# What did you buy today? Part II (the continuation thread)



## bingobadgo

Admittedly I bought this some time ago but it was only delivered today. Definitely a keeper.

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## mrwomble

*Re: What did you buy today?*



bingobadgo said:


> Admittedly I bought this some time ago but it was only delivered today. 170549 with modded bezel. The blue sunburst sandwich dial is beautiful! Definitely a keeper.
> 
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> Sent from my [null] using Tapatalk


That looks great, where is the bezel from?


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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*

I just couldn't resist the new Black Scuba Dude with applied indices :-!


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## bingobadgo

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mrwomble said:


> That looks great, where is the bezel from?


Thanks. It's from Meranom, I got them to fit it when I ordered the watch.

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## Kotsov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> I just couldn't resist the new Black Scuba Dude with applied indices :-!
> 
> View attachment 15156581


Same here.


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## Bostok

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> I just couldn't resist the new Black Scuba Dude with applied indices :-!
> 
> View attachment 15156581


Looking good, congrats! Do you know by any chance (or Meranom if reading this), will an equivalent version in 420 could be available in the future?


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## mrwomble

*Re: What did you buy today?*



bingobadgo said:


> Thanks. It's from Meranom, I got them to fit it when I ordered the watch.
> 
> Sent from my [null] using Tapatalk


I somehow seemed to have missed that one. That combo looks really good, great choice.


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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Bostok said:


> Looking good, congrats! Do you know by any chance (or Meranom if reading this), will an equivalent version in 420 could be available in the future?


I have no idea, however if you really, really want that combo you can make it happen by ordering a 420 case (maybe a signed crown as well if the 710 stem is the wrong length) and paying an extra $5 to have it assembled for you.


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## haha

*Re: What did you buy today?*

I'm already the lucky owner of a "classical" Люкс, the well known copy of the Doxa Grafic, but i had never seen one with this dial and the Latin transcription "Ljuks" that seems to indicate it was intended for Polish and Czechoslovakian markets (as well as the SSSR at the bottom of the dial).


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## RedFroggy

*Re: What did you buy today?*

This is splendid !! Congrats ...


haha said:


> the Latin transcription "Ljuks" that seems to indicate it was intended for Polish and Czechoslovakian markets (as well as the SSSR at the bottom of the dial).
> 
> View attachment 15156859


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## RedFroggy

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Posted from Omsk on the 18th of March & finally arrived today ... Ouch...









Well... it was all worth it ;-)


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



RedFroggy said:


> Posted from Omsk on the 18th of March & finally arrived today ... Ouch...
> 
> View attachment 15158559
> 
> 
> Well... it was all worth it ;-)


I've seen only once a Vostok with a hologram foil like map on the dial much the same as this one, I wished I had snapped it up as it was on a black dial and looked super cool.

I do admire the ground out grooves for the markers, quite a cool feature.


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## Chascomm

*Re: What did you buy today?*



haha said:


> I'm already the lucky owner of a "classical" Люкс, the well known copy of the Doxa Grafic, but i had never seen one with this dial and the Latin transcription "Ljuks" that seems to indicate it was intended for Polish and Czechoslovakian markets (as well as the SSSR at the bottom of the dial).


Do you know of any other linguistic variations of this model?


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## haha

*Re: What did you buy today?*



RedFroggy said:


> Posted from Omsk on the 18th of March & finally arrived today ... Ouch...
> 
> Well... it was all worth it ;-)


Well, that must have been stressful... and rewarding !


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## haha

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Chascomm said:


> Do you know of any other linguistic variations of this model?


No, I don't.
It seems quite impossible to search keywords successfully for "lux" or something similar.
When searching "ljuks" on gogol, I find mostly polish references, and then czech, but very few. But the correct polish translation (as seen on a polish forum) would be "Łucz", so this Ljuks "translation" was probably not intended for them.


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## Lucidor

*Re: What did you buy today?*

I got this Raketa perpetual calender today. It is probable a parts watch since the date wheel is Latin while the dial is Cyrillic. But I can live with that because of how it looks. Some watches you buy for historical reasons, some to wear.


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## Kotsov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Lucidor said:


> I got this Raketa perpetual calender today. It is probable a parts watch since the date wheel is Latin while the dial is Cyrillic. But I can live with that because of how it looks. Some watches you buy for historical reasons, some to wear.
> 
> View attachment 15160975
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> View attachment 15160977
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> View attachment 15160981


Whatever. That is lovely.


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



bingobadgo said:


> Admittedly I bought this some time ago but it was only delivered today. 170549 with modded bezel. The blue sunburst sandwich dial is beautiful! Definitely a keeper.
> 
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> Sent from my [null] using Tapatalk


I does like that


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kotsov said:


> Whatever. That is lovely.


I agree, that is a very clean piece, I have yet to get my first Perp Calendar, they seem to go for quite high prices for good examples and never seem to turn up in the dregs bins I usually rummage in lol


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## Kotsov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Dodgydruid said:


> I agree, that is a very clean piece, I have yet to get my first Perp Calendar, they seem to go for quite high prices for good examples and never seem to turn up in the dregs bins I usually rummage in lol


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## FWilkens

*Re: What did you buy today?*

The 420B35 showed up today!
Bezel swapped for 555 universal bezel


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Oh I does like that strap, is that a 22mm cos that would fit my radio room project a treat as I am looking at bracelet and straps for the build.

Have just sprung for a brand new 2409 movement for this project, I got the hands, I got the white radio room dial and the gilt tension ringed crystal 22mm 090 all ready to go and a thick SS crown too. Going thru me bits tonite though I found an old Zakas black lumed dial never been used and I am now caught between radio room and Zakas argh Think it is going to be radio room, that has been my long term project goal, have been working on some of the scrap 2414's to see if I got a good one to start my Ukrainian limited edition dial project komandirskie as that is a lovely split blue and yellow dial and very colourful.


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## FWilkens

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Dodgydruid said:


> Oh I does like that strap, is that a 22mm cos that would fit my radio room project a treat as I am looking at bracelet and straps for the build.
> 
> Have just sprung for a brand new 2409 movement for this project, I got the hands, I got the white radio room dial and the gilt tension ringed crystal 22mm 090 all ready to go and a thick SS crown too. Going thru me bits tonite though I found an old Zakas black lumed dial never been used and I am now caught between radio room and Zakas argh Think it is going to be radio room, that has been my long term project goal, have been working on some of the scrap 2414's to see if I got a good one to start my Ukrainian limited edition dial project komandirskie as that is a lovely split blue and yellow dial and very colourful.


If you meant the rubber strap for my 420B35 in the photos above, it is 18mm strap at lugs, but 20mm wide strap.


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## Ligavesh

FWilkens said:


> Dodgydruid said:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh I does like that strap, is that a 22mm cos that would fit my radio room project a treat as I am looking at bracelet and straps for the build.
> 
> Have just sprung for a brand new 2409 movement for this project, I got the hands, I got the white radio room dial and the gilt tension ringed crystal 22mm 090 all ready to go and a thick SS crown too. Going thru me bits tonite though I found an old Zakas black lumed dial never been used and I am now caught between radio room and Zakas argh Think it is going to be radio room, that has been my long term project goal, have been working on some of the scrap 2414's to see if I got a good one to start my Ukrainian limited edition dial project komandirskie as that is a lovely split blue and yellow dial and very colourful.
> 
> 
> 
> If you meant the rubber strap for my 420B35 in the photos above, it is 18mm strap at lugs, but 20mm wide strap.
Click to expand...

Is the marking for 60 min on the bezel lumed?


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## Ligavesh

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Anyway, I got a notification this morning that the Neptuns were back in stock - I immediately rushed to Meranom (the way you rush to a website) and couldn't decide whether I wanted the aquamarine one or the orange one. Not wanting to lose a Neptune on account of my indecisiveness, I just ordered them both, figuring I could always sell one I fancied less on ebay later (yeah right, I'll probably end up keeping them both, will look for some lame excuse like 'I'll just keep this one for my son till he grows up' or something). Anyway, I was curious how the Neptuns were selling - lo and behold, the green (which I don't like much) and the aquamarine one are already sold out, and the orange went from 'in stock' to '12'. Now comes the difficult part - waiting for 2-3 months.


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*

So for my project "radio room" I bought from a chap called Bestrus a new 2409 movement for the build, paid £17.98 with free postage which I think is an absolute steal for what you get. The 090 case is ready, just been sorting thru my hand sets opting for a black arrow set and will do a build foto set when I put it all together









I also bought an Oskar-Emil Series 800 to go with my Houston, Caesium and Series 300, paid peanuts for it and I dunno where Oskar Emil went wrong, the Houston is like top end super heavy stainless steel chrono, the others are still heavy chunky pieces but I discovered the 300 had a pretty low end Miyota and the Caesium's Miyota is pretty cheesy.


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## Luis965

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Pavel Bure!


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## Odessa200

Luis965 said:


> Pavel Bure!


Stunning watch. Congrats


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## OCSleeper

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Received these two gems yesterday in the mail. Patience has paid off as I'm happy with the condition of each. The problem with getting nice shiny things is you'll inevitably scratch them

























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## elsoldemayo

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Nice. I've been casually looking for the Slava clock for a long time and never seen one in such pristine condition.


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## RedFroggy

*Re: What did you buy today?*

2 very nice pieces OCSleeper !!


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## OCSleeper

*Re: What did you buy today?*



RedFroggy said:


> 2 very nice pieces OCSleeper !!


Thank you!! Outside of the alarm back being faded on the exposed area I couldn't be happier. I don't have any plans of trying to match the gold color and will leave it as is. Looks as if it was a desk decoration for years with the back facing a window.

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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



OCSleeper said:


> Received these two gems yesterday in the mail. Patience has paid off as I'm happy with the condition of each. The problem with getting nice shiny things is you'll inevitably scratch them
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I lost out on a Sekonda branded version of that chrono, I was so miffed as the auction said final bid was put in after the auction ended so did a contest but ebay weren't listening 

I was watching a youtube called the Irish Partizan walking round the "field of dreams" in Minsk and the first stalls he goes to was several very nice tank and other mantel clocks. I know which tank I want, the white dialled red numeralled, red handed one that doesn't have the exciting thrill of large amounts of radium brightening your day, its not really strictly a tank clock per se as the clock I believe comes from an airplane but still a sweet looking thing.


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Only thing added today was an almost free Ben Sherman super wide mens watch on a really thick and wide strap, Ben Sherman was a Mod/Skin/Punk thing before Lambretta tried to cash in on the scene and very much in the stylish dept with Ted Baker imho.

Seller knocked off about 4/5ths of the asking price and I was like super swift on the BIN button, this will be worn at soul and scooterboy do's when I do actually make an effort as usually its old camo trousers and a t shirt, pair of DM's as a daily wear which my Russian pieces do seem to work with (My Chaika Stadium just works so well with my black and green Lonsdale polo hehe)


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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Just purchased this lovely "Generalskie" Komandirskie :-!


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Hi, guys! Been away for a while, and extremely busy at work. It's a pleasure to see familiar names, keeping the fire burning. Missed you all!
No time for watches, also (almost) everything soviet watch related is in boxes, as we were planning house moving, which didn't go as planned. 
Anyway. Yesterday I had a whole day not working, putting my phone in silent mode. Just having a walk and sitting on my couch browsing the web. Old habits die hard, so I got these three, before I realised how that happened. All for restoration.

One dress 








One amfibia (non working)








One chrono (stops when chrono working)















So as soon as my work slows down I will be tempted into some good old B&A stuff.
Good day to all!
Ivan


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> Just purchased this lovely "Generalskie" Komandirskie :-!
> 
> View attachment 15176091


So that design is a generalskie? When I bought my "first" KVPO Amphibia, it was that dial and movement turned up in a round Amphibia case and I soon had that out and into a proper Komandirskie case, keeping it with the white leather Boctok strap which seems to go well with the cream dial.

I thought it was unusual having the submarine below the centre line.


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## Avidfan

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> Just purchased this lovely "Generalskie" Komandirskie :-!


Wow! that is rare! I don't think I've ever seen a 2409A Generalskie before, perhaps we will have to re-write the rule book on the attributes that makes a Soviet Generalskie a Generalskie :think:


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Oh wait, mine has a date window so not the same, just the same design on the dial oh well thought I had another Generalskie...


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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Dodgydruid said:


> So that design is a generalskie? When I bought my "first" KVPO Amphibia, it was that dial and movement turned up in a round Amphibia case and I soon had that out and into a proper Komandirskie case, keeping it with the white leather Boctok strap which seems to go well with the cream dial.
> 
> I thought it was unusual having the submarine below the centre line.


The whole "Generalskie" thing is quite a murky area. This is a Generalskie dial in a standard Type 341 Komandirskie case, whereas there was also a so called Generalskie dial in a star shaped Komandirskie case, as well as several other "Generalskie" models which were produced in a case very similar to the Type 341 but with a larger rounded area between the lugs. So when the term Generalskie is used it could be a reference to what is written on the dial, or a specific case style. As with most things Vostok. the rules can be applied loosely when marketing is involved.


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## haha

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> Hi, guys! Been away for a while, and extremely busy at work. It's a pleasure to see familiar names, keeping the fire burning. Missed you all!
> No time for watches, also (almost) everything soviet watch related is in boxes, as we were planning house moving, which didn't go as planned.
> Anyway. Yesterday I had a whole day not working, putting my phone in silent mode. Just having a walk and sitting on my couch browsing the web. Old habits die hard, so I got these three, before I realised how that happened. All for restoration.
> 
> So as soon as my work slows down I will be tempted into some good old B&A stuff.
> Good day to all!
> Ivan


Glad to see you back.
Enjoy these new restoration projects !


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Huh, just when you think you've seen it all. Agree with Avidfan, never seen a 2409 generalskie, and that dial is totally legit. But, hehehe, also the first time I see you, Avidfan, miss a detail so obvious. The dial also sais "antimagnetic". Is it really, Mario? :think:


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



haha said:


> Glad to see you back.
> Enjoy these new restoration projects !


Thanks, Ivan! Also there's a lot of interesting read to backtrack. It will be like the first time I found this forum


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Here's mine, it turned up here inside a round Amphibia case with the Soviet pentagram thingy on the rear case and I just assumed it was a franken. Its now in a Komandirskie case I assumed it would have been in from looking online at pics of similar dialled watches, very confused now lol









Just finished putting a gold brick bracelet on my just arrived Sekonda and wow it looks so blingy 

I can't put a piccy up as the thing keeps spazzing out when I click upload, weird like the double post bug where even today first post it said "You have to wait xx xx secs between posts" :S


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## SuffolkGerryW

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> Hi, guys! Been away for a while, and extremely busy at work. It's a pleasure to see familiar names, keeping the fire burning. Missed you all!
> No time for watches, also (almost) everything soviet watch related is in boxes, as we were planning house moving, which didn't go as planned.
> Anyway. Yesterday I had a whole day not working, putting my phone in silent mode. Just having a walk and sitting on my couch browsing the web. Old habits die hard, so I got these three, before I realised how that happened. All for restoration.
> 
> So as soon as my work slows down I will be tempted into some good old B&A stuff.
> Good day to all!
> Ivan


Good to see you back, hope the thumb is healing well!|>


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Dodgydruid said:


> Here's mine, it turned up here inside a round Amphibia case with the Soviet pentagram thingy on the rear case and I just assumed it was a franken. Its now in a Komandirskie case I assumed it would have been in from looking online at pics of similar dialled watches, very confused now lol


That's the normal state with soviet watches, it's OK  There are two versions of that dial. The 2409 no date window version, which is an amfibian 020 case, and yours 2414 version, which is a komandirskie. You got the case right. Bezel is from a newer dirskie, but the case's the right one :-!


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



SuffolkGerryW said:


> Good to see you back, hope the thumb is healing well!|>


Thanks, Jerry! It's even longer than before! No, joking  but the thumb is better than I imagined it would be, five months later I'm starting to use my hand with more confidence. It's been veeeery slowly growing back, and I even clipped a bit of nail once  So it's still under construction, but it's impact on my life is minimal. Watches are still in the plans.


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## Avidfan

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> Huh, just when you think you've seen it all. Agree with Avidfan, never seen a 2409 generalskie, and that dial is totally legit. But, hehehe, also the first time I see you, Avidfan, miss a detail so obvious. The dial also sais "antimagnetic". Is it really, Mario? :think:


I didn't miss it :-d that's why I said maybe we should re-write the rule book on what makes a Generalskie, Vostoks marked anti-magnetic on the dial usually go in steel cases (except the one anomaly in the '93 catalogue), but Generalskie usually go in plated cases, so as you say just when you think you've seen it all :-d


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## RedFroggy

*Re: What did you buy today?*

Good news comrad Kamburov !! Looking at your purchases, the fingers all work well enough to add nice pieces to your collection ;-)



Kamburov said:


> Thanks, Jerry! It's even longer than before! No, joking  but the thumb is better than I imagined it would be, five months later I'm starting to use my hand with more confidence. It's been veeeery slowly growing back, and I even clipped a bit of nail once  So it's still under construction, but it's impact on my life is minimal. Watches are still in the plans.


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Avidfan said:


> I didn't miss it :-d that's why I said maybe we should re-write the rule book on what makes a Generalskie, Vostoks marked anti-magnetic on the dial usually go in steel cases (except the one anomaly in the '93 catalogue), but Generalskie usually go in plated cases, so as you say just when you think you've seen it all :-d


Oh, well, so the hehehe's on me then  Not the first or the last of soviet watch paradoxes, but this Vostok is just wrong on so many levels. Amazingly and amusingly unique. If anyone on the forum ever says again "No, this and this can't be like that!", Mario can just post a pic of this one and all arguments will be over.


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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> Huh, just when you think you've seen it all. Agree with Avidfan, never seen a 2409 generalskie, and that dial is totally legit. But, hehehe, also the first time I see you, Avidfan, miss a detail so obvious. The dial also sais "antimagnetic". Is it really, Mario? :think:


Yes, it has the shield installed according to the seller.


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## Olp1

hey all
Today's purchase:























A cadet's vostok.

Cheers


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## Olp1

hey all
Today's purchase:

View attachment 15178003

View attachment 15178007

View attachment 15178009


A cadet's vostok.

Cheers


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## Dodgydruid

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> That's the normal state with soviet watches, it's OK  There are two versions of that dial. The 2409 no date window version, which is an amfibian 020 case, and yours 2414 version, which is a komandirskie. You got the case right. Bezel is from a newer dirskie, but the case's the right one :-!


Cool, I am guessing it should be a dot dash bezel? Cheers


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## SuffolkGerryW

Not Russian, and a quartz, nor bought (wife fished it out of a bin) - but a curiosity, in that the logo is the second hand, got new battery for it, and ticking along merrily.
Obviously, a promotional item from British Telecom from some point in the past.


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> Yes, it has the shield installed according to the seller.


So it's the shallow amfibia case back with a shield underneath? Please, post some good pics when you get it, Mario!


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## yankeexpress




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## mariomart

*Re: What did you buy today?*



Kamburov said:


> So it's the shallow amfibia case back with a shield underneath? Please, post some good pics when you get it, Mario!


I'll be honest, it's a bit of a head scratcher, the case back is a regular Komandirskie case back, yet the seller insists it has the shield. Unfortunately no pictures from the sellers listing, so it'll be interesting to see what's hiding in there, if anything at all.


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## Kamburov

*Re: What did you buy today?*



mariomart said:


> I'll be honest, it's a bit of a head scratcher, the case back is a regular Komandirskie case back, yet the seller insists it has the shield. Unfortunately no pictures from the sellers listing, so it'll be interesting to see what's hiding in there, if anything at all.


Maybe he means the regular 2416 komandirskie caseback on a generalskie type case. That would make sense on the shield part. And on nothing else, I guess  Anyway, if it doesn't cost millions, that dial alone is a special find. Caused a lot of head scratching.


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## 979greenwich

*Re: What did you buy today?*

I started tinkering with watches, so this for a start:


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## Lucidor

This Raketa.


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## Montykun

Today I finally received this 3133 beauty! While the seller mentioned that the watch was probably produced in the Soviet Union in late 80s, I believe this Komandirskie Chronograph is the 95 model, produced... who knows where! What do the forum experts think? :think:

In any case, I am extremely happy with it! b-)


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## mariomart

Montykun said:


> Today I finally received this 3133 beauty! While the seller mentioned that the watch was probably produced in the Soviet Union in late 80s, I believe this Komandirskie Chronograph is the 95 model, produced... who knows where! What do the forum experts think? :think:
> 
> In any case, I am extremely happy with it! b-)


This is an extract from a 1990's Sutter Catalog


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## Montykun

mariomart said:


> This is an extract from a 1990's Sutter Catalog
> 
> View attachment 15179107


Oh wow! So he was completely right (of course, he's the expert ^^'). Thanks a lot, Mariomart, now I like it even more!


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## Dodgydruid

I so have to get some of these... love the black tank commander, style wise though I think I would have preferred the sub dials to have been same colour rather than the scoured look but that is just me 

Todays haul has been a Sekonda AU10 with a Slava movement inside, a heavy plated Lucerne I think 60's but a runner apparently and just now picked up an Alba in gwo/good condition which as we would know is a rebadged Seiko still on its original branded bracelet so all in all been a good week this week.

There is a very nice UMF Ruhla chronograph I am keeping an eye on, I have yet to acquire a mechanical chrono for my set but one day


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## Ligavesh

The black Scuba arrived yesterday. It's very black. The silicone strap feels nice, but I'll probably change it for a Nato canvas or a leather one.


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## mightymiloquinn

Hi there. First post!
Picked up a franken/reproduction Start the other day. Looks really good, but definitely not vintage. Bought it for the looks. I'll likely pick up a vintage one some other time. The movement seems to be a Zim 2602. Runs well thus far. Cheers!!


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## Odessa200

mightymiloquinn said:


> Hi there. First post!
> Picked up a franken/reproduction Start the other day. Looks really good, but definitely not vintage. Bought it for the looks. I'll likely pick up a vintage one some other time. The movement seems to be a Zim 2602. Runs well thus far. Cheers!!
> View attachment 15194841
> 
> View attachment 15194843


Welcome! Nice looking one. As long as you knew what you are getting there is nothing wrong with this purchase. Although, for the love of the authentic watches, I do not patronize sellers of these products.... at least not often (cause I do have a few of such creations).


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## Bsw_sc

Bought these three today online ... looking forward to receiving. They have a long way to go to get here however


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## Kotsov

Bsw_sc said:


> Bought these three today online ... looking forward to receiving. They have a long way to go to get here however


Past Tokereva's house?


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## jimzilla

I purchased my first Strela a KODR42CYN and it came in today!


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## jimzilla

As luck would have it I got bit by a dog a day ago on my watch hand.... that's a real pisser!
So the wrist shot is on the left wrist.
I guess I will be wearing it in a month or so, the dog did say I tasted like chicken.


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## RedFroggy

Ouch ... The watch is ok ... the dog as well ?
Only one thing left to do... pour yourself a large Stolychnaya, sit back & enjoy those Russisch Brot !! ;-)


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## jimzilla

RedFroggy said:


> Ouch ... The watch is ok ... the dog as well ?
> Only one thing left to do... pour yourself a large Stolychnaya, sit back & enjoy those Russisch Brot !! ;-)


Speaking of that Redfroggy, I took 1 semester of German in high school about 40 years ago so I guess I am an authority of sorts on reading and speaking German.
I translated Julian Kampmann's personal branding sticker on the bag of Russisch Brot to say that the watch pictured on the sticker is ground up and baked in.
I was wondering why they were a bit more crunchy this time. I think I may have chipped a tooth. ;-)


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## Kotsov

Apple Watch 3 for me because it was cheap. It's alright, its not THE FUTURE.

I guess you won't be wanting pictures...


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## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> Speaking of that Redfroggy, I took 1 semester of German in high school about 40 years ago so I guess I am an authority of sorts on reading and speaking German.
> I translated Julian Kampmann's personal branding sticker on the bag of Russisch Brot to say that the watch pictured on the sticker is ground up and baked in.
> I was wondering why they were a bit more crunchy this time. I think I may have chipped a tooth. ;-)


Rich in iron though.


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## Dodgydruid

jimzilla said:


> As luck would have it I got bit by a dog a day ago on my watch hand.... that's a real pisser!
> So the wrist shot is on the left wrist.
> I guess I will be wearing it in a month or so, the dog did say I tasted like chicken.


I got bitten by a false widow last year, my right arm became a nightmare of ulcers, green and purple streaks and turned my forearm into one mighty scab with the ground zero bites become two deep abscesses that took ages to heal up. Now if I see any sign of them black nasty vicious creatures out comes the spider spray and I purge the place.

The week before, pulling something down from atop kitchen cupboards, I dislodged a very irritable female that was huge and I kid you not this spider was literally throwing itself at me and raring its forelegs up, hugely aggressive but lost the argument with Mr Trainer, the one that got me had built a nest down wall end of my bed and turning in my sleep I must have disturbed its drop lines and it got me


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I got bitten by a false widow last year, my right arm became a nightmare of ulcers, green and purple streaks and turned my forearm into one mighty scab with the ground zero bites become two deep abscesses that took ages to heal up. Now if I see any sign of them black nasty vicious creatures out comes the spider spray and I purge the place.
> 
> The week before, pulling something down from atop kitchen cupboards, I dislodged a very irritable female that was huge and I kid you not this spider was literally throwing itself at me and raring its forelegs up, hugely aggressive but lost the argument with Mr Trainer, the one that got me had built a nest down wall end of my bed and turning in my sleep I must have disturbed its drop lines and it got me


Those things are nasty little ******* - moved a hive the other day & one was underneath it - we spotted it before it could get to us - 1 size 10 boot and it lost interest, in everything - youngest son is plagued with them at his place, trouble is, his young boy isn't scared of 'em - he will be - but my son's trying to eradicate them from house and garden.


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## SuffolkGerryW

jimzilla said:


> As luck would have it I got bit by a dog a day ago on my watch hand.... that's a real pisser!
> So the wrist shot is on the left wrist.
> I guess I will be wearing it in a month or so, the dog did say I tasted like chicken.


Nasty, hope it heals quickly.


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Those things are nasty little ******* - moved a hive the other day & one was underneath it - we spotted it before it could get to us - 1 size 10 boot and it lost interest, in everything - youngest son is plagued with them at his place, trouble is, his young boy isn't scared of 'em - he will be - but my son's trying to eradicate them from house and garden.


Did you know Sheerness in Kent is one of two places with proven scorpion population? I think Liverpool is the other. In my tender young years it was suspected I got stung by one as we were living in Gravesend not that far from Sheerness, I thought it was an earwig but my hand swelled up and it was super painful and docs were asking me mum if she had bought some exotic plants and my father made her get rid of her ancient rubber plants and other indoor plants.

He was a one for creepy crawlies, my father was, he was offered a job in Australia managing one of the railways signalling operations with free large house and company car, about ten times what he was earning on BR but he refused because of Aussie's bugs and my mum never quite forgave him as she was offered a job as editor of one of the national newspapers and we could do it on the last knockings of the £10 Poms scheme 

Over there they have some evil looking spiders, their version of the false widow is the lethal redback which I have seen nests of when I was working over there in Sydney and Newcastle, extremely aggressive widow spider but lethality was rare due to the large stock of anti-venom carried by ambulances and doctors. Their huntsman spiders can get as large as a saucer, same as our ones but our ones are little ones, the St Andrew's Cross spider is yet another horrid looking creature and then you got snakes over there that would freeze your heart, one black asp is super super aggressive and I remember the very first Steve Irwin video where his wife accidentally widdled on a sleeping one and he was battling it with a wooden club and the thing just kept throwing itself at Irwin.

The one to watch out for here in the UK is the funnel webs which are apparently exploding across England, very nasty bite 

Down here in Dorset we have Britain's only poisonous fly, the Blandford Fly which I got bitten in the leg by early 2000's and I kid you not the bite swelled to a 10 inch bubble of pain and misery on my leg and when it burst it was so horrible. What it does is leaves its probostis in the bite wound which quickly becomes gangrenous and Dorset hospitals have a Blandford Fly specialist nurse, we also have Britain's only true domestic hornets and they can be a handful, got one in the car last year and daughter and I hastily parked up and bundled out with the doors open til it sodded off, was absolutely huuuuuge.


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## pump 19

Dodgydruid said:


> I dislodged a very irritable female that was huge and I kid you not this spider was literally throwing itself at me and raring its forelegs up, hugely aggressive but lost the argument with Mr Trainer, the one that got me had built a nest down wall end of my bed and turning in my sleep I must have disturbed its drop lines and it got me


Man, I think I'd be hooking up with best exterminator I could find and tenting the whole house. Either that or...


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## Dodgydruid

I nuked it def with an Adidas Vespa trainer boot... browny greeny gunge went everywhere lol

If you see a shiny black spider with a white "skull" on its bulb... that is the false widow and they are deemed an urban vermin unlike normal garden spiders which stop us being overrun with flies and nasty crawly things. When they lay their egg sacs between 250-500 baby spiders can erupt from them tiny little cottonwool looking balls, that happened to me when I was driving on the motorway, an egg sac in the driver door mirror hatched and they swarmed all over the windows and very freaky


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## OCSleeper

Recently, the wife made the mistake of telling me she doesn't even look in the direction of my watch collection. 
This revelation came as she commented on one of my 24 hour Raketa's, how she liked it and didn't realize I've had it for a couple years now. 
Being armed with this information has caused me to go on a bit of a buying streak.
I typically stick with the Soviet era but this caught my eye, the price was fair, and I don't see myself buying any real Type-1's or other high dollar vintage pieces anytime soon.

























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Oh I do like that, I got a Gagarin here but missing the stem and can't seem to find the right one as I thought all the Soviet stuff was one stem design but seems not with the Gagarin's.

I am now on the hunt for one of them "Soviet" brand watches with the big canteen crown, I love oversized crown watches and complications around the crown area.


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## RedFroggy

Yesterday Tovarich Fargelios was wearing a beautiful Raketa & posted awesome photos of it in WRUW. 
Kinda was love at 1st sight & it sent me into searching for more info about it . The watch is an 80's antimagnetic Model powered by a movement , 2610, that I was totally un-aware of. There are various dials variations in both chrome and gold plated cases. I found this one, blue dial, chromed case , mdl 431093 and it is now on its way to London.









So a big thank you for making me discover this Raketa !


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## SuffolkGerryW

Had the notification from Meranom that the movement 2416B was in stock, so ordered that & the seals needed for my old Paratrooper - sod the wait!:-d:-d:-d:-d:-d:-d


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## sideways2

Vostok and Pobeda arrived yesterday!!! If anyone can give me some insight on how to align the minute hand on the Vostok I would greatly appreciate it!! Off by a tad... you can see in the picture... otherwise I've waited a while to find one in good condition!! 

I have the green version Zim coming any day now to... love those cases!!


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## Lucidor

I finally managed to source a Serzhantskie today. I little bit dusty, but hopefully it will clean off nicely.


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## Lucidor

Today I gave negative feedback on an ebay deal, which was a first over 15 years of buying stuff. I won an auction on a 1MWF Pobeda with hermetic case for a very good price (the first watch in space). I think the reason for the low bidding was the ad that was not professional and thus went under the radar. But before I had the chance to pay for the transaction, the seller cancelled the deal because the item was "out of stock". This was obviously BS because it was a single vintage item and not something piled up in any stock. Understanding that the seller was unhappy with the selling price, I reached out with the intention to negaotiate deal (I was prepared to up my proposition) but did not hear back. So I gave a negative feedback. Was that harch? I know feedback scores is quite serious.


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## Lucidor

To compensate for my misfortune with the lost Pobeda, I managed to win this ridiculously nice Almaz. I would like to think of them as the poor man's precision watches. I remember reading that the best were lableded Vostok Precision, then Volna, and finally Almaz. But I might have got that all wrong. Anyway, the design is so very... Soviet!


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## pump 19

Lucidor said:


> I reached out with the intention to negaotiate deal (I was prepared to up my proposition) but did not hear back. So I gave a negative feedback. Was that harch? I know feedback scores is quite serious.


I'm pretty sure I know the watch you're talking about as I was watching it too. I wouldn't feel bad about the feedback. It sounds like the seller deserved what you gave.


