A rant about Seiko folded link bracelet quality !!
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:49 pm
It's widely accepted consensus that Seiko skimped on the quality of the folded link bracelets they fitted to many 7Axx's, to help offset the cost of the movements. That's why so many end up with stretched or twisted links and if not treated carefully can ultimately break. The p/n B1171 (S or C suffix) bracelet used on the 7A38-702x's suffers in a few different ways: most commonly, twisted 10mm end joining links; concave links, where owners thoughtlessly bend the bracelets back on themselves and stretch caused by wear between the links.
I've a good many 7A38-702x's in my collection, both stainless and two-tone, varying in condition from mint to 'beaters'. Sometimes I'll see an example on eBay and think to myself: Hmm that looks better than mine. In November 2018, I bought another 7A38-702A SAA012J off a German eBay seller. I thought it looked pretty good in the listing photos.
I can't remember if I got myself embroiled in a bidding war, but checking my records, I ended up paying 177 Euros for it, which, with hindsight was probably too much, given the received condition. In the second photo, you can see the crystal is scratched in a couple of places. But it was fully functional and reasonably tidy looking, with plenty of spare bracelet adjustment links present, so fitted me easily. However, I distinctly remember when I first tried it on, the clasp was sloppy and wouldn't latch properly. So I attached a small card hang tag to it, to remind myself to sort it out later.
I've a good many 7A38-702x's in my collection, both stainless and two-tone, varying in condition from mint to 'beaters'. Sometimes I'll see an example on eBay and think to myself: Hmm that looks better than mine. In November 2018, I bought another 7A38-702A SAA012J off a German eBay seller. I thought it looked pretty good in the listing photos.
I can't remember if I got myself embroiled in a bidding war, but checking my records, I ended up paying 177 Euros for it, which, with hindsight was probably too much, given the received condition. In the second photo, you can see the crystal is scratched in a couple of places. But it was fully functional and reasonably tidy looking, with plenty of spare bracelet adjustment links present, so fitted me easily. However, I distinctly remember when I first tried it on, the clasp was sloppy and wouldn't latch properly. So I attached a small card hang tag to it, to remind myself to sort it out later.