My newest incoming Seiko 7A38 !

[Seiko7A38]

It's been a long time since I've bought a Seiko branded 7A38 (as opposed to a Yema Spationaute III or Orient J39). I can't honestly remember when I bought the last one, but I suspect it's more than a year ago. Let's face it, with the size of my collection, which already includes many duplicates, triples and more, I probably didn't need another.

Although I'm still running all my searches, apart from placing the odd half-hearted bid, I've stayed away from eBay, because asking prices on there are frankly getting stupid - particularly for examples in poor condition. Besides eBay, I also receive notifications from several other online auction sites, including liveauctioneers.com and the-saleroom.com.

This is a partial screen print of an email search alert from thesaleroom.com which landed in my inbox on 3rd February.

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I wasn't interested in the three 7A28-7120 RAF Gen. 1's, but the stainless 7A38-7060 on the right caught my eye. Note the auctioneer's very conservative estimate of £100 - £150 GBP. Before I go any further, I should expand on 'my not needing another' and the time interval (since I last bought one of this particular variant). I already have at least two stainless 7A38-7060 SAA015J's in my collection, both in almost NOS condition, which were purchased in March and June 2011 (off eBay Germany for €82 Euros and eBay Italy for €100 Euros, respectively). The former (which I last posted in the WRUW thread in April 2022) is still fitted with its original p/n G1105S bracelet and the other with a TSS Watchworx Aerosport Mk2 black leather strap. I'm almost ashamed to admit there's another 'beater' which I purchased from eBay in the States in August 2009. I still have the bracelet (loose) for that one, but it's also currently on a TSS leather strap.

So why ever would I want another. I don't honestly know. Perhaps it was Guy Jeffery's recent revelations on Instagram about the James Bond connection, or memories of seeing greedy profiteering Italian eBay re-seller simone00simone listing one last year, with a ridiculous €1000 plus Buy-it-Now asking price - and getting away with it.

[Seiko7A38]

Either way, rightly or wrongly, I decided to have a punt at it - initially bidding via the-saleroom.com platform.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... 9d00ad3848

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Prior to the auction going live, I pre-bid it to £175. So much for the auctioneer's estimate of £100 - £150.

[Seiko7A38]

In the week prior to the auction, I registered on Fellows website and got approved to bid on the first day of their timed online two-day auction on 16th February. Readers may find the links won't work, because Fellows (like other auction houses, e,g. Drouot) withhold access to their archives (including ended auctions you may actually have won !)

https://www.fellows.co.uk/Watches-Watch ... nt_page=12

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https://www.fellows.co.uk/3200-lot-253- ... watch-38mm

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I won the auction for £220, to which Fellows added 30% Buyers Premium / VAT, making the £286 shown, which i'd expected. However, I must admit I was slightly annoyed when I came to check out to discover that they'd added £20 (including VAT) for priority delivery in UK. Evidently the Free Delivery (see icon) applies to outside the UK. FFS !!

[Seiko7A38]

Fellows' package was delivered by Royal Mail (RMSD) just before 1:00 pm today. Talk about getting in under the wire.
The watch is pretty much as described in their condition report. Initial cursory examination, close to mint condition, evidently been worn sparingly - as I'd been hoping, based on that pristine JWC inspection sticker on the case-back.

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The only 'gotcher' is the short bracelet. You may have noticed that its stated length was only approximately 16.5cm. But presumably Fellows measured that with the clasp adjustment set on the middle set of holes (see third photo), because after I moved them to the last pair of holes, it's up half an inch to 7". Unfortunately still too small for my 7½" wrist.

Not quite sure what I'm going to do. I may borrow one adjustment link each from my other mint stainless 7A38-7060 and 7A38-706A. Or I may steal a couple from that loose currently unused p/n G1105S bracelet, which I mentioned in my first post. If I do, they're going to need re-brushing to match.

[Seiko7A38]

Something of a belated update: to get the watch to fit my wrist (per this morning's WRUW post), I pinched a couple of adjustment links from my other stainless 7A38-7060. Looking back at my spreadsheet notes (from March 2011, when I bought it off eBay Germany, for €82 Euros), I'd added three adjustment links to its similarly short bracelet then. So no foul. Here they are side-by-side. Difficult to tell them apart. I'd opine my newer acquisition (on the left) is marginally the better condition of the two. But then it should be. It cost me three times as much ! There's inflation for you.

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