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## Dodgydruid

sideways2 said:


> Vostok and Pobeda arrived yesterday!!! If anyone can give me some insight on how to align the minute hand on the Vostok I would greatly appreciate it!! Off by a tad... you can see in the picture... otherwise I've waited a while to find one in good condition!!
> 
> I have the green version Zim coming any day now to... love those cases!!
> 
> View attachment 15210231
> 
> 
> View attachment 15210233


I've got the green Pobeda in a UFO case (or puck as some call it) and has a very pleasant "tigers eye" shimmer to it and is super accurate too


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## Dodgydruid

Lucidor said:


> Today I gave negative feedback on an ebay deal, which was a first over 15 years of buying stuff. I won an auction on a 1MWF Pobeda with hermetic case for a very good price (the first watch in space). I think the reason for the low bidding was the ad that was not professional and thus went under the radar. But before I had the chance to pay for the transaction, the seller cancelled the deal because the item was "out of stock". This was obviously BS because it was a single vintage item and not something piled up in any stock. Understanding that the seller was unhappy with the selling price, I reached out with the intention to negaotiate deal (I was prepared to up my proposition) but did not hear back. So I gave a negative feedback. Was that harch? I know feedback scores is quite serious.


Those sort of sellers I get cross about, either someone has gone behind ebay and offered over the auction price or maybe someone has bought it via Etsy at a much higher price and they think its AOK to ignore the legally binding rules that they signed up for.

I have had a couple this year I was expecting an "this item is no longer available" the last being a very nice Alba (Seiko sub brand) which I snagged for an insanely low price but the seller honoured it and is on its way and be with me on the morrow.

Am on somewhat of a hiatus as looking thru my stuff today I can build from parts 13 Vostoks alone, nearly 27 "projects" e.g. complete watches needing strip and service and some other stuff where I buy a broken watch thinking it would be an easy fix and isn't so my focus is on them, the only outstanding Russian watches are a new 2409 movement and my Poljot 3056 quartz big beastie square thingie which depending on condition will be repaired or be a donor for my other Poljot, its like the black Sekonda chrono with the same green tipped hands and markings and I think I want to keep the black one which may well be an easy fix anyway so can have both .


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## jimzilla

I had my first Buran come in today a 4115 Buran Chronograph. I have been wanting one of these for quite a while.
best regards comrades, James.


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## Dodgydruid

After the gawjusness above, this humble little old Boctok seems somewhat sad lol This has been bouncing in my ebay feeds well since I bought my first Amphibia, it has sat there week after long week and I thought to myself that this could really do with some love, its apparently been oiled etc so all the heavy lifting done enabling me to focus on the case and dial cleanup (no IPA involved  ) and get it looking somewhat better than its rather run down appearance and I think £6 is quite a good price for such an ancient beastie and I have three here for spares if need be.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> After the gawjusness above, this humble little old Boctok seems somewhat sad lol This has been bouncing in my ebay feeds well since I bought my first Amphibia, it has sat there week after long week and I thought to myself that this could really do with some love, its apparently been oiled etc so all the heavy lifting done enabling me to focus on the case and dial cleanup (no IPA involved  ) and get it looking somewhat better than its rather run down appearance and I think £6 is quite a good price for such an ancient beastie and I have three here for spares if need be.
> 
> View attachment 15219321


Looking at it - you may well be needing those 'spares' - that date window looks suspiciously empty and the sub dial looks a bit confusing;-)


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## Dodgydruid

There is a date in there, just the piccie not good, the second hand has had its longer bit broken off by looks of things, I was madly thinking it was ripe for a tiny hammer and tiny sickle silver soldered onto each "arm" for fun and giggles hehe perpetually chasing each other like Tom and Jerry  Don't worry folks, I am not going to do that really 

I sometimes like to try and think on who had this watch, given as a first watch pressie when boy became man or maybe a wedding watch or going off to do their conscription duty, OK in my display box isn't the best of places but it will be worn and admired for what it is and it is only my three I got are so frail I haven't been tempted til my skills are far far better to even entertain anything more than removing the caseback or movement.


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## haha

Poljot 2209 and Start with dials in perfect condition. Cases not so great, but things will improve.
The Poljot is dedicated "In recognition when leaving the service of SNV, May 1969"
Unless i'm completely mistaken, SNV stands for Sbor nápravné výchovy, which can be translated as Corps of Corrective Education, a special school for prison staff founded in the 1960's. Must have been a fun place :think: :-x


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## Dodgydruid

haha said:


> Poljot 2209 and Start with dials in perfect condition. Cases not so great, but things will improve.
> The Poljot is dedicated "In recognition when leaving the service of SNV, May 1969"
> Unless i'm completely mistaken, SNV stands for Sbor nápravné výchovy, which can be translated as Corps of Corrective Education, a special school for prison staff founded in the 1960's. Must have been a fun place :think: :-x
> 
> View attachment 15221657
> 
> 
> View attachment 15221663


From what I can understand and remembering my cold war training back in the day, prison colony and gulag was really not a fun place to be ever and that was before you got to the indoctrination colonies where people could end up for not being good little Soviets or annoying a party official and people could denounce others in perfect confidence, no trial or hearing in many party cases. Not a job I have ever fancied, I am def on the side of the people even when I was regimental police on duty I hated it feeling a traitor to the cause lol


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## Dodgydruid

I think I found a personal motherlode, on buying a very very cheap QQ Sequentia purely for the bracelet but will have a go at fixing it, I thought to scroll through and Sekonda mechanicals, a Safari, a quartet of Sekonda and Slava movements, plus some very nice items like a crystal less gold Seiko, ooo so sent him a message asking about bulk postage as I think I will be a bit of a payday by time I finished...

Just finished being told off on the fone by one daughter and then the other for my fake Omegarations... my defence of 57% rum met with the audible clunking of jaw muscle's set to admonishment and nag and I imagine the poor people on the Glasgow to Euston train may have had some sympathy for me, no doubt fingers were waggled and only 2 hours before youngest arrives from Scotland... contemplating fleeing for the hills right now.

I am supposed to be on a hiatus not buying this month and already one Vostok, one QQ, one naughty doings, the one I am disappointed was getting sniped on an Aerosmith 1912, stolen from me at £15.50 grr grr


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## mightymiloquinn

A couple of new friends on their way...


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## Sullivanjt

Sturmanskie 31659! Just won the auction today.










Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

I do love the Sturmanskies, it is one of my grail of grails in Sekonda guise with the black dial, I am half tempted to sell off my Komandirskies to finance one.


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## OCSleeper

This arrived a couple days ago. Spent about 10 minutes cleaning it up. My only Olympic dialed watch and for $10 and everything appearing to be original I figured, why not.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RedFroggy

Great finds ... Congrats !!



haha said:


> Poljot 2209 ...The Poljot is dedicated "In recognition when leaving the service of SNV, May 1969"
> Unless i'm completely mistaken, SNV stands for Sbor nápravné výchovy
> 
> View attachment 15221657
> 
> View attachment 15221663


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> This arrived a couple days ago. Spent about 10 minutes cleaning it up. My only Olympic dialed watch and for $10 and everything appearing to be original I figured, why not.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


What did you use? I guess that is the AU10, I have this in the silver but came without the matching bracelet sadly but did have a Poljot link bracelet just put by for mine. I dunno why but I just love the whole Olympic pieces and didn't know there was a gold plated one... def looking good m8


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## Dodgydruid

For bracelets, a brush plating kit is really effective for worn out gold plate, good too on worn through cases but you have to strip and clean the case removing crystal and everything and then full degrease but I have used brush kits often and they can really make something shine again.


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## OCSleeper

Dodgydruid said:


> What did you use? I guess that is the AU10, I have this in the silver but came without the matching bracelet sadly but did have a Poljot link bracelet just put by for mine. I dunno why but I just love the whole Olympic pieces and didn't know there was a gold plated one... def looking good m8











This is the product I used. Picked it up from a Vegas casino vendor after waaaaay too many adult beverages. He used it on one of my old Amphibias and I was sold.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kamenev

Just found a watch i've been looking for a long time for! A pobeda 34-K. Supposedly the first watch worn in space on chernushka on Sputnik 9!


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## pump 19

Kamenev said:


> Just found a watch i've been looking for a long time for! A pobeda 34-K. Supposedly the first watch worn in space on chernushka on Sputnik 9!


Well, what do you know. This watch was the subject of a post earlier in *this thread post 89*. Seller pulled the watch after ebay auction closed and Lucidor had won it in legitimate bidding. If it's the same guy I'd be a little wary (charitywatch) I was watching that same auction but did not bid.


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## mariomart

pump 19 said:


> Well, what do you know. This watch was the subject of a post earlier in *this thread post 89*. Seller pulled the watch after ebay auction closed and Lucidor had won it in legitimate bidding. If it's the same guy I'd be a little wary (charitywatch) I was watching that same auction but did not bid.


Looking at that sellers sales history they have now sold this same watch 2 times, Hmmmm


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## Dodgydruid

Kamenev said:


> Just found a watch i've been looking for a long time for! A pobeda 34-K. Supposedly the first watch worn in space on chernushka on Sputnik 9!
> View attachment 15224123
> 
> View attachment 15224127


I can appreciate that one, sweet looking piece and a shame the modern generation can't grasp the importance of such a watch historically. I mean how can you define the very pride of having that accolade of your product being the first to leave the planet into space


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## Odessa200

mariomart said:


> pump 19 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Well, what do you know. This watch was the subject of a post earlier in *this thread post 89*. Seller pulled the watch after ebay auction closed and Lucidor had won it in legitimate bidding. If it's the same guy I'd be a little wary (charitywatch) I was watching that same auction but did not bid.
> 
> 
> 
> Looking at that sellers sales history they have now sold this same watch 2 times, Hmmmm
Click to expand...

I think ebay still shows cancellations as 'sales'. Lets see what happens this time. I also bought Chernushka recently. Waiting for it...


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## Dodgydruid

mariomart said:


> Looking at that sellers sales history they have now sold this same watch 2 times, Hmmmm


I have seen lately a lot of ebay sellers trying to force people to pay via Western Union and whatnot and I had one where it said paypal fine then it changed to WU and I am like nope, not a chance. I know paypal can be infuriating at times and not the easiest esp for sellers but it does give us buyers a scrap of protection over the clawback by the bank which not always works if they have had the money and closed the destined account.


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## Lucidor

Kamenev said:


> Just found a watch i've been looking for a long time for! A pobeda 34-K. Supposedly the first watch worn in space on chernushka on Sputnik 9!
> View attachment 15224123
> 
> View attachment 15224127


Congratulations, I bought the same exact watch a few days ago. To be clear, I do not blame you, I blame the seller. Life goes on.


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## Kamenev

pump 19 said:


> Well, what do you know. This watch was the subject of a post earlier in *this thread post 89*. Seller pulled the watch after ebay auction closed and Lucidor had won it in legitimate bidding. If it's the same guy I'd be a little wary (charitywatch) I was watching that same auction but did not bid.


:O Hmmmm thank you for pointing me in this direction I had missed the earlier post! I also bought an Almaz so hopefully things end up ok... He was communicative with me though 🤔


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## OCSleeper

I first want to say I was hesitant on posting this because I would feel bad bidding on it against someone from WUS who wanted it as bad as myself. So with that being said, if I did, I'm sorry. 
Everything about the sale post would steer most buyers in a different direction(copy/paste title, no movement photos, poor quality pics overall, vague description, etc.)

My heart wants what it wants

After a few conversations with the seller I determined he really didn't know anything about watches or how to capitalize on his opportunity. With the information I had I placed my bid, praying for the best. Worst case scenario I'd take the watch with me to Russia in late August when I visit the in-laws(if travel is opened up) and have my watchmaker there return it to its previous glory.
First a couple pics from the posting.
























Nobody in their right mind would pay good money based on these photos. Well I never claimed to be of sane mind!
The package arrived yesterday while I was at work and the wife had to sign for it, one bummer of her working from home for now.
Luckily she asked no questions so I told her no lies.

























Now the moment of truth.....










Everything appears to be in place, the screw heads are not dull, no obvious signs of water ingress and the chrono functions flawlessly. 
Before I get to enjoy it I'll take it in for a service as it appears this case back has not been removed in decades.

For the most part I'm a rookie collector who "tries" to make informed decisions. My first Soviet watch purchase was a Poljot Sturmanskie alarm watch while in Russia in 2016. In 2017 I came across a pic of the Poljot black dial 3017 and saved it in my personal Soviet grail folder. I'm grateful for this find and glad I can share it with others who appreciate this hobby. A lot of us can probably agree that our significant others simply do not understand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Odessa200

Congrats! Great watch! I have a similar one that I bought based on the worst photos ever (hence I also paid probably 25% of true value). The seller, in addition to being a bad photographer, also was bad at shipping: sent it with bad address so it went back to him across the ocean. While exchanging messages with him I could not make my mind: am I talking to a kid? A really old person? He could not do simple things like update ebay shipment status... I frankly did not expect to get the watch at some point... but I got a great all original watch as well. It happens.


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## OCSleeper

Odessa200 said:


> Congrats! Great watch! I have a similar one that I bought based on the worst photos ever (hence I also paid probably 25% of true value). The seller, in addition to being a bad photographer, also was bad at shipping: sent it with bad address so it went back to him across the ocean. While exchanging messages with him I could not make my mind: am I talking to a kid? A really old person? He could not do simple things like update ebay shipment status... I frankly did not expect to get the watch at some point... but I got a great all original watch as well. It happens.


"(hence I also paid probably 25% of true value)" That's a great deal! Can't claim I did that well but somewhere around 60% in my case. It was around $230 less than I was willing to pay. Now I can use the savings toward a service.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> I first want to say I was hesitant on posting this because I would feel bad bidding on it against someone from WUS who wanted it as bad as myself. So with that being said, if I did, I'm sorry.
> Everything about the sale post would steer most buyers in a different direction(copy/paste title, no movement photos, poor quality pics overall, vague description, etc.)
> 
> My heart wants what it wants
> 
> After a few conversations with the seller I determined he really didn't know anything about watches or how to capitalize on his opportunity. With the information I had I placed my bid, praying for the best. Worst case scenario I'd take the watch with me to Russia in late August when I visit the in-laws(if travel is opened up) and have my watchmaker there return it to its previous glory.
> First a couple pics from the posting.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nobody in their right mind would pay good money based on these photos. Well I never claimed to be of sane mind!
> The package arrived yesterday while I was at work and the wife had to sign for it, one bummer of her working from home for now.
> Luckily she asked no questions so I told her no lies.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now the moment of truth.....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Everything appears to be in place, the screw heads are not dull, no obvious signs of water ingress and the chrono functions flawlessly.
> Before I get to enjoy it I'll take it in for a service as it appears this case back has not been removed in decades.
> 
> For the most part I'm a rookie collector who "tries" to make informed decisions. My first Soviet watch purchase was a Poljot Sturmanskie alarm watch while in Russia in 2016. In 2017 I came across a pic of the Poljot black dial 3017 and saved it in my personal Soviet grail folder. I'm grateful for this find and glad I can share it with others who appreciate this hobby. A lot of us can probably agree that our significant others simply do not understand.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's the one I want but with Sekonda branding, I do have a Poljot quartz 3056 incoming in that same dial colour and hand colour, its the mint green lume that does it for me and well done.


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## Dodgydruid

I bought another couple of these lovely 18mm bracelets and at £4 each an absolute steal. They look very good on old Seiko's and Sekonda's but classic Amphibia's too. He has other cheap 18mm bracelets worth a look.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123866776848


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## Bsw_sc

Bought this today; can’t wait to see it in a month or so ... 👍 It’ll be my first of this brand


----------



## Odessa200

Congrats. Slava is an interesting brand. 1st it is the Soviet movement from the ground up. Nothing else like this existed before. Then they have some interesting models. I dis not have many Slavas for a while but now I have 16. Not many but still something.


----------



## vintorez

Finally ordered one of these today. I've had my eye on this model for a long time.










EDIT:

Also ordered this book:


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheeky Sekonda ftw ^^


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheeky Sekonda ftw ^^

View attachment 15231411


----------



## Dodgydruid

Found one finally, a 1mchz exact copy Sportivnie watch so I can fix my Gagarin and maybe down the line renovate this one or maybe a host for spares. £14 and the movement is holding good time but the dial is pretty nasty.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, this month of not buying watches isn't working out too well...

Seller offered a very generous discount and I just had to have it as I love these Poljot tanks? fridges? tv's? I don't know the correct term but I digress and made this my second of this type, my first one lacks the lovely mint green dots and is on that gawjus "boilerplate" bracelet but this one has no bracelet so gonna have to think on what one to fit


----------



## NerdThing

Scuba dude. Just in from Russia. Been missing one from my collection for a while after I sold a blue dude and instantly regretted it!









Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## RedFroggy

Congrats ... an uncommon & not very often seen variation indeed ... 
do you know more about it Lucidor ? 
Am I mistaken or is the strap CCCP embossed close to the lugs like the Italian brown straps ?



Lucidor said:


> I finally managed to source a Serzhantskie today. I little bit dusty, but hopefully it will clean off nicely.
> 
> View attachment 15210609


----------



## Lucidor

RedFroggy said:


> Congrats ... an uncommon & not very often seen variation indeed ...
> do you know more about it Lucidor ?
> Am I mistaken or is the strap CCCP embossed close to the lugs like the Italian brown straps ?


I did some research but came up mostly empty. It seems that the Serzhantskie was a sub-brand of Vostok that was used under a short period of time, which is why we do not see them more often. As far as I can tell, it is identical to the corresponding Komandirskie apart from the dial. You are correct in your observation that the strap is embossed with CCCP, although I sourced this example from the UK, not Italy. The strap is odd in that it feels like rubber, but smells distinctly of leather.

It arrived today and when I had a closer look, it seems close to unusued with just some minor dust and dirt from storage. I will take it apart and gently clean the dial.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Was about to buy the gold "Okeanish" Slava auto I got my eye on and spotted this lurking in lists below and for £12 listed as working, with its original and complete Slava branded bracelet I think is an absolute steal for an automatic watch and the crystal is manky but easily remedied for a nice chunky tanky piece...


----------



## Chascomm

Dodgydruid said:


> OK, this month of not buying watches isn't working out too well...
> 
> Seller offered a very generous discount and I just had to have it as I love these Poljot tanks? fridges? tv's? I don't know the correct term but I digress and made this my second of this type, my first one lacks the lovely mint green dots and is on that gawjus "boilerplate" bracelet but this one has no bracelet so gonna have to think on what one to fit
> 
> View attachment 15235099


Lume on the dial but not on the hands. That way you always know where your watch is, but you still can't read the time.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Lucidor said:


> I did some research but came up mostly empty. It seems that the Serzhantskie was a sub-brand of Vostok that was used under a short period of time, which is why we do not see them more often. As far as I can tell, it is identical to the corresponding Komandirskie apart from the dial. You are correct in your observation that the strap is embossed with CCCP, although I sourced this example from the UK, not Italy. The strap is odd in that it feels like rubber, but smells distinctly of leather.
> 
> It arrived today and when I had a closer look, it seems close to unusued with just some minor dust and dirt from storage. I will take it apart and gently clean the dial.
> 
> View attachment 15236785
> 
> View attachment 15236777


I haven't seen any of these in my wanders online, do I take it this is a octa amphibia case with a Commander type dial and bezel ring but a flatter crystal compared to the Commanders more bulbous crystal? Standard 2414A movement?

Seem to remember back in the mists of time you could buy "tropicalised" leather items which was basically rubber impregnated leather items allegedly to help the leather in humid and hot countries to survive better, the British army had long been trying to find such for boots and belts mainly for areas like the hot and humid climes of India and Asia as leather could rot quite quickly in jungle environments which did see the first adoption of the rubber soles at least for soldiers in those climates. The American's in Vietnam found out quickly that the only way forward was rubberised sailcloth canvas boots were the only things that didn't turn into mush or cause rampant trenchfoot which plagued American soldiers in the opening years of the conflict.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Chascomm said:


> Lume on the dial but not on the hands. That way you always know where your watch is, but you still can't read the time.


Yes I spotted that, I do like the black dials with the mint green finishings as seen on the chrono's mainly and seems to be an affectation of Poljot, nothing stopping me down the line reluming the hands but unless its terrible I do tend to leave the things be


----------



## RedFroggy

I am grateful for the shot Lucidor. I have sourced a Сержантские but in France, so Lenin knows when I will be able to go there and pick it up . The seller's photo of mine was quite poor so thanks for confirming my suspicion. 

It does looks like this model was sold with an intended specific strap, in the same fashion as the Italian Raketa, Poljot or Vostock or the German "Royal Trade" KGB Vostok were. 
From the Russian forum, this model is rarely encountered domestically, whereas quite a few have surfaced in France & yours was close by in the UK .
Also the dial is not marked Заказ мо СССР, but Сделано в СССР indicating a general release. 

IMO that re-enforces the gut feeling that the Serjantskie might have well been one of those small export contract ?



NB - DodgyDruid - During the WWII, the Japanese Naval infantry was using "tropicalised" canvas impregnated with natural rubber. I have such a Arisaka bayo frog type 30 . Very attractive piece, but it ages hard as a rock and becomes very brittle .


----------



## Lucidor

I have been looking for a Raketa Atom for a while. There are plenty on offer, but most of them are export models. I was determine to track down a decent Cyrillic variant. I finally pulled the trigger on this piece for the domestic market today.


----------



## haha

Lucidor said:


> I have been looking for a Raketa Atom for a while. There are plenty on offer, but most of them are export models. I was determine to track down a decent Cyrillic variant. I finally pulled the trigger on this piece for the domestic market today.
> 
> View attachment 15238807


Congrats, it's a beauty. One of the few still on my list.
I wouldn't call it an Atom though...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Lucidor said:


> I have been looking for a Raketa Atom for a while. There are plenty on offer, but most of them are export models. I was determine to track down a decent Cyrillic variant. I finally pulled the trigger on this piece for the domestic market today.
> 
> View attachment 15238807
> 
> 
> View attachment 15238813
> 
> 
> View attachment 15238809


What a clean piece, AU10 or better as the plating is very deep and looks like it has had little abrasive wear.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe, I am playing to my strengths tonite, won a Pulsar V600 missing its chrono hand in gold with daytona yellow dial and basically looks like someone fiddled then regretted it...

Then I won this for $6, a 3056 Slava with a very nice bezel-free case and matching complete bracelet.









I've stripped down the pepsi sister of this one, so might have a bridge, motor, coil and gears surplus once I know what I might need for my own needs and knowing how bloody rare these parts are it might help someone else out down the line so keep an eye...

Beginning to like the Pepsi over the blue/red version, cleaned both crystals and looking like new the blue/red has a crack in it hidden by crud but hey ho its been a productive day what with getting three pieces now running perfectly since demagging, tomorrow I intend to replace the second shaft on my Vostok Olympic and I can button that up and start wearing it as its a gawjus looking watch


----------



## mightymiloquinn

Pulled a quick trigger on this guy just now...








Looking forward to seeing the dial in person.


----------



## Lucidor

haha said:


> Congrats, it's a beauty. One of the few still on my list.
> I wouldn't call it an Atom though...


Why not? To me a Raketa Atom is a 2609 based dress watch with indecis indicated by discrete geometrical lines. The three arcs are perhaps the most iconic design, but there are other variations as well.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Lucidor said:


> Why not? To me a Raketa Atom is a 2609 based dress watch with indecis indicated by discrete geometrical lines. The three arcs are perhaps the most iconic design, but there are other variations as well.


The arcs kinda look like someone didn't drill out the windows for the perpetual calendar lol Still a very stylish piece and I have yet to get some Raketa's, them and Zim's are the only two brand in the lower echelons I haven't acquired yet. (I keep getting distracted by wandering Slava and migrating Poljot with the odd Chaika in the mix hehe)


----------



## haha

Lucidor said:


> Why not? To me a Raketa Atom is a 2609 based dress watch with indecis indicated by discrete geometrical lines. The three arcs are perhaps the most iconic design, but there are other variations as well.


Raketa used around 4 or 5 (2 2209 including yours and 2 or 3 2609 ) designs based on these thin lines and geometrical forms that certainly form a "family", but only one of them reminds (and not even that much according to me) an atom.
Anyway, these are unofficial names used by people to designate a certain -type of- watch, so it can change with time and sensibilities, and the most important is that we understand what we talk about...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Some seem to refer to dimensions, some seem to refer to a count of jewels and a dimension, it is a confusing time when you see 2209 I think of Vostok, 2628 I think of Slava.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, I put my hands up... I bought a Limit Emergency watch as became immensely intrigued in these emergency watches and what they do, mine cost £6 as didn't have enough for the £3000 Breitling emergency hehe

Bit miffed as I have lost my other AU10 square Sekonda, the one that is immaculate but not working and I have hunted high and low for the bally thing so a bit grumpy about that as that had its original never worn rolled gold expander on it too /cry

Have decided I will keep my Slava auto as is as a chap I speak to about Slava's via ebay and email said to me the ornate "clock" hands were awful and is going to sort me a set of simple black ones thinking unlikely the shafts themselves are damaged by the cheap pot metal hands.

Trying to work out how to get into my black Sekonda type 39, its one of them where the caseback attaches to the movement and doesn't want to come free...


----------



## Wazowie

Got one watch from my top 3 list, no so sure about the originality of the watch though, maybe someone can give it
a quick check.


----------



## Odessa200

Wazowie said:


> View attachment 15245413
> 
> View attachment 15245415
> 
> 
> Got one watch from my top 3 list, no so sure about the originality of the watch though, maybe someone can give it
> a quick check.


Unfortunately it has a wrong movement. Should be HP. Other than that it is Ok. 
Sorry but you had asked for it.


----------



## OCSleeper

First I'd like to apologize for the quality of these photos. They were all taken by the sellers. Too many items have caught my eye recently, and I'm afraid it's time to delete all my shopping apps, haha. 
I'm in the process of transitioning my collection into a display (pics coming in the next few weeks) and apparently I think I need to fill the display sooner than later.
























BELOW- Does anyone happen to know what watch/company this bracelet came on? Before today I hadn't seen it and decided it would be nice to keep on hand.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> First I'd like to apologize for the quality of these photos. They were all taken by the sellers. Too many items have caught my eye recently, and I'm afraid it's time to delete all my shopping apps, haha.
> I'm in the process of transitioning my collection into a display (pics coming in the next few weeks) and apparently I think I need to fill the display sooner than later.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BELOW- Does anyone happen to know what watch/company this bracelet came on? Before today I hadn't seen it and decided it would be nice to keep on hand.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


As far as I know, this is a general soviet Bracelet with the propaganda theme. Made by some factory that was producing various common goods (lock, combs, shoe horns, etc).


----------



## OCSleeper

Odessa200 said:


> As far as I know, this is a general soviet Bracelet with the propaganda theme. Made by some factory that was producing various common goods (lock, combs, shoe horns, etc).


Thank you Odessa200. That will make it easier for me to pair it up with any of my propaganda pieces I choose to in the future.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

I do like that bracelet, have a few Leningrad anniversary arm shavers but not seen many so far and most my watches come in missing bracelets and straps anyway.

Have got my Luch out ready to see if I can turn its clasp round or more likely somehow get the pins out of the lugs, the tang of the clasp is on the left and it is irritating as hell and catches on pockets and I am going to end up with a decked watch or like one scary moment, down the toilet


----------



## Wazowie

Odessa200 said:


> Unfortunately it has a wrong movement. Should be HP. Other than that it is Ok.
> Sorry but you had asked for it.











would this be the correct movement?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I do like that bracelet, have a few Leningrad anniversary arm shavers but not seen many so far and most my watches come in missing bracelets and straps anyway.
> 
> Have got my Luch out ready to see if I can turn its clasp round or more likely somehow get the pins out of the lugs, the tang of the clasp is on the left and it is irritating as hell and catches on pockets and I am going to end up with a decked watch or like one scary moment, down the toilet


Had that on my TiN Luch, not a hard job to turn it around.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ordered the dial I was interested in - as the seller had knocked $10 off the price - be rude not tob-):-d







Just got to wait for the Russian Post now (even more!):-d


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Ordered the dial I was interested in - as the seller had knocked $10 off the price - be rude not tob-):-d
> View attachment 15247135
> 
> Just got to wait for the Russian Post now (even more!):-d


Looking forward to the build m8  I am struggling with a weird Poljot Sekonda, saw the balance wanted to move then discovered the balance arm shim embedded into the movement ring holder... so got it back in, now ticking lovely but the keyless works is a bit strange, the hands are moving out of sync and its jumping between time setting and wind but at least the clockwork is going now 

My Poljot quartz turned up today, its a 3056 in pristine condition movement side, slapped a new battery in it and it ran for about 30 seconds then stopped, the frustrating thing too is the 3056 is completely different to the 3050 and the 3056A aaargh My 3050 every thing is working except the main drive wheel I thought the pivot was snapped off but measuring it against the 3056's pivot lengths, its not broken but it just won't engage into the jewel hole, unlikely its a bent bridge as that is a solid slug of metal so all that is holding up the 3050 is to get that drive wheel to engage with the top jewel :S

I guess I am gonna have to pick up some more broken quartz to amass a working parts base as I want to build up my pepsi bullseye slava which is a 56A but don't want to plunder my other 56A which is in perfect visual conditon but nothing getting to the stepper so need to have the circuit board off again to pull off the caps and resistor once again to see if I missed anything. I am thinking the chip is the bad boy here and I have super continuity on all parts of the circuit board, the coil energises quite lively, doubtful if I will find a NOS chip anytime soon...

With the pepsi I have toyed with the idea if I can somehow wangle a Miyota 2115 in there, after all its really affixing the movement and having the right length stem I can see mechanical wise, its whether the hands would fit but just remembered I bought a few sets of blue and red 2115 hands for my Safari so maybe I will franken the old beast up yet


----------



## Straight_time

RedFroggy said:


> It does looks like this model was sold with an intended specific strap, in the same fashion as the Italian Raketa, Poljot or Vostock or the German "Royal Trade" KGB Vostok were.
> From the Russian forum, this model is rarely encountered domestically, whereas quite a few have surfaced in France & yours was close by in the UK .
> Also the dial is not marked Заказ мо СССР, but Сделано в СССР indicating a general release.
> 
> IMO that re-enforces the gut feeling that the Serjantskie might have well been one of those small export contract ?


I have seen quite a few of them now, don't recall two examples being fitted with the same strap; most likely they were mainly sold without it, but if I had to make an educated guess about a possible factory original first equipment I would think of a plain black leather strap as seen on its twin 291233 model in the 1990 Tento catalog. Photo isn't super clear but apparently there's no CCCP embossed on it.

I am also skeptical about Serjantskies having been made specifically for export, agree they are not common but it's not impossible to find them in Russia, too... just yesterday an example was sold on Meshok, and not too long ago on the same site there was an ad for 3 or 4 NOS spare dials. 
IMHO given the production period the presence of the Заказ мо СССР isn't a conclusive proof: tons of Komandirskies exported to Italy at the peak of the Soviet-style hype had that marking.


----------



## Odessa200

Wazowie said:


> Odessa200 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately it has a wrong movement. Should be HP. Other than that it is Ok.
> Sorry but you had asked for it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 15246839
> 
> 
> would this be the correct movement?
Click to expand...

No. Type-wise, yes, this is the right one. But these watches were made in the late 70s and early 80s and I believe an old style movement with bevels should be used. Similar to what you watch has. So you need a beveled HP.


----------



## Straight_time

haha said:


> Congrats, it's a beauty. One of the few still on my list.
> I wouldn't call it an Atom though...





Lucidor said:


> Why not? To me a Raketa Atom is a 2609 based dress watch with indecis indicated by discrete geometrical lines. The three arcs are perhaps the most iconic design, but there are other variations as well.





haha said:


> Raketa used around 4 or 5 (2 2209 including yours and 2 or 3 2609 ) designs based on these thin lines and geometrical forms that certainly form a "family", but only one of them reminds (and not even that much according to me) an atom.
> Anyway, these are unofficial names used by people to designate a certain -type of- watch, so it can change with time and sensibilities, and the most important is that we understand what we talk about...


Vintage models didn't have names back then, but no doubt the factory had a clear idea of which dial take as inspiration for their _officially-designed_ modern "Atom" watch. ;-)

















_(source)_


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheeky little £6.50 Slava movement ftw, local chap too









I see the Indian's are back with a vengeance my feeds are full of "similar to what you looked at" so... looking at a Vostok means I want to buy a poorly done Citizen, prices gone up with a vengeance too (no more free post on many and £10 a post is a bit of robbery going on there too) and for some reason I keep getting Rado Diastar's offered at £59 and its rotten as I do want a Diastar but I ain't buying any more Indian watches, although my 7009 is running fine I had to bodge a movement holder which had snapped and I can imagine the Diastar's being painted in a gold colour, some poor peasant family moved inside to power the works and the bracelet made out of a mixture of iron filings, cow manure and gold paint lol

I will say the Citizen I bought originally has been absolutely perfect, the very very unusual "letterbox" case Orient Tri-star is another thing altogether and an abject mess, a shame as it is such a lovely case.


