Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Here we have quite possibly the worst example I have ever seen $400  behave 

Item No 272686206470

Phil at May 25, 2017 at 2:20 PM

Here we have quite possibly the worst example I have ever seen $400  behave 

Item No 272686206470

Hi Phil, hoping to pick your brains a bit... or anyone else's for that matter.

Trying to educate myself here -  what is it that makes this is a very bad example?

• I can see that it has a very manky dial.
• It also looks like the lume pip at 9oc is a strange colour, I think it should match 3oc and 6oc positions? 
• Bezel insert has seen better days
• It seems overpriced (show me a Seiko that isn't at the moment!)

But from what I can see in the photos the chrono sweep hand is in different positions so indicates that it works (well, it might do!) and the hands look correct to me although with rather dull lume, and the bracelet looks about right.

I'm trying to learn more about the 7A range to save myself from buying any complete rubbish like I did when I first went Pogue hunting!

Thanks in advance,

Pip

Hi Pip, you've pretty much nailed it with your observations, these are JDM (Japan Domestic, hot & humid) models which means they were'nt exported (I think others may chip in with a better explanation) and this has suffered terribly from moisture ingress which totally ruins the look of the watch, and with these pieces it's really all about the face. Now if the face has suffered, it is likely that the movement may be problematic as there is electrical circuitary inside. If you know how to service these watches as many do on this forum then that is not a deal breaker.

However if you don't then you could be buying too much trouble . Although these are rare they still come up for sale, if I were you I would pass on this grubby example, be patient and you could end up with a nice one

There are plenty of people on this site that can guide you better than I 

Keep looking thats half the fun

Regards Phil 

Thanks Phil. I'm enjoying the hunt and forcing my self to not just keep bidding on everything which is what I used to do when I first got into Seiko automatics. I did buy some real dogs! So far I have two 7A28's, neither of them in showroom condition but I think I got them both for the right money or even a little less. 

The hunt continues! 

Sweet Jesus, wrong case, pusher missing, wrong bracelet, rusting movement and mouldy hour markers and a snip at £421 plus £12 postage

Ebay no 142628376431

Sold now hope nobody here bought it 

This one is a reasonable example apart from the from two subdial hands need changing not a big issue but a lot better example than the one above

eBay no 263390752959

Sweet Jeezus indeed, Phil. 

I did think about writing them both up here (in 'your' dedicated thread) ....

But instead I tacked them onto the latest hotch-potch 7Axx thread (page 6).

Your summation of the former travesty is almost complete ....

You missed the diabolical mis-alignment of the hour and minute hands. 

Thanks Paul. New years resolution to learn how to put photos in here again. 

For Phil's benefit, here's a couple of screen grabs. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142628376431

The second of those two eBay auction listings for 7A28-710A's ended earlier this afternoon.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263390752959

This one, in almost NOS condition, but strangely fitted with non-original chrono' sub-dial hands sold for 486 Euros after 21 bids - about a Tenner more than that other travesty. Had I been in the market for one, I know which of the two I'd have been bidding on. 

The ebay one with the correct hands I had the misfortune of buying as I did not look carefully at it before hand.  I have now shipped it back to the seller.  However a few things the pushers were correct, middle case was not bracelet wrong.  And none of the hands set to dead centre but think they would with an adjustment.  The owner has had it for a number of years and claims he bought it this way.  Anyway lesson learnt!  You can't be too careful.

I just happened to run a search on Yahoo Japan this morning (on '7A28') and spotted this decent-looking unmolested used example of a 7A28-710A, which had been listed earlier today as a 7-day auction with an opening bid price of 1000 Yen. However, it's tagged as 'Junk' because of an inoperable 4 o'clock pusher button.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r238659751

Never did bother checking to see what that one sold for. Besides, this was supposed to be Phil's thread (to keep udpated), before he went AWOL.

I don't run searches on Yahoo Japan on 'Seiko 7A28' very often, because these things don't interest me personally. I did earlier today, however and couldn't help spotting this ostensibly NOS with tags 7A28-710A re-listed yesterday by a 'Store' seller as 'Junk' (because of a chronograph fault). The opening bid price is 51,556 Yen + 8% Japanese sales tax = 60,000 Yen.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t643276818

Sorry Paul still haven't mastered pictures yet, thanks for keeping the thread alive. This is a beauty hence the price and most likely an easy fix - very tempting. Still wear mine most weekends.  Strange that the chapter ring is out of line again an easy fix.

Don't know what's going on here but this sold for an incredible £1033.62 

Not sure where you got that exact number from, Phil. Buyee, perhaps ? 

But you're not wrong - that 'Junk' 7A28-710A sold for very strong money.

The Yahoo Japan auction result shows that it sold for ¥132,556 Yen + 8% sales tax, making a total of ¥143,160 Yen, equivalent to approx. $1279 US / £984.30 GBP.

As is often the case lately, the high 5-digit feedback number of the encrypted winning bidder points to the auction having been won by an international buyer, using one of the proxy bidding services.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t643276818

Yes it was Buyee Paul thanks. As you say crazy money wished I'd have bought a couple more 

I think you mean the 7A28-710A. Yahoo Japan is the best place to look as they're a JDM model. I've just checked and there aren't any listed on YJ at the moment.

Thanks Paul for the check.

Irwansun at September 14, 2019 at 3:42 AM

Anyone selling the 701a yellow dial?