Thread: Russian Vostok Komandirskie watches......

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I've been collecting watch and pocketwatches for a very long time and own one Vostok watch, the Ekranoplan. So here's the deal. The Russians have never been known for watchmaking prowess. The old Russian watches were junk. Yes they worked however if you ever looked at the mvmts it's a miracle they did work. The newer watches like the Vostoks and other brands have mostly changed hands and in fact the watches themselves are not made in Russia. The new Vostoks are made in Lithuania. The mvmts are Russian. The mvmt's are based on old Swiss tooling they bought from the Swiss many years ago. Of course the old tooling is long gone and the Russian replacements aren't good. If you look at the Poljots for instance, their top of the line watches contain modern Swiss mvmts.

Basically I view Russian Watches as big clunky objects. They are not very accurate and most watch makers won't work on them. They are cheap for a reason. You would do much better with a Seiko 5 or a Citizen watch.

My opinion of course and if you check out the watch sites they do have their fans.

Thanks spendur, that's what I was looking for.

It's no secret that I am in to Russian things,but that aside what I really do want is a nice affordable wind up watch with the quality of older days gone by. I had the thought that maybe those watches might have had that old time quality to them. Hence now thinking about an antique store. Even if it means taking said watch to a watch repair to get it up working again. I remember a time in my youth having Timex watches(that were quality then) given to me for presents and now I ask myself,what happened to those watches ? It's called me being a dumb a** and not having the foresight to have held onto them.

Vintage watches are wonderful. Many of the old watches had in-house movements and there were many interesting innovations. Finding a vintage watch and having it reworked can be very pricey. Make sure that the watch you get is at least running. It is tough to find vintage watches now for a good price, but compared to new watches, they can still be a bargain. I am referring to mechanical watches of course. Don't feel bad about ditching your mechanical watches. When quartz watches came out, everyone ditched their mechanical watches. The entire watch making industry in Switzerland nearly went under and NEVER fully recovered from the quartz movement craze...

Originally Posted by Nightblade

It's no secret that I am in to Russian things,but that aside what I really do want is a nice affordable wind up watch with the quality of older days gone by.

I don't know about affordable but a Hamilton 992 is a fine pocket watch. If you get one of the later 992B IIRC, they had some with stainless steel cases. I preferred the old ones. Had a 1930s 992E which I sold for sentimental reasons. It was a gift from my wife and I didn't like the fact that it reminded me of her. Anyway, now I prefer a Seiko on my wrist and don't worry about movements or winding. YMMV.

Well guys...when I say old watch I mean wrist style and from 40's-70's. And I'm thinking old timex or Bulova that kinda thing. Pricey to fix...well not as pricey as say an old vintage pocket watch from the turn of the century. Plenty of watch repair guys still can fix the brands from 60's-70's I figure . It's not like I'm remembering the civil war days ha ha. I'm expecting to drop a little dough anyway if I get a watch repaired. it's logical. Now my grandads pocket watch which is an old Hamilton,That would cost me and I may still have that fixed one day. Don't know it's model ,but it does appear to be stainless which would sorta make sense since Grandpa was a SeaBee in the Pacific. There's his old razor,unusable but I still keep it safe.

That Hamilton doesn't look like a WWll era watch. it looks more like an 18 size watch from around the turn of the century. Open it up and post the serial number. I'm guessing the case is ore silver or Silverode-nickle silver basically. It should say on the inside of the cover.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

It's no secret that I am in to Russian things,but that aside what I really do want is a nice affordable wind up watch with the quality of older days gone by. I had the thought that maybe those watches might have had that old time quality to them. Hence now thinking about an antique store. Even if it means taking said watch to a watch repair to get it up working again. I remember a time in my youth having Timex watches(that were quality then) given to me for presents and now I ask myself,what happened to those watches ? It's called me being a dumb a** and not having the foresight to have held onto them.

Timex was never a quality watch. It was designed to run until it stopped and then you threw it away. I had one in the early 60s and it ran for 20 years. You can still get a watch like that. They say Seiko 5 on them. Swatch is coming out with a new movement this fall. it will be the Timex of this era. it's cheap and designed to run.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

That Hamilton doesn't look like a WWll era watch. it looks more like an 18 size watch from around the turn of the century. Open it up and post the serial number. I'm guessing the case is ore silver or Silverode-nickle silver basically. It should say on the inside of the cover.

Don't know how to open it. But I'll see what I can do.Don't wan't to just pop the back off willy nilly and have all the guts fall out.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Timex was never a quality watch. It was designed to run until it stopped and then you threw it away. I had one in the early 60s and it ran for 20 years. You can still get a watch like that. They say Seiko 5 on them. Swatch is coming out with a new movement this fall. it will be the Timex of this era. it's cheap and designed to run.

But is it a wind up mechanical ? That's what I want.The whole point is to get away from a battery powered watch.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Don't know how to open it. But I'll see what I can do.Don't wan't to just pop the back off willy nilly and have all the guts fall out.

Easy to open,would bet it is a screwback.