Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Seiko7A38 at January 17, 2016 at 2:23 PM

Athough some would-be French sellers (both on eBay France and LeBonCoin) continue to stubbornly re-list their Yema Spationaute III's and N8 Flygrafs at ridiculous 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now asking prices of 500, 600 Euros and more .... It's still worth watching out for the occasional sensibly priced offering. I couldn't fail to spot this Yema Spationaute III (which includes both 'Aragatz' and the model number N80P76 in the title) that was listed earlier this week by a French seller, with an opening bid price of 45 Euros. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172062498582

MONTRE YEMA SPATIONAUTE 3 ARAGATZ CCP FRANCE N8OP76.

LE BRACELET EST UN PEU ABIME VOIR PHOTO.  LA MONTRE EST EN BON ETAT.

The strap fitted may well possibly be the original Yema navy shark strap. Cosmetically, from the front, at least, the watch appears to be in nice well-cared for condition, with a virtually unmarked bezel and crystal and nice clean dial and hands. Unfortunately this once pristine example is marred; the case-back has been badly butchered by some ham fisted oaf. The deep scratches inflicted in their efforts to unscrew the case-back extend onto the watch case. 

Two Yema Spationaute III's were listed on eBay yesterday evening within a matter of minutes of each other, by the same French seller. But going by their condition and the typically speculative asking prices, neither is anything to write home about. The first, which in most respects looks looks the better condition of the two and appears to be fitted with the original Yema shark strap, is missing a pusher button. The second, suffering from yellowed lume dial batons and fitted with a rubber dive strap, has a butchered and completely obliterated case-back. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401071754810

YEMA SPATIONAUTE III ARAGATZ 

Montre sélectionné pour le vol Franco-Russe de MIR. 

Le bouton de retrappage des secondes en chrono n'existe pas est a été masqué propement par un horloger voir photo. 

Fonctionne parfaitement. 

Couleur: Cadran beu avec lecture des heures et minutes.

Mouvement: Quartz. 

Bracelet Matière: Requin couleur Bleu

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401071756911

YEMA SPATIONAUTE III ARAGATZ 

Montre sélectionné pour le vol Franco-Russe de MIR.

Fonctionne parfaitement. 

Couleur: Cadran beu avec lecture des heures et minutes .

Mouvement: Quartz. 

Bracelet Matière: Catchouc noir.

Seiko7A38 at October 12, 2015 at 10:12 PM

That French eBay auction for a Spationaute III ended yesterday lunchtime. Much to my surprise (given the condition), it made a strong 251 Euros (approx. £186) after 15 bids - mostly due, it has to be said, to the efforts of the particularly determined winning bidder.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151841201956

I thought certain elements of those two Yema Spationaute III's looked familiar - particularly the that rubber dive strap. If you go back to the top of page 17, you'll see a Spationaute III fitted with the same rubber dive strap and a badly scratched case-back with the serial number 3-940 (same as now fitted to the watch with the missing pusher offered by seller indecobra91) which sold in October 2015.

Except that watch had its full complement of pushers. There's obviously been some component swapping going on. 

It's a Spate of Spationaute III's. 

This rather more sensibly priced example was listed yesterday evening by a US eBay seller. It's being offered through the GSP program, which for any potential UK buyers means adding another $36.57 (20% VAT + Customs clearance) to the $149 Buy-it-Now price. Compared to the two over-priced bitza's offered by the French seller, not only is it a bargain, but also looks to be an original unmolested example. Pity about the slightly graunched bezel, otherwise I might have ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291685787798

This rare, men's classic Yema Spationaute watch will lend superior, masculine style to your wardrobe, and it's running strong and ready to show off every chance you get! The vibrant, blue and yellow dial and chased, stepped bezel immediately catch the eye, and this bold beauty will demand attention when it's strapped on your wrist.

Measuring about 43mm wide, not including the pushers, x 50mm including the deeply angled lugs, this fantastic chronograph wristwatch has a substantial look and feel that you are going to appreciate. The used, leather band will hug the wrist for all-day comfort and fashion, and it measures approx. 9" long total, not including the large, stainless steel buckle.

The beautifully detailed dial sports crisp, white arrow markers and a fancy 12, that display the passing of time to filled hands. A silver tone center second hand rounds the outer marker chapter, and 3 black sub-dials offer form and function. You'll find a handy day/date window at the 3 position, and this dial is in excellent condition. It is framed by a unidirectional, rotating bezel that is marked Spationaute III, and highlighted by a clear, glass crystal.

The durable, 100% solid stainless steel case is marked "Aragatz, CCCP France, Water resisted tested 100m, 4-761, vol, longue duree, N80P76". It has some normal age and minor marks and scratches, and is in very good condition overall. This impressive piece has a superb vintage look that is sure to turn heads everywhere you go.

