Appreciate any comments on this purchase.
- 7A38-7250-LightGunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay-June2021-1.jpg (217.89 KiB) Viewed 4117 times
7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
Don’t know much about watches generally or about 7A38s, but saw this 7250 on eBay and liked it well enough to bid a reasonable amount. Looked to be in reasonably good condition. Won it with an $89 bid, so not much risk. Just surprised the opening bid was allowed to be $10. Should I expect a Feiko or Frankenwatch for just $89? (Seller rating was 99%).
Appreciate any comments on this purchase.
Appreciate any comments on this purchase.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
Saw this 7A38-7250 on eBay where opening bid was allowed to be only $10. Looked to be in OK condition. Seller said it runs fine and had 99% positive rating. I got it for $89 bid so not much risk. How unusual is that? But for that low price, should I really just expect a Frankenwatch or Feiko?
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
Firstly, please note that I've moved your other post from the eBay section, which almost duplicated this one and merged them into one thread. I've also embedded the attached photo properly. Please read this thread, before you try again.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255024214439
Congratulations, you did quite well - although the $66 Fedex shipping cost makes it slightly less of a bargain.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255024214439
- 7A38-7250-LightGunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay-June2021-Ended-Sold-$89.png (46.46 KiB) Viewed 4115 times
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
The 7A38-7250 is a comparatively scarce variant - Seiko product sales code SAA080J.
Here's the relevant extract from my 7A38 Excel spreadsheet database, which you can find here.
They're not particularly popular with collectors, because of their slightly unusual colour scheme - a light gunmetal coating (which can almost look violet in some light) and a sandy beige coloured dial - all very 1980's. I have two of them, both in NOS condition, though I don't wear (or post about) them very often. I bought my first off eBay in the States, in a job lot of 3 watches (two 7A38's and a 7T32), way back in October 2009, for just over $200 for the trio.
Here's a couple of old photos of that one.
I purchased the second example, purely on a whim, from an Italian eBay seller, as recently as January 2020.
That turned out to be an expensive mistake, because although NOS condition, it had an unusual timekeeping issue.
Transpired it had a manufacturing fault (presumably from new) - a metal bush was missing from the main plate. So it was quite possibly a warranty return that sat in a dealer's stockroom, gathering dust for 30 years. I couldn't figure out the problem myself and sent it off to Simon 'Sir Alan' Wilkinson to sort out. See this post in his 7A38 re-builds thread.
Here's a wrist shot of that one I posted in the old forum's WRUW thread in February 2020, when it returned from Simon:
Here's the relevant extract from my 7A38 Excel spreadsheet database, which you can find here.
- 7A38-7250-SAA080J-Excel.png (10.58 KiB) Viewed 4108 times
They're not particularly popular with collectors, because of their slightly unusual colour scheme - a light gunmetal coating (which can almost look violet in some light) and a sandy beige coloured dial - all very 1980's. I have two of them, both in NOS condition, though I don't wear (or post about) them very often. I bought my first off eBay in the States, in a job lot of 3 watches (two 7A38's and a 7T32), way back in October 2009, for just over $200 for the trio.
- 7A38-7250-Gunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay(inLot3)-Oct2009-1.jpg (29.23 KiB) Viewed 4106 times
- 7A38-7250-Gunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay(inLot3)-Oct2009-2.jpg (35.36 KiB) Viewed 4106 times
- 7A38-7250-Gunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay(inLot3)-Oct2009-3.jpg (36.63 KiB) Viewed 4106 times
Here's a couple of old photos of that one.
- rsz_7a38-7250-gunmetal-gold-2tone-beigeface-saa080j-p1040605.jpg (241.24 KiB) Viewed 4099 times
- rsz_7a38-7250-gunmetal-gold-2tone-beigeface-wristshot-p1090903.jpg (235.96 KiB) Viewed 4099 times
I purchased the second example, purely on a whim, from an Italian eBay seller, as recently as January 2020.
- 7A38-7250-Gunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay-Jan2020-4a.jpg (36.54 KiB) Viewed 4097 times
That turned out to be an expensive mistake, because although NOS condition, it had an unusual timekeeping issue.
Transpired it had a manufacturing fault (presumably from new) - a metal bush was missing from the main plate. So it was quite possibly a warranty return that sat in a dealer's stockroom, gathering dust for 30 years. I couldn't figure out the problem myself and sent it off to Simon 'Sir Alan' Wilkinson to sort out. See this post in his 7A38 re-builds thread.