----------



## Bsw_sc

Got this in the mail today along with the coin. I have no clue what the coin is but it was in with my package. Anyone know how to read Russian?? Got the watch from an online selling app so technically it’s used but it appears unworn and was in the original box.


----------



## Avidfan

Bsw_sc said:


> Got this in the mail today along with the coin. I have no clue what the coin is but it was in with my package. Anyone know how to read Russian?? Got the watch from an online selling app so technically it's used but it appears unworn and was in the original box.


Your watch is a Komandirskie 211289 which is current manufacture, the coin is a 25 Rouble coin commemorating the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics...


----------



## Lucidor

I have joined the *Pink Slava Club*! Now where do I find a pink strap to go with it?


----------



## mariomart

Lucidor said:


> I have joined the *Pink Slava Club*! Now where do I find a pink strap to go with it?


Try here

https://www.cheapestnatostraps.com/search?q=pink&type=product


----------



## Straight_time

In my experience it's rather difficult to find a suitable pink strap to highlight the fashion look of the watch, if it doesn't perfectly match the nuance the outcome could be quite unsatisfactory... may I suggest you to also consider the digits and think about a light grey strap?


----------



## stevarad

This mighty watch today...










Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## mariomart

stevarad said:


> This mighty watch today...
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Get a room you two ....


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Get a room you two ....


We were in room alo e...whole night...

Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Lucidor

Straight_time said:


> In my experience it's rather difficult to find a suitable pink strap to highlight the fashion look of the watch, if it doesn't perfectly match the nuance the outcome could be quite unsatisfactory... may I suggest you to also consider the digits and think about a light grey strap?
> 
> View attachment 15249443


That is a rather excellent idea!


----------



## Dodgydruid

stevarad said:


> We were in room alo e...whole night...
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Oooo well it least its well wound???


----------



## Odessa200

Straight_time said:


> In my experience it's rather difficult to find a suitable pink strap to highlight the fashion look of the watch, if it doesn't perfectly match the nuance the outcome could be quite unsatisfactory... may I suggest you to also consider the digits and think about a light grey strap?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 15249443


I went for a bracelet.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo its gone all purdy...


----------



## Dodgydruid

My Sportivnie arrived today and its such a shame as its flawless other than the dial being absolutely destroyed...

Went to put the stem into the Gagarin and it wouldn't go... so after finagling it all about I managed with some contortionism to get the USB scope looking right into the movement and the old stem is still in there arrgh and its just over the case lip so I can't drop the movement out /cry

I will admit this, another faux pas buying, I managed to find just about the ONLY Dr Martens limited edition Sekonda with the highly polished SS racing bracelet and the case being a subbie-a-like, I don't care, don't judge me for liking it, yes I know its a crappy Miyota 2115 in there but being an old skinhead/scooterboy who never grew up its like a kebab to a pis... person who drinks a lot 










Another result though, the very old Sekonda below, I had the back off and after a bit of scouring with the rodico in the visible jewels except those under the balance, I got quite some nasty build up from out them holes and a judicial dab with the ol' superfine oiler in the bits I could get at, a bit on the click, winding mech and a dab on the stem to give that a fighting chance and it started going for longer and longer until it made its first full minute under its own steam. So I thought just wear it for a bit see if the heat helps it out and now its up and running, keeping very good time so its back from the dead at least but prob does need an urgent service but at least I know it works 










So thought to give a catch up on one fine piece at least, I must admit to wearing my Alba a bit but today its my grilled Amphibia as surprisingly that is the one that gathers most comments from strangers and all are surprised its a humble Russian divers watch...


----------



## Dondo

Welcome in a new designed world of russian watches!!!!! Quite nice! So my E-bay arrival of last week!! Enjoy your week, best regards Dondo!


----------



## mightymiloquinn

A couple of purchases from this weekend...


----------



## Dodgydruid

mightymiloquinn said:


> A couple of purchases from this weekend...
> View attachment 15323862
> View attachment 15323863


My only Pobeda is the same top one you have, it came on a very unusual tooled cuff strap and it works for about 15 mins but is so frail its been left alone as its just too fragile for my clumsy hands, yours looks to be quite an old beauty in far better condition than mine


----------



## mightymiloquinn

Dodgydruid said:


> My only Pobeda is the same top one you have, it came on a very unusual tooled cuff strap and it works for about 15 mins but is so frail its been left alone as its just too fragile for my clumsy hands, yours looks to be quite an old beauty in far better condition than mine


I came across it looking for something else entirely, but I thought it was pretty striking. The movement looks to be in good shape, but, of course I won't be able to tell for sure until it arrives. Now I just have to wait for who knows how long (coming from Ukraine). Can't wait to see it in person.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ukraine post seems to be the slowest from those parts of the world, I had to write a very dirty email to the postmaster and they all arrived one week from the email.


----------



## Ligavesh

So I bought this old Vostok on ebay - I actually tend to avoid used watches on account of bad experiences, but this one caught my eye from the moment I saw it...










Obviously, the crystal needs changing - for the more knowledgeable guys around, if I were to change it myself, is the glass the normal Komandirskie glass you can find on ebay? It looks lower and thinner than the Amphibia's, here a couple more pics:


----------



## Dodgydruid

I'm not sure, side on it looks very much a standard Komandirskie crystal and on the full face that gap there looks like the gap a tension ring would have sat in between dial and case, is the crystal actually damaged e.g. cracked? If not then polywatch or other acrylic crystal compound would have that looking like brand new fairly quickly.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Seems to be my night hehe New Sekonda Xpose with union jack dial for £4, a baggie of old Swiss movements complete with dials and hands on each for a few quid and a complete PhotoKraft camera, flash and other accessories for 99p I know its all old hat regarding 35mm film but I still stand by film always looks better than pixels any day of the week and once upon a time I used to be able to process my own films as taught to me by them naughty rascally secret squirrels which we all signed up for as it was better than square bashing or being shouted at by the sergeants and the Sgt Instructor was a gawjus Womens Army Corp whom we all had a thing for til we found out she was married...


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have my eyes ebay wise on a nice AU10 Zaria and a set of them faceted glass Luch's and another Luch which I suspect is the same under the skin as my Sekonda type 39.


----------



## Dondo

Good Mornin Komrades,

the parcel from Russia has arrived! Again a Twin-Twin situation for my collection, enjoy the sunny Tuesday, greetings from the







smiling Dondo!!


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I'm not sure, side on it looks very much a standard Komandirskie crystal and on the full face that gap there looks like the gap a tension ring would have sat in between dial and case, is the crystal actually damaged e.g. cracked? If not then polywatch or other acrylic crystal compound would have that looking like brand new fairly quickly.


Thanks for the answer - I actually don't have the watch, it hasn't arrived yet; when it comes I'll try to make some better pictures and post them here.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dondo said:


> Good Mornin Komrades,
> 
> the parcel from Russia has arrived! Again a Twin-Twin situation for my collection, enjoy the sunny Tuesday, greetings from the
> View attachment 15325254
> smiling Dondo!!


So I'm not the only one who can't decide on the color of the watch, I have two Neptunes on the way


----------



## Dodgydruid

I love the pragmatism of the Russian's, I ordered a 2409 movement and it arrived in the shell of a Komandirskie Cadet lol More spares for me yay

The dodgy Omega also arrived today and sat there owning my issue that one should not go on Aliexpress when stonking drunk, its not unpleasant but not quite the same as the one ordered e.g. a date window which I didn't want but therein lies a lesson.

On the other hand the Dr Marten's watch turned up and it was like fitted for my wrist, the dial is holographic with the Dr Marten imprint picked out by the hologram, yellow hands to remind of the yellow stitching and a nice pepsi bezel. The stainless steel 1970's rally or racing bracelet is awesome and a welcome addition to my collection.

As for the Cadet, sadly its tender insides are destined for a loftier purpose, to power my Radio Room build so out on the cushion it will go, its sacrifice not forgotten... (a mins silence here will be held...)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Not Russian, but it will be my grandsons first watch - he'll be 4 in August so a cheapy for him to get started (don't know what's hiding behind the back, other than it's a quartz movement - probably cheapy Chinese). Does make me think of a 110 case though.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Nothing wrong with that m8  When he's old enough you can pick up a Komandirskie Cadet as an introduction to a real mans watch that would serve him til adulthood and knowing there is a watch that will take enormous punishment too.

I fixed up a Flik Flak eta powered Swatch for my granddaughter and when she's older I have a very nice Sekonda quartz divers watch like a ladies subbie with a working bezel etc and when she's grown up I have a proper USSR ladies Sekonda for her as something special.


----------



## Ligavesh

Woohoo, it pays to check your emails when you're on a waiting list:










Got a couple of date wheels that I need for my project on the side. I actually said to myself no more watches  ,I wanted just to build a few on my own - but when I got the notification that the bronze 1967 was available... well, that's why God invented credit cards, I guess


----------



## mightymiloquinn

And yet another new friend on its way...


----------



## Ligavesh

Vostok cal. 2234 with a hacking second - didn't even know there were any










...and another Vostok, golden one this time:










I really need to stop going on ebay, I hope this is the end of my shopping spree - with me getting that last bronze 1967 on meranom that's way too much money... From now on just buying parts for my assembly-projects! The only thing that comforts me about these buys is that I could pretty easily sell these again if I wanted - I recently easily sold an old Volna which was aesthetically in much worse condition - these are mint compared to that one...


----------



## fla

Ligavesh said:


> Vostok cal. 2234 with a hacking second - didn't even know there were any
> 
> View attachment 15331762
> 
> 
> The case of this Vostok was a compass in the previous life.


----------



## Ligavesh

Yeah, I figured it was some franken thing...tbh I instantly regretted that I didn't get this one with the beautiful bezel instead:










Ah well, at least my franken-compass is unique, the case looks also clean; I might play around with it, add some lume, maybe change the hands. You could also use it as a compass watch still, I guess - just use the method of pointing it to the sun, than compensate for the difference in degrees...


----------



## fla

Ligavesh said:


> Yeah, I figured it was some franken thing...tbh I instantly regretted that I didn't get this one with the beautiful bezel instead:
> 
> Ah well, at least my franken-compass is unique, the case looks also clean; I might play around with it, add some lume, maybe change the hands. You could also use it as a compass watch still, I guess - just use the method of pointing it to the sun, than compensate for the difference in degrees...


Vostok is an exception from the rule, therefore, it could be consider as a mod, not a franken watch, and this compass case is relatively rare.


----------



## Ligavesh

fla said:


> Vostok is an exception from the rule, therefore, it could be consider as a mod, not a franken watch, and this compass case is relatively rare.


Oh, didn't know about the compass case, thanks. I am actually debating on replacing the dial with any of these that I got from ebay:




























well, probably not the third one, but maybe the first or the second if they fit.


----------



## fla

Ligavesh said:


> Oh, didn't know about the compass case, thanks. I am actually debating on replacing the dial with any of these that I got from ebay:
> 
> View attachment 15334250
> 
> 
> View attachment 15334260
> 
> 
> View attachment 15334269
> 
> 
> well, probably not the third one, but maybe the first or the second if they fit.


If am not mistaken, all of them are for 24XX caliber, whereas you need a dial for a 22XX one. The distance between dial's feet is not the same.


----------



## Ligavesh

fla said:


> If am not mistaken, all of them are for 24XX caliber, whereas you need a dial for a 22XX one. The distance between dial's feet is not the same.


Would just the size be a problem? Cause the feet I could just cut off and attach the dial with adhesive strips.


----------



## fla

Ligavesh said:


> Would just the size be a problem? Cause the feet I could just cut off and attach the dial with adhesive strips.


I never do it, but it's your call.


----------



## Ligavesh

fla said:


> I never do it, but it's your call.


Sorry to bother you, but maybe you'd know - I found some dials for a 2214, but it gives me two sizes in diameter to choose from: 27.8mm and 29.6mm. Would you know what size would fit, or is it something you can't tell and you'd have to measure it (when the watch arrives). Would both sizes fit?


----------



## mightymiloquinn

This weekend's damage: a couple very 80s dials...


----------



## Ligavesh

Haha, weekend damage, nicely put - I comfort myself thinking I didn't go out the whole time anyway, didn't spend on anything other than this "Pobeda" with a pretty cool dial:


























I normally wouldn't buy a watch with so many scratches and marks on the case, but the dial really did it for me.


----------



## fla

Ligavesh said:


> Sorry to bother you, but maybe you'd know - I found some dials for a 2214, but it gives me two sizes in diameter to choose from: 27.8mm and 29.6mm. Would you know what size would fit, or is it something you can't tell and you'd have to measure it (when the watch arrives). Would both sizes fit?
> 
> View attachment 15334564


## 1, 2, 6 and 12 seems to be taken from the same type of cases as the case of your "former compass". But of course, it would be a good idea to measure your dial to be confident before purchasing of a replacement.


----------



## Ligavesh

fla said:


> ## 1, 2, 6 and 12 seems to be taken from the same type of cases as the case of your "former compass". But of course, it would be a good idea to measure your dial to be confident before purchasing of a replacement.


Eh, I might leave it like that - my biggest issue is the lack of minute markings (the original color with the markings from the dial probably polished away?)... Maybe I could apply markings very carefuly myself with lume or with a liquid chrome marker - it would be tough to get it right, though.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Haha, weekend damage, nicely put - I comfort myself thinking I didn't go out the whole time anyway, didn't spend on anything other than this "Pobeda" with a pretty cool dial:
> 
> View attachment 15334651
> 
> View attachment 15334653
> 
> View attachment 15334654
> 
> 
> I normally wouldn't buy a watch with so many scratches and marks on the case, but the dial really did it for me.


Oh man, that is a sweet sweet textured dial wow


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Vostok cal. 2234 with a hacking second - didn't even know there were any
> 
> View attachment 15331762
> 
> 
> ...and another Vostok, golden one this time:
> 
> View attachment 15331764
> 
> 
> I really need to stop going on ebay, I hope this is the end of my shopping spree - with me getting that last bronze 1967 on meranom that's way too much money... From now on just buying parts for my assembly-projects! The only thing that comforts me about these buys is that I could pretty easily sell these again if I wanted - I recently easily sold an old Volna which was aesthetically in much worse condition - these are mint compared to that one...


Both gawjus looking, I must admit to liking the top one very much.

I didn't know the 2234's hacked, so used to the non hacking of the others that I was looking suspiciously at them thinking there was something wrong lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Been very quiet in the watchbuying department of late, got my homebuilt radio room dialled perfectly in losing just a few secs on the last 24hr monitoring and its working so beautifully now.

Only thing I have bought was an incredibly cheap Invicta gold subbie, needs a bit of a clean but I saw it and was like pow... OK its not the Bolt II Zeus Magnum I have in my grails list but another diver watch added to the collection. (I am actually looking at selling my Komandirskie/non Amphibia Vostok's to finance a Bolt II Zeus Magnum, which is just about the sickest looking blingorama watch I have seen and about as stylish as 1970's open top shirts and medallions but I really love the sheer kapow of it)

Am paying attention now to some of my accrued not working lot, I found a beautiful Wostok silver sunburst amphibia dial and want to get that cleaned up, then into my last 090 or might de-date a good 2414 I got here and put it into my refurbished round Amphibia case as I have one full set left of Amphibia hands reminding me to get some more from Komandirskie.com.

Have wondered if Amphibia 2416 hands are same as Miyota 8215 hands in size, if the 2416 hands are the same size then as the 2409/2414A hands as that does open up possibility for some real cool modding.

I may well be going for a 710 as my big "hit" for the month but to be honest my radio room 090 kinda hits all the boxes Vostok wise for me, or maybe I could buy the bits to do a custom 710 auto but with the dial I want. The alternative to the 710 is something called a Bliger, automatic, black with lume orange everywhere and a ceramic bezel... or I do have saved in my lists a monster tuna "homage" and a paddle hands 090...so many things to drool over...


----------



## mariomart

I haven't posted in a while, but here are my mostly major purchases over the past 3 months, sadly only 2 Vostoks amongst them.

I ended up buying both Bulova Lunar Pilots as I really liked the stainless steel band version, but then I tried to just buy the carbon strap and NASA Velcro strap separately, but it cost the same to buy the entire set than it was just for the straps, go figure.

And I fell in love with the Seagull 1963 ST19 chronograph.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just invested in a set of cheapie high wall press dies for my Gagarin which is working beautifully, so looking forward to putting some wrist time on that one, umming and ahhing whether to snag another Eaglemoss display case as its getting a bit crowded again lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Mario, isn't there a NASA Pulsar V600? I have become quite interested in this particular watch due to its quite amazing design and seen a couple people reference a NASA V600 but can't find any meat to that assertion.


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> Mario, isn't there a NASA Pulsar V600? I have become quite interested in this particular watch due to its quite amazing design and seen a couple people reference a NASA V600 but can't find any meat to that assertion.


No idea. However I really wanted a true Moon watch (one that has actually been on the surface of the moon) and I couldn't afford an Omega Speedmaster, so the second watch used on the moon will have to do


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe I got an Eaglemoss Speedmaster-ish chrono and a Gagarin which is about as close as I get lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, I put me hands up, I hit on a Chaika redeye as it came up at a very good price...










Apparently serviced and will say I have bought from seller before and been good as I got my Poljot tv from him on the awesome boilerplate bracelet which is abs flawless timekeeping wise.


----------



## haha

Just received this incredibly beautiful Kama.
It's probably impossible that the lume is original, but never mind, it's really well done.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yay my brutal super heavy Slava tank arrived today, sadly with a bit of a crack in the crystal which wasn't in the seller pics so obv been used as a football between Moldova and the UK.

Wow what a serious piece of wristwear...

Haven't owned one of these before, its an auto but when I try to put some wind on the spring, it kinda auto-slips so have charged it with some vigorous wrist manipulations and its holding quite nice time, haven't set the date as yet as wanted to test its timekeeping but seems to have escaped any magnetisms


----------



## Wazowie

Rocking this baby currently, it kinda reminds me of a baby vostok compressor somehow, maybe the 80's looking vibe?


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> Just invested in a set of cheapie high wall press dies for my Gagarin which is working beautifully, so looking forward to putting some wrist time on that one, umming and ahhing whether to snag another Eaglemoss display case as its getting a bit crowded again lol


 Whereabouts do you live as I've a new eaglemoss case that you could have if local


----------



## Dodgydruid

Kotsov said:


> Whereabouts do you live as I've a new eaglemoss case that you could have if local


I live in Dorset as it happens, known locally as the mad, somewhat sad bloke with the 3 wheel van hehe Ironically they shot one of the iconic Only Fools and Horses tv shows literally down the road so they are used to mad, sad Londoners round here 

You are very kind to offer but I already have nabbed two more. They are just so damned useful and marking them now as per my excel database so I knows where they are  Cheers for the thought


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wazowie said:


> View attachment 15339385
> View attachment 15339386
> 
> 
> Rocking this baby currently, it kinda reminds me of a baby vostok compressor somehow, maybe the 80's looking vibe?


Wow, a Sekonda in my favourite setup with the black and mint green lumies  And an alarm one too... So far in this theme I have a Poljot TV with the mint green going on, a Poljot 3056 quartz in the black and mint and another squared Sekonda in the same "livery" and it just ticks my boxes with the 3133 chrono, Sekonda branded is my ultimate grail for my collection... in the black and mint green of course.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Well for good or bad I bought it, the Bliger "tango", seller knocked price down to 50 quid which was my monthly set budget for something a bit tasty and this broad arrow sterile with the Omega like hands was just too much as I was just on the point of ordering a Ben Nevis "Tuna" Seiko homage and pow it was like cya fake Seiko, hello lume orange watch hehe... the strap is going on to my fake Planet Ocean as I have a very nice black and orange silicone coming for the Bliger.

Apparently there are two flavours, a DG movement and a Miyota movement, seller assured me mine would be a Miyota auto as I have no clue what a DG is 

The Orac arrived today and seller didn't quite convey just how blooming big this watch is, 49mm on the square, nice billet canteen crown, very nice lume on dial and hands and the strap is 3.5mm thick hide, no sandwiches on this monster except the only fault is the actual fold over bit that holds the buckle had delaminated, so mixed up some gorilla 5 min epoxy, coated both sides with a generous spread, closed it up and is now in a swivel clamp to hold it til it cures.

Demagnetised the Slava tank, my Poljot Olympic volcano (again) and my second Poljot TV, the TV responded first go and is now holding beautiful time again and the discordance in the sound of the movement is much much sweeter. The volcano I am going to have to regulate, easy job and just seeing how the Slava responds as it was gaining a min or so over couple hours so not too bad.

I put up a review for the Slava tank on my youtube channel last night (link in signature)


----------



## Dodgydruid

On the Orac, dug out my hand riveting kit and gonna drill two small holes through fixed keeper loop and strap and rivet the whole thing in place as the strap end will cover the rivets. Oh and snagged another 3056 quartz for spares or more likely I will just keep it as its a clean Chaika and be a shame to break it up I am thinking.


----------



## OCSleeper

These two arrived today. The Raketa was love at first sight and I was extremely fortunate to get it for the price and condition it's in. 
Now the Rodina is one of those that I felt I needed to add to my collection at some point but with no sense of urgency to do so. The "crab" cases have caught my eye but the combination with this dial was the nudge I needed, along with the seller offering it at almost half the price as the listing. It appears the second hand is not original but for the cost I was willing to accept that.

































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

I had said I wasn't buying any more 090's but I snagged this one from my usual seller despite it seeming to have lume painted on the markers, it is a paddle hand.


----------



## haha

OCSleeper said:


> These two arrived today. The Raketa was love at first sight and I was extremely fortunate to get it for the price and condition it's in.
> Now the Rodina is one of those that I felt I needed to add to my collection at some point but with no sense of urgency to do so. The "crab" cases have caught my eye but the combination with this dial was the nudge I needed, along with the seller offering it at almost half the price as the listing. It appears the second hand is not original but for the cost I was willing to accept that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nice watches. 
Unfortunately the minute and hour hands of the Raketa are incorrect.
If the watch was sold as authentic and genuine, i would try to send it back as these hands are probably the main interesting feature of the watch in their "relationship" with the indexes.
Here is mine for example


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh wow that second picture is gawjus... adding to my grail list as I type 

Thing is, he has 90% already and wouldn't it be easier to just source the correct hands or similar and make it proper with a quick visit to the watchsmith or DIY? The second hand at least is original and I suspect that is the hard one to find.


----------



## Bsw_sc

Received this alarm clock. I keep it on my desk at work, it has very loud ticks which I absolutely love, reminds me of an old wind up alarm clock my grandma had when I was a kid and I'd take the best naps listening to it! My wife however, does NOT like the ticking sound which is why it has found a home on my desk instead of my nightstand...


----------



## Avidfan

Dodgydruid said:


> I had said I wasn't buying any more 090's but I snagged this one from my usual seller despite it seeming to have lume painted on the markers, it is a paddle hand


You've not bought another 090, it's an export 1190728 with the correct paddle hands and it should have lume on the markers...


----------



## haha

Dodgydruid said:


> Oh wow that second picture is gawjus... adding to my grail list as I type
> 
> Thing is, he has 90% already and wouldn't it be easier to just source the correct hands or similar and make it proper with a quick visit to the watchsmith or DIY? The second hand at least is original and I suspect that is the hard one to find.


If i'm not mistaken, the only model sharing these hands is the Amphibia, both quartz and mechanical. so they're rather hard to get. Also the interest of this watch is to have the lume of the hands matching the lume of the dial. Depending on the description in the listing, he could get a refund and look for a better piece. That's my opinion, at least....


----------



## OCSleeper

haha said:


> If i'm not mistaken, the only model sharing these hands is the Amphibia, both quartz and mechanical. so they're rather hard to get. Also the interest of this watch is to have the lume of the hands matching the lume of the dial. Depending on the description in the listing, he could get a refund and look for a better piece. That's my opinion, at least....


Surprisingly, I did miss the hands in the Raketa haha, but the watch was never sold as original and I picked it up from a seller here in the US who doesn't typically sell watches, a one off. In my opinion I paid pennies for it and with the condition of the case and dial wouldn't pay the 4x higher asking price for one with the correct hour and minute hands.
But I do thank you for pointing this detail out as it allows me to send my brother in law in Russia on a mission to source the correct hands 
As Dodgydruid mentioned a DIY, it does appear there is enough material to "correct" the ends of the hands. Overall the watch is a nice looker and it'll still look good in its display where it will spend most of my years at least.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## OCSleeper

Bsw_sc said:


> Received this alarm clock. I keep it on my desk at work, it has very loud ticks which I absolutely love, reminds me of an old wind up alarm clock my grandma had when I was a kid and I'd take the best naps listening to it! My wife however, does NOT like the ticking sound which is why it has found a home on my desk instead of my nightstand...
> 
> View attachment 15341647


Funny how you mention that the wife doesn't appreciate the sound of the ticking, not the first time I've heard this on the forum when it comes to the alarm clocks.
I picked one up in Russia last summer and had it in the bedroom running and after the first night my wife had her mother stick it in the kitchen for the duration of the visit. She was hoping I would forget it and leave it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

Watch hasn't arrived yet, but I'm very excited about it, so I'll just post the ebay photo - a Polet that supposedly was just sitting in a collection, never worn, I was the only one who bid for it  Very interesting look.


----------



## Ligavesh

Also came, not a watch, but a shiny big boi for a build I'm planning , it won't be my last


----------



## Dodgydruid

Avidfan said:


> You've not bought another 090, it's an export 1190728 with the correct paddle hands and it should have lume on the markers...


Oh well that is cool then, I have ummed and ahhed about it for months but other ones got in the way and thought I quite liked the paddles, all these case types that confuse me, cheers m8 I am in a chat with one of these peeps who do a case/dial/hands/shield "kit" wanting to change the scuba dude in the 710 set I liked.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, I have heard this is a good brand and this is a brand new piece too, not Russian but a seriously cheap price (go on, tell me its a cheap nasty brand hehe) It popped up in my saved search for canteen crown watches and I am thinking that is quite a nice manly sort of watch.










And that is me off buying now as got bills to pay but I do have a nice barrel shaped Sekonda coming missing a crystal as well as the Bliger, the 119 (thank you Mr Avidfan) and my first Invicta (big phat gold subbie... ish but had to be done at £20 free postage lol) and a few other bits n pieces...

Upset an ebayer when I asked him if £1000 for a leather NATO was a bit steep... esp when it looked suspiciously like the $4 specials found on AliExpress and the forty thieves... some people


----------



## Bsw_sc

Got my first Amphibia for my collection in the mail today. It's a ~1992 era I do believe. Bezel is missing some red paint but other than that she's in pretty good shape. I polished out some dullness and light scratches with some polywatch (top picture is before buffing the crystal)


----------



## Dodgydruid

I would have that bezel off as it looks a bit manky on the edge between crystal and bezel and give you an opportunity to get all the accrued mangunge out. I reckon apart from the missing section, the paint will come back with a good clean and then just dab some red on the dot that is missing and it will make your KGB shine.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sooo... me not buying any more kinda turned into an instant fail when seller knocked off 5 dollars this morning... It was the one I been looking for and couldn't find in my watch list to replace my silver version which is in my naughty box as the hands are just ruined and floppier than a power binge boozer on a sunday morning lol This one has a much more interesting bezel going on there than my other one which I will put on new hands when I get round to it


----------



## Dodgydruid

Damn, forgot about this one, a Limit 1912 for a few quid... I aint complaining lol A 9 dayer too...


----------



## stsharpe

Hey guys, I'm new to the group. I have a couple Vostoks, but recently picked up this one that came with and inscription. Looks like it was given as a birthday gift back in 1988. From what my limited research has uncovered, it's Soviet era and military issue. To my understanding, the serial # gives not useful info. Anyone have any other insights/info they'd like to offer? I love the thing. Works well and you can't notice in on the pics well, but the dial patina is fantastic! Thanks


----------



## Odessa200

stsharpe said:


> Hey guys, I'm new to the group. I have a couple Vostoks, but recently picked up this one that came with and inscription. Looks like it was given as a birthday gift back in 1988. From what my limited research has uncovered, it's Soviet era and military issue. To my understanding, the serial # gives not useful info. Anyone have any other insights/info they'd like to offer? I love the thing. Works well and you can't notice in on the pics well, but the dial patina is fantastic! Thanks
> View attachment 15346662
> 
> View attachment 15346661


Welcome to the forum. You got it right. I can add that the watch has the caliber 2414A


----------



## Avidfan

stsharpe said:


> Hey guys, I'm new to the group. I have a couple Vostoks, but recently picked up this one that came with and inscription. Looks like it was given as a birthday gift back in 1988. From what my limited research has uncovered, it's Soviet era and military issue. To my understanding, the serial # gives not useful info. Anyone have any other insights/info they'd like to offer? I love the thing. Works well and you can't notice in on the pics well, but the dial patina is fantastic


You've got an early example of a 341200 which was probably sold through a Voentorg store, here's a catalogue image from around 1990...


----------



## stsharpe

Thanks for the responses. A voentorg store would have been or is the military store, correct? Based on the inscription on the back of 1988 and the 1990 catelog, are there any finer points to get a more accurate date? Or at least a range, when would this one have first been sold? Also, is there any significance to the dial designs? Would certain branches been issued or given options to buy certain designs? 

I can't tell you happy I am that it's in great working order. I wore it to work today and brought my loop. I've been peeking at close up aspects of the dial all day. LOL


----------



## Avidfan

stsharpe said:


> Thanks for the responses. A voentorg store would have been or is the military store, correct? Based on the inscription on the back of 1988 and the 1990 catelog, are there any finer points to get a more accurate date? Or at least a range, when would this one have first been sold? Also, is there any significance to the dial designs? Would certain branches been issued or given options to buy certain designs?
> 
> I can't tell you happy I am that it's in great working order. I wore it to work today and brought my loop. I've been peeking at close up aspects of the dial all day. LOL


Yes Voentorg was the military store, if you look at the reverse of your watch you will see it has the early "fat" type 34 case which from other examples I've seen was only used in 1987-1988, and that's about as good as you're going to get for an estimate of year of manufacture...

But none of these watches were issued, they were simply sold through the Voentorg system and quite naturally Soviet service personnel would want to buy a watch representing their branch of the service, unless of course they were buying the Komandirskie as a gift...


----------



## stsharpe

Do you know if this particular dial/watch is known to be one representing a particular branch of service?


----------



## Odessa200

stsharpe said:


> Do you know if this particular dial/watch is known to be one representing a particular branch of service?


You got a generic design. Fits any branch.


----------



## stsharpe

Thank you so much for the info. I really appreciate it! Knowing some of the history of it helps me enjoy the watch that much more.


----------



## Dodgydruid

"Zakas" logo'd Komandirskie's are seen as a nice little niche because of their exclusivity, there is nothing different to a standard one save the little "Zakas" writing at the bottom which highlights it was sold within the military base outlets, someone military bought it as Mr Odessa suggests for themselves as pride in the regiment or unit or say for a father, brother or put aside for a son as their first "man's" watch.

I like inscribed Vostok's, I have a 85 090 Amphibia with a kinda "from the chaps in the platoon" sort of message on back, it kinda adds a massive authenticity that this watch was used by someone in the military and encouraged massive respect for them to have it also engraved as a presentation.

Be a watch like no other out there because of that original inscription, I drew a deep dead end when trying to look into the folks on the back of my Amphibia but have to remember the Soviet military was vast and at that time was the biggest military in operation equalling easily the whole of NATO with plenty to spare so unless you hit lucky its doubtful you will find who the people are on it.

If you look on ebay and etsy, you will see very few Zakas Komandirskies, Commander's which were the military Vostok before the Komandirskie you will see most of them Zakas MO CCCP logo'd at bottom of dial but Vostok sold Amphibia's and Komandirskies to civilians at some point because the brand was perceived as a good brand to buy.


----------



## stsharpe

thanks for sharing. The inscription on back of mine was what made me jump on it. I've no idea who the guy was (I've tried to look it up), but it just adds to the romance of it all. Makes the watch seem very personal when someone has gone through the trouble of having it inscribed.


----------



## Bsw_sc

This Generalskie arrived yesterday in the mail from Russia after several weeks of waiting. It came without a bezel but I ordered an old bezel from a 80's-90's era watch which arrived a couple of weeks ago and I'd say it looks at home on the watch, they both have the weathered appearance. Unfortunately it is running very fast, gaining about 5 minutes per hour. It had a little bit of magnetism detected using Lepsi so I demagnetized but it is still running the same. I've adjusted it a tad so now I'll wait and see how much difference that made. The good news is that the setting was pretty close to center when I received it so it doesn't appear to have been messed with too much.


----------



## Bsw_sc

This one arrived in the mail yesterday too... it is running good. I've taken the back off and cleaned it up a bit but I still need to spend some time on that crystal to try to remove some of those scratches. I like the color of it better in person than what it shows in the pictures.


