Orient J39701-70 - Indianapolis 500 Logo Variants

[Seiko7A38]

Well perhaps these Indianapolis 500 branded Orient J39701-70's aren't quite as rare as I initially surmised. Another was listed on Yahoo Japan yesterday evening, by a Store seller, as a 4-day auction with an opening bid price of only 1 Yen.
This is now the 5th example I've seen with a black dial.

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It came up overnight in my Buyee saved search notifications - not on the usual 'Orient + クロノグラフ', nor 'Indianapolis 500', but the model number J39701-70.
Google translates the lengthy title as follows:
1 yen working good Indianapolis 500 QZ J39701-70 black dial chronograph day date smoseco men's watch NBY0126000KYM. 'QZ' is probably an abbreviation for quartz; not sure of the meaning of 'smoseco' or significance of the alpha-numeric reference at the end, but note the complete absence of the word 'Orient'.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/g1090193202

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There isn't much in the way of a description, merely a condition ranking: (4) Good product with some damage and dirt. However there is a gotcher. The seller states the wrist size is only 15 cms. Studying the last two photos, I can count 9 links on one side of the bracelet and 10 on the other (total 19), compared to the full complement of 11 + 12 = 23 links, meaning that 4 adjustment links have been removed. Pity, because I need the full complement of 23 links to fit my 7½" wrist comfortably. Otherwise it means having to resort to fitting longer clasp covers and / or clasp extenders.

[Seiko7A38]

The above 5-day Yahoo Japan auction for an Indianapolis 500 branded Orient J39701-70 with a short bracelet, ended on schedule about half an hour ago. Although the automatic extension was enabled, the bidding ended on time, @ ¥8,250 Yen after 18 bids. Adding 10% Japanese Sales Tax makes ¥9,075 Yen, equivalent to approx. $66 USD / £53 GBP.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/g1090193202

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[Seiko7A38]

I have a confession to make. I also bought that one. At less than ¥10K Yen it was simply too good a bargain to let slip by. I knew the bracelet would be way too short for me, but I'd already hatched a plan to glean a few adjustment links from my other watches (and a spare gash bracelet). It now has the full complement of 23 links and comfortably fits my 7½" wrist. Here's a slightly different wrist shot to the one I posted in the WRUW thread.

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[Seiko7A38]

Here's my three black-dialed Indianapolis 500 versions, left to right in the order I acquired them - newest on the right:

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PS - I did try photographing the trio using my 1985 Indianapolis 500 sticker sheet as a background, per this earlier photo, but the combined detail of three busy watch dials and multiple logos proved too much for my camera's autofocus.

[Seiko7A38]

Well perhaps these Indianapolis 500 branded Orient J39701-70's aren't quite as rare as I initially surmised.

Or maybe they are. Because it's been nearly eighteen months since I last saw one offered for sale, anywhere. Then out of the blue, one popped up on eBay this afternoon, listed by a Japanese seller: Itochu Select Shop, who appear to deal solely in watches.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356118702433

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Price is probably a bit ambitious. Condition doesn't look too bad, from the photos, but typically, it's suffering from the usual malaise - a shortage of bracelet adjustment links. The seller's description states: Suitable for wrist sizes around 14-15 cm (adjusted for a smaller fit).

[Seiko7A38]

I've looked at that listing for the Indy 500 logo'd Orient J39701-70 a couple of times (not because I had any intention of buying it, I'll hasten to add) and I noticed it was showing slightly different prices to the screen print I previously posted.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356118702433

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The seller was initially offering 15% discount, bringing the price down to just over $200, then the following week only 10%. But the same watch can now be had cheaper* from another Japanese eBay proxy re-seller j2h-japan-hot-heart.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167023247352

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*Or at least it could, until they increased their price to $207.10, then reduced it to $202.28.

Although some of the photos displayed are different, others including the shot of the caseback on the red and white chequered cloth background are common to both listings, so it's safe to assume it's the same watch.

[Seiko7A38]

Seeing a watch listed on eBay by two (or more) different Japanese proxy re-sellers is usually a pretty good indicator that the same watch is available for sale on one of the usual Japanese platforms, typically Yahoo Japan, Rakuten or Mercari. It wasn't exactly difficult to find using Google Lens. Mercari automatically translates the listing into English.

https://jp.mercari.com/item/m41715475544

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There you can buy it (using Buyee) for a mere ¥13,000 Yen (plus fees and shipping), equivalent to £70.98 GBP or $86.95 USD - rather cheaper than either of the Japanese eBay proxy re-sellers are asking.

[Seiko7A38]

It's always nice to see other examples of this comparatively rare watch in the hands of another knowledgeable collector. This decent example of an Indianapolis 500 logo'd J39701-70 was posted in a thread on SCWF by member Pierre Chaton.

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Transpires it's the same watch that was listed on Mercari (and eBay) last October.

[Seiko7A38]

This morning, I was googling images on Orient J39701-70 and spotted a thumbnail that I didn't remember seeing before. It was another stainless black-dialed Indianapolis 500 version, which came from a closed listing on Rakuten / Rakuma.
I'm not sure how old it is, but it appears (from the 'From Japan' proxy page below,) to have sold for a mere ¥5000 Yen.

インディアナポリス500 QZ J39701-70 ORIENT オリエント 腕 (Googling that should find it again).

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The seller's Japanese description translates as follows:
At this time, the battery is dead and it is not working. Please treat it as a junk item. Disc diameter: approx. 3.8 cm Belt arm circumference: approx. 15 cm Belt is included as a reference item.
Like the previous ex-Mercari example, this one's suffering from an equally short bracelet, also having had 6 adjustment links removed.