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Forum Home > 7A38-xxxx Model Specific Area > 7A38-7000 SAA008J - Gold-plated

Seiko7A38
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Posts: 14428

This is probably one of the oldest photos of a gold-tone 7A38-7000 on the Internet (or it was):



It came from a thread on the old Network54 SCWF, which was started by 'Charles' in September 2007:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/thread/1189933858/Seiko+7A38-7000+Trimmer+Adjustment 


Here's another, showing the watch's correct bracelet, from a slightly earlier thread started by 'Charles':



If you're thinking about buying any secondhand watch over the Internet, particularly on eBay, you need to do your homework. The best research you can do is to study as many photos of correct examples as you can. This is the voice of experience speaking. :roll: Back in March 2009, while I was still relatively new to collecting Seiko 7A38's, and completely naive even to the existence of 'Franken' watches, I bought two 'wrong un's, within the space of two weeks. One of them was a gold-tone 7A38-7000. It was fitted with the wrong (710L) dial - out of another gold-tone 7A38. It was a few months later, when I right-clicked and saved the above photos, I realized my mistake.

Rather than take this thread 'off-topic', from the outset, I've started writing up my 'tale of woe' (and how I eventually rectified it) here:

http://www.seiko7a38.com/apps/forums/topics/show/7308980-a-salutory-warning-about-buying-watches-on-forums-

February 8, 2012 at 11:47 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

Reserved for more photos (here's a few of mine)




March 9, 2012 at 6:30 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

Reserved for Specification and Buyers Guide.



March 9, 2012 at 6:31 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

Most recent eBay listings:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110834954091

Herrenarmbanduhr SEIKO Chronograph Quarz 420847 7A38 7000 A5 gepflegt



Sold on 9th of March, 2012 for 126.00 Euros (approx. £105.74) after 16 bids. The auction received 553 views during the 7 day listing.


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Another, not in anything like such good cosmetic condition had also been listed for about a month as a Buy-it-Now on eBay in Spain:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251019658048

Seiko cronograph 7A38-7000 vintage watch 80`s

 

 

reloj seiko cronograph 7a38-7000 vintage fabricado en los años 80 

funcciona perfectamente 

tiene señal de uso

 

ANTE CUALQUIER DUDA PUEDEN CONSULTAR PARA MAS INFORMACION O FOTOS PARA EVITAR MALOS ENTENDIDOS O DEVOLUCIONES. PARA ENVIAR FOTOS HAY QUE MANDAR SU EMAIL

****************************************************************************************************************

 Chronograph watch seiko 7a38-7000 vintage made ​​in the 80

 works between perfectly

 signal is used (signs of use ?)


It finally sold on 15th April, rather surprisingly, given the cosmetic condition, for the original B-I-N price of 120 Euros (approx. £98.34).


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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251047397929

SUPERB GENTS SEIKO WATCH GOLD COLOURED SPORT-TECH CHRONO SAA SERIES



Model: Chrono SERIAL NO.420038 7A38-7000

A SUPER EXAMPLE OF THIS WATCH WHICH IS A RARE MODEL I DO NOT THINK YOU'LL FIND ANOTHER ONE LIKE IT. GOLD IN COLOUR IN FANTASTIC CONDITION, THIS GENTS MODEL HAS IT ALL ANALOGUE CHRONOGRAPH DAY-DATE SAA-SERIES STOPWATCH TO 0.05 SECS SPLIT TIME FACILITY IE.LAP TIMES 3 ATM WATER RESISTANT TACHYMETER AND TALLY COUNTER. WITH BOX AND INSTRUCTION BOOK. I HAVE OWNED THIS FROM NEW.


Sold on 1st May, 2012 for £60.00 (approx. $97.43) after 10 bids. The listing was UK only, and received a comparatively low 192 views.


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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120930320105

GREAT SEIKO WATCH from the 80s




Here For Sale is my SEIKO watch. Absolutely Stunning,1980s watch. Just had a new Battery fitted,and links taken out of bracelet (I have a small wrist) by a Watchmaker in my town. Links in the box. Everything in MINT condition, no marks, scratches. Worn only once by myself. Has all original papers, booklet etc. Even has the original reciept from the jewellers. Best of luck.Pete.


Sold on 17th June 2012 for £77.00 (approx. $120.45) after only 6 bids. 