----------



## Don_Pedalis

Poor condition. But I really respect people who value old Soviet watches. I have a very good instance, but I'm from a military family.


----------



## Ligavesh

The "jeans" Raketa came through the mail, it seems to run perfectly, looks also in good condition, maybe I could clean the edges of the case gently with a brush, and if I'm brave - a bit of rust from a few of the indices. Otherwise, like new.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bsw_sc said:


> This one arrived in the mail yesterday too... it is running good. I've taken the back off and cleaned it up a bit but I still need to spend some time on that crystal to try to remove some of those scratches. I like the color of it better in person than what it shows in the pictures.
> 
> View attachment 15349230
> View attachment 15349231


I swear down that is a 060 made out of brass instead of SS  It is very very Vostok isn't it?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bsw_sc said:


> This Generalskie arrived yesterday in the mail from Russia after several weeks of waiting. It came without a bezel but I ordered an old bezel from a 80's-90's era watch which arrived a couple of weeks ago and I'd say it looks at home on the watch, they both have the weathered appearance. Unfortunately it is running very fast, gaining about 5 minutes per hour. It had a little bit of magnetism detected using Lepsi so I demagnetized but it is still running the same. I've adjusted it a tad so now I'll wait and see how much difference that made. The good news is that the setting was pretty close to center when I received it so it doesn't appear to have been messed with too much.
> 
> View attachment 15349207
> View attachment 15349208
> View attachment 15349209


It is such a shame the paint on them Generalskie's just weren't up to par, the red seems to suffer equally as badly as the laurel leaves and the gold detailing is very hard to pick out from the dial colour as well, a shame as I think the TiN star is just about the most unusual case well anywhere lol My chrome star with the old whatitsname aircraft carrier on, the dial on that is perfect.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I hang my head in shame... I bought another 'un... Slava quartz tank, allegedly working... right ol' boiler of a piece and think I paid £16 inc P&P which is not bad at all... but that is me off and have surrendered me bank card to child...


----------



## Jake_P

Dodgy - just HOW many watches do you now have?! Is it a collection that would make Mariomart's look like just a "handful" ?!😛


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Jake_P said:


> Dodgy - just HOW many watches do you now have?! Is it a collection that would make Mariomart's look like just a "handful" ?!😛


Thought that he was going to try and collect the whole of the USSRs production (then start on post Soviet)   
At least he's now given the rest of us a chance!


----------



## Jake_P

Ha, yeah..sounds like there's been an intervention though in the Dodgy household  Or possibly a self initiated credit card lock down..Wish I'd done it myself a while ago after adding up all the various parts, tools and watches over the years..(sharp intake of breath).


----------



## Bsw_sc

Dodgydruid said:


> I swear down that is a 060 made out of brass instead of SS  It is very very Vostok isn't it?


Yes, I like it. Mostly because it's a little unusual


----------



## Bsw_sc

Dodgydruid said:


> It is such a shame the paint on them Generalskie's just weren't up to par, the red seems to suffer equally as badly as the laurel leaves and the gold detailing is very hard to pick out from the dial colour as well, a shame as I think the TiN star is just about the most unusual case well anywhere lol My chrome star with the old whatitsname aircraft carrier on, the dial on that is perfect.


I kind of like the faded dial paint on this one though, it matches the wear and tear of the case in my opinion.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Thought that he was going to try and collect the whole of the USSRs production (then start on post Soviet)
> At least he's now given the rest of us a chance!


I think I am at the 100 mark but Mario is well well ahead of me lol I have ebay trussed up like a kipper on my saved searches and these little gems fall into place and I throw in sometimes very cheeky bids cos you never know and this working quartz was one of 'em 

I do plan to lay 'em all out at some point and also do a vid for me channel, I am fleshing out the corners so to speak, wanting still a big blue Chaika and a gold Stadium then that will be pretty much it for Chaika, I think I only need three Amphibia case types and of course that last Komandirskie case type for my Vostok's, only got one Luch, couple of Pobeda and one Zim, got a fair few Mockba 80 pieces in good order and several needing repair but the only real exotic is the Gagarin and lacking as yet any 3133's etc

Yes, I surrendered my card today as I want to start to get to grips with the "to do" projects, I have amongst all this 20+ Sekonda post Russia quartz's and some Eaglemoss, three Oskar-Emil's, about 7 Seiko/Seiko powered and some Avia, dunno why but I hit this at the right time as the prices are soaring right now, working on Harold Kelly's watch repair course at mo in the hope I can really take apart, clean and service just about anything and get competent enough to scribe my own mark inside the caseback. I sat there last nite working out on paper and calculator the various formula he uses to determine the best performance of a balance wheel, which was how they used to set the beat in the days before timegraphers using complex maths formula.

I am still very much a noob, I didn't know of the existance of the 119 type Amphibia and got mine by accident due to my noobness... I thought it was a 090 but can see it now being a shorter, more squat tonneau


----------



## Ligavesh

Well this has to be one of the dumbest POS I've ever bought. I thought I could mod it a bit, ad some lume with epoxy on the bezel - only to realize the bezel is misalligned for a whole minute with the dial. Then I manage to scratch the stupid bezel trying to pull it off somehow... I'm gonna sell this POS cause it pisses me off just looking at it... at least the movement seems to work fine...


----------



## Ligavesh

They couldn't just align the damn thing when they were putting it together, could they?


----------



## Ligavesh

I swear to God, I give money away for the dumbest things, I wanna throw this ****er down the toillet and never see it again


----------



## Ligavesh

How do you even open this thing???? Why the hell is this dent there IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING


----------



## stevarad

Just bought this fire!!!






Product not found!







meranom.com





Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Ligavesh

I put the damn thing immediately for sale on ebay - if anyone's interested (I wouldn't know why) send me a message.


----------



## Ligavesh

stevarad said:


> Just bought this fire!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Product not found!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> meranom.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


nice, I'm still waiting for the German customs to release mine for a month now


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> How do you even open this thing???? Why the hell is this dent there IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING
> View attachment 15351065


That's the Pobeda powered Cardi isn't it?

It would seem by looking at the Elipse's etc the wonky alignment is fairly across the board m8 and not sure if they are the clicky type just simply pulling off, manipulating the click springs and reinstalling would get yours back on track.

It does suck when something small like this sticks in your mind, it becomes quite a big thing, I was thinking with a good clean and tidy that would be quite a handsome piece even being one click out of alignment


----------



## Dodgydruid

stevarad said:


> Just bought this fire!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Product not found!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> meranom.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


Ooo that is nice


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> That's the Pobeda powered Cardi isn't it?
> 
> It would seem by looking at the Elipse's etc the wonky alignment is fairly across the board m8 and not sure if they are the clicky type just simply pulling off, manipulating the click springs and reinstalling would get yours back on track.
> 
> It does suck when something small like this sticks in your mind, it becomes quite a big thing, I was thinking with a good clean and tidy that would be quite a handsome piece even being one click out of alignment


No idea, it just looked good to me, thought I could maybe add some lume to the bezel and change the hands and it would look quite nice. Well the bezel is just decoration, it's glued on it somehow, not to mention misaligned - anyway it's ****ed now from me trying to pry it off, you can see the scratches up there...The movement and dial seem fine, maybe it will be worth for someone - I'll be steering away from such ambicious endevours in the future...

PS. the strap looks not too bad either...


----------



## Dodgydruid

I am a fan of the various expanders, I bought a job lot a while back which had about 30 Excalibur's, Silkoflex or Fixoflex, some German ones in the box and the aged gold ones go very well with the Vostok TiN cases I found. I have 9ct Excalibur's on my Black Sea Admiralskie and my star shaped Generalskie and look gawjus.

I assumed it was the usual bidirectional Vostok type bezel, didn't realise it was just glued in there  The only other thing is to knock the crystal and movement out and use some heat to break the bond perhaps? Have to be uber careful though not to burn the plating off, the other way is to try a bath of naptha or thinners or acetone to see if it dissolves the glue from within.

Scratches can be polished out, using things like sanding fingers and gentle file work you could get it looking quite good. Just a shame that bezel is so cock-eyed


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I am a fan of the various expanders, I bought a job lot a while back which had about 30 Excalibur's, Silkoflex or Fixoflex, some German ones in the box and the aged gold ones go very well with the Vostok TiN cases I found. I have 9ct Excalibur's on my Black Sea Admiralskie and my star shaped Generalskie and look gawjus.
> 
> I assumed it was the usual bidirectional Vostok type bezel, didn't realise it was just glued in there  The only other thing is to knock the crystal and movement out and use some heat to break the bond perhaps? Have to be uber careful though not to burn the plating off, the other way is to try a bath of naptha or thinners or acetone to see if it dissolves the glue from within.
> 
> Scratches can be polished out, using things like sanding fingers and gentle file work you could get it looking quite good. Just a shame that bezel is so cock-eyed


yeah I was thinking maybe acetone... if it doesn't sell - if it sells, don't wanna even think about it


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh dear, the 20 pound Invicta turned up yesterday and wow I love it, all gold and an almost purply blue subbie homage... I abs love it as bit of a magpie when it comes to bling on me wrist, still a brand new Pro Diver for £20 I am gonna be happy all day about, did a vid on it over on me channel as well as showcasing the welcoming into the fleet of my Zakas MO submariner Komandirskie.

Will it replace my love of them auld Soviet brutes and beasties? Nyetski on that one, I still work them in and out of my daily wear with more attention paid to my homebuilt radio room and my grille'd up Amphibia but have had my Poljot Signal on, my Pobeda "puck", my Chaika Stadium and both my Poljot TV's this week. I even had my Vostok Century Time on with its dark green leather bund Vostok branded too.

One good bit of news is the Slava 3056A quartz that arrived yesterday, the gearworks are fine but it is a dead 'un and the fitted bracelet is missing some of the segments from it but I got two spare 15mm "fang" bracelets so just got to find out why the volties aren't getting to the motor.


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> Oh dear, the 20 pound Invicta turned up yesterday and wow I love it, all gold and an almost purply blue subbie homage... I abs love it as bit of a magpie when it comes to bling on me wrist, still a brand new Pro Diver for £20 I am gonna be happy all day about, did a vid on it over on me channel as well as showcasing the welcoming into the fleet of my Zakas MO submariner Komandirskie.


£20 in weight or price?

Go on, post a picture.


----------



## Odessa200

Kotsov said:


> £20 in weight or price?
> 
> Go on, post a picture.


?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Before we go down that rabbit hole... I found another "boilerplate" bracelet, chap reckons its a Okean bracelet, I was like "I don't care I just like the thick solid plates" sort of fing, were these Okean bracelets? This one is going onto my Chaika Stadium and I don't care... its my wrist 










OK.... here we go then, the mighty £20 Invicta Pro Diver...



















Look what one of my few Youtube subscribers sent me  still waiting on the two Eaglemoss displays but this is my first genuine gift to help the channel and me not getting nagged by daughter...










Here is most of my stuff... 3 roll open display, T bar, 2x20 Eaglemoss and another Eaglemoss in the front room, behind the roll display is about 200 untested watches I haven't got round to sorting into broken or not broken, the little tub has all the quality ladies stuff in like Swatch Irony ceramic white, some ladies Sekonda divers etc, too good to junk but no one to give 'em to lol Oh and two naughty boxes by me feet with the ones knackered or smashed up but can still yield harvestable bits...



























Oh and the box the tub and USB scope are sitting on has about 50-100 working quartz's I fixed up but been not bothered to sell on... I actually gave the box to a charity shop and said sell 'em 50p a go, working watch sort of fing but they politely said no and I had to go and get it...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

No wonder daughter is in nag mode - my mrs would've busted my arms if I had that collection


----------



## Ligavesh

Not bought today, but both arrived today!










Oh, by the way, my 1967 seems to have the crown gasket installed.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe the above is just my bedroom, the front room has my scooters, workbench and steam engines, toy cars, games consoles, cats, some more cats (we rescued an abandoned little girl this week living in a bush up town, tracked down previous owner and they were like "we don't care" so she is now living with us.

Only rooms that doesn't look like a workshop is kitchen and bathroom, daughter said she was gonna cut me knackers off if I tried turning either into a workshop...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Not bought today, but both arrived today!
> 
> View attachment 15352351
> 
> 
> Oh, by the way, my 1967 seems to have the crown gasket installed.


Oh I swear I am drooling at that '67, wow what a lovely watch and the Pobeda is a lovely one too


----------



## OCSleeper

Bought this a couple days ago and it arrived today. Seller thought it was a Vostok, apparently because of the strap he bought it with in 2002 from a street vendor in Prague/Praha. He said it doesn't work which I would say is partly correct. It works, but not properly. At minimum it needs to be tore down, cleaned and adjusted. Maybe something broken as the crown will not fully seat. Anyway all this allowed me to get it on the cheap.
The big question is, what is it? Or who was selling these with the 3133 in the 90's and early 2000's?









































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Hehe so ppl don't think I am fibbing about my little lot... I woke up early and sorted 'em into the display boxes with Russians in two and all the rest in the other case like my Seiko's, homages etc

Have about thirty five jammed onto the roll display and 8 on the T bar so I got to the magic 100 but clouds loom as my Stadium has started going slow, loses about 10 mins in a 24 hour... I can only guess maybe the mainspring is sluggish perhaps?


















































There is another one in the front room but daughter is akip on the sofa and that has all the suspect stuff that is in need of servicing, I also have a multicompartmented large case which has all the project stuff in, so its all looking a way bit more tidy in here this morning


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## SuffolkGerryW

Yep, I'd have both arms broken 
Nice selection though


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## Dodgydruid

Its difficult winding them in and out of wearing, yesterday in the pharmacy I was actually asked by one of the girls why I worse so many different watches all the time so ppl do notice these things and for me the watch is more a fashion statement than a function and I do enjoy wearing the oddballs.

Am a bit gutted me stadium has started losing time, its going to be put into the "needs servicing" case but I need to really learn my servicing before I can start working on 'em and the ones needing succour prob about £1500 costs if I paid someone to do them all 

Anyway, isn't it such a big kudos to be able to say "hey I rebuilt that one" and scribe your own marks in the caseback?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Yep, got a couple of bikes like that, both have been re-built from the ground up by me (with suitable adjustments) - absolutely amazing feeling when you can say "_ I _ did that, and it works!"


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have got to get going on my MK1 Vespa T5, its just getting the weather right, the energy to get going on it and its nothing major other than recabling, new fuel pipe, soldering in the chopped indicator loom and whack out the rusted out rear shock and do some rustproofing.

Got the same sort of list on my Reliant Robin too, big issue is sump and timing cover gaskets weeping a touch and chronically needing the tappets done and change some cooling hoses, oh and wirebrush and stonechip the A frame lol

Well been a busy day today, finally took off the Invicta and my homebuilt radio room is on the job now and looking so sweeeet... I really am pleased with it, the leather 5 ringer just goes well with it and makes me eat my words on putting Vostok's on 5 ringers or NATO's but it just works 

Found and bought another in parts Pulsar V600, I am a bit cross as I was bidding on a Spanish Alba version and was beaten by 1p selling for £15.01p and I have just finished giving ebay hell on that stating some hackery going on there, I have found that Seiko do a V600 and a world timer variant so getting to know this watch, its a cool concept in that it has no LED or LCD but can do alarm, stopwatch, dual time, countdown time just using the three main hands and the little sub dial hand and I think it is the most sophisticated analogue out there as you control its functions using the bezel.

And so I also bought, after seeing Mike's video on youtube channel My Retro Watches having a go at the Oris "mumbai special" so I had a nose around and grabbed the very one I wanted before, that being a BRG dialled Ricoh automatic although I was tempted very tempted with the Roamer "crash test dummy" ones but no, the Ricoh was the one I wanted and it cost a tenner so no biggie if it turns into a polished t*rd, the '75 Citizen auto I got from 'em has been perfect, the 7009-3040 Seiko I got apart from having to rebuild the shattered movement holding ring and having that awful black ring glass has also been a solid performer.










Not a lot going on Russian wise, been fiddling with my recent arrival 3056A Slava quartz, overjoyed to find the driven gear is firm and not broken at the pivots but nothing is getting from the battery so going to delicately start taking it apart leaving the whole motor in situ.


----------



## CndRkMt

My parcel from Meranom has been traveling since April. I finally caved in and bought this from Amazon - the same day delivery  The one can never have too many Amphibians


----------



## Ligavesh

I found the light bluish hue of the dial of this old Raketa very appealing - I also have a very good experience with Raketas and it was cheap, so I snatched it off ebay. Now the waiting to see if it looks so good in person, too.


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> View attachment 15354083
> 
> 
> I found the light bluish hue of the dial of this old Raketa very appealing - I also have a very good experience with Raketas and it was cheap, so I snatched it off ebay. Now the waiting to see if it looks so good in person, too.


My bet is on it looking even better in person!
Enjoy!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## OCSleeper

Not my first one of this model but it is the first one with original box and papers. Instant regret when I sent the offer because the wife is going to kill me. I've been buying up watches like my fellow Americans were buying up toilet paper during the early stages of the pandemic , haha.
















Maybe I'll gift it......

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> Not my first one of this model but it is the first one with original box and papers. Instant regret when I sent the offer because the wife is going to kill me. I've been buying up watches like my fellow Americans were buying up toilet paper during the early stages of the pandemic , haha.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe I'll gift it......
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh well if you are gonna give it away... did I mention that I love puppies, want world peace and didn't cheat on my school exams?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe he strikes again... £7 Poljot Mockba 80 volcano in blue... Its a bit hairy by looks of things but means I got the browny burgundy and the blue, I guess there is a green one of these?


----------



## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Not my first one of this model but it is the first one with original box and papers. Instant regret when I sent the offer because the wife is going to kill me. I've been buying up watches like my fellow Americans were buying up toilet paper during the early stages of the pandemic, haha.
> 
> ......
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Good thing I'm separated - I was bidding for a few Burans, planning on winning one or two at most, ended up winning four of the bastards. Gonna have to sell a couple now, I wanna finance a Sturmanskie - or even better - an Okean...

PS. I'll post a pic of the four ****ers one next to the other when they arrive


----------



## Dodgydruid

I'm with you there on a chrono lol I have many quartz chrono's here but lack a mechanical one and I have to call for help when I see Spoon bullheads, I don't even need a chrono but its the thing with mechanical ones and the even more exotic automatic chrono's that make them so sexeh in my book.

I also want a Ruhla chrono and a Ruhla diver for the set and a Poljot Amphibian as I am super loving Poljots right now, not so sure about the Raketa quartz diver as haven't seen many with the dial I like and usually the plastic bezels are toast but the gods of ebay seldom disappoint lol


----------



## mariomart

Finally manged to buy an elusive Vostok Admiralskie in the Blue Titanium Oxide coated case and bezel. The model number is 349984 as per Straight_time's thread from several months ago Never seen before - NOS vintage Vostok Admiralskie full set

The sellers picture is far from great, so I'm looking forward to receiving it and making some to do it justice.

Hopefully it will arrive before Christmas.


----------



## RedFroggy

Waooo... Congrats on that super elusive piece Mariomart 👍


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I so wants one lol


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Ooo I so wants one lol


Get in line - or I'll drop a word to your daughter!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Argh no, not that, when she starts the waggling of the stern finger, the jaw set like Desperate Dan's and the eyebrows crashing in the middle I run for the hills, she can get quite shrill and she is a dirty arguer too, using women's logic like a baseball bat... I do actually feel pity for any husband of hers as he will be but dust beneath her chariot wheels...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Argh no, not that, when she starts the waggling of the stern finger, the jaw set like Desperate Dan's and the eyebrows crashing in the middle I run for the hills, she can get quite shrill and she is a dirty arguer too, using women's logic like a baseball bat... I do actually feel pity for any husband of hers as he will be but dust beneath her chariot wheels...


You missed out "The tappin' of the feets"


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe Google remembered my card dets... and so £13 pounds of the finest quids later...










A 3050, a 3056, a Luch quartz and two Chaika pocket watches... The Poljot is the same colour as my one here and seem quite clean in there...

The gold pocket watch has a standard Lozengey type quartz, the silver one looks very much like a Remex, the Luch the hairspring is badly magnetised as its bunched up tighter than a nun's after her first vindaloo and seeing the gear wheel on the 50 is firm and proper placement so should get at two of the square types I will have running and now I got the very type of Luch electro-mechanical I was looking at.










To be fair, this sort of bundle is far and few between so I will take my naggies, stampies, pouties and take it on the chin like a man but the rewards to have two or more of the big square beasts running... and that highly unusual hybrid plus two pocket watches... result


----------



## Dodgydruid

antikvarua is the seller name as this was the chap I got my first Amphibia from and my Pobeda "puck" and have both worked beautifully, he has quite some unusual stuff, his clearance bundles are on the last couple pages if ppl looking for a specific type for parts. There is a Luch with the heavy fitted bracelet and facted crystal I have which has a sproinged hairspring, def worth a gander.


----------



## 979greenwich

This came in today, just in time for a museum visit.


----------



## Ligavesh

I actually ordered a used Sturmanskie 3133 (supposedly in "excellent condition"), I than ordered a (supposedly) new Okean case and (supposedly) new Okean dial with hands (from a shady Russian website) and plan to build an Okean chronograph out of those things. I have never ever done such a thing before, most of my modding is restricted to changing straps and disassembeling broken down watches (but not assembeling them again). Pray for me guys and girls.

PS. It would have probably been cheaper just to find an Okean on ebay ( but, again, where's the fun in that?)
PPS. I'd imagine the movement holders are the same for the Sturmanskie and the Okean? Please don't tell me they aren't. Also, are the movement holders of a Buran the same as Okean (and Sturmanskie)?


----------



## Ligavesh

By the way, forgot to mention what came in the mail today: the Kanagawa Wave lumed dial!!! This will be my Holy Grail of modding - putting it in a Vostok - probably Amphibia - case! But I need to do some simpler stuff first. It actually shouldn't even be so difficult, I just have to learn to use adhesive strips as the holding pins don't fit and will have to go (maybe I'll cut them off and then glue them in a Vostok-position?)...
Oh and again by the way, in the background you can see what a bulky monster the bronze 1967 is compared to a normal 090.



















PS. forgot to show the lume!


----------



## OCSleeper

Found this Sportivnie in good condition for $25. Not working but I'm gonna give it a shot on the repair....maybe. Mostly for display and historical purposes. I'll be able to clean it up by hand polishing the case, micro abrasive pads for the crystal, and very carefully Rodico the dial edges. As a bonus it came with this cool Leningrad bracelet, unfortunately the Coat of Arms has rubbed off.

































Here's my first pocket watch purchase, a Molijna. The red dial caught my eye and I thought $19 USD was fair. Anyone know if I can easily replace the crystal? My limited experience tells me those are internal stress cracks and will not polish.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I like that wavy dial and wow, the 67 is massive compared to a standard 090 

Its nice to see a Sportivnie, I have been on the hunt for a dial and stem for the perfectly working one I bought to nick the stem from for my Gagarin but now I have the stem I can match it via Cousins maybe for another one, the dial on the one I have is absolutely toasted, dunno if the chap worked in a chemical factory or someone tried to repaint it and it went wrong but it looks like the paint has melted and then congealed into a very horrid looking abomination.

Oh and the gods of ebay, they never let me down... did my usual perusal of parts I wanted and on a whim put in "Pulsar watch hands" and for £9 popped up this beauty, a complete Pulsar v600 movement with the correct hands in not been tinkered with so my v600 is very much a step closer to living again and these incredible watches in good order are fetching whopping prices too.










I did a review on my channel on the "Okean-ish" Slava I got yesterday (link in signature) and my Bliger big black and orange thingy (clean thoughts please folks ) which is abs gawjus except the NATO strap is two or three inches too short arrgh, the strap is a very nice thick soft fabric too but who would wear this? Stickman or Slendaman or whatever they call the thing?

I also have noticed canteen crowns are becoming the next thing, Parnis, Paulearis, something weird called "Age Girl"  all have released canteen crown watches, I have earmarked a Parnis lefty chrono not decided yet on going with the lume orange or lume bright green as yet, the Paulearis has much the same but half the price but looking through the comments from buyers its not as reliable and lots of fuming buyers so maybe will give that one a miss.

The "Age Girl" (who on earth puts THAT on a mans watch????) is cheaper still and have a "U boat" homage with the canteen crown and looks pretty hawt if it weren't for the big stupid name on it so have messaged seller asking if they can provide me with an orange lume version WITHOUT the pathetic name, said here in the UK people would think you were dodgy and liked lurking in toilets sort of thing.

So with todays arrived parts v600 and the complete v600 in the pic I hope to have my Pulsar dancing its hands around sometime soon...

Homing in on the last 30 secs or so regulating my Slava tank auto, all of my Slava's seem to have this "timing" dimple on the line of the stud cock and it makes sense on assembly to have quick set markings.

Project 710 is well under way, I am torn between the all lume scuba dude sandwich dial I found and the Zakas MO plain black small star dial I got, if I go with the scuba dude (and I would rather not, who knows where he's been  prob with the age girl) then I will go down the route with modern Seiko turtle or something like that hands, also found very cheap jagged lightning second hands on Aliexpress (google miyota watch hands), if I go with the Zakas dial then I will work with something more period, maybe some blue lume paddles from Mr Favinov or broad swords.


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## skipvel

This made in China watch. Raketa 2609 under the hood. Just because it looked different. And it was cheapish. Fairly large, 45mm without the crown.


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## Chascomm

I think I can confidently say I have never before seen a watch like that wrapped around a Raketa movement. It looks like it needs a canteen crown. I wonder how one mocks up such a thing...🔨🔧


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## Dodgydruid

Are those sprinklers on the four segments? Or impaling swords that swoosh out all James Wong double oh love you long time? I know, its the watch worn by the bowler hat wearing giant asiatic butler, feeds him new bowler hats for the spinning of at people dropping crumbs on his pristine floor...


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## skipvel

Dodgydruid said:


> Are those sprinklers on the four segments? Or impaling swords that swoosh out all James Wong double oh love you long time? I know, its the watch worn by the bowler hat wearing giant asiatic butler, feeds him new bowler hats for the spinning of at people dropping crumbs on his pristine floor...


Yes it's pretty goofy; but goofy is good. Dial claims waterproof to 300 meters; I don't know if I'd trust it past washing my hands. Looks like it had a screwdown crown and they hacked it off to fit the raketa 2609. Watched your video on the slava and black watch; nice to be able to link a face to the name.


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## Dodgydruid

Thank you, I am getting better at the video's hehe I get told off for having an old Soviet navy ensign on my wall behind me but hey I like Soviet watches, makes sense to have a bloody big Soviet flag to show this?

You are talking to the right person about goofy stuff, I abs love some of the wacky things out there and yes I would buy what you did if I had seen it and worn it with pride too. I'm trying to find out why my Chaika Stadium is going slow for no reason as that is the watch of goofyness, the poison evil eye ooo love it 

I had a watch from Canada arrive today, a brand new quartz Gruen, apparently they have a factory over in Canada and bloke was backdoor selling some stock mainly football and baseball theme watches but in amongst them he had 20 of these Gruen's and the equivalent of about 5 pounds AND less than a pound postage 










The Bliger was really a test, all these people raving on about the Miyota 8215 auto and I love neon/fluorescent colours and the orange lume just done it for me. If I get another, it will be a Seagull DG, prob a GMT, not going to go mad on these as I prefer me old Russian pieces all day long and wore the Slava all day on its thick beads of rice bracelet, it looks so good and it has actual glass, not acrylic which is unusual for any Russian lol


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## Dodgydruid

Today is a strap day with the arrival of a navy 22mm for my homebuilt radio room, a two piece for my grille'd up 090 and a super heavy Ingersoll/Diamond Co bracelet for my Bliger as hating on the horrid too short strap.










You will all no doubt rejoice in I have bought a Samsung camera with the almost mesmerising lens thingy as it zips in and out to get the best focus, very nice bit o' kit and means I can stop messing about with this stupido fone setup.

On the Samsung, my daughter says it looks like a metal willy and I am like "you can't say things like that", it is a bit "urgent"


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## Dodgydruid

Ingersoll now on and bye bye 3 inches too short bloody nato, bracelet caught me out too as the rose gold one I put on my aliexpress special Lige had pins, this one has screw solid links, def recommend these Ingersoll heavy solid bracelets, they are 20mm, come in rose gold, gold, gold with embedded gem, polished ss and pvd black, can't remember the seller but search ebay for Diamond & Co bracelet and you will see them and at £8 a real stonker of a bargain imho.

(Here's the seller and link to this bracelet - INGERSOLL BRACELET WATCH STRAP (IG0305 II ) | eBay)










Now its turn of Amphibia's for some NATO love... hey I wonder if Age Girl wants to watch


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## Dodgydruid

Amphibia's given some lovin'...


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## philippeF

bought today


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## Odessa200

philippeF said:


> bought today


Nice. I got one like this as well. Shall arrive in a day or so.


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## Ligavesh

I need to stop scrolling through watch sites and find something else to do, otherwise I end up unavoidably buying something although I gave myself a "buying ban" for the time being - but then I saw this guy was available on Komandirskie.com :










...aaand so much for my buying ban. Not to be so harsh on myself, I always wanted to get this model, but it was always out of stock, didn't want to miss out on it again.


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## Dodgydruid

philippeF said:


> bought today


Wow what a lovely piece, I very rarely see these in my feeds, I do have a NOS dial very similar to this and a Zakas too I haven't decided as yet what to put it on. Only fault is a tiny piece of paint has been scraped off during storage on the black so not a big issue repairing that slight mar.


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## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> I need to stop scrolling through watch sites and find something else to do, otherwise I end up unavoidably buying something although I gave myself a "buying ban" for the time being - but then I saw this guy was available on Komandirskie.com :
> 
> View attachment 15363165
> 
> 
> ...aaand so much for my buying ban. Not to be so harsh on myself, I always wanted to get this model, but it was always out of stock, didn't want to miss out on it again.


I've been every evening looking at my next Aliexpress and the forty million thieves purchase, I have it down to a) a 710 Amphibia b) a Parnis big numeral lume chrono c) the bits to do my custom 710 build d) a Parnis Yachtmaster or Tudor homage the latter in coffee and rose gold e) another Invicta...


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## Dodgydruid

So I have not been idle, sneaked a couple in under the radar and ppl will rejoice I have acquired a very nice Samsung digital camera which has 10.2 mp and actually isn't a bad camera at all producing some very clean snaps and came with everything except the data cable, a nice big MMC card, rechargable batteries, fits my tripod beautifully and has a lovely self focusing doubry on that gently whirrs in and out without losing itself like the Huawei does.

Picked up two bits of curisoity...

First a Roamer in a very funky colour scheme... a £9 "Bombay bad boy" I just had to have for that lurid scheme, it is just soooooooo over the top which I nicknamed the "crast test dummy" watch as they do a yellow and burgundy one too 










The second little gem of fun is this bundle of old ladies movements, some other general stuff and this unusual Elysian mechanical chrono which looks interesting, I am assuming it is a mechanical, may be a quartz but I could not find anything on this piece online but I thought that is quite a nice watch head going on there, have high hopes 










For my 710 home build I am edging closer and closer to the all lume dial scuba dude, with Seiko turtle hands, trident or jagged lightning second hand and a pepsi bezel, I think the Zakas plain black and little star would not look right in a 710, will be an auto so now to work out do I go date or dateless as the dial chap has both options on the lume dial, then it will be the wait, the building of courage to give it a go.

Caught a tip last nite to do with second hands, bloke converted his red plinth of misery pusher with a blob of rodico into a custom second hand applier, he stuffed the rodico into the plastic pusher bit and uses it to pick up the second hand then apply it into position, I am wow what a bloody good idea so will be doing that one myself


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## Dodgydruid

The gods of eBay strike again, so on looking for a data cable for my new camera, a chap in Germany for 1 Euro was selling box, papers, CD's, AV, power AND data cable and 8 euro's posting... for my exact model which has a strange micro usb port to which I had nothing save one which fits but doesn't work so obv not wired in correct for my camera.

Thank you gods of eBay hehe

Forgot to mention the Roamer (should that be Reamer) has the venerable ST-96 movement in from what I gather which is basically Switzerland's version of the Vostok simplicity movements and apparently a doddle to service etc.

Sadly I haven't taken off the Bliger since putting it on its Ingersoll bracelet, have ordered two more for down the road, one a gold, one a polished steel cos you never know hehe I am hoping my 119 Amphibia arrives this week and my Slava tank quartz with the faceted glass, I put my homebrew Amphibia back on the naval camo NATO but going to dig out my 060 cased KVPO for a bit of a wear this week.