Here's a wrist shot of that one I posted in the old forum's WRUW thread in February 2020, when it returned from Simon:
- rsz_p1580075.jpg (244.02 KiB) Viewed 4090 times
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
So hopefully you can see, by comparing the photos, your 7A38-7250 is the genuine article. There are a couple of minor things wrong with it, though. Look again closely at the seller's primary listing photo:
The plastic Tachymeter ring is out of alignment - it's been rotated 120° anti-clockwise. '60' should be at the top, aligned with the centre of the 12 o'clock baton. This usually happens when tinkerers carelessly withdraw and replace the dial / movement. There are plastic lugs molded into the bottom of the Tachymeter ring, which should align with cut-outs around the perimeter of the dial plate. I suspect the reason they may have taken it out was to re-lume the hour and minute hands. Their lume looks a little bit gobby, compared to factory standard.
Note also the extremely sloppy fit of the bracelet end piece on the 6 o'clock side. That's because the spring bar is bent.
The end pieces on a Seiko p/n G1285D bracelet never fit particularly well at the best of times, but if you continue to wear it like that, the end piece will rattle and gradually wear away at the first (gold-plated) joining link. That in itself is the Achilles Heel of this bracelet design, because it's only single skinned metal. They can easily get twisted and distorted if not handled carefully. You can see the spring bar's bent on the left hand side of the seller's last photo:
- 7A38-7250-LightGunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay-June2021-1.jpg (217.89 KiB) Viewed 4078 times
The plastic Tachymeter ring is out of alignment - it's been rotated 120° anti-clockwise. '60' should be at the top, aligned with the centre of the 12 o'clock baton. This usually happens when tinkerers carelessly withdraw and replace the dial / movement. There are plastic lugs molded into the bottom of the Tachymeter ring, which should align with cut-outs around the perimeter of the dial plate. I suspect the reason they may have taken it out was to re-lume the hour and minute hands. Their lume looks a little bit gobby, compared to factory standard.
Note also the extremely sloppy fit of the bracelet end piece on the 6 o'clock side. That's because the spring bar is bent.
- 7A38-7250-LightGunmetal+Gold-BeigeFace-eBay-June2021-3.jpg (176.68 KiB) Viewed 4074 times
The end pieces on a Seiko p/n G1285D bracelet never fit particularly well at the best of times, but if you continue to wear it like that, the end piece will rattle and gradually wear away at the first (gold-plated) joining link. That in itself is the Achilles Heel of this bracelet design, because it's only single skinned metal. They can easily get twisted and distorted if not handled carefully. You can see the spring bar's bent on the left hand side of the seller's last photo:
- rsz_7a38-7250-lightgunmetal-gold-beigeface-ebay-june2021-11.jpg (148.96 KiB) Viewed 4071 times
So if you're a newbie and not confident of remedying these minor faults yourself (or don't yet own a case-back opener or spring bar tool), I suggest you pop along to your local watchmaker's store. Shouldn't take them more than 10 minutes to sort out it out for you. Otherwise, for your first 7A38 purchase, you did reasonably well, Jim.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
Thanks for educating me with your trained eye. I knew nothing about tachymeters on watches and would never have noticed. But the hands did look at bit funky to me in the photo. Do you think it would be hard to find / buy authentic replacements?
Do we really still have watch repair shops in Maryland?
I also prefer the white or silver-face models and find this color slightly odd, but like it well enough for an $89 purchase. I doubt I was ever going to bid $200 or $300 to buy a 7A38 that I really couldn't evaluate. (Seller only charged me 35 U.S. dollars shipping).
As for the bracelet, while I did notice the bent piece and “loose” appearance, maybe this is heresy for those who like authentic bracelets, but I prefer leather, and was intending to wear it with a brown leather strap.
Do we really still have watch repair shops in Maryland?
I also prefer the white or silver-face models and find this color slightly odd, but like it well enough for an $89 purchase. I doubt I was ever going to bid $200 or $300 to buy a 7A38 that I really couldn't evaluate. (Seller only charged me 35 U.S. dollars shipping).
As for the bracelet, while I did notice the bent piece and “loose” appearance, maybe this is heresy for those who like authentic bracelets, but I prefer leather, and was intending to wear it with a brown leather strap.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
The Seiko part numbers for the hour and minute hands are: 12BH0MAH and 12BH0MAM. Italian eBay seller contintasca is listing both (separately), but typically, they're fairly expensive. It might be worth a phone call to Jules Borel in Kansas to see if they still have stock. I've purchased the same hands from them (many years ago).
Watch repair shops in Maryland ? Google is your friend. There's loads, but personally I'd steer clear of 'jewelry' stores.
It depends whether you want to keep the watch, correct and original. There are a number of related models which use this same elliptical watch case (in a variety of different finishes): 7A38-724A, 7A38-7240, 7A38-725A and 7A38-7250 all came factory fitted with bracelets. Their sibling 7A38-726A and 7A38-7260 variants all came fitted with leather straps. The case's conventional tapering lugs are far better suited to leather straps than bracelets, IMHO.
PS - If I was considering fitting a leather strap to one of my 7A38-7250's (I'm not), I'd probably go for something like this:
Watch repair shops in Maryland ? Google is your friend. There's loads, but personally I'd steer clear of 'jewelry' stores.