March 9, 2012 at 6:31 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Arpie
Member
Posts: 202

This lovely example has been won by a member of this forum :)





Edit: We knew which one you were referring to, Arpad - the first one in the previous post. ;)

April 4, 2012 at 6:48 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

As with the stainless version, it's not uncommon to find examples of the gold-tone 7A38-7000 on eBay fitted with incorrect bracelets.


Here are two examples of recent eBay auctions. Looking at the dirty / worn state of the bracelets, both of them appear to have been fitted to the watches for many years, and neither look particularly 'out of place', compared to the correct original Seiko p/n B1170G.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150773335400

VINTAGE SEIKO 7A38-7000 LAP TIMER 1/10S 3 REGS QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH

RARE SEPERATED DAY DATE PULLMATIC ALL GOLD PLATED 2LANG




Sold on 14th March, 2012 for $76 (approx. £47.84) after 8 bids.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200745941551

GENTS VINTAGE QUARTZ SEIKO CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH



Sold on 17th April 2012 for £43.00 (approx. $68.12) after 11 bids.

April 4, 2012 at 7:39 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

There have been a few other examples of the gold-tone 7A38-7000 sold on eBay in recent months, which I hadn't bothered to mention.

Here's another, which was listed on eBay Germany in the last week of August:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190719170440

SEIKO Chronograph Quartz Gold




SEIKO Chronograph vergoldet

Zifferblatt goldfarben.

Gehäuse und Armband haben wenig Abrieb.

Die Uhr ist in einem gebrauchten aber gutem Zustand.

Ich habe die Uhr geschenkt bekommen und eine neue Batterie eingesetzt.

Sie läuft, aber ich kann sie mangels Wissen nicht einstellen.

Weiss also nicht ob alle Funktionen ok sind.


Nicely photographed, with the usual light rubbing wear to the gold plating, but with no mention of '7A38' in the title nor description ....

It sold on 2nd September for 81 Euros (approx. £64.27) after 14 bids - which is about par for the course. 


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Just to re-iterate the comparative lack of popularity of the gold-tone 7A38-7000, particularly for examples with worn gold plating ....


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330807432603

Herrenuhr Seiko Chronograph Cal. 7A38 Quartz vergoldet



 

Herrenuhr Seiko Chronograph Cal. 7A38 Quartz vergoldet. 

Edelstahlarmband, teilweise vergoldet mit Seiko Faltschließe. 

Durchmesser der Uhr: 40 mm ohne Krone. 

Die Uhrzeit, Datum und Tagesdatum (deutsch und englisch) funktionieren einwandfrei. 

Leider weiss ich nicht genau, welche weiteren Funktionen die Uhr noch hat und weiss auch nicht, wie sie einzustellen sind, daher wird sie als defekt für Bastler angeboten. 

Privatauktion ohne Gewährleistung und ohne Rückgabe. 

Versandkosten ins Ausland bitte vor Auktionsende mit Verkäufer abklären.


Sold on 12th October 2012 for 50.50 Euros (approx. £40.71) after 14 bids.

When did you last see a even a tired and completely worn-out stainless 7A38-7000 SAA007J sell for anything like that low a price ?


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Another gold-tone 7A38-7000, in better cosmetic condition was listed on eBay in the UK, a few days after the previous auction ended:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370668633331

VINTAGE 1983 SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH - WORKING - 15 JEWELS



Superb quality vintage watch. Working and keeps very good time. 

Please contact me if you need more details.

Copy and paste the below link into your browser for more information about the Seiko ....


On 17-Oct-12 at 15:57:16 BST, seller added the following information:

http://www.seiko7a38.com/apps/forums/topics/show/7203863-7a38-7000-saa008j-gold-plated


Don't click on the link - it will take you back to the top of the page ! :lol:


It sold on the 26th October 2012 for £88.25 after 12 bids. The auction received 454 views over the 10-day listing period.


September 3, 2012 at 4:52 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

I just watched the closing minutes of this US eBay auction for a tidy-looking gold tone 7A38-7000, with minimal plating wear:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160939851149

Vintage SEIKO QUARTZ Chronograph Model 412133



Vintage chronograph authentic 100%. Works and keeps good time . Hard to find. No box or tags. Any question please ask. No returns.


