# That Other Rare Yellow-Faced Seiko 7A38 â€¦.



## SEIKO7A38

Judging by paucity of appearances over the last few years, it's scarcer than its illustrious yellow-faced 'RAF Vulcan' cousin.

No spurious military connections with this one, thankfully. h34r: Though there may be a hint of Guigiaro influence. :artist:

Very little prior reference to this particular model, the *7A38-7140* - anywhere on the 'Net, either. :read:

I did briefly mention it, myself, in Thatsmytikiâ€™s 7A38-714A thread (post # 6), a few months back:



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> The grey-black faced 7A38-714A, and it's yellow and black faced sibling, the 7A38-7140 are both quite rare.
> 
> Here's a 7A38-7140 that came up on eBay a few years back ....


That eBay listing photo, which I linked, comes from an archived GMT+9 post in September 2007:

*The GMT+9 Auction Watchlist #3* (and scroll down the page) â€¦



> I like unusual Seiko 7Axx watches.
> 
> Although it shows signs of wear, this one understandably was still bid up to $167.50.


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## SEIKO7A38

Then there was this one, posted in a reply to another earlier 7A38-714A question thread, on the old SCWF:

 *Has anyone seen this model? 7A38-714A* by Hung Pham ('TimetoFly') at the end of February 2009:



> *Here's a similar one....*
> 
> Model 7A38-7140. I don't have it, but it was for sale somewhere in 2006.


I think I know from the obvious similarities in the wear of their black chrome coating, where that particular one ended up ....

Despite the blurry out-of-focus camera-phone photo (not mine, incidentally) ....










It now belongs to another 7A38 collector who also has this other minty example in his collection:


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## SEIKO7A38

But all I'd seen myself, until very recently ....

.... on eBay, or anywhere else, was JosÃ© Sotto's rather sorry-looking 'cooked' example, in August.

Stripped of its black chrome coating; missing the original bracelet and with a very badly faded dial. 










That was until very recently.


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## watchking1

Waiting for the pics and "The rest of the story" :rockon:


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## sparrow

watchking1 said:


> Waiting for the pics and "The rest of the story" :rockon:


+1 - very nice looking Seiko that!


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## LuvWatch

+2 c'mon Paul, pull your finger out, we're waiting :read:

Derek


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> That was until very recently.


Patience, Gentlemen.









You know how the saying goes ? 'All good things come to he who waits'. :huh:

It seems I may have been just a little premature in starting this thread so early. :hypocrite:

Patience, Moi ??? :taz:

O.K. Reset to *last* Wednesday.

I'm bored - it's lunchtime, and I decide to run some of my saved favourite eBay searches. :yawn:

Yup - this fanatical collector even runs manual eBay searches midweek in the middle of the day. 

But sometimes it pays dividends, because *THIS* came up in one of my searches .... 



> *SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH SPORTS 100.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> New without tags*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SEIKO CRONO SPORTS 150, FONDO DI MAGAZZINO.
> 
> 40MM IL DIAMETRO DEL QUADRANTE ,DOPPOIO DATARIO ,SCALA TACHIMETRICA.
> 
> MODELLO 7A38-7140.


At the time, it had been listed for only a matter of minutes, and 2 or three others had viewed it.

Initially I put a minimum bid in, then another much higher one.

Didnâ€™t want to risk losing this auction, so I messaged the seller. :naughty:



> Avete un prezzo di 'Compralo Subito' ?


Then followed 10 minutes of abject panic, until I hit the Buy-it-Now button, and paid the eBay invoice. :sweatdrop:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> It seems I may have been just a little premature in starting this thread so early. :hypocrite:
> 
> .... until I hit the Buy-it-Now button, and paid the eBay invoice. :sweatdrop:


That was a week ago. Wednesday 15th December - almost a week ago to the minute. :bag:

I paid the seller immediately, and that included a sizeable lump for postage and packing.

However, for (his) reasons that I'll elaborate on later ....

The seller didn't actually post it until *Monday 20th*. :angry:

It's coming by Poste Italiane Paccocelere Internazionale ....

which, in 'normal circumstances' should be a 2/3 day service.

However, at this time of year - forget it ! 