It depends whether you want to keep the watch, correct and original. There are a number of related models which use this same elliptical watch case (in a variety of different finishes): 7A38-724A, 7A38-7240, 7A38-725A and 7A38-7250 all came factory fitted with bracelets. Their sibling 7A38-726A and 7A38-7260 variants all came fitted with leather straps. The case's conventional tapering lugs are far better suited to leather straps than bracelets, IMHO.
A 'Brown' leather strap, with a light gunmetal coated case and beige dial ? Seriously ? If you want to get a better idea of what can be achieved (with the same case design), take a look at the couple of photos in this post. It's your watch, your choice. But for Pete's sake don't plump for one of those naff two-stitch pseudo-vintage straps that are all over eBay.
PS - If I was considering fitting a leather strap to one of my 7A38-7250's (I'm not), I'd probably go for something like this:
- 20mm-LizardGrain-Beige-eBay-June2021-1.jpg (77.27 KiB) Viewed 4011 times
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
What do you make of the fact that the bracelet on my 7A38-7250 has an end link that is stamped “G1285-E” and not “G1285-D” ?
I posted a WRUW photo of watch and bracelet earlier today.
I posted a WRUW photo of watch and bracelet earlier today.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
It's quite normal, Jim. If you continue to collect Seiko 7Axx's you'll learn as you gain more experience. The majority of bracelets fitted to Seiko 7A38's were stamped with part numbers ending in .E. I assume they did this to simplify the manufacturing process, where there was more than one colour finish variation of a bracelet. That said, even when a bracelet was only produced in stainless steel (and so its part number should end in 'S'), these were also stamped .E. 
(There are a few exceptions, where there is no suffix stamped or instead .P.) I would refer you to my earlier post:
Ironically, the G1285 bracelet used on the 7A38-725A was allocated p/n G1285E (same as stamped on the end pieces).
I had a quick scroll through my photo folders and found this shot of a 7A38-7240 from a German eBay listing in 2019:
Note that the end pieces are also stamped G1285.E. The only place you're ever likely to see the correct G1285C/D/E Seiko part number, without the '.' is printed (or sometimes even handwritten) on the packet label of a NOS bracelet.
If you continue to collect Seiko 7Axx's you'll learn as you gain more experience. The majority of bracelets fitted to Seiko 7A38's were stamped with part numbers ending in .E. I assume they did this to simplify the manufacturing process, where there was more than one colour finish variation of a bracelet. That said, even when a bracelet was only produced in stainless steel (and so its part number should end in 'S'), these were also stamped .E. (There are a few exceptions, where there is no suffix stamped or instead .P.) I would refer you to my earlier post:
If you look at the related models on my spreadsheet, you'll see that the 7A38-7240 and 7A38-725A also used the G1285 bracelet, but in different finishes: stainless (with gold plated centre links) and dark gunmetal (ditto) respectively.
- 7A38-72x-G1285X-Bracelet-Excel-Spreadsheet-Extract.png (39.34 KiB) Viewed 3965 times
Ironically, the G1285 bracelet used on the 7A38-725A was allocated p/n G1285E (same as stamped on the end pieces).
I had a quick scroll through my photo folders and found this shot of a 7A38-7240 from a German eBay listing in 2019:
- rsz_7a38-7240-stainless-gold-greyface-ebay-oct2019-12-crop.jpg (187.23 KiB) Viewed 3965 times
Note that the end pieces are also stamped G1285.E. The only place you're ever likely to see the correct G1285C/D/E Seiko part number, without the '.' is printed (or sometimes even handwritten) on the packet label of a NOS bracelet.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
I guess I have a lot to learn. Like ignoring the “E” stamped on the bracelet’s end link when your chart already told me its a “D” bracelet not an “E”.
One thing that surprised me, because I’ve never owned a watch with 3 sub-dials, is that it’s the small second hand in the bottom sub-dial that keeps time as the primary second hand, while the long sweep second hand only operates as a stopwatch. I had guessed it was the opposite way.
One thing that surprised me, because I’ve never owned a watch with 3 sub-dials, is that it’s the small second hand in the bottom sub-dial that keeps time as the primary second hand, while the long sweep second hand only operates as a stopwatch. I had guessed it was the opposite way.
Re: 7A38-7250 — is it real for only $89?
You can leave the chronograph running (at the expense of battery life), to achieve that effect.
Check out the YouTube video of a 1980's Seiko UK TV advert (where my signature comes from).
Check out the YouTube video of a 1980's Seiko UK TV advert (where my signature comes from).
Some watches are made to last only as long as they are fashionable.
Some watches simply aren't made to last.
Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion.
Some day, perhaps, all watches will be made this way.
Some watches simply aren't made to last.
Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion.
Some day, perhaps, all watches will be made this way.