One bidder at the opening price of $69.99 is all it took. :)

December 20, 2012 at 1:43 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

There have been a few gold-tone 7A38-7000's listed on eBay over the last 8 months, most of which were quite well-worn, that I haven't bothered to document here. This example, listed on eBay in the States overnight, which, from the lack of wear to the gold plating and the condtion of the case-back sticker, would appear to have been worn very little, unfortunately warrants a mention for another reason.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261276977414


The seller's description includes:


Condition: Pre-owned, used condition. No scratches found on crystal. Watch shows some discoloration around the bezel.

Bracelet / band in good condition. Watch was working when last used per consignor. Will need a new battery.

(see photos for condition) From a non-smoking environment.


The seller certainly isn't trying to hide anything in their photos - I've only uploaded 8 of their 12.




The 'discoloration' on the watch case is exactly what it looks like - RUST - leaching through the gold plating from the base metal below.


I've seen other lesser cases before - indeed the second gold-tone 7A38-7000 I bought in February 2010, and subsequently sold on, also exhibited this problem. Other than the discoloration, it appeared to be in better overall condition than my first example. I bought it, thinking that I could clean it up. I quickly found that I couldn't - so I re-sold it, after swapping the bracelet, which was marginally better, for that of my first one. Here are a couple of photos from the original seller's eBay listing.




The bezel was quite badly discoloured (compared to the one on eBay), but the one I bought was actually worse on the underside:




The place where mine was worst, where the rust had actually broken though to the surface (as with the example currently on eBay - look closely at the seller's two side-on views of the watch) was the interface between the bezel and the case. I popped the bezel off to gently polish it up, and it was clearly rusty under there. I couldn't shift the staining on the sides of the watch case. Any efforts I might have made to rub away at it would have polished up the original matt finish - and likely exposed the base metal / rust very easily.

So if you are thinking about buying this one on eBay - forewarned is forearmed. ;)


September 1, 2013 at 7:16 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

That very same tarnished gold-tone 7A38-7000 was subsequently purchased by San-Francisco based profiteering re-seller Wai Phyo a.k.a Worldwideweb66. As per usual modus operandi, he used his alternative eBay ID Kyiaye to negotiate a Buy-it-Now price of $100:



http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=261276977414




The watch briefly re-appeared a few days later, but for some unknown, reason Wai ended the listing early:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141058318468


The 'New without tags' “Never been worn! Mint cosmetic & working perfect condition.” are typical of this seller's deceptive practices. 


Wai has uploaded the original high resolution but softly-focused photos of the first two images he used in his eBay listing to Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43587714@N05/9694981373/sizes/o/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43587714@N05/9694981725/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Look closely and you can see some of the rust staining / spots he didn't quite manage to polish out. 


After that initial false start, Wai Phyo a.k.a. Worldwideweb66 relisted it overnight on the 12th September - with the same falsehoods:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130989532647

 

This auction is for a vintage SEIKO QUARTZ 7A38-7000 Day-Date Chronograph Watch in brand new condition cosmetic and working perfect. Never been used! Case and Band are SEIKO Gold Plated gold tone color. Dial and hands are original and never been touch before. All functions are working properly. Chronograph hands can reset to zero/12O'Clock position exactly! Crystal is scratch free. Some tiny scratches on band & buckle. This is a SEIKO's First Generation Chronograph Quartz watch. Keep the right time. 100% Made in Japan. Up to 8.5" inches wrist will be fit! Very good for vintage seiko collectors or for your daily use! Very good example of SEIKO's First Generation Quartz Chronograph watch! Come with SEIKO box. Don't miss it. Thank you!!




I must admit, he made a pretty good job of cleaning up the rust / staining, though close examination of his photos (particularly the high resolution Flickr images that I linked above) still showed plenty of evidence of them. That still doesn't account for the final selling price.


The auction ended overnight with bidding @ $280 (approx £175), after 21 bids. The listing received 458 views over the 10 days.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130989532647


Although not particularly 'crazy money', this is certainly the highest figure I can remember seeing any gold-tone 7A38-7000 sell for.

