Show us your 7A28, 7A38 or 7A48 chronographs!

Forty-two years ago, Seiko released a series of groundbreaking watches. As the first analog quartz chronograph to appear on the market, the 7A28 was quite the revolution. It brought the accuracy of quartz to a classic chronograph display format. And with its evolutions (7A38 adding day and date, and 7A48 moonphase), this allowed Seiko to release quite a few models, some of them iconic thanks to their presence in film franchises ranging from Aliens to James Bond.

Back in 1983, I was a 14-year-old teenager perfectly content with the Casio melody watch I had on my wrist. My Dad however had a much more developed interest in timepieces, and one day we stumbled upon a jewelry shop featuring this new range of chronographs from Seiko. We went in, and my father quickly settled on a specific model: the 7A28-7020.

We didn't know it then, but this watch was probably the one he wore the most until his death in 2004. He enjoyed others, with a soft spot for Breitling as a brand, but this Seiko was the one I saw most regularly on this wrist. In fact, that's the one that went with him to the hospital for what was his last stay there.

Back in the shop, my Dad not only bought himself the watch he had fallen in love with, but he allowed me to pick another one for myself. I settled for a slightly sportier 7A38-7000, which became the watch I always had on my wrist for all the harebrained things I did before reaching majority. It's actually a miracle that this chronograph is still in one piece today!

So, who else here is the lucky owner of one (or several) of these iconic chronographs?

Knowing that several members of this forum own at least one of these chronographs, I'm quite surprised none of them has chimed in just yet.

So, in order to keep the ball rolling, I will post a picture of a watch I no longer own. Let me introduce you to the rather flamboyant 7A48-7010 with moonphase. This one had been bought by my Dad about a year after the first two, and was proof that our tastes were quite different, to say the least. When I inherited it, I simply couldn't see myself strapping this to my wrist, so I sold it.


The only thing I liked about this one was the crown made to look like the pushers, giving symmetry to the design.

Definitely have 7A Seiko quartz chrono on my radar. These were over-engineered, mostly metal movements. Meant to be serviced, too. They don't make 'em like they used to.

Wow! You mean you have others?

That's already one hell of a selection.

I'm very impressed. I love the RAF veteran.

That gen 1 raf issue is definitely my favourite. I had one and sold it. Another regret.

My lineup of 7a28/7a38s. I've left room for a white dialed variant and a Bishop...and Ok, some others too... 😅 I think the 7a*8s are my all time favorite watches...I get, and quite often at that, tempted by other models/brands, but then I always come back to these. I realize every wrist is different, but on mine, these just sit so comfortably, and the size/weight/thickness is just right (for me).

Some would call it hoarding, but to me it is so much fun repairing and servicing them…the pic shows about a third of my collection 😎

kind regards, Max

7A38-701B

Just picked up this '83 7A28-7040 to go alongside my JDM version at a reasonable price. Watch arrived stopped but kicked into life after I warmed it up a bit in the airing cupboard. Also the usual fluttering on one of the sub-dials when they get at bit gluey. Managed to free that up too although clearly in need of some tlc!