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## Bsw_sc

Ordered this last week and it arrived today. Since the first Amphibia I ordered (a used KGB 420 case) was a dud and can't be worn until I get the movement repaired (which I probably won't do) I will consider this my first Amphibia! Got this for $60 new from a USA seller. I like this 120 case more than I thought I would, I really wanted a 420 or 710 but didn't want to pass on the watch. Also, this silicone strap is softer than I was expecting which is another nice surprise. Next I need a 710 Amphibia...


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## Dodgydruid

I haven't got a roundy or a rounded octa (dunno what the numbers are for those) I am a massive fan of the 060's and the 090's and really do want a 710 for my next Amphibia. I very nearly bit on the one that's like the 710 but more square and squat but I dithered and it sold /sad face

Has anyone got any pictures of the actual ministry issued Amphibia's? I would love to see the 090 dial/hands and the 710 dial hands on issued Vostok's.


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## mariomart

A happy purchase for $11.00 

Now the 4 month wait for delivery ......


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## OCSleeper

I picked up some Slava and Luch quartz movements to tinker with in the last few days, just to get my feet wet in the repair/service side of things. Stripped the CCCP dialed Slava down and cleaned it up, and yes, the gasket was melted into a gooey mess. Waiting to get my grease and oils before reassembly. 
A big thank you to Schnurrp and Ratfacedgit for their pics and videos that cover these various movements.
























Here's the Soviet after polishing the crystal









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

"Craba" lol, got the 'a'-s right at least


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## stevarad

This one today. With poljot bracelet.





































Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> I picked up some Slava and Luch quartz movements to tinker with in the last few days, just to get my feet wet in the repair/service side of things. Stripped the CCCP dialed Slava down and cleaned it up, and yes, the gasket was melted into a gooey mess. Waiting to get my grease and oils before reassembly.
> A big thank you to Schnurrp and Ratfacedgit for their pics and videos that cover these various movements.
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


First I knew of the black goo in my big red star Slava was it oozing out the lug channel onto my wrist and it had turned into something very nasty and I had only just replaced the battery what the week before and the O ring was fine, now the thing doesn't work and I suspect the little coil lead was somehow caught up in the muck and got swept away by a q tip.

I didn't know the history of the previous battery so taking no chances I changed it and it still went pear shaped on me and losing one of my favourite pieces. Luckily I have been amassing Slava and Poljot quartz's these last few months so a new coil won't be an issue.

Wearing right now the daddy of the red star/USN, my recent arrival of the Slava tank 3050 quartz, absolutely brutal Soviet beastie on the huge solid lumps of steel bracelet... I am a great fan of Slava and Soviet quartz's. If I had for some reason to be offered the choice of keeping only two of my collection it would be Slava tank automatic and this tank quartz...


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## Dodgydruid

Sooo a cheeky bid gets me a working Sekonda auto... yay  I am guessing xx27 Slava in there?


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## pump 19

After only 4 months this arrived today. Thought it was a goner since seller did not provide tracking. Pleasant surprise.


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## Dodgydruid

Of all the postal services will say Ukraine has been the worst taking the longest to arrive, Russia and Belarus seem a couple weeks quicker, the lesser former Soviet satellites like Moldova seemed a bit quicker, Poland not too bad or Czech etc but I had to really shake the tree with writing to the Ukrainian postmaster asking what the hell was going on sort of thing.

It transpired there was a big issue that carriers were not being allowed from the Ukraine to the UK and vice versa which went on for three weeks I think which of course put the Ukraine service into meltdown, it wasn't their end but the UK's end so of course I raised bally hell with my MP and the postal and customs ministers, needless to say all three were the types with their noses firmly ensconced up the tukus of the PM and fairly dismissive responses which is why I never, ever will vote for the vile Tory grr.


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## Chascomm

Ligavesh said:


> "Craba" lol, got the 'a'-s right at least


Craba is better than Slava because it always costs less for the same watch.

Same with Novet vs Poljot, Patema vs Raketa, Yanka vs Chaika and Zapr vs Zarja.


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## 979greenwich

What about Kauahguyckue (my favourite)...?


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## cuthbert

I did.










Not sure it was a wise choice.


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## Ligavesh

cuthbert said:


> I did.
> 
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> Not sure it was a wise choice.


Wew, a few months ago I would've gladly offered to buy it off if you didn't like it, but I've spent way too much money on watches in the meantime... maybe if you could hold onto it for, say, 5-6 months...


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## cuthbert

Ligavesh said:


> Wew, a few months ago I would've gladly offered to buy it off if you didn't like it, but I've spent way too much money on watches in the meantime... maybe if you could hold onto it for, say, 5-6 months...


I´ve been thinking about this watch for about ten years, at the beginning everybody was horrified by the price, some people said you were mad at spending that money for a Vostok. Then I wondered if it was too big for my wrist (6.5"), as a matter of fact I find the 090 too big for me. On the other side I have very large divers like the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf and the Seiko 1978 Tuna, in the end it was an inpulse buy and I assume if I can´t wear it I might sell it here after all.

Still undecided...


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## Dodgydruid

Chascomm said:


> Craba is better than Slava because it always costs less for the same watch.
> 
> Same with Novet vs Poljot, Patema vs Raketa, Yanka vs Chaika and Zapr vs Zarja.


On the other side, expect to pay more for Cornavin and whatever that American brand name is for them gawjus burgundy dialled Poljot fish eyes.

One of my sellers actually sells "Cornavin" conversion kits in the form of a dial, turning your cheapo Slava into dollaroo earning Cornavin's hehe Actually he also sells a range of Sekonda Mockba 80 dials which I am unsure if they are the real deal or some sort of mickey mouse counterfeiting from back then, the red tigers eye ones look super nice.


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## Ligavesh

cuthbert said:


> I´ve been thinking about this watch for about ten years, at the beginning everybody was horrified by the price, some people said you were mad at spending that money for a Vostok. Then I wondered if it was too big for my wrist (6.5"), as a matter of fact I find the 090 too big for me. On the other side I have very large divers like the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf and the Seiko 1978 Tuna, in the end it was an inpulse buy and I assume if I can´t wear it I might sell it here after all.
> 
> Still undecided...


Wow 10 years is a long time to think about a watch, I usually impulse-buy after about a week or so  Only Tudors, Rolexes, Omegas and such have I thought about longer - and still haven't bought one of those... Anyway, a 1967 would be pretty easy to sell, I'd imagine - even though it's "just" a Vostok


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## mariomart

Ligavesh said:


> ... - even though it's "just" a Vostok


 Referee's call - 30 minute timeout for "going there"  lol


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## jhdscript

Today i bough a small *Raketa Marine 24h*. Very funny watch for low price. Perfect to start a russian collection


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## Dodgydruid

Welcome to the wacky world of Russian and Soviet watches, you will not be disappointed hehe oh and a sense of humour helps... these watches can be extremely quirky, one day work beautifully and next having a day off at you


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## Ligavesh

jhdscript said:


> Today i bough a small *Raketa Marine 24h*. Very funny watch for low price. Perfect to start a russian collection
> 
> View attachment 15372050


Very nice watch, congrats - I'm not sure if I can welcome you here, as I'm also pretty new here myself. I've always liked the 24h Raketas - I'm a fan of Raketa in general - and I've been also planning to get one eventually, just have to decide which variant whit what kind of bezel to get, as buying ALL OF THEM is not exactly an option.


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## elsoldemayo

jhdscript said:


> Today i bough a small *Raketa Marine 24h*. Very funny watch for low price. Perfect to start a russian collection


Small??? You're in for a shock when trying to find other vintage Soviet or Russian watches


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## Dodgydruid

Hehe wait til you get into some tanks and TV's... small is def not an option going there, I was caught out last week with a Slava whose case is massive and lug to lug covers my quite sturdy wrist.

The chrono's are big too and some of the later modernist Slava's etc are pretty large, Raketa perpetual calendar isn't a lightweight either.

I was saying to me mate today whilst out about my quartz tank and we agreed not many watches you can use as a knuckleduster.


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## Chascomm

Dodgydruid said:


> I was saying to me mate today whilst out about my quartz tank and we agreed not many watches you can use as a knuckleduster.


That's why I refer to old Chromehenge as my 'drinking watch'.


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## Dodgydruid

Hehe I like that name, its all a bit of an upper and a downer at Stonehenge up the road what with tunnels and bypass roads and still trying to stop the druids from using it solsticewise and all that stuff about the stones were mysteriously transported from darkest Wales and it turns out they came from a quarry 15 miles away...

I've had a bit of a result today, firstly my Sekonda automatic arrived and apart from it being on its original paper thin leather strap is a beautiful piece...



















Only time testing it at mo, haven't set the date up as yet but the strap is going, will keep it as it is the original but is so old and tired it is no better than for show and I want to wear this 

Also the 5 quartz pieces turned up, the Luch hybrid mechanical there seems to be bits of movement loose inside the cavity area so that will be for a project, the 3056A square is missing its coil but what about this, the 3050 square...? Running beautifully with a fresh battery, jewel is needing a touch of the slippery stuff but its held good time for 3 hours not losing a second and I am putting it on that boilerplate bracelet that turned up yesterday 










The crystal is very dirty and marked on the exterior so will do a vid on me fixing the bracelet and polishing case and crystal, one of the Chaika pocket watches has a simple 2035 Miyota in, it does actually work and is all complete but the battery connection is a bit dickywampus so stops and starts but I will just dive into my box of 2035 and 2115's I have harvested from crapo pieces and have my first pocket watch. The other is a Luch branded quartz not unlike the Hong Kong Remex quartz, that is missing bits but nothing gets thrown away here...


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## Dodgydruid

I paid £13 delivered for the Sekonda and £12 delivered for the 5 quartz pieces, I also fixed last nite my couple quid Krug-Bauman Tidemaster with the exceptionally hard to source Miyota T250, all it was missing was a bracelet pin, fresh Renata battery in there and looking sweet, the other will now be a spares donor.

In the recent £2 bundle of "junk" bits I discovered a very complete guts of an old Waltham full size pocket watch missing its hands and the balance wheel is smashed up a bit but the escapement and mainspring working fine, its been a bloody good week for watches


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## Polco

Picked up this well used and abused Komandirskie on Ebay and after a long wait from Ukraine it finally arrived today, it's been keeping good time but the whole movement was rattling around inside the case! Close inspection inside found that the two screws that secure the movement to the spacer weren't screwed in properly, all is good now!


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## Dodgydruid

That is a nice looking Zakas there m8, good result


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## OCSleeper

Grabbed a black dial Latin script Poljot to compliment my Cyrillic dialed one. Bought it a few days ago and it arrived last night. Chrono hands weren't aligning and the seller said the chronograph wasn't operational. After finally getting the lock ring to free the case back (felt welded shut) it was obvious the fly back lever was knocked out of its seat. A tiny nudge later and the hands fell right into their reset positions and it operates beautifully. 
Here's the eBay pic:







Here it is after cleaning the bracelet, dial, hands, indices, chrono ring, and polishing the crystal. Only about an hours time invested and it came out looking pretty good.


























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Grabbed a black dial Latin script Poljot to compliment my Cyrillic dialed one. Bought it a few days ago and it arrived last night. Chrono hands weren't aligning and the seller said the chronograph wasn't operational. After finally getting the lock ring to free the case back (felt welded shut) it was obvious the fly back lever was knocked out of its seat. A tiny nudge later and the hands fell right into their reset positions and it operates beautifully.
> Here's the eBay pic:
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What do you use to clean the dial and hands with? I'm planning something similar, but never done it before.


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## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> What do you use to clean the dial and hands with? I'm planning something similar, but never done it before.


As far as the dial goes I used Rodico. For the hands and indices I used an approximately 2mm x 3mm piece of leather that I first rubbed on a silver polishing cloth then VERY carefully wiped the hands then the indices. I'm almost certain the experienced guys out there will tell you to remove the hands first which makes it less likely you'll bend them while cleaning them. I didn't because I've heard the large chrono hand can be a pain to deal with.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Don't make the noobish mistake I did on my Amphibia 090 dial where I used isopropyl alcohol to clean the quite thick sludgy patina of grease that had built up over decades... it cleaned it look like a champ... cleaned off all the lume and paint markings as well.

For my other 090 in the project box I have a very tatty blue gloss dial and I am thinking of substituting it with a silver sunburst Wostok dial which is grubby but in very good condition and seem to find that most ppl use is warm water and very gentle lathing action with something non abrasive.

Hands, if they are corroded or very dirty it is expedient to pull them off, give them a thorough stripdown to remove corrosion then repaint, relume as required, not sure how to replicate that definitive mint green for the lume on those Poljots, maybe mix lume powder to a matching enamel paint and am sure someone with more expertise than I will have a method for cleaning hands and reluming of. I polish my hands using a gentle action with a fibreglass pen but I imagine you could put hands onto a blob of rodico and polish with a felt mop on a dremel at a slow speed and gentle action.


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## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Don't make the noobish mistake I did on my Amphibia 090 dial where I used isopropyl alcohol to clean the quite thick sludgy patina of grease that had built up over decades... it cleaned it look like a champ... cleaned off all the lume and paint markings as well.


The was my plan and my worry  
Seems complicated, the cleaning, but auppose that's how it is when working with tiny things... Fortunately I have some broken down watches to practice on


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## Ligavesh

This -I suppose- 'franken' Komandirskie finally arrived today after a long journey - I'd guess the dial has been polished off it's colors and painted on indices? That blue on the hands is probably not original? Anyway, other than that, what makes this one special is it's hacking movement which I hadn't seen on a Vostok... I might try to change the dial as I want to see the minutes actually, and the hands cause I'd Iike some lume on them, but we'll see.










edit: looks okay on this cheap Nato I found lying around:


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## Dodgydruid

Its a Komandirskie "Commander" a 1970's era piece with a hacking 2234 movement and what looks like later Komandirskie hands as the original unpainted ones had a very pleasing arrow on the second hand.

For what it is, it looks quite unusual, have never thought of stripping a dial dial to bare metal or a base primer sort of coat.

I imagine the inner bezel was painted then transfer film decorated, it wasn't put on very well as it leans to the left uniformly which makes me suspect transfer film sort of thing.

Would not be difficult to pick up a scrap Vostok movement with a good Zakas dial in the colour of your choice of black, burgundy or blue, with the correct hands too, have the crystal off, paint the bezel to the matching colour of your dial and do the same with a transfer film to put the numerals on but do a better job, reassemble after switching the dial, hands and you will have a very good Commander on your wrist.

Here's an example: (Vintage Soviet Watch VOSTOK Military Mechanical 2234 Komandirskie Zakaz MO USSR | eBay)

Plenty of 2234 scrap movements on ebay and etsy for couple quid a go.


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## Dodgydruid

OK, payday today and not doing much Russian at the mo, have my eye on a couple bits but there doesn't seem to be much out there right now.

Did buy another Oskar-Emil, a Sigma brand new in its tin for silly money but that is the last of the Oskar-Emil's I intend to buy.










I have some of these in my saved listings and wondered if they were real, aftermarket, fakery, quite like the red and blue and petrol blue of the dial colours.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> OK, payday today and not doing much Russian at the mo, have my eye on a couple bits but there doesn't seem to be much out there right now.
> 
> Did buy another Oskar-Emil, a Sigma brand new in its tin for silly money but that is the last of the Oskar-Emil's I intend to buy.
> 
> View attachment 15383517
> 
> 
> I have some of these in my saved listings and wondered if they were real, aftermarket, fakery, quite like the red and blue and petrol blue of the dial colours.
> 
> View attachment 15383523


I would be sus of the Sekonda 'Olimpic' - after all, if it was destined for the West, why spell 'Olympic' with an 'i' not a 'y'?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yeah I would agree, still as a make do replacement or stand in could do a turn I suppose, the petrol blue version is for the Cornavin "olympic" hehe

Am tempted at maybe sterilising one and do a custom job on it but my ancient printer doesn't do white very well and my shaky hands would be a disaster lol


----------



## pump 19

OCSleeper said:


> A tiny nudge later and the hands fell right into their reset positions and it operates beautifully...
> Only about an hours time invested and it came out looking pretty good.


Ah, the outcome we all dream about. I'll bet you're still smiling. Handsome example.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Its a Komandirskie "Commander" a 1970's era piece with a hacking 2234 movement and what looks like later Komandirskie hands as the original unpainted ones had a very pleasing arrow on the second hand.
> 
> For what it is, it looks quite unusual, have never thought of stripping a dial dial to bare metal or a base primer sort of coat.
> 
> I imagine the inner bezel was painted then transfer film decorated, it wasn't put on very well as it leans to the left uniformly which makes me suspect transfer film sort of thing.
> 
> Would not be difficult to pick up a scrap Vostok movement with a good Zakas dial in the colour of your choice of black, burgundy or blue, with the correct hands too, have the crystal off, paint the bezel to the matching colour of your dial and do the same with a transfer film to put the numerals on but do a better job, reassemble after switching the dial, hands and you will have a very good Commander on your wrist.
> 
> Here's an example: (Vintage Soviet Watch VOSTOK Military Mechanical 2234 Komandirskie Zakaz MO USSR | eBay)
> 
> Plenty of 2234 scrap movements on ebay and etsy for couple quid a go.


I wouldn't say there are plenty of 2234 movements for a few quid - I can only find watches with the movement, the non-working one's are cheap, the one's that work not so much... And I don't know why should I look for a movement, this one works just fine... I honestly have no idea how would I do that with the transfer film - I have absolutely no experience with something like that. In retrospect, it was dumb to buy this watch, there are good 2234's for about the same money with a kept bezel and dial, but I was all excited about a Vostok with a hacking movement...

Anyway, I'll probably change the dial, already have one ordered that should fit, the hands will probably go as well as I've noticed that the minutes hand impedes the movement of the seconds hand, but I don't think I can realistically do something about the bezel.

PS. Found a movement on ebay, but as I said, I don't need a movement, the movement is fine.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I am in a quandary too with new Sekonda... do I keep it under wraps and keep it in its as new condition or do I wear it as normal as I abs love it on my wrist but I am very mindful that it won't stay pristine for long knowing I am a bit of a handy chap sort of fing up to no good with spanners and hammers etc.

Am going to dismiss the fake-O dials there, its not as if a good clean dial isn't hard to find from the depths of the scrap movement sellers, so a no no to the dial there 

I am trying to find a decent 38mm dial for the square "Bell-end" build (like the project nickname there?) as I have broken down the 50mm square aviation thingy with the canteen crown, discovering too the dial was plastic and shattered appreciatively when frisbee'd at a fly on the wall  Surprised me the movement is a Miyota 2115, such luxury... but I want something like a sandwich dial but the Vostok's 30mm dial leaves quite a gap of 4mm either side of dial. I also polished out the engraving on the back which was brushed over with a very mild laser, I am kinda stuck with a Miyota because of the insanely long stem as I reckon a chrono quartz or even an auto would fit in there.

I could take the Eaglemoss Flieger dial from the 1941 Luftwaffe watch but it looks so rubbish, any ideas folks? the dial I took out was 38mm and fitted the miyota pins but I can glue if need be.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> I wouldn't say there are plenty of 2234 movements for a few quid - I can only find watches with the movement, the non-working one's are cheap, the one's that work not so much... And I don't know why should I look for a movement, this one works just fine... I honestly have no idea how would I do that with the transfer film - I have absolutely no experience with something like that. In retrospect, it was dumb to buy this watch, there are good 2234's for about the same money with a kept bezel and dial, but I was all excited about a Vostok with a hacking movement...
> 
> Anyway, I'll probably change the dial, already have one ordered that should fit, the hands will probably go as well as I've noticed that the minutes hand impedes the movement of the seconds hand, but I don't think I can realistically do something about the bezel.
> 
> PS. Found a movement on ebay, but as I said, I don't need a movement, the movement is fine.


I mentioned only for the hands, dial etc if the blank dial and later hands were not to your liking, it would also give you some spares like mainspring, balance assy, click spring etc for down the road. These scrap movements are brilliant for spares and as I have been using, a way to learn disassembly, assembly and cleaning as the 2234 is very much the "basic" movement most similar to most other mechanical movements.

These movements are approaching their half century for the older ones so its wise to have some spares, I have several put aside just for that purpose for my three running Commanders, same as my tank commander when its mainspring snapped I had several 2214A's to pull a good spring out of, changing a Vostok mainspring is actually really easy surprising me loads on how easy it was.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I mentioned only for the hands, dial etc if the blank dial and later hands were not to your liking, it would also give you some spares like mainspring, balance assy, click spring etc for down the road. These scrap movements are brilliant for spares and as I have been using, a way to learn disassembly, assembly and cleaning as the 2234 is very much the "basic" movement most similar to most other mechanical movements.
> 
> These movements are approaching their half century for the older ones so its wise to have some spares, I have several put aside just for that purpose for my three running Commanders, same as my tank commander when its mainspring snapped I had several 2214A's to pull a good spring out of, changing a Vostok mainspring is actually really easy surprising me loads on how easy it was.


Spares for the movement would be a good idea - if I knew anything about watch repair, which I don't, but I hope to learn - maybe you have tips for books, or instructional youtube videos or stuff like that on the topic? I'm thinking about buying a cheap non working Commander, but just for the hands at the momment, the bezels of all the cheap ones are all in terrible condition.
I might buy a movement for spares though, with the hope of learning watch repair one day.


----------



## Ligavesh

What I could do about the bezel is I could paint it, maybe make markings for every 5 minutes or something, will see... But film transfer, don't know anything about that...


----------



## Dodgydruid

I recommend Mark Lovick's Watch Repair Channel on youtube as he covers a heck of a lot in some detail too. Transfer film printing vid ---> (



)

Mike at My Retro Watches covers a lot of Seiko, digital and some rare beasts and very interesting, has vids on watch hand restoration (My Retro Watches)

Ratfaced Git is awesome, he saved my '85 090 project from being a total disaster when I discovered I had lost the canon pinion by watching his vids, covers in depth many Soviet pieces from stripdown to full reassemble (



) He breaks his vids into little bitesize chunks and you can watch, pause as you copy his move, run again, pause, do the thing and seriously makes it look easier than the usual pinhole surgery rocket scientist sort of mystery it can seem to us 

Finally and this list is just off top of my head, there are other worthy watchsmiths on youtube but these three and Nekkid Watchmaker (Nekkid Watchmaker) I like for things like complicated chrono's leaning more to Japanese stuff but still learn a lot from his calm and informative narration.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cool, todays haul from da ebay arriveth...

Pair of decent spring bar tools, a Connoisseur cleaning cloth set and a tidy Sekonda quartz with what seems to be a 2356 in there.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I am beginning to wonder about this... nailed an Aeromatic for a tenth of its price??? Perhaps I should consider this as something a bit more serious 










But it is one of two on my list of Aeromatics, I have the other on my radar, the double canteen crowned diving beastie... so if the gods of eBay are kind to me I will have both of 'em sorted for my collection but maybe the gods will say... you have had a good run ardent pilgrim of online auctionary... be grateful


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, as wheedling and whining does pay off chaps... daughter took her jaw muscles set to nag off and allowed me the £40 basic timegrapher so its done, I did hold out for a Weishi but her cheeky response was see what father Xmas brings and I am like "hold on, I am supposed to say that..."










Been playing this evening with that connoisseur gold cleaning cloth and its amazing bit o' kit, got all my AU10's like mirror finish and even made the steels and TiN's look pretty darned good, paid £6.95 off ebay so def recommend and if you check my channel later I did a video of me cleaning my Vostok Komandirskie Zakas submariner, choosing that for the dull dirty bezel and dull sides and crown.

I've put the Sekonda away now, I used the cleaning cloth thingy on it and its now for best, I got its Slava brother here to wear for rough stuff or its quartz tank cousin but bit worried is it seems to drop a few mins for no reason if its left say on the T bar but me moving wrist it keeps going perfectly fine.

Gods of eBay certainly said to me "don't get greedy" as the dual canteen crown'd Aeromatic suddenly went beswick pricewise. I have found a rare Troika I am tempted with, simple brushed alloy and charcoal dial, quite a nice looking piece and its new too... we shall see as bank does have to recover from a bashing plus a £40 mugging with the last thing I need now is a better ultrasonic than the crappy one I got but that will be next month...

Will update on the unTimegrapher, if its crap I can blames me daughter for being tight with my money lol Nah I ain't that brave...


----------



## Fergfour

Made payment today. This 67 has eluded me for a while. A fellow WUS'r was downsizing his collection and was willing to let it go:









Very happy with this one as it will complete the 67 set. Finally:


----------



## Dodgydruid

I do like those bracelets, are the unique to the 67? Abs gawjus set of Amphibias


----------



## Fergfour

Dodgydruid said:


> I do like those bracelets, are the unique to the 67? Abs gawjus set of Amphibias


DD, the bracelets are unique to the 67.


----------



## Ligavesh

Bought a 2409 movement I needed for a watch from Komandirskie.com


----------



## Dodgydruid

Fergfour said:


> DD, the bracelets are unique to the 67.


I think they are absolutely exquisite, well done Vostok and now more than ever do I want a 67


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Bought a 2409 movement I needed for a watch from Komandirskie.com


Big fan of Komandirskie.com, very impressed with their crystals and hands too.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Damn rum... gets me into trouble... grumble grumble being moaned at mumble... Aliexpress big numeral orange lume 2 subdial canteen crown u boat grumble new car stereo for three wheel van.... Only Fools and Horses face mask and hoodie... too late to retract bids on Poljot Skipper.... it weren't my fault it was me brain.


----------



## 979greenwich

All of these came at once. Bought from 5 different sellers in 2 month period as project watches. But almost all work.


----------



## Dodgydruid

A man after me own heart, I do like a job lot and big bundle and those Raketa's I bet just need a service. Bet there is life in them Vostok's, have found unless the balance is absolutely knackered, even the worst of 'em can usually be cajoled back into life.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, new direction with the next "new" build... spotted this on Bestrus's shop and I am thinking 710, this dial, dated auto, black bezel and I reckon it will look cool, if it doesn't suit the 710 then I can swap my radio room into a 710 and build into the 090.










Oh and a well distressed 5 ringer for that weatherworn look... got most the bits bought now so its kinda just throwing it together with the movement being the most expensive followed by the case pricewise.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> OK, new direction with the next "new" build... spotted this on Bestrus's shop and I am thinking 710, this dial, dated auto, black bezel and I reckon it will look cool, if it doesn't suit the 710 then I can swap my radio room into a 710 and build into the 090.
> 
> View attachment 15387851
> 
> 
> Oh and a well distressed 5 ringer for that weatherworn look... got most the bits bought now so its kinda just throwing it together with the movement being the most expensive followed by the case pricewise.


How about putting a black date ring in?  (Meranom has those)


----------



## stevoe

Dodgydruid said:


> OK, new direction with the next "new" build...
> 
> View attachment 15387851


This is how it could look in a 12 case ...










Have a nice sunday!

Stephan


----------



## Dodgydruid

stevoe said:


> This is how it could look in a 12 case ...
> 
> View attachment 15388312
> 
> 
> Have a nice sunday!
> 
> Stephan


Wow that looks awesome 

I take it Bypah is Russian for Blizzard/Snowstorm?

That is some serious wrist presence, ty


----------



## stevoe

Dodgydruid said:


> ...I take it Bypah is Russian for Blizzard/Snowstorm?


Yes!










Current picture, next to the original


----------



## Dodgydruid

I refurbished earlier this year one of those round cases, new crystal/ring and a good polish so you have given me a thing to aim for and I can go with my all lume scuba dude for the 710.

What I would like is an all black bezel like the old bakelite ones, haven't seen any from my usual lot, do you know if they are made for aftermarket?


----------



## cuthbert

Finally pulled the trigger on a Vostok GMT:










Good choice?


----------



## Fergfour

cuthbert said:


> Finally pulled the trigger on a Vostok GMT:
> Good choice?


Not if you want an independent GMT hand  Seriously, any SE from Meranom is a good choice really!
The dial on yours is nice. I ended up changing the bezel on one of mine to a different 24hr style, but that's a personal preference.


----------



## Ligavesh

rant


----------



## Fergfour

I like how you *** some words but not others lol
The person who won the auction could be one of your comrades in this forum...


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> I like how you *** some words but not others lol
> The person who won the auction could be one of your comrades in this forum...


All is fair in love and war (and ebay bidding). Anyway, I may have lost the bid, but another seller received my offer for this almost mint-condition Commander (hope it works as well as it looks), so I got it for just a little bit more than the winning bid for the other one - but this one looks much better - so all's well in the end.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo that is a clean Commander.

Yes I have found that sometimes knockbacks end up as results elsewhere, I sometimes chuck low bids on stuff to keep an eye on whether I will bid later on and a Sanyo 20mp digital camera caught my eye so slapped a £1 bid on it. Someone else fancied it so it went upwards and didn't think of it again til I got a second chance... a 20mp digital camera working with cables and charger, battery for a pound and I am thinking the gods of ebay are being very favourable.

That was how I got my Seiko 7009-3100, slapped a quid bid on, forgot about it til the invoice came thru... was listed as spares or repair and broken but to this day I have no idea WHY it was listed as such as it keeps astonishing time, very accurate and the only mar is the crystal was slightly chipped which I got off with some cerulam oxide.

I think if you want something, patience is key and not getting cross if someone else pushes harder than yourself, throw down some cheeky bids and once in a while you will get a win that puts a smile on your face all day long.

Soviet joblots can be a gamble too, £12 for 5 Soviet quartz watches, the big square worked straight out the box... gave a clean and polish and I have a very serviceable watch that to buy would be £40 upwards. I have had this with the mechanicals as well, several of the Komandirskie's I own came from job lots listed as broken and really were just magnetised. You can tell usually by seller saying "running mega fast" or looking very carefully at the picture to see the telltale bunching up of the hairspring, its not our place to tell sellers their mistakes either, they get paid you get a good deal and everyone is happy


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> All is fair in love and war (and ebay bidding). Anyway, I may have lost the bid, but another seller received my offer for this almost mint-condition Commander (hope it works as well as it looks), so I got it for just a little bit more than the winning bid for the other one - but this one looks much better - so all's well in the end.
> 
> View attachment 15389226


I saw this one, all black and am not going to chase it if anyone is wanting a nice commander, kiddie takes a few days to send it off as I bought something earlier this year off of him.









Watch Vostok Komandirskie Zakaz MO Chistopol USSR Wristwatch Wostok Soviet ссср | eBay


But do not worry, I am an honest man and you will send the goods.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I saw this one, all black and am not going to chase it if anyone is wanting a nice commander, kiddie takes a few days to send it off as I bought something earlier this year off of him.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watch Vostok Komandirskie Zakaz MO Chistopol USSR Wristwatch Wostok Soviet ссср | eBay
> 
> 
> But do not worry, I am an honest man and you will send the goods.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.co.uk


That looks quite nice, but I already splurged on that blue one... will have it in my list if no one buys it...

Anyway, this came yesterday after a long travel, almost forgot I'd bought it:




























Anyone have any idea if it's authentic or not?


----------



## Dodgydruid

My instinct are the hands look like they came off a Slava or Chaika.

Google threw up a ton of like pieces and all different on each pic with spear hands, broad sword hands, octagonalish cases, round cases so a devilish one to nail down outside the catalogues.

Mike on Youtube channel My Retro Watches has just done a video on a blue version of the sub dial seconds Pobeda so worth a watch to see if its looking good inside as a real deal or its a naughty no no.

I wouldn't be ashamed of it on my wrist, very striking looking watch.


----------



## Ligavesh

will post it in the legit or franken thread, see if someone knows more about it

I found also very little on google, always with different hands - thought this one was the most authenthic for some reason lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

It may well be a good clean looked after example, its not an obvious franken due to the wear on the case as a good indicator and I would say the movement is also correct, it may well be one of them fix it at all costs backstreet watchmaker repair's who didn't have a set of the right hands or something and found some others fitted.

The second hand looks correct, so maybe a redial and hands rather than a full on fakery


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sooooo.... 40 quid delivered for a new 710 Amphibia?





__





Купить Часы Амфибия - 710640 в официальном интернет-магазине "Командирские.com"


Часы Амфибия - 710640 купите выгодно в официальном интернет-магазине Командирские.com с доставкой по России. Лучшие условия среди дилеров Чистопольского часового завода




komandirskie.com





And yes I did the deed and seeing as these are 60 on ebay and elsewhere, I think that is a bargain!!! (and I joined the new Vostok club)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh dear, another day another deal... bit suspect of the middle one being more of a ladies watch but another Slava quartz either for parts or get working and apparently the right hand Luch keeps good time... not bad for £7 and a few quid postage from Ukraine 










It was them above or this Slava tank I was sniffing at but tbh I have a Slava tank and a Sekonda tank plus the Slava quartz version of the tank and I am hoping to get one good round Slava quartz together and I quite like the right hand Luch too.