Whether bidding was kocher, or not, we'll never know. As usual with Wai's auctions private listing - bidders' identities protected


September 22, 2013 at 5:15 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

Another gold-tone 7A38-7000 in a similar lightly worn condition, again with evidence of rust breaking through the plating from the base metal underneath, appeared on eBay in the States last weekend. This is a screen print I took about halfway through the 7-day listing:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331059481137


 

Seiko Quartz Chronograph Men's Wristwatch

Tachymeter

Caliber 7A38

Comes With Original Box

The Watch Sets and Runs

Kept Good Time in a 24 Hour Test

The Case Measures 40mm by 40mm

Seiko Gold Plate Bezel

Stainless Steel Back and Band

Should fit a wrist of about 7 5/8 inches

All the buttons do something, but I don't know if they work correctly




Compared to Wai Worldwideweb66's 'buffed up' offering, this one ended at a rather more plausible $108 (approx. £67) after 22 bids:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331059481137

November 16, 2013 at 7:01 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

A forum member listed his gold-tone 7A38-7000 on eBay last week:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251382192444

Seiko 7A38-7000 vintage quartz chronograph watch




This is a really good example of the Seiko 7A38-7000 (Seiko Gold Plated). 

All functions work perfectly, it is keeping excellent time and the chrono hands hit their marks and reset correctly. 

It was manufactured in 1984 which I personally think gives it vintage status :-) 

I'm thinning my collection, keeping only those watches that will actually wear, and despite this being in such fantastic condition its not for me. 

The watch will be shipped RM Special Delivery (UK). Overseas bidders - shipping will be via tracked courier at cost.


It sold yesterday evening for £102.31 after 15 bids:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251382192444

November 25, 2013 at 11:54 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

One-time stalwart of the old Network54 SCWF and erstwhile user of the current SCWF Trading Post, Dan Braun, listed a gold-tone 7A38-7000 on eBay last week. Dan's prices are usually very fair, but initially he pitched this one at a rather over-optimistic $195:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190991915342




 


SEIKO 7A38-7000 - Chronograph - SGP - 15 jewel movement

 

This 7A38 chronograph shows little wear for a 30 year old watch. The chronograph functions work as they should and the watch keeps time. Some marks to the gold-plating on one side of the case (see pics) and the bracelet has some scratches but the gold plating is still intact.

The watch will fit a wrist up to 7 3/4" ....


As with previous examples we've seen recently, there was possibly some evidence of rust trying to break through the gold plating from the base metal underneath - plus some light rubbing wear to the plating. One or two bracelet links appeared to be slightly distorted, from having been bent back on themselves - again not unusual for the B1170 band, whether the stainless or the gold plated version.

After a couple of days, Dan reduced the Buy-it-Now price by $10 to $185, but there were still no takers - it went unsold.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190991915342



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/itm/190997141262


It was subsequently re-listed and soon afterwards purchased by a new member of this forum for a much more reasonable $119. :)


December 9, 2013 at 10:05 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

I thought I'd give this a mention here, as it's related to this topic. Certainly would have come in very handy for me - 4 years ago. :roll:

Listed on eBay Germany last week was a 7A38A movement - still fitted with the gold 701L dial and hands from a 7A38-7000:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200997008179

Seiko Chronograf Quartzwerk Kaliber 7A38A



Hallo Uhren Freunde und Bastler, 

ich möchte euch ein Top Uhrwerk von Seiko Kaliber A738A anbieten. Das Werk ist funktionsähig. 

Da es sich um eine Privatauktion handelt, besteht keine Garantie oder Rücknahme! 

Und nun viel Spass beim Bieten!!


Even though I didn't need the 701L dial any more, I was planning to have a go at winning it, but then forgot to set a snipe. :(

It sold for 40 Euros (approx. £33.50) after 10 bids:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200997008179


December 10, 2013 at 12:30 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Rob Benham
Member
Posts: 284

Post copied over from the e-bay thread.  All pertaining to the gold plated 7A38-7000 mentioned above.


I see you mention the surface preparation.  Indeed, I gather the watch would have to be electrically de-plated first.  Anyway, I'm aware this should be on the technical threads, so just say the 7A38-7000 turned up, just as described and as far as I can see, the switch contacts are not rusty. 

The hint of rust in the vendor's photos, is if anything, less noticeable.  Some crunchiness of the buttons is noticeable, but apart from a little gunge having made its way as far as the circlips, the shafts are surprisingly clean.  The strap as you mentioned has that distorted link, and I can't see how to get behind the curved metal on the non-removable links.  To my astonishment, I notice a similar though not as bad link on my purchased-new stainless!