This is a wonderful opportunity to add one of these desirable Seiko chronograph watches to your portfolio! This magnificent watch is keeping accurate time on a strong running, quartz movement with a new battery, and this is a collectible watch that you’re going to enjoy for years to come.

Yema is a watchmaking company in Besancon, France. Once owned by Seiko, the company is celebrated for the technical qualities and sporty craftsmanship of their well-made watches. The Yema Spationaute III timepiece we are offering here commemorates the Franco-Russion space mission Aragatz, of December 1988.

Please carefully review all of our quality images of this remarkable item below, and good luck to you all.

You've gotta love the O.T.T. description - particularly the first paragraph. 

Graunched bezel or not, I didn't expect that Yema Spationaute III to hang around very long at that price. It didn't. Sold yesterday afternoon - a few hours after I'd posted about it. No regrets - I really didn't need another one ! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291685787798

Needless to say, those two less-than-stellar Yema Spationaute III's offered by French eBay seller indecobra91 went unsold. 

They've since been re-listed, but this time as (no reserve) 10-day auction listings, with the opening bid prices set to half those of the previous Buy-it-Now listing's 'pie in the sky' asking prices.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401077406157 and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401077409363

Those two 10-day auction re-listings for less-than-stellar Yema Spationaute III's by French eBay seller indecobra91 ended a couple of minutes ago. There had been no bids placed on either of them right up until the final minute second. To my surprise, discounting the missing pusher of the other one, what I would have considered the lesser example of the two sold - sniped in the final second.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401077406157

Whereas the other one went unsold.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401077409363

That other Yema Spationaute III with the missing pusher was re-listed almost immediately, at the same 125 Euros asking price. Still no takers.  It appears that around yesterday lunchtime someone messaged the French eBay seller Indecobra91 and persuaded him to to reduce his Buy-it-Now price to 100 Euros, for which it sold.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401083197842

I suppose I ought to mention this - but I'm sure anybody following this thread (or running regular eBay searches on Seiko 7A38) will have spotted it anyway. On Sunday evening the latest (re-listed) 7-day auction for a NOS Yema Spationaute III by US eBay seller izeldor (a.k.a. watchfactory.com) ended with it selling for the $250 opening bid price (2 bids placed by the same bidder):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121916273641

They've been digging these out of their basement stockroom and listing them on eBay (albeit somewhat sporadically lately) for nearly 3½ years now, since August 2012 (see page 2 of this thread). Makes me wonder how many they've still got left. 

Something of a belated update to this thread (before I forget about writing it up here). Three weeks or so ago, a US eBay seller (whose eBay ID I immediately recognised from over 5 years ago - how sad is that ?) listed an almost NOS Kamatz 517000. Unfortunately (much to my annoyance and frustration) the seller was blocking bids from outside CONUS. I couldn't even message him through the listing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141920859108

Kamatz 15-jewel watch, full working Triple Chronograph with quartz analog movement. It was made in a Yema factory for Kamatz. 

It has Tachometers of 1/5th of a second, 30 minute, and 12 hour, timed chronograph, and day & date function window at 3:00 (days are in both French and English). Though is is listed as water resistant to 10 atmospheres (330 feet) I would not trust that due to it's age without having it checked by a jeweler. Easy read dial, screw down locking crown with crown guards, and twin sealing gaskets. Screw back cover, glare proof sapphire crystal, solid stainless case, genuine heavy-duty leather band. I have listed this as used but I believe it is NOS. It keeps great time and is very attractive. It has the same movement as the Seiko chronograph watches. I have worn one for 15 years and love it.

The likely reason for the seller's stated reluctance to list the watch as NOS is visible in his second photo. There's some degradation of the silver paint on the sub-dials - possibly caused by fumes leaking from an old run-down battery. I wasn't particularly worried, because I wanted it for the mint watch case, to improve my panda-dialed Kamatz 517000 'beater'. Not one to give up easily, I messaged the eBay seller via the back door route, but in the meantime asked Don if he'd be so kind as to snipe it for me and forward it on.

'We' won it for the opening bid price of $49.95:

But as Don hinted, when he posted the photo of his almost NOS Kamatz 517000 (not this one) in the WRUW thread recently ....

there's a little more to the long story than that. The eBay seller had 'a few' more of them besides these two. 

I've only just spotted this eBay listing for a Yema N80P896 'Pseudo Plongeur', fitted with a non-original generic two-tone Jubilee bracelet, uploaded by a wishful French seller nearly a week ago. I guess I must have inadvertently scrolled past it, when I last ran a worldwide search on 'Yema' - my partly refined search currently returns 900+ lines - much of it irrelevant crap, so it's easily done.