I just checked the tracking number, and it's taken 2 days just to cover the 200Km's ....

from the seller's location in Northern Tuscany to the Milan Gateway central sorting office.

So, absolutely no way is it going to arrive before Christmas. :sadwalk:

May get here before the New Year though !


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Very little prior reference to this particular model, the *7A38-7140* - anywhere on the 'Net, either. :read:


In the meantime (he writes, stalling :lazy2: ) ....

I did find one other reference to the 7A38-7140, in another google search, yesterday -

It's from the old SCWF (Mirror) website, and dates back to the end of January 2003 ! :bored:

See: http://larrybiggs.net/scwf/index.php?mod=103&action=1&id=1043988035 (and scroll down the bottom of the page.)



> My 7A38-7140 chrono that I've had for nearly 9 years also has a folded bracelet.
> 
> However not being a WIS at the time I didn't know my **** from my elbow, and still would have bought it anyway for the dial.


I emailed the poster ('Rob', from NZ), at the email address linked from SCWF ....

Just on the off-chance, enquiring as to whether he might still own the watch.

My email was bounced, almost immediately, as that email account was closed. 

So I took a flyer - and forwarded it to another well-used email account provider ....

Got a reply from Rob this morning. 

He does indeed still own that 7A38-7140.

He remembers buying it new (old stock) in July 1996.

He's away from home at the moment, without the watch.

But he wrote that he'd email me some photos in due course.









Fingers crossed I'll manage to get some photos of 'mine' posted first. :bag:


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## LuvWatch

> *SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH SPORTS 100.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> New without tags*


That is a stunner :notworthy: , many congratulations Paul, waiting is the hard part - if you want to sell, let me know h34r:

Derek


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## watchking1

Paul,

Ok I'm calling the Policia. You stole this one :notworthy: :notworthy:

It may be too yellow for you so just drop me a line next year when you receive it so I can forward my shipping info to you


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## andy_s

That's very nice indeed - be interesting to see your pics when you get it; hopefully sooner rather than later.

Cheers


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> It's coming by Poste Italiane Paccocelere Internazionale ....
> 
> which, in 'normal circumstances' should be a 2/3 day service.
> 
> I just checked the tracking number, and it's taken 2 days just to cover the 200Km's ....
> 
> from the seller's location in Northern Tuscany to the Milan Gateway central sorting office.
> 
> So, absolutely no way is it going to arrive before Christmas. :sadwalk:


And yesterday, according to Poste Italiane's online tracking, that seemed almost a certainty. 










But by some miracle (unless they were behind with data entry) it seems they got things back on track in the last 24 hours ....










Because a 'mystery courier' left a yellow cardboard box on my doorstep this morning. 

Containing not one, but *two* very rare Seiko 7A38's. :secret:

My 'early christmas presents from me to me' have arrived. :yahoo:


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## minkle

I thought it was the sun that was out..but it must be your yellow seiko! B)


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## SEIKO7A38

minkle said:


> I thought it was the sun that was out..but it must be your yellow seiko! B)


Nah. :no: That was just the Poste Italiane mailer box, Mike. 



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Because a 'mystery courier' left a *yellow* cardboard box on my doorstep this morning.


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## LuvWatch

Well done Paul, nice of the seller to pack it in a matching box :thumbup:

Derek


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## watchking1

Paul,

I'm spending my valuable Christmas Eve time here looking/waiting for pictures but, alas, none to be seen :crybaby: :crybaby:


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## SEIKO7A38

LuvWatch said:


> .... nice of the seller to pack it in a matching box :thumbup:


Derek, strange as it may seem, :huh: I'm actually *more pleased* with the other 7A38 that the seller packed in the same box.



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Because a 'mystery courier' left a yellow cardboard box on my doorstep this morning ....
> 
> Containing not one, but *two* very rare Seiko 7A38's. :secret:


Although, by rights, he shouldn't have 'consolidated' them - and could have posted the 7A38-7140 much sooner.











SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> That was a week ago. Wednesday 15th December - almost a week ago to the minute. :bag:
> 
> I paid the seller immediately, and that included a sizeable lump for postage and packing.
> 
> *However, for (his) reasons that I'll elaborate on later ....*
> 
> The seller didn't actually post it until Monday 20th. :angry:


I've never dealt with this Italian eBay seller 'Pichimmi' before. 

