I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

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Seiko7A38
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I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

Post by Seiko7A38 »

(With apologies to the late Janis Joplin) .... I've also got black hands and thick crystal vision. :roll:

Rightfully, I should have added this as another update to the Racer J39 'Spanish Inquisition' thread on the old forum last year, but events and other priorities overtook me. To better understand the context, it would be helpful if you've previously read my posts on page 4 of that thread, regarding the first Racer J39028-70 I bought, off Spanish classifieds site Milanuncios, way back in November 2014. That watch had an incorrect replacement crystal fitted (which had been rather messily glued in). As this was the first example of this range of dressy J39 model variants I'd ever seen, so didn't know any better, I effectively replaced the 31.0mm Ø x 1.0mm thick flat round crystal with 'like for like' - using a Cousins 'cheapie' generic with a more pronounced bevelled edge. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

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It wasn't until about 18 months later, in April and June 2016, when I first bought an Orient J39930-70 (which had been messed about with) and then an unmolested almost NOS condition Racer J39029-70, that I realized my novice mistake.

The correct original crystal for these watches is not flat, but slightly domed with a flat bottom. The problem in finding a suitable generic replacement is that the watch case's mounting flange is very shallow (being only about 0.5mm deep).

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When I placed my next order with Cousins, I tacked on one of their p/n DF300CMH310 domed flat bottomed crystals, which was the closest thing I could find. Although most of the dimensions and proportions are right, the sidewall depth is 1.0mm, whereas it needs to be 0.5mm. After some deliberation, I decided against fitting it to my original J39028-70 and left it as was with the incorrect replacement flat crystal.

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Re: I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

Post by Seiko7A38 »

I've never made a secret of the fact I enjoy collecting Orient and Racer J39's, because without any list of variations or database (other than my own) to work from, it's always been something of a learning curve and 'voyage of discovery'. However, in documenting my findings on a public internet forum, I've inadvertently made a rod for my own back. Apart from creating or raising interest in other collectors (potential competition for the spoils), it unfortunately also appears to have attracted the attention of a few unscrupulous would-be profiteering eBay re-sellers. One such being the Spanish eBay seller scufutzz (a.k.a. Stefan Ciomaga), who latched onto them in a big way in the latter part of 2020, vacuuming up just about everything that appeared on Milanuncios, Todocoleccion and Wallapop and listing them on eBay with extortionately marked-up asking prices. :x Note on his eBay profile that he states his sources as being elsewhere. Although he's a Spanish resident, his name and avatar suggest that he's of Romanian descent.

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I absolutely detest dealing with him, but unfortunately sometimes have no other option but to; not just because of his utter greed and dishonesty, particularly when he's snaffled watches from Wallapop that I was interested in buying. :evil:

In late September last year, he listed a 'head only' Racer J39028-70 with a dark blue dial - a variant I hadn't seen before.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274515397879

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The watch may look O.K. in the first head-on view photo, but in the second and third (I haven't uploaded the full set), the watch has obviously been fitted with an overly thick non-original replacement domed crystal. Regardless, after some haggling, I bought it from him (for a reduced offer price). :roll:

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Re: I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

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While I remember, there's another reason I hate buying watches from this seller, because he appears to be incapable of unscrewing a watch's case-back without scratching it - and often, as in this case, the scratches extending onto the sides of the watch case. They can be seen in his own photos. Here's a couple of close-ups of this incompetent's handiwork.

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But the wrong crystal fitted (that I was fully aware of) and the clumsy scratches wasn't the end of it, by any means. :( With a combination of extremely poor timing and impudence, the same day I received the watch, Stefan sent me an eBay message asking me to leave him a feedback against the item. He was then at 999 and evidently itching to reach 1000. Unfortunately for him, I'd unscrewed the case-back to replace the under-sized battery that he'd fitted. I then popped the dial / movement out to have a closer look. Here's just part of the long and acrimonious message string:

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Note 'the cristal was doomed'. :lol:

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Re: I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Needless to say, he never got that feedback. Had I left one against that item, it would have been extremely negative. The watch has since sat in my stack of 'needs sorting' projects for the last 6 months. It's actually kept good time and all the functions work. I spent some time searching for another more suitable replacement crystal, without success. At the weekend, I finally bit the bullet, cognisant that it wouldn't sit properly and fitted the Cousins p/n DF300CMH310 domed crystal, intended for my first Racer J39028-70. It's not great in side profile, but an improvement on what it had before.

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Re: I got dem ol' Racer J39 Blues again Mama!

Post by Seiko7A38 »

To finish it off, for the time being at least, I've fitted a dark blue 19mm Di-Modell 'Bali' alligator grain mock croc strap.

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My other quandary remains. Given the marks on the sub-dials, their hands have obviously been pulled. The black hands fitted are definitely genuine Orient, but are they correct and original to this version of the watch ? While I had it apart, I was sorely tempted to replace them with a set of the same style gold-plated hands (same as my black-dial J39028-70), which would be much more visible against the dark blue background. As you can see from the second shot above, poorly lit they can almost disappear. That said, it wouldn't be the first time Orient Watch Co. have used what appear to be the 'wrong colour' hands on a J39. Witness the white hour and minute hands on my white dialed Orient J39722-70.

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