7A38-7060 SAA018J on original Seiko p/n BRJ47G leather strap

[Seiko7A38]

Most gold-tone 7A38-7060's you'll see listed for sale on eBay and elsewhere are usually fitted with the Seiko p/n G1105G bracelet, often with varying levels of plating wear to their links and clasp. Sometimes owners will fit an aftermarket leather strap - 'mock croc' seems a favourite choice. But like a few other 7A38-706x variants there existed a factory leather strap option: J3. I'd noted it many years ago, when I compiled my 7A38-xxxx Excel spreadsheet database:

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Thing is, although I was aware of it, I don't believe I've ever actually seen one before - not until this morning. Overnight an Italian eBay seller listed this gold-tone 7A38-7060, fitted with a Seiko tan leather strap, as a 7-day auction with a typically over-ambitious opening bid price of 320 Euros.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7A38-7 ... 4881694035

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In his description the seller states that the strap and buckle are original. They may well be original Seiko, but are they correct and original for this particular watch ? Ever the sceptic, I'm wondering if that strap may have been retro-fitted. There's just something incongruous about it - the white stitching doesn't go with the gold dial. I'd also question whether this is genuinely a 'full set', or something that's been made up to give the impression of being one. The seller appears to have deliberately obscured the upper part of the cover showing the title of the instruction manual and the other booklet is a supplement for the 7T32 and 7T42.

[Seiko7A38]

I hadn't previously identified it (as being Seiko p/n BRJ47G), but I have what appears to be the same tan leather strap fitted to two of my Italian market variants: my NOS gold-tone 7A38-706A and recently acquired two-tone 7A38-706B.

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Amusingly, and possibly only coincidentally, zooming in on the Italian eBay seller's last photo showing the case-back, this watch also has an 8Dxxxx prefix serial number (common to all the Italian market 7A38-706x variants). So it makes me wonder whether this 7A38-7060 SAA018J3 leather strap variant also falls into that category. Hmm.