I know that you have - you bought your 7A38-7070 from him in July 2009. How do I know this ? :huh:

Easy - the background / props that he sometimes uses in his eBay listing photos - marble and driftwood. :smartass:

However, I had been in contact with him, recently, a couple of days before I purchased the 7A38-7140. :dontgetit:

The other 7A38 I bought from him, although far from mint, is in terms of sightings (to date) far rarer than the 7A38-7140,

and fills a very significant gap in my 7A38 collection - the only model that I was missing from the 7A38-72xx sub-range.


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## SEIKO7A38

watchking1 said:


> I'm spending my valuable Christmas Eve time here looking/waiting for pictures but ....


Then you'll have to be patient, Skip - or at least wait until I've finished my ramblings. :agree:


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## Paul66

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> watchking1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm spending my valuable Christmas Eve time here looking/waiting for pictures but ....
> 
> 
> 
> Then you'll have to be patient, Skip - or at least wait until I've finished my ramblings.
Click to expand...


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## Chromejob

Paul66 said:


>


YEAH. I like those Guigiaro watches, even the ones he didn't design, but were inspired by his.

Color me ENVIOUS.


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## SEIKO7A38

You guys can 'interrupt' all you like. :tongue2: You know I'm gonna finish what I started. 



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> However, I had been in contact with him, recently, a couple of days before I purchased the 7A38-7140. :dontgetit:
> 
> The *other 7A38* I bought from him, although far from mint, is in terms of sightings (to date) *far rarer* ....


The weekend prior to (albeit briefly) listing his 7A38-7140 on eBay, on Saturday 11th, the same seller had listed this:



> *SEIKO CRONOGRAFO 7A38-724A.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CRONOGRAFO SEIKO 7A38-724A, penso anni 80, CON BRACCIALE ORIGINALE,
> 
> DIAMETRO CASSA 38MM. IN BUONE CONDIZIONI, PERFETTAMENTE FUNZIONANTE.


Believe it or not :lookaround:, despite all my 'obsessive' collecting and searching for 7A38's ....

I had never seen a photo, let alone any previous mention, of the 7A38-724A before this. 

Problem was, because I'd never seen one before, I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at. :blush:

I've already got all the other variants of this 7A38 watch case in my collection:

7A38-7240; 7A38-7250; 7A38-725A; 7A38-7260 and 7A38-726A (including some multiple examples).

They're all a bit on the dressy side, but the 7A38-724A is quite different to all of them, except for their shared watch case.

Those of you who've seen my Excel 7A38 spreadsheet will know that I've written brief comments against each model.

It's for my own benefit - for use as an 'aide memoire', and to help me identify any 'Frankens' I might come across.

The comments I'd made against the 7A38-724A were based *solely* on data I'd extracted from Seiko's database:



> Note: *719L* dial face - (not 718L as used on -7240; all -725x and 726x's).
> 
> G1334C bracelet is also unique to this watch - other models use p/n G1285x.


Trouble was, having never seen a 719L dial face, nor a G1334C bracelet before ....

I wasn't quite sure whether I was looking at the genuine article, or a 'Franken'. :bag:

Those of you who are familiar with the subtleties of the 7A38-xxxx range will therefore understand my concern. :lookaround:

To me, that dial looked a little too much like the 708L dial used on the two-tone 7A38-7060 (and 7A38-7069) ....

.... and apart, possibly for the curvature of the end pieces, the bracelet looked like the G1105C off the same 7A38-7060.

So I messaged the seller (in Italian), asking if he could email me the original high resolution versions of his photos.

My intention being to zoom in on them, to see if I could read the all important numbers: 719L and G1334.

He declined to comply. :angry: So I put in the minimum bid of 25 Euros, and left it at that. :schmoll:

But I kept coming back to the listing, as the price continued to steadily climb. 

On the last day of the auction, I messaged the seller, again, in my best Italian:



> Bongiourno.
> 
> Ãˆ questo orologio 100% originale ?
> 
> Mi puoi dire i numeri stampati in caratteri molto piccoli alla base del quadrante ?
> 
> 7A38 7 xx L ?
> 
> Grazie.
> 
> Ciao.


