Automatic Self-Winding Russian Military Wrist Watch SE

Description

Vostok company story starts back in 1942, when one of the Moscow watch-making plants has been evacuated from Moscow to a little town Chistopol located on the Kama River. Defense equipment was the only company output during war years, but as soon as the war was over Vostok started to make mechanical wrist watches - the main production item ever since. In 1965 Vostok company was appointed an official supplier of watches for the Defense Department of the Soviet Union. This year marks the creation of the world-famous "Komandirskie" ("Commander") watch. Military watch grew very popular even with people who were unaware which end of the gun bullet comes off, mainly due to high precision, excessive reliability and durability. The appearance of the watch also contributes to its appeal - functional and clear-cut design invoked the feeling of belonging to the tough world of combat professional. The experience which Vostok gained through development of the army watch was the foundation of our next special watch - "Amphibian". This impressive timepiece in stainless-steel case endured the depth of 2000 meters - kind of a wrist submarine. Success of the professional watches determined the company's present philosophy - to create mechanical watches maintaining precise timekeeping at any temperature, in any environment, surviving heavy pressure and blows. The viability of the chosen strategy is now time-proven. A vast multitude of people both in Russia and abroad boasting "Vostok" watches and various international prizes awarded for high quality and commercial success testify to this. In 1996 Vostok started a partnership with US "Capital Trading" company aiming to create a new generation timepiece. The watch assembled to US sales by Sputnik TM technology. Review: Beautiful unique nerdy dial, I love it - This is one of the most unique watches I've ever seen. Pros- Decently water resistant Beautiful dial Horological history Good Second hand sweep Keeps relatively good time relatively Very unique dial hands Bezel looks unique New and improved crown with B logo Nice silicone strap All stainless steel Stainless steel ring on dial itself Looks like a SpaceWatch for sure at least from 1965 Same color as original capsule used in space on Dial round polished spacey window with space font on dates Design of the back is brilliant and I'll watch you should have a mason jar style screw down back like this watch I'm surprised Rolex has not followed suit this gasket system is much better than a O-ring system. Domed acrylic crystal, just like the Rolexes of the time. It is easy to scratch but just as easy to polish the same cannot be said about glass Easy to clean Relatively nice clasp Custom silicone logo made in Russia Has a beautiful internal layout which is hidden, I replaced with sapphire back that they make and the inside looks beautiful with a custom B on the automatic mechanism cons, Delicate, all Vostoks are counter to popular belief Ability to over screw crown down which breaks watch, don't over tighten Crown had to add second small silicone band to have the long strap not flop around Power reserve more realistically 30 hours Does not wind well on the wrist automatically, requires hand winding to not let the watch run out of power, requires winding once every five days It's not come completely with the back screw down tightly when I replaced the back with a sapphire case I noticed a little bit of water on the gasket, no water and watch thank God Runs a minute fast or slow every day, which is within the threshold that they give. The bezel blocks the crown so needs to be lifted to be able to have the crown screwed down fully, designed poorly in this manner After lifting the bezel so many times to screw the crown in it is now very loose Bad loom hard to read at night Says made in Russia in English not in Cyrillic making it look more like a US made watch Does not start working automatically when brought back from running out of power, needs a tap to work which is scary Current positions are not felt well and are confusing. If you go from position one to position two you can't go back to position one so you need to screw it down all the way and then go back to position one. Otherwise your watch breaks. This means you can wind your watch and then set the date but you cannot set the date and then wind your watch without screwing it back down all the way. When I got my watch it was three days ahead so it took 30 minutes to wind it to the correct date, I know I could hack it but this breaks the watch, it grind the gears and slowly wears down the mechanism that tells the date so it should only be round forward, same setting the time, always wind clockwise Has ceramic bezel but cheap white paint on markers on the bezel, one tiny touch and the paint just comes off look at photo at the 11 o'clock dial marker it has scratched off a little Overall opinion, This watch is fun. It is like a watch from a comic book. It looks like something cosmonauts would wear. It fits well after adjustment and the sapphire case back is really really a nice addition that makes this watch an open back beauty. It has such a unique dial design there is no other watch like it and it is definitely not trying to copy any other type of watch out there. I've never seen anything like this and I love it. This company may not exist after this whole ordeal so it is commemorating not only the 60th anniversary of the space launch of the first man in space but the last year of the company's existence. It should be a nice collectors item in a few years time so I would definitely pick one up if not just to keep it in its box and look at it once in a while, it should bring a nice return 20 years from now. Most of the cons can be remedied in one way or another and I believe the pros outweigh the cons. Another thing to consider is that every other watch with a name of horological history has been counterfeited by the Chinese government. I believe that this watch is sold at such a low price point that it does not make sense for counterfeiting to exist so you're always getting the real deal with this watch if anything an upgrade. It's nice to not have to worry about that sort of thing. Overall five out of five because this is just so unique and beautiful that I can't pass it up. It shows the history of the first maned spaceflight and I really recommend it. Review: It's worth it. - I don't know which I like better– the watch, or the seller? (RuStore). The watch itself is much better looking in person than any image could convey. It has a nice weight, tight finish, and simply feels great on the wrist. I own many watches, and although it might not be the best built of all that I own, it is certainly winning me over in terms of uniqueness and value per dollar. As for the seller, I had amazing communication with them throughout the whole process. At first accidentally placed the order a few weeks back and they promptly responded and quickly refunded the order. Then when it was time for me to order, they were on top of any questions I had, and even reached out to DHL to ensure there is no confusion with shipping. Overall, I think you will be very impressed with the quality of the product and the service provided. I don't make reviews often, but when I do – it's because I truly believe people can benefit from what I have to say.