Lens.  Well, it needs changing, but it looks as though it may have been the original.  Bevelled and proud of the bezel by the thickness of the bevel, (is that how it should be?) it is quite different to the mess that ‘craftsman’ in Texas made of mine all those years ago.  Mine is flat to the polished bezel – though there is a bevel giving a trough around the edge.  I simply hadn’t realized how changed it was.   So, now I need two glasses as the gold one, despite having no gouges, has many fine scratches.   Back to the technical department and your links.

 

December 14, 2013 at 1:47 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

Before I reply to your questions, Rob - could you do me a small favour, please. ;)

In future, could you refer to the watch by its full Cal.-Case model number, rather than just '7A38' or '7000'.

For one thing, it helps with Google (and other) incoming searches. I've edited your post above accordingly. :P


O.K. Mea Culpa.

This is another of the 7A38-xxxx Model Specific topics I started off, with the best of intentions and then promptly left certain important sections unfinished, at the time - and have never gotten around to going back to write them up as I'd originally planned, namely ....


Reserved for Specification and Buyers Guide.


There ain't a lot there is there ? :(

If I had got round to writing it up, it would include something about the different finishes of gold plating on the case and bracelet, viz:

Polished bezel and 'bars' in the bracelet; semi-matt brushed finish on the upper surface of the case and bracelet links and matt anodised finish on the sides of the watch case and clasp closer. Please do not even think about stripping and re-plating your watch. It's in far too good a condition to warrant even contemplating. You will never achieve the same (different) finishes as the factory did.


The original Seiko crystal for both the stainless and gold-plated 7A38-7000 is p/n 325W20GN00. It's obsolete and NLA.

It's 32.5mm diameter (the Seiko p/n gives you that info from the first 3 digits) and from memory something like 1.55mm thick.

The original Seiko crystal has a very small polished bevel edge, but it's much smaller than say that of Seiko p/n 320W42GN00. 

Tiny in fact. So you could probably get away with using more or less any generic 32.5mm Ø x 1.5mm mineral glass crystal.

My gold-tone 7A38-7000 still has what I believe to be the original crystal fitted - as certainly my almost mint stainless one does.

However, in my recently acquired 'beater' stainless 7A38-7000's, I've used both Sternkreuz p/n MSM325 and Cousins F150CMH325.

I was going to check Jules Borel's look-up database to see what they might list as a subsitute, but it seems to be down at present. :/


December 14, 2013 at 2:40 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

As posted quite correctly by Rob Benham in the Yet another 7Axx on an undisclosed non-original bracelet .... thread. ;)




A well worn example of the gold-tone 7A38-7000, fitted with an unidentified non-original after-market bracelet, complete with lovingly engraved case-back. Indeed typical pawn shop fodder. Sold as a Buy-it-Now for $75 (approx. £46), earlier this evening.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400660616219

February 7, 2014 at 5:18 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Seiko7A38
Site Owner
Posts: 14428

We've probably got enough examples of tatty gold-tone 7A38-7000's in this thread already, so I'm just going to post the result of this auction, on eBay Germany (but listed with 'Worldwide' visibility) for another such 'lesser specimen'  that ended earlier this evening.

This one was suffering from worn gold plating and 'the moth'. :( It sold for 45.50 Euros (approx. £37.49) after 18 bids


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191075081110


Incidentally, 13 of those 18 bids were by a newly created zero-feedback bidder ID. 


February 23, 2014 at 3:20 PM Flag Quote & Reply

ketap
Member
Posts: 39

...and now it's mine. :)

February 24, 2014 at 2:46 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Rob Benham
Member
Posts: 284

I'm mystified. My purchase, that 7A38-7000 s/n 411236 is the same one shown earlier with the really horrible crusty mess on both ends at the back.  The thing is, the watch I obtained from Dan Braun (with the two spots on one edge) seemed much, much better than the first pictures imply.  So, either the back was changed, or the crud was removeable.  As mentioned on the specific thread, I rubbed hard at the flaky bits and was relieved that the gold became stable with very little loss. There is speckling tracking into the back thread, but all in all the watch looks good from the front as a 'fair' example.


March 4, 2014 at 12:19 PM Flag Quote & Reply

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