The seller finally replied to my question, a matter of minutes before the auction was due to end:



> Ã¨ tutto originale 7A38 719 L T.
> 
> Grazie.


No time to set the sniper - I just went in and 'nailed it', manually, with 2 seconds to go ! :sweatdrop:

See: http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=300503339768

Way more than I'd normally consider paying for such a 7A38 in a used condition ....

.... but offset, for me, in this particular instance, by it's (extreme) rarity factor.

And I suspect that the seller knew I was going to 'go for it'  ....

Because that's why I believe he held off posting the 7A38-7140, until the auction for the 7A38-724A finished.









It's in a well-worn condition, gold-plating-wise. No major dings, scratches nor graunches ....

But it's 719L face sub-dials have suffered from some slight staining, as seen on the stainless 7A38-7280 710L dials. 

I don't care. :schmoll: I've got one now. :man_in_love:

And one day, probably sometime soon, now I've written this, a better example will undoubtedly come along. :tongue_ss:


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## new2the7A38

Kind sir and 7A38 guru...is there a link to "...my Excel 7A38 spreadsheet..."? Also...as I newbie I'm required to ask...just how

many 7A38 do you proudly own?


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## SEIKO7A38

new2the7A38 said:


> ...is there a link to "...my Excel 7A38 spreadsheet..."?


There was. :lookaround:

A lapsed member of this (and other) forums 'Twickersdude', had an older copy of it hosted on his (now defunct) website. 

I've been asked by a couple of people since, including Gabe ('Isthmus' on SCWF/WUS) for permission to host copies of it.

Quite frankly, because it still is a 'working document' - minor details constantly being updated, as I learn more, myself ....

(witness the fact I'd never seen a 7A38-724A before, even in a photo, until a week or two ago :blush: )

Until I can finally 'put a stake in the ground', and say that it's as accurate as I'm ever going to get it,

I'd rather it not be hosted online - for now, anyway. 

Having said that, if you've got MS Excel on your PC, I'd be happy to eMail you a copy. :wink2:



new2the7A38 said:


> Also...as I newbie I'm required to ask...just how many 7A38 do you proudly own?


Currently around 100 Seiko 7A38's, and nearly 2 dozen more similar '7A38 powered' quartz chrono's by other manufacturers:

Yema N8's; Orient J39's; Kamatz's and still just the one Cartier Ferrari Formula (Cal. 531). :bag:


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## minkle

How are they stored/displayed?


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## SEIKO7A38

Would you believe *5* of these ex-eBay 24-watch 'car boot sale' brief-cases, Mike ? :blush:










.... which I hasten to add are themselves, kept safely and securely under lock and key.


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## SEIKO7A38

kevkojak said:


> Although the 'slow reveals' get a bit tedious - JUST SHOW US THE BLOODY WATCH!


With sincere apologies to all for the *unintentionally* 'slow reveal'. 

A couple of very Q&D photos (for now) to keep the detractors at bay:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> A couple of very Q&D photos (for now) ....


Couple more:


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## SEIKO7A38

Thought I'd try something a little 'artier'







, but the light seems to be getting worse, not better ! 



















.... and now my camera's battery has just run flat !


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## 86latour

Screen shot of Italian delivery tracking?

Why? Its like a poorly executed, slow tension building soap opera!!!


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## watchking1

Beautiful and damn near NOS, I'd say :drinks:


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## SEIKO7A38

watchking1 said:


> Beautiful and damn near NOS, I'd say :drinks:


Not bad, at all, Skip. :thumbsup:

But I'd guess that it had been worn, briefly, at some point. 

You've only got to lightly handle that (matt) black chrome finish, for it to begin to look 'polished'. 

I've thought about carefully washing it, to remove any grease from the bracelet, but not keen to dismantle it. :no:


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## SEIKO7A38

86latour said:


> Screen shot of Italian delivery tracking? Why?


:groan:



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> With sincere apologies to all for the *unintentionally* 'slow reveal'.


Because I was trying to explain the delay between my starting the thread, and the watch actually arriving (late).

A point obviously lost on you.


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## SEIKO7A38

watchking1 said:


> Ok I'm calling the Policia. You *stole* this one :notworthy: :notworthy:


That's a bit harsh, Skip.  Let's just say I *sleuthed* it a bit quicker than most. :naughty:












watchking1 said:


> It may be too yellow for you ....


