Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

"tired piece of junk"..... Ohh don't be so cruel, Paul.

You can still use its main hands and subdial hands as a replacement

Bonjour Messieurs!

http://cgi.ebay.fr/Chronographe-vintage-SEIKO-superbe-/290782611978

Here is the description after using google translate:

"Sell,

SEIKO chronograph watch

year 1983

A model 7 28.6020,

quartz movement

stainless steel case and gold plated

dial with Arabic numerals,

40 by 42 mm case with crown

ref 327500,

all chronograph functions perfect

with systematic return the needle to its initial position,

stretch bracelet gold plated

chronograph in perfect cosmetic condition,

and operating,

new battery

chronograph for sale 180 euro

plus shipping costs,

against reimbursement or colissimo insured, determine

PS, do not answer Sms,

and no item on the African continent,

thank you for your understanding

This is an original, not a fake,

for information or additional photographs

thank you contact me before 20 hours."

Not only he forgot to mention that the bracelet is not original to this watch (probably it had a leather strap) but also the asking price is ridiculously high.

Something else worthy of mention - which also applies to the two rough-ish looking 7A28-7029's on the previous page. Cruel, Moi ? 

Be wary of these aftermarket bracelets with spring-loaded 'one size fits all' fixing tubes. They can damage the inside lug area. 

There have been so many 7Axx's on the 'Bay recently that have been fitted with undisclosed incorrect / non-original bracelets, but 

were so obvious (even to a newbie) that it got to the point where I began to question whether it was worth bothering flagging them.

I'm talking about 'tired pieces of junk' like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281024517509

Seiko Quartz Chronograph Armbanduhr silber schwarz DEFEKT 7A38

Though to be fair to that German eBay seller, his description does include: Es handelt sich um ein FS-Armband

Then you get the odd one that's a bit harder to spot. Not that I'm saying this next example is particularly subtle. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261129467011

Vintage Seiko Moon-Phase Chronograph Two-Tone men's watch 7A48-7050T

I mean, can you think of any instance where Seiko fitted a two-tone bracelet to an all-over SGP watch head ? 

The seller has included 'Two-Tone' in the title, but all versions of the 7A48-7020 were (all-over) gold plated and came fitted with a leather strap of one kind or another. The bracelet appears to be a Seiko p/n B1353(C), though I'm not sure where that came from.

Yet another 7A38-7010 on an undisclosed non-original bracelet (which doesn't look anything like 'correct') from an Italian eBay seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321027331621

BELLISSIMO OROLOGIO SEIKO CRHONOGRAPH 7A38 7010

BELLISSIMO OROLOGIO SEIKO CRHONOGRAPH MOD. 7A38 7010

USATO MA PERFETTAMENTE FUNZIONANTE.OROLOGIO DA COLLEZIONE.

PER QUALSIASI INFORMAZIONE NON ESITATE A CONTATTARMI. GRAZIE

The more observant among you may also notice that the 9 o'clock and 6' oclock sub-dial hands have been incorrectly inter-posed ....

futher evidence that this watch has been messed with - and hence probably one to avoid, despite the shiny new (wrong) bracelet. 

Do I really need to keep flagging up the blatantly obvious ones like this 7A38-7029 listed overninght on eBay in the States ? 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121030352590

SEIKO Chronograph SPORT 100 Wrist Watch 7A38-7029

MEN'S WRISTWATCH 

MAKER ~ Seiko 

CONDITION ~ in working condition, some scratches on the glass 

SIZE ~ 7" long inner circumference x 1 1/2" wide x 1 1/8" wide dial 

WEIGHT ~ 91.7 grams 

MARKED ~ as shown

Well, perhaps I should in this instance.

Apart from the obvious incorrect replacement bracelet, which might have looked more at home on a 7A48-7050 Fishing Master, and the badly scratched crystal - check out the state of the 1/10s subdial hand. Also note the slight misalignment of the bezel to the case.

Another 7A38 which might well have been messed about with. 

I thought I ought to mention this one, because the bracelet fitted to this stainless 7A38-7090, listed on eBay this afternoon, might inadvertantly lull a few people into thinking it's original. Although a shade too wide for the watch case, it's a passable replacement:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121042365781

2 GENTS SEIKO WATCHES...CHRONOGRAPH..

2 SEIKO GENTS WATCHES ...SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH 483514..7A38-7090 A3.. WATER RESISTANT..STAINLESS STEEL.

