Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Wearing my lovely 7A28-7020 today to brighten things up:

A very elegant watch, with day/date it wouldn´t look that nice. Your example is in excellent condition. 

Card from my wife----My BMW 1150 RT is serviced and ready for Spring !

Nice one, Don !    Happy Valentine's Day to you both.  Don't suppose you remember these People .... 

Another grey gale-blasted day in wet and windy Wiltshire. 

So something suitably coloured to match the weather (if not my mood) - my 'big bruiser' erstwhile NOS Racer / Orient J39723-70.

On a brighter note, I see our 'ONE and ONLY WRUW thread' has now passed the 25,000 hits (page views) mark. 

A special thanks to everyone who has contributed. 

My first WRUW post, and my first 7A28-7049, some may have seen for sale.. I swapped the band out to something closer to what it came with (in terms of looks) eyeing a replacement band, crystal, and bezel down the road.. I really like these

Well done, Dave !  I only wish a few more of our membership would get off their backsides and post WRUW shots as quickly !

I presume you are aware of the availabilty of repro' bezel inserts for these ?

See: http://www.seiko7a38.com/apps/forums/topics/show/7792531 .... and scroll down the page. Page 3 shows them being fitted.

Last year I acquired a couple of albeit comparatively expensive Yema Spationaute III parts watches - one was a 38mm 'reduced'. 

Rather than build yet another to add to my collection - 13 is an unlucky number, after all  I made a conscious decision to use them as donors, to improve my existing watches. That 38mm parts watch yielded a better dial and hands and an almost unmarked crystal.

Here's the results of my first in a series of parts swapping exercises - somewhat of an improvement on it's earlier guise.

Yema Spationaute III Aragatz N80A696 38mm 'reduced' on a black Fleurus 20mm Shark strap (that I'm still breaking in):

Mmmmmmm. Really nice Paul. 

7A38-7000 while walking with my dog.

Nice composition, Achim. 

Some days you just feel like strapping on an ugly one.  Kamatz 517000 on original Poljot cardboard consistency 'leather' strap:

Another grey overcast winter's day, so I thought I'd dig out something which given the right lighting conditions can add a little twinkle.

It's a franken I built back in May 2010 as an 'experiment'. Liked it so I kept it. Basically it's the silvery-grey dial and hands of a two-tone 7A38-6080 in a 7A38-7289 two-tone case and bracelet (the silver Tachymeter ring is ex 7A38-7190). I hadn't worn it in over a year.

Typically, there wasn't enough light to show off the dial. So the photo ended up rather lacklustre. But there's a story behind this one. This was about the third or fourth shot I'd attempted. Habitually, I use the brick wall of my house or a wooden garden fence panel as backgrounds. Yeah - boring I know. Anyway, after I'd taken however many shots it was, angling my arm about, trying to find some light to catch the dial, I looked to my right and there, sat on the fence post, less than 6 feet away, was a blackbird watching me. He seemed bemused. He cocked his head to one side and I'm sure he rolled his eyes. So inspired by Achim's clever shot with his dog, I thought I'd try to capture the blackbird in mine. I turned towards him, pointed the camera. He shat and flew away. Next time Blackbird, I'll have he !

My beat-up JDM 7A28-7110.

Paul, you can tell a dog what to do, but not a bird.

A very nice franken; it looks like an original SEIKO. This dial is one of my favourite ones. You´re right, it´s not easy to capture the special effect of the sunburst dial.

Today in the south of Germany it was a beautiful day; therefore once again a shot while being outside wearing my 7A38-7020.

Almost in Stealth mode today.  Wearing another of my 7A38's that hadn't seen the light of day in a long time. 7A38-7290 SAA095J.

Funnily enough this one's got a 'Blackbird' connection too.  I wrote this 'spoof' post about the 7A38 'Blackbird' on RLT years ago. 

According to Norse legend, today is the beginning of Ragnarök - end of the world as we know it. So I'll see you all in Valhalla.

I'll be wearing one of my habitual blue cotton oxford shirts (and blue jeans) and this: Yema Spationaute III Aragatz N8OP96. 

A little buffing and some weight reduction--I can live with this YSL

@ Achim. Ref your: A very nice franken; it looks like an original SEIKO.

Thanks for the compliment. I've always thought that's how any decent Franken should look - as if it was something Seiko themselves might have produced. Here's another of my earlier efforts: a much modded 7A38-7020 that I cobbled together a few years ago:

About all that's left of the original watch (as Seiko originally intended it) is the watch case and Tachymeter ring. The dial is a 709L from a 7A38-7070 (but fitted with black on white Day / Date wheels) - hence in effect, reversing the colours; hands are 7A28-7040 (which in fact are the same as would be used on the 7A38-7020 / -7049). Bracelet with matching 'dummy rivet' motif is a Seiko p/n Z1020S, IIRC.

Back together today with a sapphire crystal from Esslinger. My 7A48-7009.

one of my favourites...