369

This apparently decent-looking 7A38-7010 was listed FS on WatchUseek yesterday by a German seller, Seikofanatico. He regularly advertises 7A38's for sale on there, and I suspect he picks them up from eBay Germany for resale. Like this one, they're often not quite what they might seem.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/4058394.html  FS: Seiko 7A38-7010 Quartz Chronograph

For $225 including shipping, it might appear to be a relative bargain. But then I started looking closer at the photos. The black bezel inlay looks just a bit too pristine to my eyes - when compared to all the other minor nicks and scratches on the watch case. I suspect it may have benefitted from a little touch-up here and there (very easy to do with a small paintbrush and black enamel paint). The crystal isn't original; it doesn't have the correct bevelled edge, so while it was being replaced would have been an opportune time. From the outside, at least, the Seiko SQ bracelet fitted appears very similar to the correct original p/n Z1118S. But it isn't one. I can't quite read the part number off the fixing tube in the last photo.

It's already on hold pending funds (OHPF) reserved for a member of this forum, who presumably knows what he's buying. 

This nice example of a 7A38-7010 SAA001J was listed yesterday evening by a German eBay seller. The opening bid price was only 1 Euro, but there's a reserve price set - anybody's guess how high that might be. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332184866686

Verkleinere meine Sammlung , biete daher zum Verkauf einen sehr gut erhaltenen SEIKO Chronograph 7A38 , Vintage. Es gibt nur minimale Gebrauchsspuren, nicht auf dem Glas. Alle Funktionen arbeiten einwandfrei. Das Originalband ist ungekürzt. Siehe auch die Bilder als Teil der Beschreibung. Da Privatverkauf keine Garantie oder Rücknahme ! Beim Bieten viel Erfolg und Spaß !

The above German eBay auction for a 7A38-7010 ended a couple of minutes ago, selling for a very reasonable 196.67 Euros after 26 bids. Incidentally, the reserve price was set at a sensible 170 Euros.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332184866686

This average worn condition 7A38-7010, fitted with a leather strap in place of the original p/n Z1118S stainless bracelet, was listed yesterday evening by a German eBay seller, with an opening bid of 1 Euro. Apparently it has a couple of issues. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322536719958

Klassische Herrenuhr S E I K O Quarz-Chronograph

Modell: 7A38-7010

nach Erneuerung der Batterie funktioniert

nur noch das Uhrwerk

Zeitanzeige korrekt!

Zusatzfunktionen wie Alarm und Start/Stop ohne Funktion Reparatur oder Einstellung!

Lederband, Glas und Gehäuse mit Tragespuren!

- - - - - - - - - - -

Am 31.05.17 hat der Verkäufer die folgenden Angaben hinzugefügt:

Chronograph not working !

The above German eBay auction for a 7A38-7010 (with chronograph faults) fitted with a leather strap in place of the original bracelet, ended yesterday evening, selling for 83 Euros after 32 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322536719958

This 7A38-7010, rather harshly described (in no uncertain terms) as 'Junk', was listed on Yahoo Japan auctions earlier today, with an opening bid price of 8500 Yen. Best I can tell, from the seller's photos, it appears to be fitted with its original (albeit badly stretched) Seiko p/n Z1118S bracelet, but the original SQ logo'd 7 hole clasp has been replaced with a 5-hole (possibly FEIKO) clasp.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b262297822

Google translates the Japanese seller's title and description as follows:

SEIKO 7A38-7010 overseas model rare rare Arabic character Seiko small scratch have JUNK treatment chronograph return none zero junk

SEIKO 7A38-7010 The day display is a rare model of Arabic letters. It works as a watch but since the chronograph does not return to zero, please do it with JUNK treatment. Since it is medieval times, there are small scratches, windshields such as small scratches, but only those who have understanding in the second hand, etc. understand the JUNK treated goods. Bid wish Please refrain from the tender of the person with much negative evaluation, nervous one.

We will ask by * no claim no return * Aichi Bank branch name changed to Tashiroyomadori branch ~ Motoyama branch.

Sending is only Kuronekoyamato.

The above Yahoo Japan auction for a 'Junk' 7A38-7010 just ended, selling for ¥15,500 Yen (equivalent to approx. $139.25 USD / £109.50 GBP) after 7 bids.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b262297822

This average worn condition 7A38-7010 was listed yesterday evening by a zero-feedback German eBay seller. There's lots of black laquer missing from around the inner circumference of the bezel inlay and the case-back is scratched up in the usual manner. The opening bid price of 250 Euros isn't unreasonable - unlike the 'pie-in-the-sky' 440 Euros Buy-it-Now asking price. Dream on. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182672991320

Artikel wurde bereits getragen. Leichte Kratzer an Deckelgehäuse (Unterseite). Frische Batterie. Tachymeter schwarz, Edelstahl-Armband.

I'm usually very careful to ensure that any links I embed in my posts (particularly to eBay) work properly. Indeed, when I've finished composing and editing a post, I'll go back and click on the links to make sure they actually do. However, if you click on the eBay link in my previous post it doesn't work anymore. I'm not sure what happened, but earlier in the week that listing appears to have been removed completely, presumably by eBay. It disappeared from my eBay watching page and I didn't notice until earlier today. Transpires it was replaced on Thursday by an almost identical listing, but of only 3 days duration (rather than 7 days of the previous). The only difference I could see was the seller had made an amendment to the description, adding the sentence:

Ich versichere,dass der Artikel ein Erbstück ist und nicht aus kriminellen Machenschaften stammt.

which translates as: I assure that the article is an heirloom and does not come from criminal machinations.

That re-listing ended about half an hour ago, with the watch unsold, hardly surprisingly - no bids placed.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182675496279

The seller re-listed it 10 minutes later, again for another 3 days, but instead with a Buy-it-Now price of 222 Euros or Make Offer:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182680579281