There are still 24 days of the 30-day listing to run, but I suspect it'll be around a bit longer at the current asking price of 149 Euros. Pretty these things ain't, at the best of times and apart from being a little bit worn around the edges, this one's also suffering from manky dial and hand lume. I've only bothered uploading (the best) 6 of the seller's 11 photos, because many are very similar.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281984747644

Très beau Chrono Vintage des Années 1980 "YEMA"

Montre Mouvement quartz

pile neuve

Boitier Acier

Dimensions hors poussoirs : 36 mm X 40 mm; épaisseur : 9 mm

Bracelet réglable.

très fines rayures sur verre. 

- Fonctionne - 

Paiement par chèque uniquement

Seiko7A38 at October 31, 2015 at 12:45 PM

Hardly worth mentioning really.  Spotted this grotty looking Yema N8 Flygraf (misspelt) listed on eBay yesterday by a French seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272028758364

PAS DE COMPTE PAYPAL. ACCEPTE TOUT PAIEMENTS SAUF PAYPAL. REMISE EN MAIN PROPRE POSSIBLE POUR LES REGIONAUX. 

BON FONCTIONNEMENT ET DE TOUTE SES FONCTIONS. CHRONO AVEC ARRET ET RATTRAPANTES. SYSTEME CHRONO STOP.

DIAMETRE DU BOITIER 43 MM. BRACELET NATO DE COULEUR KAKI.SYSTEME A QUARTZ AVEC PILE NEUVE MONTEE. MONTRE DANS SON JUS AVEC PETITES ALTERATIONS SUR LES PETITS CADRANS ET LUNETTE. 

VOIR AUSSI MES AUTRES VENTES. 

BONNES ENCHERES N ENCHERISSEZ PAS SUR MES VENTES SI VOTRE SEUL MOYEN DE PAIEMENT EST PAYPAL.

MERCI A VOUS CHERS EBAYEURS.

Not only is the watch in rather poor cosmetic condition - viz: scabby sub-dials, discoloured hands lume and badly worn bezel markings ('minor alterations' as he describes them), but the seller is at pains to makes it clear he doesn't take PayPal. 

Probably one best avoided - unless you're French and désespéré ! 

Remember that grotty Yema N8 Flygraf on a NATO, which supposedly sold in the first week of November last year, for 58 Euros ? ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272028758364

Well it's back on eBay again - offered by the same French seller agnequeh, who has finally learned how to spell Flygraf properly. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272203875137

PAS DE COMPTE PAYPAL.ACCEPTE TOUT PAIEMENTS SAUF PAYPAL. REMISE EN MAIN PROPRE POSSIBLE POUR LES REGIONAUX. 

montre YEMA FLYGRAF. fonctionne très bien .modele quartz. jour date et rattrapantes.. boitier de 42 mm montée sur bracelet nato de couleur kaki.légeres traces d usure sur la lunette et sur le cadran. 

VOIR AUSSI MES AUTRES VENTES. BONNES ENCHERES. 

N ENCHERISSEZ PAS SUR MES VENTES SI VOTRE SEUL MOYEN DE PAIEMENT EST PAYPAL. 

MERCI A VOUS CHERS EBAYEURS.

This Yema Spationaute III, with age yellowed lume and non-functional 1/10s sub-dial hand, was listed on LeBonCoin this morning.

Typically, for a French seller, @ 400 Euros, it's well over-priced for the apparent condition. 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/950864519.htm

Montre Yema Spationaute III - Collector

Edit: Just spotted a mistake in the description - the stated dimensions (which the seller obviously can't have measured).

The watch in the photos is clearly a 43mm diameter full-sized version (N80P76) rather than a 38mm 'reduced' (N80A66). 

The re-listed auction for that scabby-looking Yema N8 Flygraf fitted with a NATO strap (which previously supposedly sold for 58 Euros in November last year) ended about half an hour ago. This time around it made 74 Euros (approx £59) after 21 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272203875137

Let's hope it stays sold this time. 

I haven't seen anything new in the way of Yema N7's or N8's listed on eBay or LeBonCoin in the last month - hence the lack of updates to this thread. But I couldn't fail to spot this 'head only' N80P896 'Pseudo Plongeur' listed by an Italian eBay seller earlier this morning (despite his primary image being a side on view), by dint of his inclusion of 'Seiko 7A38' in the listing title.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252392676706

OROLOGIO YEMA PARIS UOMO VINTAGE.

HO FATTO UNA RICERCA E HO LETTO CHE LO YEMA N8 IN VENDITA MONTA IL MECCANISMO SEIKO 7A38.

IL MIGLIORE DI SEMPRE. SECONDO ME IN ASSOLUTO.

QUINDI PER I VERI INTENDITORI.