☭ Vintage Mechanical Watch Slava TANK Day/Date 26 jewels SOVIET/USSR RUSSIAN | eBay


The Slava watch is a trademark of "The Second Moscow Watch Plant". The watch is in working condition. With respect.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## yekaterinburg

Yesterday I picked up this brilliant "Москва" watch from a flea market in Ljubljana, where I am currently working remotely! I've wanted to pick one of these up for a while now as Moscow has a very special place in my heart having spent so much time there as a student and then teacher. It's also my second market stall purchase! There's something so nice about being able to buy a watch in person rather than online, but always a bit of a gamble! Over 24 hours in and it may have gained 30 seconds so I'm very very happy!









Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## 979greenwich

Congrats. There's a vintage watch shop in the centre of Ljubljana, i remember seeing some nice pieces there, like Sturmanskie Gagarin and Seiko Bullhead. Pricey as well.


----------



## Bsw_sc

This arrived in my mailbox today from Ukraine. I like the looks of it but it fits a tad snug. I need to find a way to squeeze just a tad more room in the bracelet but the clasps are set at their furthest points. May need to try an extender. Shame because I would really like to wear this one right away. Might put a black leather one piece strap on it for now until I can get this bracelet a little larger


----------



## Dodgydruid

The place I want to visit is the field of dreams in Minsk, I recently saw a Youtuber do a visit there and the amount of gawjus Soviet memorabilia, watches etc was amazing. A few of my regular sellers list Minsk as their home town on ebay so I am guessing a fair bit of my stuff goes through the field of dreams.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bsw_sc said:


> This arrived in my mailbox today from Ukraine. I like the looks of it but it fits a tad snug. I need to find a way to squeeze just a tad more room in the bracelet but the clasps are set at their furthest points. May need to try an extender. Shame because I would really like to wear this one right away. Might put a black leather one piece strap on it for now until I can get this bracelet a little larger
> View attachment 15390663


On my Sekonda one of these I was setting the date up manually, learned yesterday apparently you pull the stem out a bit from time setting mode kinda like how you push the stem in on old Seiko's to change the date, so damned cool 

If you are handy and have the tools, you could create two small link inserts to sit either side of clasp out of some steel or other metal or source a longer clasp that gives you those precious mm's

That bracelet looks very much the same design as my Luch's fitted bracelet except mine lacks the T piece for the lugs and the case has a smaller "fang" that engages with the bracelet.


----------



## Bsw_sc

Dodgydruid said:


> On my Sekonda one of these I was setting the date up manually, learned yesterday apparently you pull the stem out a bit from time setting mode kinda like how you push the stem in on old Seiko's to change the date, so damned cool
> 
> If you are handy and have the tools, you could create two small link inserts to sit either side of clasp out of some steel or other metal or source a longer clasp that gives you those precious mm's
> 
> That bracelet looks very much the same design as my Luch's fitted bracelet except mine lacks the T piece for the lugs and the case has a smaller "fang" that engages with the bracelet.


This bracelet is what sold me on this particular one, for some odd reason I really like these old style bracelets on some of these


----------



## Dodgydruid

I love them too, I call 'em boilerplates for the want of a word as they are made of solid plates of metal and very robust look and feel imho

Here's my unusual Luch, unusual in it has a textured dial, fitted bracelet and a faceted glass too, its like a house roof with two facet panels in the crystal and looking at the other Luch's of that year this was so ostentatious designwise compared to the standard round Luch's.


----------



## Ligavesh

A 2609 НП movement in questionable state - hopefully I (that is, some watchmaker) can get it in a good state so I could put it in my Raketa Copernicus and replace the 'impostor' 2609 HA.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Nailed another 'un...

Sekonda alarm, round, black with the minty lume... very very nice










My Sekonda side of the collection has blossomed brilliantly, I have the square gold Poljot but lacked a round alarm or a Sekonda variant, so its all working out.

Sadly though my 3050 Slava quartz tank stopped today and isn't responding to first attentions, I dunno if its down to the incredible heat and muggyness or what and am a bit peeved its not lasted long too so that is going up on the deck for a closer inspection.

Just loving the 119 on the wrist right now, I know the Sekonda Alarm is the one to knock it off my wrist but something will come along and dethrone that for a while too.


----------



## OCSleeper

A couple arrivals from my recent purchases. Komanderskie in the Amphibian case and the 320235 Amphibian.








The Komanderskie seller made no claims to authenticity as he was an estate buyer. But he did tell me it came from a gentleman whose father was a collector of Soviet watches. I've found only a couple images online with this exact arrangement of hands, case(including case back) and dial. Not sure if these were sold in the Voentorg as a Komanderskie version of the 200m Amphibian or a complete franken. Anyway, I like it and I'll be cleaning it up and probably use paint on the hands rather than re-lume them.
















The Amphibian was a pleasant surprise because the watch is waaaay better in person than the seller photos showed. It's nearly perfect and I'm actually amazed it didn't come with the original box and papers for its condition.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

A few bits for the planned 'modded watch', seeing as how the watch itself went out of stock quickly.

1 - bezel (hopefully it'll be the 'right' colour - to either contrast or match the dial I have!)







2 - A couple of bracelets (one for the paratrooper (18mm) & one for the 'build' (22mm)) - I like the look of these - sort of a cross between a mesh and a 'link' bracelet, but without the perceived 'problems' with adjusting the length of a mesh.







3 - Hands - think that these (Kremlin) will give the watch a far different look to a 'normal' Amphibian or 'Dirskie set


----------



## Dodgydruid

Komandirskie.com? I bought a new 710 there last week for 3600 roubles which with Russia Post came to about $40, I could prob not wear it, keep it unblemished and sell on UK eBay for £60 quite a thought there.

I got hit by customs for first time in ages, for a £3 surcharge bloody Royal Mail charges me £8 for the privilege, then I finds out the sorting office is only open 7-9am cos of this stupid baloneyvirus then the nice postie lady says to me "Hey that really sucks, give me the dosh and I will pop it round to you on the morrow" so faith in humanity restored once again. Wasn't for a watch though, I bought a new SD card playing stereo for the Reliant, for some reason haven't been stung for customs on watches and the amount I have been bringing in I am surprised no one has tried to plunder me pockets there.

Customs hit a friend of mine, he builds 1 in 10 steam engines and he had a part to make he didn't have the precision equipment to make so he sends his partially turned part to a friend in the US, who does the deed and sends it back and he got stung by HM Customs for 400 pounds, for his own small part.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Komandirskie.com? I bought a new 710 there last week for 3600 roubles which with Russia Post came to about $40, I could prob not wear it, keep it unblemished and sell on UK eBay for £60 quite a thought there


For that amount, thought that the Russian post was free, only if you wanted UPS service that it cost? I went for Russian post simply because the watch wasn't in stock, so can't do anything except look at the bits when they arrive anyway  
Keep going on that UK eBay price - so long as you put "UK supplier" it's closer to £100 & if you mod it, £160 (I've seen those two rip-off merchants listings)


----------



## Dodgydruid

It is food for thought, I imagine there are wholesale opportunities via the outlets and I now have an email direct to Vostok themselves so direct wholesaling prob isn't out of the question either its whether say Vostok would be happy with small batches.

I have had a selling business before, sold shoes and trainers on markets back in the mists of time, its certainly food for thought and I reckon a UK based online retail outlet could work just selling Russian brands at affordable prices.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> It is food for thought, I imagine there are wholesale opportunities via the outlets and I now have an email direct to Vostok themselves so direct wholesaling prob isn't out of the question either its whether say Vostok would be happy with small batches.
> 
> I have had a selling business before, sold shoes and trainers on markets back in the mists of time, its certainly food for thought and I reckon a UK based online retail outlet could work just selling Russian brands at affordable prices.


As opposed to the 'official UK retailer' on eBay - can't figure out what they're basing their prices on, sure, they may well be SE Amphibias, but at their prices, can order everything from Meranom to do the job, and still have change!


----------



## Livaren

Bsw_sc said:


> This arrived in my mailbox today from Ukraine. I like the looks of it but it fits a tad snug. I need to find a way to squeeze just a tad more room in the bracelet but the clasps are set at their furthest points. May need to try an extender. Shame because I would really like to wear this one right away. Might put a black leather one piece strap on it for now until I can get this bracelet a little larger
> View attachment 15390663


love the dial colour!


----------



## Dodgydruid

That I suspect is because them in the watch retail outlets are massively disconnected with their customer base and just assume they can charge insanely inflated prices when really you want to be leaning more to the "stack it high, sell it cheap" ethos.

This of course was how the whole Sekonda thing started, they were able to comfortably attack Timex which was the major budget brand conglomerate in the sector, Timex had become lazy, greedy and complacent assured that no competitors could take them on and in the 70's Timex in the UK haemorrhaged market share to Sekonda because of this complacent attitude that led to people in droves to seek an alternative to the terrible pieces Timex were shoving down the throats of us British.

Of course now its evolved again, we can get for insanely low prices some pretty amazing stuff from China but not everyone wants Chinese stuff and a lot of it has proven to be good for a while but not something long lasting or rugged like a Vostok, if you factor in say buying a new Chinese watch every year or two years versus one Vostok that is good for ten years you can see the economic sense in buying the one versus the many.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Of course now its evolved again, we can get for insanely low prices some pretty amazing stuff from China but not everyone wants Chinese stuff and a lot of it has proven to be good for a while but not something long lasting or rugged like a Vostok, if you factor in say buying a new Chinese watch every year or two years versus one Vostok that is good for ten years you can see the economic sense in buying the one versus the many.


Could well be a market for bringing in a 'budget' range that look good & will last.
TBH, I've tended to buy 'beaters' from places like Aldi & Lidl - cheap enough not to care whether they last the life of the battery, and not worth paying to get a new battery fitted or repaired - think the last one cost about £4, they've usually got decent leather straps, though one came with a soft 18mm black silicon one. Smashed the crystal on one by having the tail lift hit it on a delivery - another got ripped off my wrist (tail lift - again) and the pins all bent - after that, I smelt the coffee & swapped back to pocket watches!


----------



## Dodgydruid

I can see how that would irritate and thank the lords it wasn't something like a prized Omega or Rolex, my one and only ever Rolex me mum bought for my 21st, I took it off to wash up in the market traders block for the days trading and forgot to put it on... walked not even 100ft and dashed back... gone and I spent several weeks of asking traders the time to see if my Rolex was on their wrist but nope, I imagine it was either melted down for its gold and the movement sold on or some snide has it still and I hope it gave him horrible unreliable service grr

At least if I break or lose a Soviet or similar level watch what have I lost?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Been musical bracelets and straps this morning, arrival of the Sekonda Alarm needing me to take the gold washboard bracelet off my Slava Glory to put onto it as it was the only 18mm bracelet that went with it in my eyes.

Keeping very good time so far, the alarm is a little more "bell" like than my square Poljot alarm and I do love the black and mint lume going on there


----------



## OCSleeper

Pulled these from the mail box this morning, after the wife left for the beach, 

































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Look at that texturing on the Slava dial wow, a very very nice Slava and the alarm clock looks interesting too.


----------



## Odessa200

Dodgydruid said:


> Look at that texturing on the Slava dial wow, a very very nice Slava and the alarm clock looks interesting too.


i am looking for one like this as well.


----------



## Ligavesh

It was a bad day for my wallet, but I can't be mad at myself too much, the offers were very tempting... I also get combined shipping on the first three, so not that bad.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Some unusual Vostok'ing going on there m8, four lovely examples and I do love a clean Commander as all mine are rather shabby in comparison 

I've only got my three quartz grab bag, an Indian FHF movement'd Roamer in garish yellow and green like a crash test dummy and a Ricoh 70's auto in a tonneau like case, oh and that Paulearis "U Boat" canteen crown'd thingy.

Also have bought a couple more rare King Dick girder wrenches for my tool collection, if ppl like old vintage tools Youtube channel Hand Tool Rescue have just released a full tool steel King Dick number 3 9 inch monster adjustable wrench reproductions, I have already the very good 4 inch and 6 inch and just about the only adjustables you would need and you can use them as socket wrenches too (the six incher end girder fits perfectly into a 1/2" drive socket)

Still waiting on my cut price Timegrapher, still waiting for chap who did my oxblood strap to respond if he will do one in a mottled bottle green hide for my Amphibia 119, will be asking him if he can maybe do some tooling like embossed hammer and sickles or CCCP etc into the leathers, I would be up for some of them.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Some unusual Vostok'ing going on there m8, four lovely examples and I do love a clean Commander as all mine are rather shabby in comparison
> 
> I've only got my three quartz grab bag, an Indian FHF movement'd Roamer in garish yellow and green like a crash test dummy and a Ricoh 70's auto in a tonneau like case, oh and that Paulearis "U Boat" canteen crown'd thingy.
> 
> Also have bought a couple more rare King Dick girder wrenches for my tool collection, if ppl like old vintage tools Youtube channel Hand Tool Rescue have just released a full tool steel King Dick number 3 9 inch monster adjustable wrench reproductions, I have already the very good 4 inch and 6 inch and just about the only adjustables you would need and you can use them as socket wrenches too (the six incher end girder fits perfectly into a 1/2" drive socket)
> 
> Still waiting on my cut price Timegrapher, still waiting for chap who did my oxblood strap to respond if he will do one in a mottled bottle green hide for my Amphibia 119, will be asking him if he can maybe do some tooling like embossed hammer and sickles or CCCP etc into the leathers, I would be up for some of them.


Yeah, I was a bit lucky (or unlucky depending how you look at it  ) to have the same seller offer those at the same time... I had been looking for a 2234 and stumbled upon these... also that 4th one, with the circles for numerals, I always found them interesting and it came in the search results from a local seller at the same time. Actually that first seller had a lot of other interesting pieces auctioned, I had to restrain mayself to these three


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have been making cows eyes at a square Vostok and another 119 has caught my but the lume has degraded on dial markers and paddles.

Finished connoisseur clothing the TiN's tonite and all gleaming back in display, am hoping when my cut price timegrapher arrives I can get the 12 odd needing regulating out of the project box.

My 710 left Russia yesterday, excited as it will be my first new Vostok with all the papers and box etc. I am beginning to think my brother doesn't want these two beautiful Cadet's I sorted out for my nephews, with them being dual citizen Russian and UK I thought it nice to give them each their first "man's" watch but at this rate I am going to have the movements out and into the spare Amphibia cases I want to get used.

Spent today sorting out my junk stuff, filled two trainer box's with cheap quartz junk watches which I will be putting up as a massive job lot on the ebay, I am also thinking of outing the Komandirskie spare cases etc and start stripping down the scrapper Vostok and Slava movements to harvest the good parts and catalogue them for down the road spares. I'm going to strip down my Soviet quartz pieces with the view to build good ones out of the good parts.

I found in one of the junk bags some Omega ladies part movements and an Omega quartz movement so they need further looking at as does the ancient ladies Invicta which is very fragile.


----------



## Panavia

A few days ago I got this two:


----------



## mariomart

Just received these two from Ukraine after a little over a month of travel to Australia


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Just received these two from Ukraine after a little over a month of travel to Australia
> 
> View attachment 15405029


One transition and one Soviet, nice pair - have you got the Russian one yet?


----------



## mariomart

SuffolkGerryW said:


> One transition and one Soviet, nice pair - have you got the Russian one yet?


I've got the Soviet Generalskie still incoming, I haven't yet sourced the Albatross or Russian ones yet.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I've got my eye on a similar Amphibia with a jaunty little navy ship under a totally faded flag on the same cream dial with "Aumpsoc" under the ship. I like it as logo'd Amphibia's are scarcer than their Komandirskie cousins.

Also making cows eyes at a black bakelite jobby with the simple black dial in a roundy Amphibia case, quite like that.

Decided that I won't be buying any more Aliexpress watches for a while, this U1001 Paulearis has a very suspect movement in and the claimed "lume painted" numerals is not lume at all just a bright orange but heck it cost me £18 but wishing I had spraunced the extra for the Parnis variant which is a full chrono but the canteen crown is at the 9 position whereas I have the one at the 3 position being a right handed watch wearer.

Been putting the baby timegrapher to use today, nailed my Vostok Komandirskie tank commander to .2 beat error and gaining +-3sd, now doing the Slava auto which I knocked out of whack when I inadvertently knocked the stud cock and reg arms when I was moving the rotor and clipped both. Next up is my NOS gold Sekonda TV and Chaika Stadium, the TV runs fast and slow, the Stadium has started losing time so want to listen to both as I suspect both are needing a full service.


----------



## Ligavesh

I know I shouldn't be buying stuff for the time being, BUT LOOK AT THIS THING:



















Never seen anything like it - hope it works as well as it looks, cause it was pretty cheap.


----------



## Dodgydruid

A bit higher on the quality level than the usual ol' Soviet boiler, someone who owned that wasn't some docker or machinist at the bearing ball factory


----------



## OCSleeper

This one arrived today. Initially I wanted to replace the bezel but it's already growing on me. This will be my last purchase for awhile. Mostly because I'm getting ready to go on vacation and won't be home to get the mail, haha.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

I do that, sometimes when I spot a piece and have all these plans to do this or that then find that on the wrist it looks just right so leave it alone.

A very nice chrono indeed


----------



## Fergfour

I've been looking at this for a year or so and couldn't ignore it any longer. Wouldn't have bothered if I didn't get such amazing deal. This will be my 2nd modern Raketa. Stock photo.


----------



## Dodgydruid

There are some astonishing deals right now, I paid $40 for my eagerly awaited 710640 Amphibia from Komandirskie.com, that is like 10 dollars over the average price for a standard Komandirskie, if the deal is still going next month I will be having another one from them at those prices 

I must admit I only have one Raketa in the collection, that being a Raketa Sekonda branded AU10 which was a NOS watch but very gummed up with aged oil (1970's) so I do plan to get some more in but I seem to be scoring a lot of Sekonda's of Poljot and Slava origins.


----------



## stevarad

Dodgydruid said:


> There are some astonishing deals right now, I paid $40 for my eagerly awaited 710640 Amphibia from Komandirskie.com, that is like 10 dollars over the average price for a standard Komandirskie, if the deal is still going next month I will be having another one from them at those prices
> 
> I must admit I only have one Raketa in the collection, that being a Raketa Sekonda branded AU10 which was a NOS watch but very gummed up with aged oil (1970's) so I do plan to get some more in but I seem to be scoring a lot of Sekonda's of Poljot and Slava origins.


How did you get such good deal?

It is standard price right now


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

stevarad said:


> How did you get such good deal?
> 
> It is standard price right now


Still showing as 3649 roubles (about 37 GBP / 50 USD) on their site at the moment


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Got the email to say that the watch (090679, matt case) that will form the 'base' of 'project 090' is back in stock (3649 roubles), just a shame that the bezel for the 650 and the 'signed' crown for the project didn't come in at the same time, oh well, always add something to those two items to make up a worthwhile order, I suppose


----------



## Fergfour

Back to komandirskie.com for a sec, when checking out there's a coupon/discount code box. I thought I saw a post recently about a valid code but I can't remember if it was on WUS or another watch forum. Anyone know of a coupon code for komandirskie.com?


----------



## Victorv

Fergfour said:


> Back to komandirskie.com for a sec, when checking out there's a coupon/discount code box. I thought I saw a post recently about a valid code but I can't remember if it was on WUS or another watch forum. Anyone know of a coupon code for komandirskie.com?


Interested too


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Fergfour said:


> Back to komandirskie.com for a sec, when checking out there's a coupon/discount code box. I thought I saw a post recently about a valid code but I can't remember if it was on WUS or another watch forum. Anyone know of a coupon code for komandirskie.com?


Bit late, (2 orders from them so far) but will have to put another order in for some bits and pieces, so would be interested as well.
I thought that I'd seen one for Meranom, but when I ordered, couldn't find it


----------



## Fergfour

It arrived today


----------



## pump 19

Nicest box I've seen in quite a while. C'mon with the contents....


----------



## Fergfour

pump 19 said:


> Nicest box I've seen in quite a while. C'mon with the contents....


Been super busy today, tgif though! This is a 190465 40th Anniversary 1967:




































I didn't get the bracelet but I do have them for my other 67's. For now it's on a Watch Steward until I figure out what strap I like with it.

Here it is next to it's comrade the 190476.


----------



## pump 19

Fergfour said:


> Been super busy today, tgif though! This is a 190465 40th Anniversary 1967:


That is a handsome watch. Like the combination of black dial and retro inspired indices.


----------



## Fergfour

pump 19 said:


> That is a handsome watch. Like the combination of black dial and retro inspired indices.


If you weren't aware, there were 1967 pieces made between the two versions, so not as rare as the bronze or the 50th anniv 67's. Some apparently had a lollipop style seconds hand with lume on the end. Not sure if they switched the hand out due to seconds-hand stuttering or what the story is there. I'm just happy I have the pair.


----------



## UnzazA

Fergfour said:


> Back to komandirskie.com for a sec, when checking out there's a coupon/discount code box. I thought I saw a post recently about a valid code but I can't remember if it was on WUS or another watch forum. Anyone know of a coupon code for komandirskie.com?


Code getat5 will give you 5% off as far as I know.


----------



## Fergfour

UnzazA said:


> Code getat5 will give you 5% off as far as I know.


I thought it was something like that, thanks! So to followup on DD's 710640 purchase, it's listed at 3649 ($48.81) and with the discount it drops t 3444 ($46.05) maybe a little more with delivery fee.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Fergfour said:


> I thought it was something like that, thanks! So to followup on DD's 710640 purchase, it's listed at 3649 ($48.81) and with the discount it drops t 3444 ($46.05) maybe a little more with delivery fee.


Only delivery fee would be on ups option, if you are prepared to wait for Russian post, delivery is free over 2000 roubles (my first order from 17 aug is still trundling to the customs - reached Sharapovo today)


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## Fergfour

Still, I'll take 5% off anytime


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Fergfour said:


> Still, I'll take 5% off anytime


True, wish I'd known back on the 17th


----------



## Bsw_sc

Ordered this today from Vostok-watches24. Only my 3rd purchase of a NEW Russian watch. But it hits all of my wants... brushed steel, no date and that orange dial. It also has superluminova added. It's going to be a long wait for this one for sure


----------



## Fergfour

Love the orange. I got one of their 1967's before. It's not as long a wait as you think. 
I went to their site just now, they have 2 listings for what looks like the identical watch. One of them for 154 euro, the other for 166 euro?


----------



## Bsw_sc

Believe one has the clear case back and the other does not


----------



## Dodgydruid

I've been a bit slack, trying to focus on my existing "to do"'s and tidying the fleet up so to speak.

So really apart from a couple leather Zulu's, a green 5 ringer for my 119, a Hagerty SS cleaning cloth set and a bottle of one dip, not really bought much watchwise.

I have been chasing a couple of Pulsar V600's, got me feelers into a US one and have widened my "search" to accepting Seiko and variants of the 8m36, I was on the point of doing a deal on a 8M26 but seller said the tailormade unadjustable fitted bracelet was at 17.5 cm's and my phat wrist is 18.25cm's and I was "arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh"

I have earmarked which of my collection now are going up on ebay, put them aside after checking 'em out and printing out a Tg sheet for each so still wondering if I do them in lumps as mini collections or singly which will be tedious.

So sitting here polishing the star of my marathon timegraphing session, the ancient Avia which despite its age knocked the brand new Miyota, the Seiko's etc into the long grass... well done Avia 


















(the readout I had cleared after getting its most stable listening point, the Weishi does have the advantage I think for getting watches seated properly)


----------



## Ligavesh

Today Pobedas - you remember my franken Pobeda with the fantasy "Океан" dial? I've decided to replace the fantasy dial with an original one from a non-working watch.










Then it went down the rabbit hole...



















*THAT'S IT : NO MORE WATCHES IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS!!!!!!!*
excluding modding projects, so buying for components for a particular build is okay, but the build has to already be on the table, half-finished, and not in my head.

EDIT: Forgot to include the recepients of the organs :


----------



## Fergfour

Bsw_sc said:


> Believe one has the clear case back and the other does not


That must be it. (The picture shows the regular caseback)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe you got the itch m8... 5 years? trim that down a bit, months? days? hou... OK I will stop lol

One Luch I have in my targets is one of them strange looking eye shaped jobbies, I love the oddball ovals and its in the list just under Chaika "big blue" quartz and above Chaika Stadium AU10 in my list of "must haves" lol

I'm also looking out for further broken Luch hybrid quartz, the 3055 movement which has a traditional balance wheel but is driven by a quartz movement, the one I got here is in good cosmetic condition but someone tampered with the insides rendering it useless and I need a complete untampered one to start to reverse engineer it as well as be a source of parts.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Hehe you got the itch m8... 5 years? trim that down a bit, months? days? hou... OK I will stop lol
> 
> One Luch I have in my targets is one of them strange looking eye shaped jobbies, I love the oddball ovals and its in the list just under Chaika "big blue" quartz and above Chaika Stadium AU10 in my list of "must haves" lol
> 
> I'm also looking out for further broken Luch hybrid quartz, the 3055 movement which has a traditional balance wheel but is driven by a quartz movement, the one I got here is in good cosmetic condition but someone tampered with the insides rendering it useless and I need a complete untampered one to start to reverse engineer it as well as be a source of parts.


**** the itch, in the next few months half of the 'collection' has to go. I'll buy the Sadko and that old diver I've committed to buying (if it ever comes through), maybe a few parts for mods here and there, but otherwise watches are allowed only out the door in the foreseeable future.


----------



## chesterworks

Any suggestions for outlets/sellers of vintage stock that _won't _take 2-3 months to get to the U.S.?


----------



## Odessa200

chesterworks said:


> Any suggestions for outlets/sellers of vintage stock that _won't _take 2-3 months to get to the U.S.?


many sellers like Meramom will send with priority but you need to ask for it and you will pay extra. For some watches the shipping may become a substantial % of the total cost. If the watch is 30$, would you like to pay 25$ for shipping? Personally I am Ok to keep paying under 10$ and wait....


----------



## Kotsov

Odessa200 said:


> many sellers like Meramom will send with priority but you need to ask for it and you will pay extra. For some watches the shipping may become a substantial % of the total cost. If the watch is 30$, would you like to pay 25$ for shipping? Personally I am Ok to keep paying under 10$ and wait....


Does Meranom sell vintage stock though?


----------



## RobNJ

You could search the usual places for US-based sellers. Of course, much of what you find will be overpriced and/or questionable, but sometimes bargains and good watches are to be had.


----------



## Odessa200

Kotsov said:


> Does Meranom sell vintage stock though?


nope. Missed the vintage part of the question


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes I spent today sorting out my "to go" pieces and sat there and one by one they all went back into the display boxes and I sat there thinking "I didn't think that is how it works..." but I rarely wear any of my Komandirskies, nor do I wear my octa Amphibia and I have two phat tv Poljots so I don't need one of them either and about 20 Sekonda quartz can go as well and some of my chrono quartz and reducing my Oskar Emil's down to my Houston and Series 800 as both heavy solid stainless steel. I'm keeping the Bliger and the other auto 007 homage but going will be the Jaragar and Military Royale auto's subject to seeing what the movement is inside the MR as if its a 8215 then will keep back for spares, if its a DG2815 same but if its the generic nasty Chinese MingingPhany I suspect it is... its on its way lol

I've nailed down which scope I want and which ultrasonic I want and these will pay for those with some change left over to buy something a bit nice I am thinking or hold back until next month and have enuff for a mech chrono or a Ratnik which are high on my buying list at mo


----------



## Dodgydruid

Well yes and no in Meranom do sell new versions of their vintage Komandirskie ranges, its apart from some lettering on dial very much the same watch as the Soviet pieces.

As for shipping times, its perhaps time to remember that not everyone lives right next to a rapid transit export hub, so in Russia the further away from Moscow you are, add on days and costs due to the vast size of Russia, its not so efficient handling system and a situation where the departure points are backlogged terribly due to an earlier blockade of parcels traffic that affected Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus as there were no air or land carriers able to transit between the countries and European nations. I heard one chap in Austria or somewhere, unable to get anyone to fetch his machinery he had bought from somewhere east in the end hired a van and drove to fetch it himself lol and no doubt enriched many customs chaps on the way back too.

The further west you go, the quicker and cheaper it becomes, Germany to UK can be as little as 48 hours and not very much and customs free too. It is pretty much the same in the US due to the sheer size of the country, when you factor in say something sent to the state capital, it then has to go to nearest large town, then to nearest small town and so on and it was in the news that Trump was deliberately strangulating the USPS with many facilities and staff dismissed this year causing utter carnage in some parts of the US in regards to post as it has long been the game plan of the republicans to break up the USPS.


----------



## Fergfour

Dodgydruid said:


> Yes I spent today sorting out my "to go" pieces and sat there and one by one they all went back into the display boxes and I sat there thinking "I didn't think that is how it works..." but I rarely wear any of my Komandirskies, nor do I wear my octa Amphibia and I have two phat tv Poljots so I don't need one of them either and about 20 Sekonda quartz can go as well and some of my chrono quartz and reducing my Oskar Emil's down to my Houston and Series 800 as both heavy solid stainless steel. I'm keeping the Bliger and the other auto 007 homage but going will be the Jaragar and Military Royale auto's subject to seeing what the movement is inside the MR as if its a 8215 then will keep back for spares, if its a DG2815 same but if its the generic nasty Chinese MingingPhany I suspect it is... its on its way lol
> I've nailed down which scope I want and which ultrasonic I want and these will pay for those with some change left over to buy something a bit nice I am thinking or hold back until next month and have enuff for a mech chrono or a Ratnik which are high on my buying list at mo


I got out of the quantity game a while back. It was so easy to just keep buying, especially when what I was buying was affordable to me. The search was addicting accumulating was addicting, it was like a game. Selling everything was a hassle too but it was a relief when I got down to a more manageable number. Instead of 50-75 at any given time I'm now under 20 pieces. Funny thing is that fewer watches doesn't always mean saving $$...


----------



## Dodgydruid

I think it happens as you try and find out the rough diamonds in the coal and you learn from other's what is a good rare and desireable watch as opposed to a common and garden mass produced thingy and I think I have gotten to that part of the game.

Will be keeping my Seiko's cos Seiko's is well enough said as they are just lovely in my mind, I have way way too many chrono's so def want to whittle them down to one or two good 'uns but as most of them are Seiko's under the dial that will be a difficult one to reduce their numbers.

I went through my project box and I have something like 40 watches needing something to make them work and prob enough Soviet quartz parts to build a fair few so with the last two pieces of hardware I need to really do this whole stripdown and servicing thing, I hope to be able to turn them projects into viable working pieces.

Am also putting up for sale my steam engines as they are just sitting there gathering dust, have high hopes for my ultra rare 1939 Mamod SC3 which was only produced for a couple months when WW2 started and Mamod had to smelt its stock for war resources, a very small handful of those SC3's exist now and might be tempted with a professional auctioneer for that one.


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> I got out of the quantity game a while back. It was so easy to just keep buying, especially when what I was buying was affordable to me. The search was addicting accumulating was addicting, it was like a game. Selling everything was a hassle too but it was a relief when I got down to a more manageable number. Instead of 50-75 at any given time I'm now under 20 pieces. Funny thing is that fewer watches doesn't always mean saving $$...


I don't think I could go under 20, but under 30 or so might be doable...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Not planning on large numbers, (over 20) as I've been 'caught' before with the 'one of each' collection - just going with the outlook of 'I like that one, but can I/do I want to pay that price?'


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes I suffer from the one of each syndrome lol


----------



## miroman

Today's new income - a very rare model Raketa with 2209 caliber, in square case:

































Also that's addition to my collection of 'Square-cased Raketa 2209':









Regards, Miro.


----------



## Kamenev

Purchased this OKEAH at auction! Pretty happy that it's all original (except for a repaired/replaced balance which should be brass coloured not silver) and from the mid-late 80s. 
Interestingly the movement is marked 3132 instead of 3133! I've only seen very few movements with such a stamp


----------



## Lucidor

This Ural arrived a few days ago. I have showed the sellers pictures before but decided to add a couple of my own. It is not a rare watch but what sets it apart is its immaculate condition. Being made of soft aluminium, the case scratches vey easily. This one however, is in near mint condition. It is a big watch but the case material makes it very light, to the point it surprised me when I first picked it up.


----------



## Ligavesh

I bought this (supposedly) never worn Poljot 3133 :



















The price was relatively low, and I actually bought it as a reserve 3133 movement for my Sturmanskies and the Okean I'm trying to build, I also plan to use that original strap. Otoh, if it were indeed a limited edition, it would be a shame to take it apart as a 'donor' watch. We'll see... for the price I thought better it stayed in my drawer, in case I urgently needed a 3133 - and if not, I can always sell it later.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have a few on the boil so to speak but I did snap this up at a very low price but I quite like the modern Sekonda diver's.