SEIKO DAY/DATE HAND WINDER... BOOKLETS.... SPARE LINKS..

THESE WATCHES ARE SOLD FOR SPARES/REPAIR/RESTORATION.. MAY JUST NEED A BATTERY,,SERVICE,,GOOD CLEAN

Being 10mm lug width fitting, the bracelet that's fitted could well be yet another of the almost universally mis-used Seiko p/n Z1357S.

Here's what the correct p/n Z1209S bracelet on a 7A38-7090 should look like - Roland Kamp's lovely pristine example:

More photos here: http://timeuniverse.com/photodatabase/watches/chrono_quartz/7A38-7090/index.html

Yet another over-priced and mis-represented tired piece of junk, calling itself 'rare and original' from US eBay re-seller Total_Time22:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330852497568

SEIKO VERY RARE VINTAGE QUARTZ CHRONO, 7A48-7000, MOONPHASE, ORIGINAL, VG

The description includes:

THE WATCH HAS A ITS ORIGINAL SEIKO/SQ STAINLESS STEEL AND GOLD TONE BRACELET THAT IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION

Which it clearly isn't - nor is it the correct original Seiko p/n Z1093C bracelet for a 7A48-7000 / -7009.

I'm certain that the seller knows it isn't - because he's had a good few of these pass through his hands.

If you're in any doubt what one looks like, there are 3 other 7A48-7000's on eBay (2 of which also grossly over-priced) all fitted with it.

The next one probably isn't so much of a deliberate attempt to deceive. The seller tried to do his homework. It made me smile anyway.

Last Sunday, I noticed a German visitor to the forum making several incoming searches on 7A38-6080. I've isolated a couple of them:

I was half expecting a 7A38-6080 to appear on eBay Germany that evening. But it didn't - even when I ran my usual manual searches.

Funnily enough, I nearly emailed Andre ('Nova') to ask him if I'd missed it. I shouldn't have worried. Tonight he emailed me the link. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271131861416

Seiko SQ 100 Armbanduhr CHRONOGRAPH Seiko 7A38 - 6080 Rarität

Angeboten wird !!!! 

Aus Dachbodenfund 

Seiko SQ 100 Seiko 7A38 60-80 Armbanduhr. 

Diese ist voll funktionsfähig. Batteriewechsel muss vorgenommen werden. 

Leider ist die Bildqualität meiner Kamera nicht so gut. Deshalb habe ich noch ein Standardfoto hinzugefügt. 

Uhr hat leider Kratzer im Glas. 

Aber Kenner wissen die Qualität dieser Uhr zu schätzen. da privatauktion kein rückgaberecht.

The line of description arrowed translates as follows:

Unfortunately, my camera's picture quality is not so good. That's why I added a standard photo.

 Andre's comment attached to the eBay link said simply: Nice photos, look at the 3rd one. 

Cheeky b*st*rd has borrowed my wrist shot of my gunmetal two-tone 7A38-6080. 

His photography / camera may indeed be crap, but not quite bad enough to disguise the incorrect replacement bracelet fitted.

Incidentally, in his listing the German eBay seller gives his location as Ludwigshafen. His IP address is in Oftersheim, 25Km away. 

Borrow my photos without permission and you will be pwned. 

Seiko7A38 at December 23, 2012 at 10:51 AM

I thought I ought to mention this one, because the bracelet fitted to this stainless 7A38-7090, listed on eBay this afternoon, might inadvertantly lull a few people into thinking it's original. Although a shade too wide for the watch case, it's a passable replacement:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121042365781

2 GENTS SEIKO WATCHES...CHRONOGRAPH..

2 SEIKO GENTS WATCHES ...SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH 483514..7A38-7090 A3.. WATER RESISTANT..STAINLESS STEEL.

SEIKO DAY/DATE HAND WINDER... BOOKLETS.... SPARE LINKS..

THESE WATCHES ARE SOLD FOR SPARES/REPAIR/RESTORATION.. MAY JUST NEED A BATTERY,,SERVICE,,GOOD CLEAN

Being 10mm lug width fitting, the bracelet that's fitted could well be yet another of the almost universally mis-used Seiko p/n Z1357S.

