Hello ! my 1st 7a38 - help needed

[Sheppard1675]

Hi Folks !

I am new to this forum and happy to join the team of the Seiko 7a38 fans !

I'm 55, living in France (North of France). Always been a watch addict, but always one watch at a time, buying, selling etc...My grand father was a watch smith and gave me this hobby.

I've just bought this 7a38 - 7280 from a Spanish seller on the Vinted web platform.

As you will see, this watch is quite unique as the 3 subdials have gone in a Tropical shade. Of course the watch has been a daily beater !! you can see the many scratches, and the crystal needs to be replaced. I bought the watch for 135 €.

The movement is still working, also day and date but the chrono nope...

I need your help !

Where can I buy a new crystal and new gasket for this model ?
The watch has been shipped yesterday so still on the move, and will arrive to me in a few days.

Here some pics from the seller:

[Seiko7A38]

Hello. I've moved your topic to the Parts Info, Tech Tips and Tinkering Section. I'll reply to it there (as it's more of a parts enquiry). Wow. That is an extreme case of stained sub-dials - probably the darkest I have ever seen.

The Seiko part numbers for the crystal and its black nylon retaining gasket are 310W62JN01 and 86565100. Genuine NOS Seiko crystals occasionally turn up on eBay, but what you'll more than likely find if you search on there are various generic crystals being offered by greedy opportunistic sellers (like watchfan700uk), who buy them from wholesalers like Cousins UK and mark the prices up by a factor of 10. You yourself can buy the same generic crystals from Cousins.

In this application, you need a flat round crystal 31.0mm Ø x approx 1.50mm thick. I have used and would recommend either Sternkreuz part number MSM310 costing £1.65 + VAT or Cousins 'cheapie' p/n F150CMH310, costing £1.20 + VAT.

Personally, unless it's damaged I would always try to re-use the existing crystal gasket. New ones can sometimes be very difficult to fit (because of the tight tolerances) and require significant effort. May I suggest you take 5 minutes to read the first couple of posts in the old archived forum's Crystals and Gaskets thread, which explains the rationale.

[Sheppard1675]

Many Thanks to you for these great informations. I will take time to read the thread about replacing crystal, gaskets etc..on these nice 7a38 ! Thanks again

[Sheppard1675]

Hi !
Just one question: I will soon have the crystal replaced and new gasket. I think I will put this watch for sale.

What is the fair price for this watch ?

Regards from France !

[Seiko7A38]

As you will see, this watch is quite unique as the 3 subdials have gone in a Tropical shade. Of course the watch has been a daily beater !! you can see the many scratches, and the crystal needs to be replaced. I bought the watch for 135 €.

The discoloured sub-dials / patina / general wear may appeal to a few, but decent examples of the stainless 7A38-7280 and 7A38-7289 are plentiful and comparatively cheap. Personally I'd say you will be lucky to recoup your original outlay.

[Seiko7A38]

I have just spotted your For Sale post on WatchUseek. $479 ? Seriously ??

7A38-7280-Stainless-WhiteFace-(Stained-Subdials)-FS-WatchUseek-July2022-cartiersantos-Post-1.jpg (193.75 KiB) Viewed 7376 times

7A38-7280-Stainless-WhiteFace-(Stained-Subdials)-FS-WatchUseek-July2022-cartiersantos-Post-2.png (22.13 KiB) Viewed 7376 times

[Sheppard1675]

HI !

Yes I was serious...until I tried to replace the crystal...I received the new one, taken off the old one but but I pressed the new crystal inside the watch head..."Crack !!"..and here is the result..


So I give up with these 7A38..

I have already sold the jubilee bracelet to an Italian guy for 80 €

I'm gonna sell the watch head for 50 €, if someone on this forum is interested, then PM me Thanks a lot !