I stripped out the 2427 from this one today but the movement had one of them soppy dial dots on top of a fused into the hole dial foot holding the dial in place, was same on the other side and I drifted out that dial foot but the date side dial foot is abs solid and I don't have a drill bit fine enough to drill it out 










The movement is going into my Slava tank which the movement in there needs a full stripdown and service as no matter how I set up the balance works it runs continually fast and I have demagged it, no bunching up or anything so its not a happy movement 










I will be keeping the tanks day wheel on the replacement transplant.

Finally been having a bit of a wear of my Gruen this last day and its really grown on me, seems to have a Ronda quartz in there as I was expecting Miyota 2115 so its a bit nicer and def worth the £5 I paid for it brand new from a chap in Canada who apparently worked for the firm that makes watches for companies in batches.










Its a very squat, square piece with an insane lug width of a full inch or 25mm, I quite like it whatever else and quite an unusual watch.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh yes... he shoots and scores... 10 mixed dials including a couple really cool ones and is that a Generalskie Amphibia dial in there I see...? Pretty cool that I have 6 clean Komandirskie cases, 3 Amphibia cases I refurbed and 1 clean Commander case... I think my Vostok'ery is about to raise a little...










I wanted the roads 250, the three jets and the last two on the bottom left mainly, another para faded to gold sadly but I read somewhere that someone had reasonable success in making a "wash" can recolour the faded dials.


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> Oh yes... he shoots and scores... 10 mixed dials including a couple really cool ones and is that a Generalskie Amphibia dial in there I see...?


Pretty sure the "Generalskie" you are referring to is actually an "Albatross" dial


----------



## Dodgydruid

I was thinking of the cream submarine, which is a dateless window version of the Komandirskie I have here with the date window, I just thought to really start building up these part and dismantled pieces into something wearable as I have quite a few hand sets to use up as well lol

Still a good hit for a little over ten dollars I was thinking and yes they will be franken in not original dial/case sets but its my wrist and if I did sell would advise any were built up rather than claim they were super rare found in a barn, one careful lady owner and blessed personally by Rasputin...


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> I was thinking of the cream submarine, which is a dateless window version of the Komandirskie I have here with the date window, I just thought to really start building up these part and dismantled pieces into something wearable as I have quite a few hand sets to use up as well lol


Yes, the cream submarine dial is an Albatross dial


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheers, for some reason I thought the one next to it was the albatross peeps talk about, sorry for my noobness there lol Still learning it all  Would that have been in a octa case? I've got one octa, one round and one more 090 that require filling, I also have a plain black "blizzard" dial incoming to be paired off with a dated auto but not sure what case the blizzard would have had.

Sat here gently dismantling my Slava tank auto, ready to fit the replacement 2427 to get the old beastie up and running, wearing its cousin the quartz tank at mo as its cooler its no longer stopping but keeps stopping when it gets mega humid, I do love the tanks  Need to find some white paint to repair the cracked hand filler but taking it slow slow slow as I think my worst enemy is me going at things a bit hammers and tong.

Sadly my brother has made it plain he doesn't want the two cadets I sorted out for my nephews so I could harvest the 2409s in them or keep one and harvest the spare one, not sure yet as finding a cheap Vostok donor isn't difficult and a new movement is pretty cheap and I am a little sanguine at knocking off perfectly good watches for the innards so may well sell them and use the money to buy two new movements and let someone else enjoy them.


----------



## mariomart

I think this dial would normally be found in the octagonal Type 320 (polished) case, however that guess stems from me mostly seeing the polished version, so there is the chance that they may have also been available in the radially brushed Type 470 case


----------



## Dodgydruid

I could put my KVPO back into its original octagonal case and would free up the refurbed 060 its currently sitting in, I already have the sky blue to white octagonal Amphibia (my first Vostok) and I wanted to have a 060 wearable so simply swapped it all into the curvy case and to be fair it does look quite smart.

First of my two "bombay bad boys" just arrived, a Roamer "popular" and it cost me the startling amount of £13 incl the postage from Delhi and I dunno if its the baloneyvirus or whatever but its arrived on a very smart bracelet that doesn't suck, the case is clean and crisp, the crystal isn't some black markered abomination and the dial, hands etc very clean, clear and crisp save a touch of bleeding on the big numbers and I got an absolute lovely reading on the baby timegrapher showing a disparity of about 25 secs a day at peak and down as low as 5 secs.

Good amp and under 1.0ms error, its got the FHF ST-96 in there and its absolutely spotless which is a first for one of them Indian specials... very taken back  I am guessing the ST-96 is the Ford utility engine of the Swiss world, more of a beater movement than something fine and fancy?










Yes I know its obv a reprint as I don't think Roamer ever in their worst nightmares envisaged this "crash test dummy" theme, I stand to be corrected if they did lol but its just so "in your face" and I am now looking forward to my Ricoh tonneau I got from the same chap which cost even less but has gilt applied everything on the bottle green dial.

My 119's olive green 5 ringer arrived today as well so gonna go get that out and slap it on then that will be a finished piece as I didn't like the leather NATO on it and wanted to use the strap to match that gawjus dial (yes I do like dark greens)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Snagged this for my Soviet/Sekonda dual sets, the case is in poor condition but I have a spare Poljot with a very good case and crystal so quick switcheroo and I have then two very good TV's in one of each brand...










Spotted this in the sellers other items set and I thought this is a very unusual looking Komandirskie, with the raised gilt numerals and raised detailed logo, can't remember which unit or department that was with the clutched spears and then the case is also highly unusual with a bezel I have never seen before.

Give it a look, this is the seller I got my £24 sky blue to white Amphibia from, my very first Vostok and it has been a champion - Also he has TWO Albatross in his other items listings both with the blue somewhat still there.









Watch USSR Vostok Komandirskie Mechanical Soviet Russian Wristwatch Wostok Rare | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Watch USSR Vostok Komandirskie Mechanical Soviet Russian Wristwatch Wostok Rare at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I could put my KVPO back into its original octagonal case and would free up the refurbed 060 its currently sitting in, I already have the sky blue to white octagonal Amphibia (my first Vostok) and I wanted to have a 060 wearable so simply swapped it all into the curvy case and to be fair it does look quite smart.
> 
> First of my two "bombay bad boys" just arrived, a Roamer "popular" and it cost me the startling amount of £13 incl the postage from Delhi and I dunno if its the baloneyvirus or whatever but its arrived on a very smart bracelet that doesn't suck, the case is clean and crisp, the crystal isn't some black markered abomination and the dial, hands etc very clean, clear and crisp save a touch of bleeding on the big numbers and I got an absolute lovely reading on the baby timegrapher showing a disparity of about 25 secs a day at peak and down as low as 5 secs.
> 
> Good amp and under 1.0ms error, its got the FHF ST-96 in there and its absolutely spotless which is a first for one of them Indian specials... very taken back  I am guessing the ST-96 is the Ford utility engine of the Swiss world, more of a beater movement than something fine and fancy?
> 
> View attachment 15417302
> 
> 
> Yes I know its obv a reprint as I don't think Roamer ever in their worst nightmares envisaged this "crash test dummy" theme, I stand to be corrected if they did lol but its just so "in your face" and I am now looking forward to my Ricoh tonneau I got from the same chap which cost even less but has gilt applied everything on the bottle green dial.
> 
> My 119's olive green 5 ringer arrived today as well so gonna go get that out and slap it on then that will be a finished piece as I didn't like the leather NATO on it and wanted to use the strap to match that gawjus dial (yes I do like dark greens)


Wouldn't dare to wear that watch in my local town - football fans would have a field day!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Norwich City fans by any chance?

I don't think we had anything special at Millwall, I think anything that could survive the after game entertainment 9 times out of 10 was the only requirement hehe

Had a wonderful time when taking our boat down to Norwich, the quaymaster there was an avid footie fan and a Norwich nut and ended up having a few drinks with the chap as he was also a scooterboy, liked steam engines and stuff and got pretty hammered that nite lol We had our boat moored at the Red House in Cantley til someone chainsawed my 40hp Mercury off the transom board and the poor thing sunk like a stone, the old bill caught who did it but the pathetic fine and nowt else just about paid for the disposal of the boat but the tealeaf did get some cell time and some family members holidaying with Her Maj gave him a swift re-education about tealeafing and apparently he went voluntary solitary rest of his little staycation hehe


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Live near Ipswich, and rivalry between the two have been going as long as the clubs - though football has never bothered me !


----------



## Dodgydruid

Nor me really, I just got caught up in it all back in the 70's and it was where your mates were all hanging out sort of thing. I cannot stand watching football or any stadium sort of sport, fall asleep as just boring imho, playing though was different as I did play for one of the Millwall junior teams for a while and was a solid defender back in the day, girls and other things kinda got in the way of it and drifted out of it. 

Boxing I was kinda told to go and don't darken doorsteps as I couldn't control what I called my "Irish" when whapped on the nose which surprisingly is quite a big thing in boxing to be able to take one on the nose and not insta-destroy your opponent cos of it so was told to naff off by the local clubs and joined the army cadets where you could smoke, swear, fire big guns and get totally mudded up and no one cared... Much more my sort of thing lol And you got a spot on uniform and got to wear big boots which helped immensely with problem a) girls

If I had stayed in school I could have been a top class javelin/hammer thrower and was always on the shot putt team, I liked hammer throwing the best as I had worked out getting the upward arc right was the win and always got 1st's on the hammer. It was a shame they abolished the royal tournament as my staff sergeant down at Hamworthy always said I would have been good at that but never got a crack at it but we did exercises like moving a field gun as a team in pieces on the ropes as they did in the tournament as everyone thought it would be brought back... sadly they didn't 

Now my brother was a schools champion... southern England junior bowls champion, he kept that secret from us in the family for long years for fear of ridicule and once we found out he got years of it paid with interest and when he came round my place I used to put on the Only Fools and Horses episode Ashes to Ashes which involves trying to spread a dead person's ashes over a bowls green which silly brother added extra points saying that was one of the clubs he did his training at  Several years of birthday's and Xmas's involved new individual bowls or a new white trilby hat or other funny gifts and we would be "but its the thought that counts..."


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> ...................................... and joined the army cadets where you could smoke, swear, fire big guns and get totally mudded up and no one cared... Much more my sort of thing lol And you got a spot on uniform and got to wear big boots which helped immensely with problem a) girls
> 
> .................................


Know what you mean about the ACF (only got to lance jack though), but was fun - especially if you could hit the butt pointer as they were marking your last shot on the range   

Still waiting for the email to say that the last bits I want have come in (signed crown, 090 & the SS lumed bezel), orders are trundling over & plans being laid on how to do what I want to do


----------



## Dodgydruid

I did get to star 4 which unbeknown to me helped me with my first stripe in the big man's lot, was also put thru in the real one thru the recruit commanders course as I was umming and ahhing to go officer cadet but then I found out about the tour of hell all OC's had to go through and some ritual beastings going on back then for cadets so I declined but got me second one up when I crossed the waves so to speak to the commando's and the extra "virtual" stripe when on a boat which was weird as so used to being called Bomb or bombardier then all these jolly jack tars calling me sgt and I am wth 

It was just one of them weird conventions, we had to call the Staff's Sir onboard as they were equal to a CSM (Battery in our lot being long range snipers) and god knows what a sgt major was apart from horrible.

Worst experience from a sgt major was being run ragged on a beasting then ordered to find a volunteer in my billet to give me their toothbrush and set me to sweeping Woolwich's parade ground which was the largest in Europe second only to Red Square itself and he had me at it for something like 7 hours, to be fair he bought me a couple pints in the NAAFI afterwards and we all had a good laugh about it and we were wise to toothbrushes so always had two or three new spares as plenty of cleaning the lav's with your toothbrush.

Sadly I did leave the employ of Her Maj under a somewhat cloud which I might make into a video one day, its funny today but back then I was fairly off me trolley and no honourable discharge or pension for me... the trouble was unleashing people near copious amounts of cheap booze and that was my downfall.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wasn't going to but did it anyway, snagged this old beastie... I have come to the startling conclusion that my '95 made one not working is fairly shagged out as it was very dirty inside and this one here is a fairly clean CCCP one. Last one now for a while as daughter is getting stern...


----------



## Ligavesh

As I said in the other thread, I've got a problem with hoarding 3133s of all shapes and sizes. This is the 9th (10th will probably come shortly).


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wow, I mean wow... There is a I believe a Sekonda version in that same style? It is the Sekonda one that is at top of my grail of grail list with a Poljot variant as no 2 on that list.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Gotta hand it to Komandirskie.com... ordered my 710640 on the 11th and arrived here today after they missed delivering it yesterday so quite pleased with that.

Best 3649 roubles I ever spent too and if they still got 'em that price next week... I am gonna buy another from them as that is a bloody good price not that much higher than one would expect to pay for a new classic Komandirskie 



















Also my "Bombay Bad Boy" Ricoh arrived and bloody hell, 2 for 2 in it arrived on a non suck balls strap and apart from a little tiny bit of movement slap its abs clean inside and out so them Indian's have improved their game it seems.

And my Sekonda diver's watch for the set, I like these Seiko-esque Sekonda's.

Hagerty stainless steel watch polishing cloth for a few pounds, the Connoisseur is OK on chrome and stainless steel but it uses a lot of the impregnation material up so will be doing all of this in vids later on my channel. I did a vid for the Groaner Roamer last nite, my daughters friend said it was the most shocking wrist furniture he ever saw, suggested I sell it to a wacky backy head for them to trip off on it lol

Edit:

I bought a Ben Nevis "turtle" homage for just under a tenner through Aliexpress sale, I want to see if I like the turtle or not and prob would buy a Steeldive bronze limited edition or a San Martin homage than a proper Seiko but I have heard of people putting Seiko dials into these Ben Nevis cheapos.









12.59US $ 78% OFF|Ben Nevis Top Luxury Brand Fashion Men Sport Quartz Watch Silicone Strap Calendar Wristwatch Male Gifts Clock Relogio Masculino|Quartz Watches| - AliExpress


Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com




www.aliexpress.com


----------



## Ligavesh

Didn't plan on buying it, but I offered a cheeky low price abd the guy accepted it! We'll see how it works when it comes...


----------



## 979greenwich

Isn't this the perpetual calendar case?


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> Isn't this the perpetual calendar case?


****, you're right, but if the second wheel works the 24 h dial that wouldn't bother me, I'm not going for 100% originalityotherwise I would've looked for an example with papers.


----------



## artus

Just bought this

and this to mod it with


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I was tempted with that style on Komandirskie.com, I really was but went with the 640 as I wanted my first brand new Vostok to be one I won't fiddle with and keep as is.

Fighting a losing battle this night with me youngest who is also my carer over wanting one of them Komandirskie classic dialled Amphibia's, I want the blue dialled "batman" and the black and red KGB and she's pouting at me reading this as I type so a long night ahead with the smell of burning martyr no doubt... I even tried the parent's old fave of blackmail pure and simple... says to her "hey you owe me for all the years of free internet I have let you have" and her classic answer was "well I didn't ask you to did I?" so that one went down in a blaze of fail.

I am wondering if through the medium of alcohol I could get me card back for 20 seconds, its all I need...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Gotta hand it to Komandirskie.com... ordered my 710640 on the 11th and arrived here today after they missed delivering it yesterday so quite pleased with that.
> 
> Best 3649 roubles I ever spent too and if they still got 'em that price next week... I am gonna buy another from them as that is a bloody good price not that much higher than one would expect to pay for a new classic Komandirskie
> 
> View attachment 15420725
> 
> 
> View attachment 15420726
> 
> 
> Also my "Bombay Bad Boy" Ricoh arrived and bloody hell, 2 for 2 in it arrived on a non suck balls strap and apart from a little tiny bit of movement slap its abs clean inside and out so them Indian's have improved their game it seems.
> 
> And my Sekonda diver's watch for the set, I like these Seiko-esque Sekonda's.
> 
> Hagerty stainless steel watch polishing cloth for a few pounds, the Connoisseur is OK on chrome and stainless steel but it uses a lot of the impregnation material up so will be doing all of this in vids later on my channel. I did a vid for the Groaner Roamer last nite, my daughters friend said it was the most shocking wrist furniture he ever saw, suggested I sell it to a wacky backy head for them to trip off on it lol
> 
> Edit:
> 
> I bought a Ben Nevis "turtle" homage for just under a tenner through Aliexpress sale, I want to see if I like the turtle or not and prob would buy a Steeldive bronze limited edition or a San Martin homage than a proper Seiko but I have heard of people putting Seiko dials into these Ben Nevis cheapos.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 12.59US $ 78% OFF|Ben Nevis Top Luxury Brand Fashion Men Sport Quartz Watch Silicone Strap Calendar Wristwatch Male Gifts Clock Relogio Masculino|Quartz Watches| - AliExpress
> 
> 
> Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.aliexpress.com


With your order, did it 'disappear' after leaving Russia? As the tracking info on my order from 17th has stopped, just got 'Left Russia' now (the watch hasn't got that far yet)


----------



## Dodgydruid

It did seem to go vacant m8 for a few days then suddenly started updating again all at once with it showing as with Drayton handling centre which I guess is the air freight part of Heathrow, it seemed to take longest from Heathrow to local sorting office than total time from warehouse to departure point.

I was expecting customs to sic their sneaky beaks in on it but nope they didn't and it was treated as (laughingly) "special delivery" by Royal Mail e.g. slow boat to there and back again.


----------



## artus

After last night at Komandirskie.com I went back this morning and bought a 090 and new bezel to go with it


----------



## Dodgydruid

My 710640 has that bezel and is really smart, the 710 hasn't left my wrist since resizing the bracelet and winding it up... did a review of the 710 on my youtube channel last nite and super pleased with it.


----------



## Kotsov

artus said:


> After last night at Komandirskie.com I went back this morning and bought a 090 and new bezel to go with it


I bought the same watch from Komandirskie last night too.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

artus said:


> After last night at Komandirskie.com I went back this morning and bought a 090 and new bezel to go with it


Got a similar one on it's way - but I have 'a plan' for it when it arrives


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just raided Aliexpress for some of these straps, the green for my 119, the blue for my 090 and the yellow brown for my Paulearis U1001.









0.01US $ 99% OFF|New Style Vintage Leather Watchband 18mm 20mm 22mm 24mm Frosted Handmade Thick Line Strap Watch Accessories Band 7 Colors - Watchbands - AliExpress


Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com




www.aliexpress.com


----------



## Dodgydruid

Got the bugger lol 420866, the last one too and had to wait for Nikolay to unsnarl the damned thing in the system and saw it back on sale...





__





Купить Часы Амфибия - 420866 в официальном интернет-магазине "Командирские.com"


Часы Амфибия - 420866 купите выгодно в официальном интернет-магазине Командирские.com с доставкой по России. Лучшие условия среди дилеров Чистопольского часового завода




komandirskie.com


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Got the bugger lol 420866, the last one too and had to wait for Nikolay to unsnarl the damned thing in the system and saw it back on sale...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Купить Часы Амфибия - 420866 в официальном интернет-магазине "Командирские.com"
> 
> 
> Часы Амфибия - 420866 купите выгодно в официальном интернет-магазине Командирские.com с доставкой по России. Лучшие условия среди дилеров Чистопольского часового завода
> 
> 
> 
> 
> komandirskie.com


Take it that now you're in the same boat as me - Russian post vagaries? Both of my parcels are showing as at Sharapovo


----------



## Dodgydruid

I worked out my 710 took 16 days from buying and paying to actual receiving in my hand and much of that delay by Royal Mail. 

So if you factor in I bought it early morning on a weekend, 16 days isn't bad at all and its not bank holiday in Russia today so it should be in post today with any luck. Email Nikolay if you want to enquire where your parcel is at.

This one of mine is the last one til end October as Reliant MOT is due up and I got to grab some bits for this one as car is a leetle tired, think its only a gasket set and a new set of tri-electrode spark plugs, oh and a blue MG Metro rotor arm and having the wheels off to give them a spraunce up with some alloy paint, some red lead paint for the A frame. I had to put petrol in the poor thing yesterday... last receipt from the Esso saw me put a tenner in, in June  70+mpg... can't beat it  One American youtuber has just bought a Reliant Robin MK3 over in the US, adding it to his fleet of Trabant, Wheego and other very sad cars lol


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Been following them on the tracking site - doubt that Nikolay could tell much more.
Probably waiting for transport


----------



## Dodgydruid

Thinking on how its set up, dispatch at the warehouse would be quite quick but I imagine once a day collection by Russia Post/UPS etc then you can add say a day before onward movement, a day at the destination where the exit port is, a day for them to catalogue in and do all the sniffer dog stuff etc then loaded onto plane then start adding the days per action over here in blighty.

I'm thinking they use Vnukovo air terminal for the Sharapovo facility? Its 13 hours from Chistopol to Sharapovo being 1004 direct by motorway or an hour by plane, not knowing how they transit to the departure point whether by road or air but am thinking 13 hours by lorry isn't bad at all 

I saw a video a while back looking at the huge Shenzuen global mailing operation and it was daunting, only thing coming close to it would be Europort in Rotterdam or the old London docks for sheer movement inwards and outwards of goods but the Chinese system employs thousands upon thousands to move the billions of tons of stuff us westerner's buy. I have wanted for a long time, to ride the Shenzuen-Berlin "new silk road express" which is an incredibly long train that leaves China for Germany and back again and I imagine just about the most incredible rail journey on the planet.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Thinking on how its set up, dispatch at the warehouse would be quite quick but I imagine once a day collection by Russia Post/UPS etc then you can add say a day before onward movement, a day at the destination where the exit port is, a day for them to catalogue in and do all the sniffer dog stuff etc then loaded onto plane then start adding the days per action over here in blighty.
> 
> I'm thinking they use Vnukovo air terminal for the Sharapovo facility? Its 13 hours from Chistopol to Sharapovo being 1004 direct by motorway or an hour by plane, not knowing how they transit to the departure point whether by road or air but am thinking 13 hours by lorry isn't bad at all
> 
> I saw a video a while back looking at the huge Shenzuen global mailing operation and it was daunting, only thing coming close to it would be Europort in Rotterdam or the old London docks for sheer movement inwards and outwards of goods but the Chinese system employs thousands upon thousands to move the billions of tons of stuff us westerner's buy. I have wanted for a long time, to ride the Shenzuen-Berlin "new silk road express" which is an incredibly long train that leaves China for Germany and back again and I imagine just about the most incredible rail journey on the planet.


My listing for the first packet -
*Prepared for shipment from Russia*
23 August 2020, 07:24 102972, Sharapovo
*Released by custom house*
22 August 2020, 15:51 102972, Sharapovo
*Handed over to the customs*
22 August 2020, 15:50 102972, Sharapovo
*Arrived at the customs of Russia*
22 August 2020, 14:09 102972, Sharapovo
*Arrived at the local distribution center*
21 August 2020, 13:05 102975, Sharapovo
*Departed from local distribution center*
19 August 2020, 22:00 420300, Stolbishche
*Arrived at the local distribution center*
18 August 2020, 15:22 420300, Stolbishche
*Departed from local distribution center*
18 August 2020, 07:26 422999, Chistopolʹ
*Arrived at the local distribution center*
17 August 2020, 18:04 422999, Chistopolʹ
*Sorting complete*
17 August 2020, 17:24 422980, Chistopolʹ
*Arrived at the Post office*
17 August 2020, 16:50 422980, Chistopolʹ


----------



## Dodgydruid

Here's from my 710:

*Handed over for delivery within England*
26 August 2020, 12:11 , England
*Passed registration in England*
26 August 2020, 10:17 GBLALA, England
*Processing in England*
25 August 2020, 09:43 GBLALA, England
Russian Post
*Prepared for shipment from Russia*
19 August 2020, 07:49 102972, Sharapovo
*Released by custom house*
17 August 2020, 17:26 102972, Sharapovo

You can see it goes sorta dead after "Prepared for shipment from Russia" then it picks up again on the 25th which is like 5-6 days gap which is annoying so its obv held in a first come, first served sort of queue which is where the first bogdown of it all is likely happening.

Another annoying thing and this isn't Komandirskie.com but someone making a mistake along the line after is its destination postcode here is last bit 4TZ and someone has changed it to 4YP which I am guessing is an error from cyrillic to roman/arabic.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wished I'd seen some of the stuff I bought off of Aliexpress on Komandirskie.com, the red leather 5 ringer would have suited my homebrew 090 to a tee and the two fluorescant silicone 22mm straps one in orange and one in green/yellow I could have quite made use of.

I am going to buy the x10 loupe they are selling in the accessories section and I want another couple gilt ring crystals and some hand sets too, do take a look in the accessories section, oh and a bakelite like couple of bezels too...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Been going through the 'Accessories' - the two bracelets and the bezel that are in the first order are from there, got another bezel on 'notification' - the lumed stainless one, reckon that that'll go onto my 650 a treat!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Here's from my 710:
> 
> *Handed over for delivery within England*
> 26 August 2020, 12:11 , England
> *Passed registration in England*
> 26 August 2020, 10:17 GBLALA, England
> *Processing in England*
> 25 August 2020, 09:43 GBLALA, England
> Russian Post
> *Prepared for shipment from Russia*
> 19 August 2020, 07:49 102972, Sharapovo
> *Released by custom house*
> 17 August 2020, 17:26 102972, Sharapovo
> 
> You can see it goes sorta dead after "Prepared for shipment from Russia" then it picks up again on the 25th which is like 5-6 days gap which is annoying so its obv held in a first come, first served sort of queue which is where the first bogdown of it all is likely happening.
> 
> Another annoying thing and this isn't Komandirskie.com but someone making a mistake along the line after is its destination postcode here is last bit 4TZ and someone has changed it to 4YP which I am guessing is an error from cyrillic to roman/arabic.


I noticed that with the 2nd order, it's taken an extra day to get to Sharapovo to the first order - still, no real rush, it's going to take probably a week to do the bits I want to do to it anyway - probably the most time taken will be the work I want to do to the case - changing dial & hands wont take long (hopefully!), then it'll be waiting for one of them to get a signed crown in, (or do my own one-off)


----------



## Parkgate

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Got a similar one on it's way - but I have 'a plan' for it when it arrives
> View attachment 15423214


I have the 710 version, you'll love it. The dial is darker/blacker than most Amphibia's so it sets a nice contrast with the gold markers. Mines modded but heres a pic.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Parkgate said:


> I have the 710 version, you'll love it. The dial is darker/blacker than most Amphibia's so it sets a nice contrast with the gold markers. Mines modded but heres a pic.
> 
> View attachment 15425923


Son has the same watch - which is what put me onto the train of thought - it's not staying black, going to swap a 'Troika' blue dial in, and a set of 'Kremlin' hands, plus a different bezel - worked it out and buying a complete watch works out cheaper than buying the bits to do the job.


----------



## Parkgate

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Son has the same watch - which is what put me onto the train of thought - it's not staying black, going to swap a 'Troika' blue dial in, and a set of 'Kremlin' hands, plus a different bezel - worked it out and buying a complete watch works out cheaper than buying the bits to do the job.


Looks like you have your plan sorted! I've stopped buying complete watches (I have ten Amphibia's) so if I fancy a change I just swap out the dials and hands..only takes 20 mins (plus up to an hour getting the blinking stem to seat..some seat straight away others grrrrrrr).


----------



## 979greenwich

My favourite watch in my favourite case, this time with another dial variant. I'm guessing this should be the older version, without the "antimagnetic" and with a wider minute hand and USSR quality mark.
The caseback was almost locked with grime, and the minute hand came loose, so I had to fix that, and also grind the endlinks to properly fit them in.
Keeping very good time so far, so I'm pretty satisfied with what I got for 30 $.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I do love a 090 (or a 119 - are there any other secret models like that I wonder as I thought a 090 was the only game in town lol) and it is pretty good how Vostok managed to produce several iconic unique to the watch world cases which the "barrel" is the most iconic imho but the curvy pillow 060, the fist of steel 710, even the star shaped Kom's cases are examples of how a company can think outside the box


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> I do love a 090 (or a 119 - are there any other secret models like that I wonder as I thought a 090 was the only game in town lol) and it is pretty good how Vostok managed to produce several iconic unique to the watch world cases which the "barrel" is the most iconic imho but the curvy pillow 060, the fist of steel 710, even the star shaped Kom's cases are examples of how a company can think outside the box


Don't forget about the Type 630, which is NVCh-30 variant of the Type 119, lol.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Hopefully either a donor, or 'fixer upper' (sellers photo) - depending if it's better than the one I have









Can't quite figure it out - the Raketa versions always seem to make more money than the Sekondas do - but if it's a 'good' one, it might just get the dial and the bow changed from the Raketa


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes the name differences are somewhat misleading but then again, it means you can fix your main brand up on the cheap, I just bought a curvy Sekonda TV for £14 incl post whilst the exact same Raketa's fetch double or more :S

Oh just hit Aliexpress for 1000 18mm spring bars lol Used up all the 18mm and 19mm from the multipack, £8 and means I don't care if one pings off into the deepest corners of the room.









10.79US $ 10% OFF|Wholesale 1000pcs / Bag Watch Repair Tools & Kits Cdf-130s 14mm 16mm 18mm 20mm 22mm 24mm Stainless Steel Spring Bar - Repair Tools & Kits - AliExpress


Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com




www.aliexpress.com





I might even consider getting some little baggies and selling off 10 at a time, see if punters bite at a quid for 10  100 bars would pay easily for the whole lot 

Had a bit of a "d'oh" moment and prob annoyed the slowcoach seller at Ali, still hadn't dispatched the 7 inch microscope and sitting here thinking hold on, I got a massive HD tablet here, so looked up software for USB scopes, found Mscopes on Google Play, was looking at big to small USB converter's and realised I had bought one for the tablets external keyboard. 2 mins later, all set up and now got a 1600x workable HD microscope and just finished cancelling the Aliexpress order. The USB scope cost about a tenner, the adaptor couple quid and now I can put the tablet on its stand under the scope itself giving me a very good working environment yay  If the seller had dispatched the scope I would have just bit the bullet but taken some days and still not dispatched so their loss.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Now you done it m8, took my 710 off and put me Sekonda tank on... oh I love that tank and my Hagerty SS and white metal cloth has made it positively gleam.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Forgot with all me waffle to put this up lol £15 incl post for a Sekonda curvy TV...










Bit of a traitor today... wearing my Pulsar lobster chrono I got for £8 delivered










These Seiko's are well worth looking out for, usually battery dies, owner changes battery themselves and the sub dials/high hand goes crazy and they think the movement is breaking down so chuck 'em up on ebay for parts.

This is the VD57 I think its classification is, pulling the crown out to two notches then holding down on top button, the bottom subdial will spin round and you use the bottom button to set the bottom dial. Hold the top button again, the high hand will whizz round then use the bottom button to centralise the second hand, on both setting modes holding the button in for longer makes it sweep round faster and single button presses advances the hand/s in single increments. Date and perpetual seconds can be done on the first setting position. Such a cool movement 

My last chrono I had for a tenner, a Epson YT92 (same movement as this), hands were all over the place and nabbed the manual for it and discovered this cool setting feature which is the same as the Pulsar above


----------



## philippeF

from Russia today ...
A blue "generalskie" i did not often see ...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I like the right hand one and I think any collection has to have a Komandirskie Submariner in it, its kinda iconic alongside the tank commander.

Speaking of submaritime, I just got my "one new piece allotment" bought from Komandirskie.com, the 160271 here:




__





Купить Часы Амфибия - 160271 в официальном интернет-магазине "Командирские.com"


Часы Амфибия - 160271 купите выгодно в официальном интернет-магазине Командирские.com с доставкой по России. Лучшие условия среди дилеров Чистопольского часового завода




komandirskie.com





It has the "U boat 1001" layout of numbers on a black dial and it was close but the 150 I would have had was out of stock but eyeing up next months purchase which will be a 150 will mean I have the full set of mainstream case types except the exotic 170/670 and swing lugs.

Also look in the accessories section, towards the end they have a x10 eye loupe which I have spraunced for, I also bought a lary neon green/yellow strap and a pair of 99 rouble standard bracelets too.

If you are in the frame for cheap 22mm bracelets... take a look at these:





__





Браслет стандартный 2 для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой


Браслет стандартный 2 для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой по России от завода производителя. Более 10 лет опыта и 1000 довольных клиентов




komandirskie.com


----------



## Ligavesh

I missed out on a Kirova Poljot stainles steel housing cause I was distracted enough by other stuff to forget about the bidding...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sad face for you there m8, still there will be others no doubt just that one wasn't destined for you.

My daughter was watching me go thru me ebay emails and I pulled up on a Raketa quartz and she was like "Ooo go on then but no more this month" waggling her finger at me so I am well happy 










I have a "thing" for black and neon orange.