It's not, actually.







But I made this photo just a bit more yellow to compensate.


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## watchking1

I'm trying to talk you out of it but I guess it's a no go :crybaby:


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## SEIKO7A38

Which reminds me, I'd forgotten to follow up on this post. :blush:



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> I emailed the poster ('Rob', from NZ), at the email address linked from SCWF ....
> 
> Just on the off-chance, enquiring as to whether he might still own the watch.
> 
> My email was bounced, almost immediately, as that email account was closed.
> 
> So I took a flyer - and forwarded it to another well-used email account provider ....
> 
> Got a reply from Rob this morning.
> 
> He does indeed still own that 7A38-7140.
> 
> He remembers buying it new (old stock) in July 1996.
> 
> He's away from home at the moment, without the watch.
> 
> But he wrote that he'd email me some photos in due course.


When he got back home to NZ a few months later, Rob did indeed send me a couple of photos of his 7A38-7140:



















Cheers, Rob ! :cheers:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Here's a 7A38-7140 that came up on eBay a few years back ....
> 
> That eBay listing photo, which I linked, comes from an archived GMT+9 post in September 2007:
> 
> *The GMT+9 Auction Watchlist #3* (and scroll down the page) â€¦
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I like unusual Seiko 7Axx watches.
> 
> Although it shows signs of wear, this one understandably was still bid up to $167.50.
Click to expand...

That'll teach me to copy links from other people's hosted images. :blush:

GMT+9 has been offline for a few months - hence the 'spaceball' in my post.

Just as well I'd right-clicked and saved the original eBay image, myself, eh ? :grin:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Judging by paucity of appearances over the last few years, it's scarcer than ....


Funny I should have written that, because another N.O.S. 7A38-7140 came up on eBay in Italy last week.

See: http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290594068807&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_771wt_1059



> *SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH SPORTS 100 - 7A38 VINTAGE RARO! NOS!*


















































> *SPLENDIDO SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH SPORTS 100 NUOVO FONDO DI MAGAZZINO. FANTASTICO!*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> SPETTACOLARE QUADRANTE BICOLORE GIALLO E NERO CON LANCETTE CRONOGRAFICHE IN COLORE ROSSO. *
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> LA CASSA, HA UN DIAMETRO DI BEN 41 MM ESCLUSO PULSANTI E CORONA. IL FONDELLO, AVVITATO, RIPORTA OLTRE AL LOGO DELLA MAISON LA REFERNZA DELL'OROLOGIO 7A38-7140 E LA MATRICOLA 580088*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> IL MOVIMENTO AL QUARZO E' IL CAL. 7A38 PROVVISTO DI DATA E GIORNO. *
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> BRACCIALE IN ACCIAIO VERNICIATO PVD.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> VETRO ZAFFIRO.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> COMPLETA QUESTO BELLISSIMO OROLOGIO IL SUO ASTUCCIO CON SCATOLA DI PROTEZIONE E LA GARANZIA ANCORA IN BIANCO.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> UN RARO OROLOGIO DAL DESIGN ACCATTIVANTE, FRUTTO DELLA FELICE COLLABORAZIONE TRA SEIKO E IL FAMOSO DESIGNER GIORGETTO GIUGIARO.*
> 
> *
> *
> 
> *
> SONO A VOSTRA DISPOSIZIONE PER QUALSIASI ULTERIORE CHIARIMENTO O FOTO. NON ESITATE A CONTATTARMI. BUONA ASTA!*


The auction just ended a few moments ago after 13 bids at *253 Euros* (approx. Â£219.17) - a bit more than I paid for mine. :grin:


