Find any online watch discussion and you will read quartz is dismissed as having “no soul” and is often aligned with cheap quality and mass production. With the Seiko 7A38 calibre from the mid 1980’s – you will find only one of those points to be accurate. Adding a superbly integrated day/date complication onto its 7A28 predecessor, the world’s first quartz analog chronograph, the 7A38 line improved on an already wildly popular and robust 15 jewel, all-metal serviceable movement.

This particular 7A38-7110 reference was one of 5 models that were only available on the Japanese Domestic Market and from my research, the 7110 was only produced for the month of September ‘84. Whilst it sports the “Speedmaster” branding (I assume not infringing on copyright being sold only in Japan) and an arrowhead chrono hand, the similarities with Omega’s icon stop there, overflowing with distinctly Japanese eighties character.

Legibility is amazing with stark white lumed hour and minute hands. Recessed subdials at 3 and 9 are a unique shade of blue-grey, whilst the subdial at 6 blends into the matte black dial creating the illusion of a pair of eyes. The top chrono pushers protrude out like antennas and are plastic-capped with the same blue-grey colour continuing the “alien-like” aesthetics of this piece. Topped with a domed Hardlex crystal and a bead-blasted 38mm case and chiclet bracelet – the out-of-this-world feel is complete.

If you decide to add a 7A38 into your stable you will not only be adding a horologically significant piece but also a reliable and complicated vintage timepiece that cannot be obtained on the modern market.