Here's what the correct p/n Z1209S bracelet on a 7A38-7090 should look like - Roland Kamp's lovely pristine example:

More photos here: http://timeuniverse.com/photodatabase/watches/chrono_quartz/7A38-7090/index.html

All it needs is to compare the feedback number of the winning bidder on the previous auction with that of the current re-seller to prove

This is exactly the same stainless 7A38-7090, which has just been fitted with a new battery (and nowt else*) and bunged back on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170971603918

Gents vintage SEIKO 7A38-7090 quartz chronograph wrist watch 

Fitted a new battery a couple of weeks ago*, runs fine, just a small problem with stopwatch reset (described later) 

Steel strap, don't know if it's original, fastener clicks shut ok, stamped SEIKO - currently suit around 175-180mm wrist size - some spare links included 

General wear and tear to case and crystal as photos, but nothing nasty. Well above average condition for nearly 25 years old 

Watch case approx 35mm across. Total weight approx 80g 

Includes instruction booklet, guarantee card from 1988, spare strap links 

Day/date windows quickset ok and turn over each day as expected. Seconds hand in bottom sub dial works 

Stopwatch was accurate over a 15 min test - note 1/10 sec sub dial stops after 10 mins - as per instructions 

STOPWATCH RESET INFO - pressing the bottom right button to reset after use, the top 2 small dials (1/10 sec and mins) reset to zero

BUT - the centre sweep stopwatch hand sometimes falls a few seconds short of the zero position (ironically it's zeroing fine at the moment)

this can be re-zeroed by pulling the crown to the 1st position and zeroing the hand using the bottom right button then push crown back home.

I wasn't wrong last time about the wrong bracelet fitted - it's stamped Z1357.E. 

*Note the use of 'poetic license' by the current re-seller - the previous auction (when it sold with a flat battery) ended on January 2nd.

Yet another eBay listing for a 7A38 fitted with a non-original bracelet, where the seller conveniently forgets to mention the fact. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181063097582

Vintage Seiko Sports 100 7a38 7050 watch.

Here is a unusual vintage Seiko watch - the model is: 7a38 7050. It is in good condition with just minor wear marks and everything works as it should - all chronograph dials and date etc. The Seiko manual comes with it too. P&P £6 first class recorded. Can post abroad but cost will differ.

I'm not sure what it's off, but here's what the correct original Seiko p/n Z1148S bracelet for a 7A38-7050 looks like - rather different:

Seller Lesterplant didn't do to well out of that one (fortunately). 

It's gotta be said ....

The undisclosed non-original replacement bracelet fitted to this water-damaged 7A38-7190 is probably the least of it's problems:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140912526380

VINTAGE SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH QUARTZ 7A38-7190 WRISTWATCH

VINTAGE SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH 7A38-7190 WRISTWATCH WATCH IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION

CASE: 38 MM STAINLESS STEEL

BRACELET: ORIGINAL SEIKO  Well if it is - and I'm not so sure about that, it certainly ain't original to this watch. 

CRYSTAL: ORIGINAL SEIKO

MOVEMENT: SEIKO 7A38 15 JEWELS CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT

I SHIP WORLDWIDE AND COST 15 $ WORLDWIDE

Coming to think of it, the non-original bracelet is probably the best part of it ! 

Paul I am actually watching that last one from Turkey, what do you think could have damaged it so much? battery leakage?

EDIT: I noticed only now that you wrote it was water to damage it.. sorry... 

George. The dis-colouration of the sub-dials, most often seen on the white 7A38 710L dial is usually associated with water ingress.

The severe corrosion of the movement back-plate in the seller's photo could equally have been caused by a leaking battery.

I have encountered a similar instance myself, where leaking battery fluids had run right the way around the movent:

If you look at the battery positive plate, in the seller's photo, you'll see it hasn't suffered anywhere near the same amount of corrosion as the back-plate. But it still has rust on it - a different kind of rust. I suspect the movement in that watch might have been cobbled together from two gash movements. Though, if so, why they chose to use that back-plate amazes me. I've thrown away better ones.

Note also two fairly important back-plate screws are missing and the broken finger tension spring. One to be avoided at all costs. 

Here's an interesting one - at least for 'correctness' geeks like myself, anyway.  Listed earlier today on eBay by an Italian seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261165705477

orologio seiko chronograph BELLISSIMO!!

Seiko chronograph. mai indossato, sempre cassaforte, cinturino in lega bagnato oro. Affare!!

