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http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g104664844
★ORIENT by SEIKO-7A38ムーブメント搭載 1980年代・超レア品★
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No matter how badly I may have wanted it, I stubbornly refused to pay anything like the YJ seller's asking price, with a predictable outcome, someone else bought it, albeit 20 months later. Needless to say I was extremely despondent.
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That said, despite having deliberately missed the opportunity, I justified my inaction to myself on the basis of pricing, especially when in March 2019, I'd purchased 5 conventionally logo'd NOS Orient J39x01-70's for a mere $99 each !
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There was still, however, a niggling void in my collection. From that sad day in August 2013 and for the next 6 years, the Indianapolis 500 logo'd Orient J39701-70 became one of my most sought-after grails. Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a patient person (quite the opposite), but there's an old saying: all good things come to those who wait.
In September 2019 I finally spotted another example on listed on Yahoo Japan:https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u299733785
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With the selfless assistance of Japanese forum member Daisuke, I snagged it for a remarkably satisfying 5,500 Yen.
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In February 2020, I spotted this black dialed version, in virtually NOS condition, which came with its instruction leaflet:
http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f404447513
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Needless to say, I was determined to win the auction, but there was rather more competition from other bidders this time and I ended up paying 31,500 Yen. A hefty price, but still somewhat less than the 'Serena_Special' example.
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However, a few factors have since convinced me that my initial assumption was wrong. These watches have English / Kanji day wheels. Had they been produced for the American market they would (by default) have had Spanish as the second language. Then there's the instruction leaflet, printed almost entirely in Japanese, listing only Japanese service locations at the bottom. Significantly, the few examples seen have all turned up on Yahoo Japan. Instead, I'm now inclined to believe that they were produced for the Japanese domestic market. I may be jumping to unproven conclusions, but I suspect they may have been produced as a collaboration between Orient Watch Co. Ltd. and another now defunct company called Libre Real Time. (You'll need to have read and digested my 'off topic' post, in the old forum thread, about the Indianapolis 500 Orient C27's, dated February 27, 2020 @ 7:49AM to follow my logic).
¥3800 JPY equates to $35.82 USD / £25.67 GBP.
Naturally I tried my usual tactic of soaking it overnight in WD-40, to no avail. Left it for 48 hours and it still wouldn't budge, even when moderate force was applied. I'm in two minds what to do with it at the moment. I'm almost ready to concede defeat and reassemble it as is, leaving the 10 o'clock pusher stuck, as I rarely use the split time function. Or I might slot the dial / movement into another better condition watch case. Let's see.
Earlier this morning, the evidently determined Vietnamese seller listed it on eBay.