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## jair1970

That's a lovely watch and a pretty reasonable price IMO


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## watchking1

My last bid was at 211 and then I had a meeting that lasted longer than expected









It would have been too small for me anyway :crybaby: :crybaby:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> You guys can 'interrupt' all you like. :tongue2: You know I'm gonna finish what I started.
> 
> 
> 
> SEIKO7A38Fan said:
> 
> 
> 
> The *other 7A38* I bought from him, although far from mint, is in terms of sightings (to date) *far rarer* ....
> 
> 
> 
> The weekend prior to (albeit briefly) listing his 7A38-7140 on eBay, on Saturday 11th, the same seller had listed this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *SEIKO CRONOGRAFO 7A38-724A.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CRONOGRAFO SEIKO 7A38-724A, penso anni 80, CON BRACCIALE ORIGINALE,
> 
> DIAMETRO CASSA 38MM. IN BUONE CONDIZIONI, PERFETTAMENTE FUNZIONANTE.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Believe it or not :lookaround:, despite all my 'obsessive' collecting and searching for 7A38's ....
> 
> I had never seen a photo, let alone any previous mention, of the 7A38-724A before this.
> 
> Problem was, because I'd never seen one before, I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at. :blush:
> 
> I've already got all the other variants of this 7A38 watch case in my collection:
> 
> 7A38-7240; 7A38-7250; 7A38-725A; 7A38-7260 and 7A38-726A (including some multiple examples).
> 
> They're all a bit on the dressy side, but the 7A38-724A is quite different to all of them, except for their shared watch case.
> 
> Those of you who've seen my Excel 7A38 spreadsheet will know that I've written brief comments against each model.
> 
> It's for my own benefit - for use as an 'aide memoire', and to help me identify any 'Frankens' I might come across.
> 
> The comments I'd made against the 7A38-724A were based *solely* on data I'd extracted from Seiko's database:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Note: *719L* dial face - (not 718L as used on -7240; all -725x and 726x's).
> 
> G1334C bracelet is also unique to this watch - other models use p/n G1285x.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Trouble was, having never seen a 719L dial face, nor a G1334C bracelet before ....
> 
> I wasn't quite sure whether I was looking at the genuine article, or a 'Franken'. :bag:
> 
> Those of you who are familiar with the subtleties of the 7A38-xxxx range will therefore understand my concern. :lookaround:
> 
> To me, that dial looked a little too much like the 708L dial used on the two-tone 7A38-7060 (and 7A38-7069) ....
> 
> .... and apart, possibly for the curvature of the end pieces, the bracelet looked like the G1105C off the same 7A38-7060.
> 
> It's in a well-worn condition, gold-plating-wise. No major dings, scratches nor graunches ....
> 
> But it's 719L face sub-dials have suffered from some slight staining, as seen on the stainless 7A38-7280 710L dials.
> 
> I don't care. :schmoll: I've got one now. :man_in_love:
> 
> And one day, probably sometime soon, now I've written this, a better example will undoubtedly come along. :tongue_ss:
Click to expand...

.... and I suppose I ought to finish off this (sub) part of the thread, about the 7A38-724A. :grin:

I've gradually been catching up with a few 7A38 resto' projects, and I finally got round finishing this one off today.

Because of the amount of plating wear - obviously due simply to years of everyday use, and the stained sub-dials

.... no amount of titivating was ever going to turn this well-worn 'beater' into a 'minter', nor anything like one. :thumbsdown:

In fact, the eBay seller's single listing photo belied it's overall condition - in a rather flattering light.

It was clean inside, with no signs of any prior battery leakage, nor or any water ingress through the pushers, but there

were traces of rust between the underside of the bezel and the watch case, which I've seen before on this style case.

So I transferred the movement into another spare refurbished 7A38-726A watch case, with a marginally better bezel.

I also fitted new gold plated pushers and crown, at the same time. Seemed a waste, but the originals were badly worn.

And that's how it stayed for the last six months and more, until I came back to have another look at it again today.

The gold-plated bars on the centre link sections of the original G1334C bracelet were almost completely worn away.

Overall, it had become very polished, and was slightly stretched, so after some agonising, I decided to fit something else.

As I'd inferred previously, (apart from the unique end pieces) but subsequently measured every dimension ....

the 7A38-724A's p/n G1334C bracelet is almost identical to the G1105C used on the two-tone 7A38-7060.

The only difference is the end link is 'open' - rather than being formed into a 'tube', for the spring-bar to pass through.

Explains why it was such a sloppy fit with the end pieces, leaving a gap of 1mm between bracelet ends and watch case. 










So I re-brushed a spare used G1105C bracelet with better gold-plated sections, and fitted it with the original G1334C end pieces.