Now Italian isn't my strong suit, but Babelfish translates that as: never worn, always safe, wet gold alloy strap. Bargain!!

You don't have to look hard at the seller's photo to see traces of wear - particularly the chunk of plating missing off the bezel. 

I was intrigued by the gold-plated bracelet - the end pieces appear to fit pretty well, which if you've ever adapted a bracelet to this particular watch case, you'll know isn't easy, because the curves (even at the lug ends) are not a constant radius. But I digress ....

This is a 7A38-7260 SAA100J. Whereas the 7A38-724x and -725x models, which used the same watch case, were factory fitted with bracelets, the 7A38-726x's came fitted with leather straps. According to Seiko Oceania's database, only one strap option was offered

- p/n BRJ37G, a  tan calf leather strap. This is the only photo I have on file showing one, from a Fellows auction lot in October 2006:

Still, optional extra bling factor apart, the rather optimistic opening bid price of 189 Euros should be enough to put most people off. 

Bit of a naughty one, listed on eBay yesterday evening by a Spanish seller. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271152924278

SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH VINTAGE 7A38-7270 SUWA

AN AUTHENTIC VINTAGE SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH 

CRONO RESETS FINE 

SEIKO 7A38-7270 

QUARTZ MOVEMENT RUNS FINE 

CASE MEASURES 38 mm AND 42 mm LUG TO LUG 

WATERRESISTANT BUT NOT TESTED 

PRODUCED IN DECEMBER 1987 

STAINLESS STEEL CASE AND ORIGINAL BRACELET 

SUWA FACTORY

I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what that is fitted, but it clearly is not the correct original Seiko p/n B1615S bracelet for a 7A38-7270. 

Edit: I should have recognised it by now though. 

This same 7A38-7270, serial # 7D5444 fitted with that same wrong bracelet has been 'doing the rounds' since at least January 2011.

Looking at one set of (12) photos, it was sold by Total_Time22 on at least one previous occasion. Note damaged 30 minute subdial.

I almost had to laugh at this one, if it wasn't for this particular seller's blatant dishonesty.  Listed earlier this evening by 'Lesterplant':

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380575560300

Here is a very rare vintage Seiko 7a38 diver's watch. Works great, keeps good time and everything works as it should - all the dials zero back etc. It does have some minor marks but still great. 

This is a big (43mm diameter) well engineered watch in solid stainless steel. Had a new battery fitted six months ago. Free postage including oversees - will be sent recorded delivery and must be signed for.

The complete head (and dial hands, etc.) is from a fairly decent looking stainless 7A38-6020 - with the usual faded bezel lettering, etc..

But the bracelet is from a 7A38-7050 (or 7A38-705A). Scroll back up the page a bit. Stop when you get to my post dated January 15th.

Note the 7A38-7050 being sold there - fitted with a non-original bracelet ? Well I'd lay odds that's where this bracelet came from ! 

The more observant of you may notice in that listing, he gives the Item location: South, United Kingdom. This one is Southampton.

The seller is a well-known purveyor of 7Axx frankens employing deceptive descriptions, named A.Braniff from Workington, Cumbria.

That's way up North (United Kingdom) where I come from. 

As you can see, from his visit earlier today, Mr. A. Braniff has 'done his homework' and clearly knows exactly what he is trying to sell:

Caveat Emptor, as always, Gentlemen. 

Seems there have been found an bracelet that realy looks right to the watch.

( If you don`t know the real one  )

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Seiko-7a28-7000-Quartz-Chronograph-Aliens-/321071010125

Well, we've seen a lot worse, Andre.  Actually that's not a bad looking replacement - at least it matches the watch head / finish.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321071010125

Seiko 7a28-7000 Quartz Chronograph (Aliens)

Selling an excellent 7A28-7000 Seiko Sports 100 chronograph designed by the Italian designer Giugiaro.  

This satin stainless cased Seiko got the nickname "Alien" as Sigourney Weaver wore one similar on the second Aliens movie.

The unique side housing for the chronograph pushbuttons makes this watch rare and collectible. 

All functions working as they should and hands line up on minute marks. Crystal has a few light blemishes.

Case and caseback are in nice condition.The pushbuttons are working smooth and everything resets straight up.

Rather naughty of Mike Mounce not to mention the replacement bracelet in his description, but then that's what we've come to expect.