The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

7A28, 7A38 and 7A48 (plus 7A34, 7A36, 7A07 and 7A54)
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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

Post by Seiko7A38 »

I'm wearing this mint condition stainless 7A38-706A SAA017J on this sunny blue SATurday morning. Photographic failure on my part - I didn't manage to capture the slightest hint of the dark blue sunburst dial, despite the brilliant sunshine.

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This is the best example in my collection. (The other two are fitted with TSS Watchworx Aerosport Mk2 leather straps.) I won this watch in a 7-day auction on eBay Germany in September 2010, for €129.55 Euros. Here's the seller's 4 photos.

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PS - It's also the watch in the website / forum header bar.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

Post by Seiko7A38 »

It needed a bit of bling to brighten up a dull overcast Sunday morning, so I dug out one of my NOS gold-tone 7A38-7060 SAA018J's, which haven't been featured in this forum's WRUW thread previously.

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This was one of a pair, unboxed, but in almost identical unworn condition, that I bought from a Scottish eBay seller in May 2014, for the comparative bargain price of £110 each.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Wearing this attractive gold-tone 7A38-706B (an Italian market variant) this morning. It's fitted with a period Pryngeps double-ribbed strap.

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When I first saw examples of this model popping up occasionally on eBay Italy, about 10 years ago, I thought they might be frankens - particularly as a couple had been stripped of their plating and (like all the Italian market variations) it wasn't documented on Seiko's database. See this thread on the old archived forum. Further sightings (of unmolested examples) inspired more confidence and I bought this example (through an intermediary) in May 2014. It cost €50 Euros plus €20 shipping. I can't remember what the strap came fitted to originally, but I thought it suited this watch better.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Here's another Italian market variant - this time a gold-tone 7A38-706A, with the less attractive 727O Arabic number dial. It's fitted with the original Seiko p/n BRJ47G leather strap, which I find a bit short for me. Like all these Italian market 'specials' (every one I've ever seen), it has an 8Dxxxx prefix serial number - manufactured in December 1988.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Followed logically by another Italian market gold-tone 7A38-706A, with the more attractive 728O Roman numeral dial.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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As readers have probably gathered, I'm methodically working my way through my 7A38-706x collection box, just taking the next watch from the adjacent slot, so today's watch is probably going to look a lot like yesterday's - except it's the two-tone 7A38-706B version (again an Italian market model).

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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This wasn't the watch I was planning to wear today. I opened the collection box and noticed this two-tone 7A38-7060 fitted with a grey lizard strap, was doing the two-second two-step, so I hoicked it out and duly replaced the battery.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Wearing my 'beater' stainless 7A38-706A SAA017J fitted with dark blue TSS Aerosport Mk2 strap on this blue SATurday.

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Perhaps I should stop referring to the strap as a TSS (Watchworx) Aerosport Mk2. The Strap Shop, in Wirral, a.k.a. Ken and Jack Danks, whom I've dealt with since 2009 are no longer in business. Their website is gone. The strap is actually manufactured by Condor, which I've always known. I'm going to try to find another source, for what I've always considered to be the perfect matching strap for this watch, but I suspect it's long since discontinued. :(

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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The weather's really dull and overcast this morning - rain is forecast for later. So I thought I'd dig out some bling to try and brighten things up a bit. Wearing my 'Made in Korea' gold-tone 7A38-7060, which has been excessively re-plated in 18K gold, at great cost, by a misguided previous owner. Crappy photo doesn't do it justice.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Wearing another of my Italian market gold-tone 7A38-706A's this morning. Not the same mint example that I posted last week. This one's a 'beater' with some loss of plating and tarnishing. It's fitted with a TSS Watchworx 'Atlas' leather strap.