NON PERDETEVI QUESTO SPLENDIDO OROLOGIO ECCELLENTE IN TUTTE LE SUE FUNZIONALITÀ.

ORA DATA E CRONOGRAFO PRECISISSIMO. 

POI ESTETICAMENTE SI PRESENTA IN CONDIZIONI PARI AL NUOVO E UNA DELLE PARTICOLARITÀ È LA DATA E IL GIORNO NEL CONTATORE CRONOGRAFO DESTRO. 

VEDI FOTO ORIGINALI. VI VERRÀ INVIATO SENZA CINTURINO PERCHE È. UNA SCELTA PERSONALE.

BUON AFFARE.

I had to smile to myself when I used google to translate the first couple of sentences of the seller's Italian description:

I MADE A RESEARCH AND I HAVE READ THAT YEMA N8 FOR SALE USING THE MECHANISM SEIKO 7A38. 

THE BEST EVER. ACCORDING TO ME IN ABSOLUTE. 

THEN FOR THE REAL CONNOISSEURS.

Wonder where he got that from. 

I hadn't been watching that listing particulary closely, but it seems the seller ended it early, the following day. I remember there had been a couple of bids placed, but not the figure it had been bid to.  

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252392676706

There were two glaring errors in the listing. Firstly, having a side-on view of the watch as his primary image and secondly, not making any mention of the Yema model number (N80P896) in his description. Both of which could easily have been rectified by a couple of quick revisions. I suspect the real reason for ending the listing early is that someone made and he accepted an offer outside eBay.

Anyway, this Italian eBay seller unaffaredoro certainly seems to have latched onto the idea that Yema N8's are basically the same thing as Seiko 7A38's. Because late this morning, he listed another (I suspect by cloning his previous listing - because their titles and descriptions are virtually identical - complete with the same blatant keyword spamming at the foot of the description, that once again, I deliberately didn't copy and paste). This time it's the dressy N81W43.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252398625242

OROLOGIO YEMA PARIS UOMO VINTAGE.

HO FATTO UNA RICERCA E HO LETTO CHE LO YEMA N8 IN VENDITA MONTA IL MECCANISMO SEIKO 7A38.

IL MIGLIORE DI SEMPRE. SECONDO ME IN ASSOLUTO. 

QUINDI PER I VERI INTENDITORI.

NON PERDETEVI QUESTO SPLENDIDO OROLOGIO ECCELLENTE IN TUTTE LE SUE FUNZIONALITÀ.

ORA DATA E CRONOGRAFO PRECISISSIMO.

UNA DELLE PARTICOLARITÀ È LA DATA E IL GIORNO NEL CONTATORE CRONOGRAFO DESTRO. 

VEDI FOTO ORIGINALI. 

BUON AFFARE.

I haven't bothered uploading the seller's third photo because it's obviously a (reduced size) crop of the movement from his previous (N80P896) listing. Not a particularly desirable model to all but the most die-hard of collectors, like myself, nor the best of examples, suffering from the usual worn gold plating on the upper case lugs. It's also been fitted with a non-original replacement crown.

The strap appears to be a 20mm squeezed to fit the 19mm lug width. Let's see if this one manages to go the distance. 

Not that I've been ignoring them, nor particulary looking for them, but I've hardly seen any Yema N7's for sale anywhere recently.

This N71Z36 Americas Cup, fitted with an after-market stainless bracelet, in place of what presumably was the original leather strap, was listed on Yahoo Japan auctions earlier today, with an opening bid price of 10,000 Yen.

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t476037186

Google translates the relevant part of the Japanese seller's weirdly formatted description as follows:

◎ Product Name ◎ 

◎ detailed description

YEMA / Iema chronograph men's use and watch (made in France). It will exhibit.

◎ · S

Size ... face horizontal 38.9mm ··· vertical 38.0mm

About ·· 13.3cm ~ 18cm

Weight ... about 89g

◎ is originally if skin, but because that has damaged, we exchange the SS (after market goods)

◎ instructions without, is no case.

★ brand, you can search on the Internet.

Indeed you can. Here's as good a place as any to start. 

When I wrote: Let's see if this one manages to go the distance  in my penultimate post, in regard to that Yema N81W43 listed by Italian eBay seller unaffaredoro, I suspected the outcome was a foregone conclusion. No great surprise then, that yesterday the listing was ended early, just like the previous listing for his N80P896.  Presumably also sold off eBay against a 'back door' offer. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252398625242

The Yahoo Japan auction for that N71Z36 Americas Cup, fitted with an after-market stainless bracelet, ended earlier this afternoon, selling for the opening price bid of 10,000 Yen (equivalent to approx. $90.67 USD / £62 GBP).

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t476037186