Here's one side of it fitted to the 7A38-724A, with the original G1334C bracelet section loose alongside:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> .... the 7A38-724A's p/n G1334C bracelet is almost identical to the G1105C used on the two-tone 7A38-7060.
> 
> The only difference is the end link is 'open' - rather than being formed into a 'tube', for the spring-bar to pass through.
> 
> .... a spare used G1105C bracelet with better gold-plated sections, and fitted it with the original G1334C end pieces.


Unless you looked at it from the underside (and knew what you were looking for), you wouldn't be any the wiser. :smartass:


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> .... no amount of titivating was ever going to turn this well-worn 'beater' into a 'minter', nor anything like one. :thumbsdown:


Like I said, apart from being pretty blingy in it's original condition, this was never going to be any oil painting. 



















However, if you count up the photos of the 'comparatively rare' 7A38-7140 mentioned in this thread, you'll find a total of 7.



SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> Believe it or not :lookaround:, despite all my 'obsessive' collecting and searching for 7A38's ....
> 
> I had never seen a photo, let alone any previous mention, of the 7A38-724A before this.


No matter how it looks, this is *still* the only 7A38-724A I have ever seen - anywhere, in nearly 3 years of searching. :search:

Hopefully, my posting about it, again here, will help flush a few more (read a better example) out of the woodwork. :naughty:

Oh and has anybody ever seen a black-faced two-tone 7A38-706A or the 7A38-706*B* with the 720L dial, by the way ?


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## SEIKO7A38

SEIKO7A38Fan said:


> See: http://cgi.ebay.it/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290594068807&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_771wt_1059
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH SPORTS 100 - 7A38 VINTAGE RARO! NOS!*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The auction just ended a few moments ago after 13 bids at *253 Euros* (approx. Â£219.17) - a bit more than I paid for mine. :grin:
Click to expand...

Bit of an unpleasant footnote to that one. :disgust:

As pointed out this afternoon by someone over on Orolgio & Passioni: http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=56761653&st=30#entry467542725

That same N.O.S. 7A38-7140 is now listed again in eBay Italy Classifieds, with apparently an asking price of *380 Euros*.

See: http://annunci.ebay.it/annunci/orologi/pesaro-urbino-annunci-saltara/seiko-chronograph-sports-100-7a38-vintage-nos/18467569


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## SEIKO7A38

Another somewhat belated footnote - and partial answer to my own question:



SEIKO7A38 said:


> Oh and has anybody ever seen a black-faced two-tone 7A38-706A or the 7A38-706*B* with the 720L dial, by the way ?


At the time of writing, I still haven't seen an example of the black-faced two-tone 7A38-706A ....

But more recently (in October) I came across my very first sighting of the elusive 7A38-706*B*. :shocking:

I was reading back through an existing 7Axx thread on Orologio & Passioni, entitled: Census: Seiko 7A28/38/48

I found a couple more pages had been added. Halfway down page 6, on 6th October, 'SuperMario_Bros' had posted this:



> .... my ugly duckling 7A38-706B


He's certainly not wrong in calling it an 'ugly duckling'. It shares many components with the two-tone silver-faced 7A38-7060.

But what makes this unique is the off-white *non-lume* dial, with Arabic / italic Breguet-style numbers, which is reminiscent

of the similar-hued 725O dial of the gold-tone 7A38-7280. The (main and subdial) hands fitted look similar (if not identical) too.

But the strange thing is, that on Seiko's database, the dial part number is shown as (7A38)720*L*XS19 ('L' indicating Lume).

I've rotated and zoomed in on the photo, and what's actually printed at the bottom of the dial looks more like: *7A38 727O*

Which if you study these things as I obsessively as I do :nerd: actually makes a lot more sense ('O' indicates a non-lume dial).

Speaking of which :umnik2: ....

The slightly unusual (for Seiko) subdial division marking is very similar to a couple of the dressy Yema N8's and Orient J39's.

Which points to the designs of various Seiko 7A38's; Yema N8's and Orient J39's having been penned by the same team.

So another very rarely seen 7A38 variant breaks cover. Like my 7A38-724A, it's the only example I've witnessed to date.

Both watches have English / Italian day wheels. With their styling, it makes me wonder if these were only sold in Italy. :lookaround:


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