Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

A brighter one today--My Seiko 7a38-7280 from Feb. 1988     Again, almost NOS / mint condition  

I'm wearing (very briefly) this morning - a not quite so mint one.  A 7A38-7070 'resto' project in dire need of a Yobokies repro' bezel insert and some TLC. Pretty much as received, yesterday, save for fitting a battery and case-back gasket, which it came without.

It's  Franken Friday  for me ! Wearing this subtly modded 7A38-7020 I built a few years ago.

The 709L dial is from a 7A38-7070 (see yesterday's wrist shot) and the bracelet is a NOS Seiko p/n Z1020S, IIRC.

Swapped the Franken for a Pukka one this afternoon - my second string 7A38-7029. When I got the Franken out of my collection box, I noticed this one doing the 'two second tick', so I thought I might as well change the battery. This watch has been partly re-built using a salesman's sample case. Funnily enough, it was this watch's original case (refurbished) that I subsequently used to build the Franken.

My newest incoming 'cheapie' Yema N81W63 - as received, still on that horrible blingy gold plated bracelet as supplied fitted.

Same Yema N81W63 - now suitably de-pimped and colour co-ordinated - on a very dark blue leather strap.

A bit of a beater today - and still in blues mode. One of my lesser examples of the Orient / Racer J39908-70. Probably the worst. 

Got this out to try the 19mm Barington blue ostrich strap on the Yema N81W63, but it didn't work, so I've left as is. 

Even careful positioning of the hands isn't enough to hide the deficiences of this one - scabby dial, etc.

Pity, it was probably quite an attractive little watch in its day. 

An afternoon post of my Yema Spationaute III - An under the wrist shot holding my Accutron Astronaut Tuning Fork, c1966  

Wearing an old favourite this morning - my ex-Wimstore 'freebee' Orient J39701-70. Technically a wrong 'un - the gold printed dial is from a J39001-70 - the correct dial should be white printing on pure matt black, to match the Tachymeter scale. One day, perhaps. 

PS - as no doubt I've written before, bracelet is wrong too - it's a Seiko p/n G1410S (rather than a 'Feiko'), fitted with an Orient clasp.

A couple of Q&D shots of one of my Yema Spationaute III 38mm 'reduced', model # N80A696, on original Yema tan shark strap.

Don't think I've mentioned before, but this one's not quite right.  Not immediately obvious. Anybody spot what's wrong with it ? 

All the hands should be black.  

Correct - to a point, Don.  Like this example, which happens to be fitted with a black Fleurus shark strap.

The hour and minute hands normally found on a N80A696 are black japanned (rather than painted black) - an effect better visible in yesterday's shots, where the light caught them just right. The gold plated hour and minute hands on the previous example may be a reasonable match for the pointed bullet hour markers, but they're slightly wider than the 'correct' Spationaute III set. These hands are normally found on (both dial variants of) the dressy N81W53 model. Having said that, mine isn't the only watch I've seen fitted with this 'wrong' hand set. I went back through my photo folders and found another, which was listed on eBay France in September 2010, that appears to have the same hand setup. Note also the significant difference in the amount of gold plating applied to the dial batons. Considering that production versions of the 43mm full size N80P76 Spationaute III's used two different hour and minute hand sets - and had different (lumed and plain white) batons, I'm wondering if that 'wrong un' of mine is a comparitively rare factory deviation. 

Seiko7A38 at April 29, 2015 at 5:15 AM

These hands are normally found on (both dial variants of) the dressy N81W53 model ....

Not that I need an excuse, e.g. for illustration purposes, to post photos of these delightful, if somewhat dressy little Yema N8's ....

But here's a couple of Q&D wrist shots of my two variants of N81W53, showing those gold plated hands in their natural habitat.

Both watches are fitted with Barington 19mm Ostrich Leg (rather than Quill) straps which have a strikingly unusual grain pattern.

A Seiko 7A38-7260  with non-original band     Serial # 777027.   A watch Paul wrote about  a few weeks ago  

How about that lume still glowing after all 27+ years  

My one and only 7A38, a recently acquired 7A38-7030. As much as I like it, I'm thinking of selling it on! I have a similar vintage Volvo that needs some work...

Don's recent comment about 'rotten lume' in the 7A38-7000 SAA007J model specific thread, prompted me to dig this one out.

My cheapo bitza / beater / long term resto' project that I documented in this thread in the Workshop section, over a year ago.

I gave it the pet name El Caracortada (Scarface). It's actually got less rotten lume batons than that recent eBay 'head only' ! 

Swapped that beater for another cheapo beater this afternoon ....

The stainless 7A38-7270 which I accidently picked up from eBay Germany on Christmas Eve for under a Tenner. 

Don posting his recent acquisition earlier this week reminded me how much I liked the stainless 7A38-7260 SAA097J.

Here's one of mine fitted with my favourite matching IW Suisse dark grey lizard strap. Make that a couple of shots .... 

Wearing my first ever 7A38 'Diver' - a 7A38-7050 generously donated to my collection, as a restoration project, by Michael Rothe. 

It's currently fitted with a NOS bezel - which ideally, I'd like to transfer over to another better condition example, but first I need to find a more suitable alternative substitute replacement crystal for the SKX007 item currently fitted, which has far too large a polished bevel edge (hence the refraction of the Tachymeter scale).

Wearing my composite second / third string JDM 7A38-7110 SJS048 as I'm writing it up in the 7A38-7110 model specific thread.