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As I wrote on Saturday, perhaps I should stop referring to TSS Watchworx as they've ceased trading. I've managed to find the source of their 'Atlas' straps. None other than Cousins UK: https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/napol ... e-stitched

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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This Italian market two-tone 7A38-706B doesn't get out of the collection box very often. Last time was two years ago.
But every time I see it, I'm reminded of italian collector Manuel's highly appropriate nickname for it: Brutto Anatroccolo.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Crappy British weather nearly stopped play this morning - I grabbed this shot in between the showers, so please excuse the tiny raindrops. Wearing this NOS stainless 7A38-7060 SAA015J, fitted with non-original Condor '147' leather strap.

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The strap was purchased from TSS 'The Strap Shop' / Watchworx as another Aerosport Mk2. I've since enquired of Condor and as I'd suspected the strap (and the very dark navy version I use on my stainless 7A38-706A) is obsolete and no longer available. Speaking of Italian market variations, I'd forgotten that this watch, which I purchased as NOS off eBay, back in June 2011 came from a B&M store in Italy. It has an English / Italian day wheel. I flipped it over and checked the serial number this morning and it's another 8Dxxxx !

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The lugs and area of the case between them shows no sign of a bracelet ever having been fitted. It came fitted with a different black leather strap, which I transferred to another watch (a Yema N81X26, IIRC). It wasn't an original Seiko strap, but embossed with a stylised (F) logo I didn't recognise and OREF. SPOLVERATO.

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I can't remember if I researched this at the time*, but I remember Spolverato was the surname of the proprietor (of Tentazioni d'Oro), so presumably this strap was branded for his jewellery business. So I had no qualms about fitting the Condor in its place. I just checked Seiko Oceania's database and there's no 'J3' leather strap option against SAA015Jx, but then none of the Italian market variations are documented. Hmm.

*Of course I did. 8-) See this post in a thread on RLT UK watch forum.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Seiko7A38 wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 10:13 amIt came fitted with a different black leather strap, which I transferred to another watch (a Yema N81X26, IIRC).
As a memory check, I got that Yema N81X26 out this morning and sure enough it's fitted with that Spolverato embossed black leather strap. The design with a prominent cental rib is very 1980's Yema, which is why I used it on this watch.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Afternoon swap for my other Yema N81X26, in NOS condition, fitted with the original Yema pigskin strap.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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I probably should wear my delightful dressy little JAZ Paris chronographs more often. Especially the Panda's. There are only two wrist shots of them posted in this WRUW thread - and I suspect they're of the same watch. So I've deliberately picked another different N8YZ669 this morning. This is one of my cheaper purchases - a mere $26 off eBay in the States in August 2016. I know I haven't worn this one in literally years, because when I picked it up, the day / date was showing FRI / 28 and the time was an hour behind (GMT). Shame on me.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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I'm wearing something a bit different for this blue SATurday - one of my fugly Yema N80P896 'Pseudo Plongeurs'. These haven't seen the light of day in ages. I don't think they've ever appeared in this forum's WRUW thread before. Yes, I had noticed the strap split in the top RH corner. It's the original Yema. Must glue it before it gets any worse.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Thought it was about time I did another red SUNday. Wearing my mint condition Cartier Ferrari Formula Cal. 531 model # F6434801, having just replaced its battery.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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I opened another collection box this morning, which contains my 7A38-724x's, 7A38-725x's and 7A38-726x's. Judging by previous posts, I probably haven't worn any of these watches in over a year. I picked out one of my favourites, a nice example of the two-tone 7A38-724A SAA086J. I noticed it was doing the two-second two-step - as were a couple of others in the box. Guess what I'll be doing for the rest of this morning. :roll:

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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I snapped this very quick shot of my two-tone 7A38-7240 SAA108J between the showers. Maybe I wasn't quite quick enough, so please excuse the couple of tiny raindrops that managed to land.

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Re: The ONE and ONLY WRUW thread - Part Deux !

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Wearing one of my (two) NOS condition gunmetal two-tone 7A38-725A SAA082J's this morning. Checking my records, this was the cheapest of any of this model I bought, costing a mere $21.50 (plus postage). I won it in an eBay auction by US collector Pete Pantelidis in August 2010.

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