Tell you a story too of a little interchange between me and Paulaeris the company. So my "U1001" super tanker sized homage, the day register hand has gone adrift so it no longer lands on a line of the midday and midnight points.

So I see this company claiming they were the official super duper front end for the company so I asked a) what was the movement inside mine b) is there any instruction manual maybe? As I know some of these day date jobbies can be adjusted like on a quartz chrono.

The email that came back was very rude, the first line and no greeting like Dear or Hi and it said "You bought it off Aliexpress we owe you no responsibility" and I am like, that isn't right.

So I sent back a further email, saying hey I wasn't asking for warranty or anything but what movement was used and was there a way without removing the badly placed hand, to adjust it back to its proper lining up position.

I do love the watch, it is a righty canteen crown monster and is eye catching, 51mm case, full centimetre canteen, half centimetre extended pushers and automatic too but with day and date subs, I paid £18 for it and I like it for them times when I must have an absolute dinner plate end of wrist but I won't touch Paulaeris again... ever.

Spent this afternoon and early evening renovating my Pulsar "lobster" bracelet VD57 chrono, got the ol' glass crystal gunge out and had the best of the bad scratches off and brasso wadding polished the lobster bracelet then went at it with the connoisseur and hagerty cloths and its like a brand new watch.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Even though I am working well with my baby Timegrapher as I call it, I have been bitten by Chinese gadgets before and spotted this little 5 pound gem in my saved searches...










What it is, is the business end of the Watch O Scope and I got tons of smd stuff just kicking its heels so to speak and a good soldering iron with a crows beak tip which is bloody good at SMD stuff and I have a spare mini USB power board to hand so I reckon I could build a "spare" for pennies. Come to think of it I have a mains to USB convertor board somewhere which uses the infinity or figure of 8 type plug on the hot end, quite a good one I salvaged from a mains 18650 charger set and was most amused to find inside the bloody thing was just the wires output for USB power transfer (If I have to throw anything I always harvest things like switches, circuit boards, transformers)

Got my refund for my cancelled microscope today so that's tidied away and had my "jungle scope" which is a 1600x USB LED lit cheapie scope hooked direct to my tablet and I can work with it no problem and did a practice stripdown on my poor 2234 and so much easier, tomorrow will be using it to practice balance assy's as that is my blind spot and just going to practice aiming that jewel in to the fork til I can get it right ten times out of ten.

If any of you do get the ebay baby Timegrapher, buy a quality 4 pole mic extension cable, the two they supplied were absolute garbage and once I put the quality one in all the issues it was having gone and getting 4 squares on the mic level which is a strong signal, I have been using it on my Slava tank watching the graphical oscilloscopey bit for the strongest beat and I might have salvaged the poor beast as its not gained anything in a couple hours but overnight will tell.

I want to rebox the baby Tg, I have some spare pedal boxes and I reckon I could build a better enclosure than the 3d printed one into one of them alloy boxes but hey at the moment it ain't broke so why fix it?

Edit - Also bowing to pressure for having a small craft Soviet ensign on the wall behind me in my Youtube vids, I have purchased a blue squadron Royal Navy ensign and a Scottish flag, I am only English by birth, Scots and Irish by heritage but the navy flag has a cross of St George on it so that covers it all I think  Have always wondered why all these racist meatheads go spare about the Georgian cross, St George came from what is now Turkey and had never even heard of England but these plonkers go moist around the brain about him lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Thought to give a heads up that Bestrus has 2 "batman" Komandirskie GRU watches in his newly listed items.









VOSTOK KOMANDIRSKIE RUSSIAN WATCH 431874 | eBay


Model Komandirskie 431874! KOMANDIRSKIE SERIES! ORIGINAL RUSSIAN WATCH VOSTOK (SINCE 1941)! Such watches were the subject of pride and prestige(WK). Or any carrier (your choise). I also suggest Hand winding.



www.ebay.co.uk





If Komdotcom had this dial in I would have had that one instead of the standard blue GRU 420 I went with but daughter is saying nyetski to me lol Her view is one GRU watch is enough but I remonstrated with her "but its so cool... look batman logo... perleaaaassee give me my bank card" with some debasing snivelling and grovelling but she's a hard woman and I feel sorry for any husband she finds.

Those wondering who the GRU were (Main Intelligence Directorate), they were the competition to the KGB and just as nasty, ruthless and horrible, where the GRU like the KGB were very much like the CIA with their own Spetnatz brigades and a set of eyes and ears in every town, village, military or civilian outfit and there was enormous hostility between the GRU and the KGB. It was kinda set up on Stalin's paranoia, fearing Beria's suddenly super powerful NKVD, Stalin set up a second outfit which he had control of directly. KGB did have responsibility for the "foreign illegals" and it was said that the GRU enjoyed enormous energy exposing them causing them to get "burned" usually as they crossed the border in Berlin. Beria tried to outdo Stalin for downright murderous decimation of Russians and in the end Stalin had him knocked off as Stalin's paranoia saw that Beria was very much eyeing the top job, he was known as Stalin's "secret policeman" a term Beria despised and often a death sentence in a gulag if he heard you utter those words...


----------



## haha

Welcoming three new members in the family, including one French skindiver


----------



## Fergfour

Dodgydruid said:


> If Komdotcom had this dial in I would have had that one instead of the standard blue GRU 420 I went with but daughter is saying nyetski to me lol Her view is one GRU watch is enough but I remonstrated with her "but its so cool... look batman logo... perleaaaassee give me my bank card" with some debasing snivelling and grovelling but she's a hard woman and I feel sorry for any husband she finds


Why does your daughter dictate what's allowed with your watch purchases? I'm thankful there's not someone I need to get permission from as there's really no rational justification in adding yet another watch to what most of society would consider too many.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Fergfour said:


> Why does your daughter dictate what's allowed with your watch purchases? I'm thankful there's not someone I need to get permission from as there's really no justification in adding yet another watch to the collection when one already has plenty.


Reckon that 'domestic harmony' rates higher than the acquisition of another watch (as per my household)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Fergfour said:


> Why does your daughter dictate what's allowed with your watch purchases? I'm thankful there's not someone I need to get permission from as there's really no rational justification in adding yet another watch to what most of society would consider too many.


My daughter has power of attorney as I am a bit daft due to peculiarities in mind and soul, if she didn't I would spend myself broke on things so doctors agreed I should let my daughter manage affairs and that way we get to eat, have electricity and bills get paid lol

I also have a somewhat instant "I have always wanted something like that..." and get it and do nothing with it or get sidetracked and it drives the poor girl nuts lol

Saying that, as I didn't buy as much ejuice as I usually do this three month bracket (I buy from a wholesaler direct in bulk, so much cheaper) I had £7 to "play" with and popped this one off, brand new mens Troika watch head missing strap, a nice plain jane piece for them days when I want something a bit dressy and less special forces sort of fing hehe










Its like petrol for my car, every 2 or 3 months I put a tenner in, 70+mpg ftw but am holding monies back anyway for her mot due next month, I've got a couple advisories to put right but usually she flies through (its the same type of car Jeremy Clarkson kept overturning in a Top Gear special)

Still wearing the Vostok 710640, bit cheesed off the seeming lume markers and boxes round the lume dots are lume coloured but don't phosphor but its been abs awesome.


----------



## Fergfour

Dodgydruid said:


> My daughter has power of attorney as I am a bit daft due to peculiarities in mind and soul, if she didn't I would spend myself broke on things so doctors agreed I should let my daughter manage affairs and that way we get to eat, have electricity and bills get paid lol
> I also have a somewhat instant "I have always wanted something like that..." and get it and do nothing with it or get sidetracked and it drives the poor girl nuts lol
> Saying that, as I didn't buy as much ejuice as I usually do this three month bracket (I buy from a wholesaler direct in bulk, so much cheaper)


It's difficult to hold back on watch-related spending no question. I sometimes wonder if I need someone watching over me, I do have a family to support lol
I know it's difficult but consider freeing yourself of the nicotine. I kicked the habit and my health and overall well-being improved because of it. Not to mention I have more $ for watches...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ah my ecigs are just about the only vice I got left, docs are fine with it as I was a chimney when I smoked and I do it more the making of coils and maintaining the heads etc which is quite involved on the rebuildable mods and its not a particularly strong juice either but just find it calming sometimes.

Two years ago I was in a terrible state, triple bypass and a foot plus long scar down me chest but its slowly returning to normal but a fly in the ointment was they only did one side and the other side is still bunged up so got to have another one at some point


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> My daughter has power of attorney as I am a bit daft due to peculiarities in mind and soul, if she didn't I would spend myself broke on things so doctors agreed I should let my daughter manage affairs and that way we get to eat, have electricity and bills get paid lol
> 
> I also have a somewhat instant "I have always wanted something like that..." and get it and do nothing with it or get sidetracked and it drives the poor girl nuts lol
> 
> Saying that, as I didn't buy as much ejuice as I usually do this three month bracket (I buy from a wholesaler direct in bulk, so much cheaper) I had £7 to "play" with and popped this one off, brand new mens Troika watch head missing strap, a nice plain jane piece for them days when I want something a bit dressy and less special forces sort of fing hehe
> 
> View attachment 15436029
> 
> 
> Its like petrol for my car, every 2 or 3 months I put a tenner in, 70+mpg ftw but am holding monies back anyway for her mot due next month, I've got a couple advisories to put right but usually she flies through (its the same type of car Jeremy Clarkson kept overturning in a Top Gear special)
> 
> Still wearing the Vostok 710640, bit cheesed off the seeming lume markers and boxes round the lume dots are lume coloured but don't phosphor but its been abs awesome.


I won't comment about the daughter, but that's a nice watch there.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> ...................£7 to "play" with and popped this one off, brand new mens Troika watch head missing strap, a nice plain jane piece for them days when I want something a bit dressy and less special forces sort of fing hehe
> 
> View attachment 15436029


Nice and simple - the 'plain' looks, give it a strange elegance.


----------



## Ligavesh

Just wanted to say that my 170548 arrived from Komandirskie with what has to be the worst Chinese pretend-leather strap I have ever seen on a watch lately - I have gotten better straps on Chinese 20$ watches... But nevermind, glad the watch is here, I managed to pull the bezel also relatively easy off, I'll see if I can improve it somehow - or not. But anyway - lovely watch, godawfull strap.


----------



## Alfajuj

This 2234 Komandirskie with the not so often seen 12/24 dial on its way to me from Ukraine. I'm excited, but know that it could take many months to reach me.


----------



## Ligavesh

Hey @Odessa200 , guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Hey @Odessa200 , guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay


Who?


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> Who?


The guy who gets in trouble with the Marshal Commander here all the time.


----------



## Fergfour

Ligavesh said:


> Hey @Odessa200 , guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay, guess who won himself a Коперник 2609 НП on ebay


Were you two in a bidding war or something?


----------



## Odessa200

Fergfour said:


> Were you two in a bidding war or something?


I am happy for Ligavesh. He struggled lately with authenticity of watches and deserves a break. And for the record, I did not bid on any Copernicus. Have one NOS with docs and happy.


----------



## 979greenwich

I have one with a wrong glass and a good crown, the other with a wrong crown and a good glass, also happy with them.


----------



## Ligavesh

There were many funny things with this sale - of course, the watch has to arrive first, but from the pictures it looks pretty good - first, the guy seems like a good seller, wrote a lot of details, but doesn't know too much about watches - he wrote many times that it's a Copernicus 2809 HA -"a very good movement" - even though you clearly see on the picture it's a 2609 НП - I guess the explanation was that the "П" actually stands for "A", and I guess the 6 was badly marked 8? Also the bidders weren't too enthusiastic - even though everything on the watch looks right, probably no Raketa Copernicus fans? - they were stuck at 37 euros, I immediately bid 130 and eventually won it for just over 60 - almost half of what I paid for my 2609 HA version that I have 
Anyway, like I said, everything looks right, the crown looks in better condition than mine, but we'll see when it arrives. But honestly, I went through all the details I've read about, I don't see what could go wrong here (apart from the watch not working or something like that). It pays to sometimes just scroll randomly through ebay (I was actually looking at the prices of different versions of 192, 193 and 195 Zlatoust).


----------



## Father of five

My new toy

first two test subjects in multiple positions
No adjustments required for these two 
I'm impressed with the results on both of these


----------



## stevarad

This beauty. Poljot skipper 3133 titanium/gold combo.






























Послато са SM-N950F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Dodgydruid

Three arrived at once today, my replacement tank commander, my Sekonda curvy TV and my first Troika which has some super long lasting viagra sort of lume on it, and a Russian coin with the Sekonda 










The tank commander being replaced is a post Soviet one, the one above is a CCCP jobby and in the roundy squarey case meaning I now have one of each case type, each finish type in my Komandirskie set for the classics.

And another Sekonda in the fold, I have two of these in the Poljot format, both in very good cases as this Sekonda has a big ding on the lower lug shroud but means I can have one of each, on a boilerplate bracelet each and sell on the spare Poljot.
- - - - - - - - - -
Now with strappage... Sekonda on one of my two boilerplates, tank commander on my rally bracelet and Troika on the gratis black with white stitching Boctok strap I got from Mr Bestrus with my last order


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe the prizes keep on coming... super huge width Peterwerth to be added to my monster collection... (who or what is Peterwerth as they do a beastie 50mm canteen crown which has interchangeble bezels and crystals?)










Also abs hated that rally bracelet and now my tank commander is on a standard cheapie bracelet until some of the straps arrive from Aliexpress and the forty vendors. It does seem to be running a touch fast so gonna demag the old girl in a bit on me blue brick, the Sekonda is keeping spot on time so well pleased with today's haul and my daughter approveth of the Troika, says its very nice and doesn't understand all this fuss about Russian stuff...


----------



## Ligavesh

Found that Troika on ebay, @Dodgydruid , bought it right away


----------



## Dodgydruid

It is a smart looking one, grats m8


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Hopefully either a donor, or 'fixer upper' (sellers photo) - depending if it's better than the one I have
> View attachment 15428142
> 
> 
> Can't quite figure it out - the Raketa versions always seem to make more money than the Sekondas do - but if it's a 'good' one, it might just get the dial and the bow changed from the Raketa


Arrived, after checking it out, glass has a small crack between the 4 and 5 (cleverly hidden by the reflection!) and no bow (had suspected that though).
Also was running fast - magnetism - so demagged it, (though not owning a 'proper' tool, looked at how they work, and managed it with just a small bar magnet - felt nothing to lose, as can always buy the 'proper' tool if it didn't work).
Case plating is in better shape, but a slightly different model to the original Raketa (low/different crown, smaller 'dip' for case back removal, and the bow should be the 'triangular', rather than the 'U' shape that's on the original)
Now torn between the two options - do I transfer the works into the old, scruffy case, or do I transfer the glass, dial & bow to the 'new' watch


----------



## Dodgydruid

I think I have one more zap session on my blue brick of doom to get my tank commander back in trim, it went overnight gaining about a minute compared to the night before gaining half an hour lol

Am keeping eye out for a used Bergeon degausser, its a shame in this modern world there isn't a machine you can pop into a caddy the movement or watch, it detects magnetism, zaps off the magnetism til its gone and pings like a microwave to say finished hehe I wonder if the Anchor demagnetiser is any good as Anchor stuff can be good but can also be dreadful too lol

If the current new setup is clean and tidy then you could transfer to old case just to get it in use then spend some time refurbishing the case it came in to transfer it back into and then refurb the old case giving you two strings to the bow so to speak? You could home plate bright nickel using one of them brush plating kits, the idea being you clean off any old chrome using a stripper then do a nice "flash" copper or brass plate which you polish up to a mirror shine then plate the nickel over that and it produces a bright silver shine not quite as good as chrome but darned close. If you want a mirror effect then hydro-silvering may be the way as that produces a better chrome effect than chrome lol

One thing with my tank commander I am having issues with is I can't get a reading on my timegrapher on it, can hear it quite well up to the ear but on the gadget it just refuses to hear it and I put other Vostok's on and it heard 'em no problemo (my 119 Amphibia always a pleasure to see the almost single track and ultra low error  ) I think its the case that is the problem being a 2 o'clock position stem as it heard all my other Komandirskies /sigh


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I think I have one more zap session on my blue brick of doom to get my tank commander back in trim, it went overnight gaining about a minute compared to the night before gaining half an hour lol
> 
> Am keeping eye out for a used Bergeon degausser, its a shame in this modern world there isn't a machine you can pop into a caddy the movement or watch, it detects magnetism, zaps off the magnetism til its gone and pings like a microwave to say finished hehe I wonder if the Anchor demagnetiser is any good as Anchor stuff can be good but can also be dreadful too lol
> 
> If the current new setup is clean and tidy then you could transfer to old case just to get it in use then spend some time refurbishing the case it came in to transfer it back into and then refurb the old case giving you two strings to the bow so to speak? You could home plate bright nickel using one of them brush plating kits, the idea being you clean off any old chrome using a stripper then do a nice "flash" copper or brass plate which you polish up to a mirror shine then plate the nickel over that and it produces a bright silver shine not quite as good as chrome but darned close. If you want a mirror effect then hydro-silvering may be the way as that produces a better chrome effect than chrome lol
> 
> One thing with my tank commander I am having issues with is I can't get a reading on my timegrapher on it, can hear it quite well up to the ear but on the gadget it just refuses to hear it and I put other Vostok's on and it heard 'em no problemo (my 119 Amphibia always a pleasure to see the almost single track and ultra low error  ) I think its the case that is the problem being a 2 o'clock position stem as it heard all my other Komandirskies /sigh


They both are/should be gold plated  old one nearly all gone though so probably be looking for somewhere to give a price for replating (but not to the original 57 microns)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Brush plating gold is dead easy, only copper is easier to do and getting it super clean is prob the only requirement and you can buy solutions and dips for that.  Bottle of solution isn't too pricey, think about £25 and you can make your own brush wand out of an old paint brush and a bit of sponge, some wires and a battery charger although I prefer to use one of them Chinese variable voltage adaptor's. 12v is a bit strong for brush plating, between 3 and 6v is better and you shouldn't get "burnies" where the plate blackens.

Plenty of vids out there on how to build your own kit and super fun to do esp when you start to see the gold coating adhere.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Brush plating gold is dead easy, only copper is easier to do and getting it super clean is prob the only requirement and you can buy solutions and dips for that. Bottle of solution isn't too pricey, think about £25 and you can make your own brush wand out of an old paint brush and a bit of sponge, some wires and a battery charger although I prefer to use one of them Chinese variable voltage adaptor's. 12v is a bit strong for brush plating, between 3 and 6v is better and you shouldn't get "burnies" where the plate blackens.
> 
> Plenty of vids out there on how to build your own kit and super fun to do esp when you start to see the gold coating adhere.


Thinking about it, my battery charger is a dual voltage (and ampage) 6 & 12 (so probably putting out approx 7 & 13V), trickle and fast charge, so could possibly use that, set at the two 'low' settings (most of the bikes that we've got are/were 6V), run it through an old battery, should give a stable current.


----------



## Dodgydruid

These all in one kits have a wire coil to stabilise the current but nothing is as good as a battery for current stability lol. 

Do you remember in the eighties or nineties there used to be gold and silver "dips"? You suspended say your gold ring in the dip and it plated it without any need of electricity, wonder what happened to them products.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> These all in one kits have a wire coil to stabilise the current but nothing is as good as a battery for current stability lol.
> 
> Do you remember in the eighties or nineties there used to be gold and silver "dips"? You suspended say your gold ring in the dip and it plated it without any need of electricity, wonder what happened to them products.


Probably banned by the HSE


----------



## Dodgydruid

One day they will end up banning themselves and the UK will enter into a new era of calm and tranquillity devoid of safety elves goosestepping into every part of our lives


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> One day they will end up banning themselves and the UK will enter into a new era of calm and tranquillity devoid of safety elves goosestepping into every part of our lives


Won't do that, would mean that they'd be on the UB40 - and they're too used to having their trotters in the trough.


----------



## Ligavesh

I tell myself (and all of you) that I shouldn't buy anymore watches till the end of the year all the time - not expensive ones at least, but I couldn't let this one go:




























If someone tells me it's a franken watch I'm gonna come find you and kill you, this one wasn't cheap to get


----------



## Ligavesh

I should just turn ebay off, delete the app, tbh... Otherwise there's always going to be a watch 'you can't let go'...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe yes my month of no buying has been a bit lame in operation lol


----------



## Odessa200

This nice set arrived over the last few days.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I am liking some of them straps, the 22mm non metal nato looks well cool and those two dark blue esp the darker of the two are pretty sweet too, good haul m8


----------



## Dodgydruid

On my quest for the worlds biggest monster watches, with the tenuous link of Qmax who did that diver with a Russian heart, I had set up a Qmax saved searches and popped this monster up which is bigger than the 50mm wide Peterwerth adorning my wrist today lol (the PW has a bracelet made from basically two standard bracelets and prob one of the few with a 33mm lug width .










I know, in the end I will prob be walking around with one of them Swatch wall watches done up around me waist like a strange wrestler champion and prob not long before the kind people in the white vehicle arrives to take me to a calmer place with rubber wallpaper 

The Peterwerth by the way ladies and gents below, G-E glued a new crown extension on, set the time and its a goer and bloody big.


----------



## Dodgydruid

So off on a new mental illness driven tangent I snagged this 1960's Revlon, it reminds me of the jet set age of martini's and everyone was pretty nice to each other, when Pan-Am was a fashion icon and everyone wanted to be an astronaut and live on the moon 










And the wonder is... is that gold plating or nicotine plating...? Obv left in the sun for many years looking at the two hand shadows but I likes it but then I like the Ben Nevis "turtle" I got today sitting on me wrist which for the tenner it cost me isn't bad at all if only I could take the 3 miles back slop on the bezel.










I am in negotiation with a seller for a joblot which includes a 3055 Luch, a Chaika "big blue" and few other quartz Soviety pieces... I've gone cold today on it hoping the lure of hard paypal'ing will tempt him to see things my way and there are two hopes in this world that will see me paying £20 postage and one of them is Bob Hope, the other is no f....


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh its a Miyota 2115 inside of there so them hands will one day fit on something Vostoky no doubt when I tire of the thing...


----------



## ZisguyZaphod

Dodgydruid said:


> The Peterwerth by the way ladies and gents below, G-E glued a new crown extension on, set the time and its a goer and bloody big.
> 
> View attachment 15447750


Peterwerth or Peterbuilt?😁


----------



## Black Hawk$

))))


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just nabbed a nice joblot with a Sekonda day date and didn't realise it, a very nice Accurist chrono and some tat pieces which no one would want altho the triple sub dial I can't see may be another Accurist.










I've got a Bench strap so that one can be sold on, I have no idea what the digi "Predator" is all about, sounds a bit iffy to me as who would want to wear something shouting Predator at peeps? 

People seem to wet their kecks over DKNY stuff and never heard of Bossini, I have a large shoe box full of batteries as I buy in more than I need e.g. if I need an AG12 I buy couple packs of 20 and I buy my 371s by the tonload from Alibongo and the Expressomites. The other night I found out that leaving loose batteries in a small tub is NOT a good idea as couple of them "popped" quite loudly so binned the lot (in the neighbours wheelie bin who I hate and am at war with with the faint hope it will blow his wheelie bin up )

My daughter has agreed to help me start to sell on the stuff in what I call the dead end box, gonna go with 5, 10 quid specials and price stuff individually like my Superdry Casio Telememo and AQ161 wavemaster, also going to sell my Seiko A904 as a project as it works, its in pieces but its very very faint and a new polariser did nothing.

We are also going to go through the larger box of hundreds of stuff I never got round to sorting out, sort the keepers from the weepers and sell the dross in 1kg job lots and get some much needed control over my "habit" hehehehe

My curvy Sekonda TV has hit UK soil as has my GRU 420 Amphibia from Komdotcom, my 160 Amphibia with the straps and stuff has left Russian turf so looking forward to them arriving 

My rare Komandirskie dials are in limbo having left Russia as is my "blizzard" dial and my Raketa diver quartz, only things I got bids out on are an Aeromatic, a Bond Seiko dual timer jobby and a 60's Ingersoll, oh and another joblot which has a couple Sekonda winders mixed in.


----------



## Fergfour

Dodgydruid said:


> My daughter has agreed to help me start to sell on the stuff in what I call the dead end box, gonna go with 5, 10 quid specials and price stuff individually like my Superdry Casio Telememo and AQ161 wavemaster, also going to sell my Seiko A904 as a project as it works, its in pieces but its very very faint and a new polariser did nothing.
> We are also going to go through the larger box of hundreds of stuff I never got round to sorting out, sort the keepers from the weepers and sell the dross in 1kg job lots and get some much needed control over my "habit" hehehehe


Good luck selling. It can be a pain in the you know what. It's one of the main reasons why I decided to stop the hoarding and flipping and go with a smaller collection.


----------



## Bsw_sc

My new Ratnik Hunter 6E4-2 arrived today (any my new Russian knife arrived yesterday so thought I'd include her as well).

Admin reminder of our rule 8._ *Images in posts*, signatures, avatars and profiles *containing* firearms, *knives*, and weapons* are not permitted*, although Moderators may use their discretion in some cases. There is an exception for pictures of a documentary nature which illustrate the actual use of watches, especially if they are in keeping with the theme of the forum in which they are posted. Pictures of knives utilized as tools for a task specific to the thread may also be permitted. *Staged or gratuitous pictures containing* firearms, *knives*, and weapons *are prohibited without exception*. What constitutes documentary and appropriate will be up to the discretion of the moderating team._


----------



## Kotsov

Bsw_sc said:


> My new Ratnik Hunter 6E4-2 arrived today (any my new Russian knife arrived yesterday so thought I'd include her as well).
> View attachment 15451744


Are the scales 3D printed?


----------



## Bsw_sc

Kotsov said:


> Are the scales 3D printed?


On the handle of the knife? Yes, it's g10 material, a hard grippy plastic. Not sure if it's molded or printed though but it's well done


----------



## Dodgydruid

Fergfour said:


> Good luck selling. It can be a pain in the you know what. It's one of the main reasons why I decided to stop the hoarding and flipping and go with a smaller collection.


I have sorted out the good straps and bracelets, harvested a ton of working cheap quartz's and even started a small collection of clean crystals and lifting the box up from its hidey hole we found another bloody one under there... of the rest got about 5kg of clean stuff which we have divided into 1kilo lots. The better quality stuff I fixed is all Hagerty clothed up and looking better, couple of the batteries had died so quick changed them and just under a kilo there.

Found in a little tub a ton of some watch called a Genova, abs loads of new parts for this watch, cases dials and whatnots and I don't remember buying this.

Fed up with UK post, taking 4 days plus to get my stuff actually on the move once its hit the shores of blighty grr then its a couple more days, I remember when Royal Mail prided itself on anywhere in UK next day, now its priding itself on maybe sometime a month down the line it might get sorted 

I do have my fingers in some oddities, that being old Soviet quartz converted to mechanicals, have spraunced for a couple just to see which movements these are actually using and how they managed to get what looks like Poljot movements to run inside a 3050/3056 quartz piece as I am up for putting some Poljotery into my several big squares, get 'em working and on me wrist is the key


----------



## jimzilla

I have some absolute beautiful CZ 9MM Pistols I wish I could pose with my watches and some very exotic switch blades as well. It's a shame


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I have sorted out the good straps and bracelets, harvested a ton of working cheap quartz's and even started a small collection of clean crystals and lifting the box up from its hidey hole we found another bloody one under there... of the rest got about 5kg of clean stuff which we have divided into 1kilo lots. The better quality stuff I fixed is all Hagerty clothed up and looking better, couple of the batteries had died so quick changed them and just under a kilo there.
> 
> Found in a little tub a ton of some watch called a Genova, abs loads of new parts for this watch, cases dials and whatnots and I don't remember buying this.
> 
> Fed up with UK post, taking 4 days plus to get my stuff actually on the move once its hit the shores of blighty grr then its a couple more days, I remember when Royal Mail prided itself on anywhere in UK next day, now its priding itself on maybe sometime a month down the line it might get sorted
> 
> I do have my fingers in some oddities, that being old Soviet quartz converted to mechanicals, have spraunced for a couple just to see which movements these are actually using and how they managed to get what looks like Poljot movements to run inside a 3050/3056 quartz piece as I am up for putting some Poljotery into my several big squares, get 'em working and on me wrist is the key


Don't suppose that you've got a Raketa 2614h balance assembly that you're outing among the bits?


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Don't suppose that you've got a Raketa 2614h balance assembly that you're outing among the bits?


Sorry m8, the only Raketa I have is in my gold Sekonda TV. Did go thru all me tubs for you but it seems I haven't paid much attention to getting some Raketa's


----------



## Dodgydruid

jimzilla said:


> I have some absolute beautiful CZ 9MM Pistols I wish I could pose with my watches and some very exotic switch blades as well. It's a shame


My main "go to" for all sorts of mischief and adventures is my 1980 USAAF survival kit combat knife given to me by a Texan ranger after he and I ended up in a bit of a drunken to do in a Berlin bar, him all six foot built like the brick built privy and me all short and tiny in comparison... sent him to night night land and he gave me the knife as a make up sort of apology... the key was speed in fairness, if he had landed some of his haymakers I would have been in some serious trouble so up and under, quick whap on the right point of the ol' neck and like a sack o' spuds he went.

I've recently rebalanced the old thing too, teaching me daughter the rudimentaries of a thrown knife and how you work out the distances in say paces and you know which set of paces will have the thing point outwards on its trajectory and which paces will have it hilt first and which paces will have it splayed out and she was getting the hang of it getting the thing to stick into the fence.

I do want a Spetznatz shovel and learn how to throw one of them but wouldn't know where to find one lol


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Sorry m8, the only Raketa I have is in my gold Sekonda TV. Did go thru all me tubs for you but it seems I haven't paid much attention to getting some Raketa's


It's OK mate, was a long shot anyway - that (well - it's only the jewel retainer spring is the bit that's missing) and the bow are all I need to get that one up and running.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hmm, I'm not sure then as you will find that some of the springs might be found on other movements thanks to the way Russian watches were spread over the factories from my understanding.

I've got a fair few Slava's and some Poljotry for spares, tons of Vostok's gone to the wild and some other stuff, if anyone could say with certainty the balance can be found on other brands it could be I have something.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I bought a Bliger which is a similar company to Parnis and I abs adore it, I went with a sterile though as not a fan of Aliexpress brand names lol










Got it on wrist at mo nestled on a distressed hide 5 ringer in brown, has the Miyota 8215 in there.

I do have my eye on couple Parnis, also a Courgeot pilot and I see the Bell & Ross themed square jobbies are beginning to show up so I will be sprauncing for one of them.

The Parnis I did want was the rose gold, chocolate bezel insert and dial with the Tudor axe hands also in rose gold but I can't find the bugger in my wish list. Parnis also do a very nice canteen crowned big dial chrono I would have bought as a) it has the neon green I wanted b) nice PVD'd but its a lefty and that is a no no for me sadly as I be a righty.

Take a look at some Megalith stuff on Aliexpress, some of it is pretty nice looking and doesn't have a totally awful name.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Dammit... just bought a Megalith 8051 (US $16.49 89% OFF|MEGALITH Watch Shipping From RU/ES/US Warehouse Men Sport Quartz Watch Waterproof Luminous Watch With Box 3 7Days Can Receive it|Sports Watches| - AliExpress) £13 from Spanish warehouse, big canteen crown beastie which I can wear, get all dirty and stuff and not care...










Gerry, I do have some other Sekonda's in my project box










I haven't got round to assessing either, right hand one has buggered crystal, runs but a bad case of brewers droop on the hands being a bit floppy lol


----------



## brandon\

Not a watch. Just parts. Mesh bracelet and display back from Meranom. They showed up in just a couple weeks - it took me a minute to register what the package was when it was sitting in my mail box because it came so fast.

And I'm really blown away by the bracelet. The quality is top notch - not just for a Vostok, but period. It's one of the best bracelets I've owned.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have some mesh ones but I find they make my wrist itch on one side and irritate and nip at the skin on the other.

Komandirskie.com did have some 22mm bracelets going for 99 roubles (Браслет стандартный 2 для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой) which I grabbed 2 of and a couple of them reversible dark and bright sides in the bright orange and bright green but am hoping they will have back in the navy NATO's with the anchors on.

I do like the beads of rice bracelet my 710 is on but I want something chunkier like super chunky but will fit the 710 fitted ends, I have been pottering around today with my hide offcuts and I reckon I could knock up a 5 ringer no problem just by copying the measurements of my ones, source some rings etc and cook me up some homegrown ones


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> I have some absolute beautiful CZ 9MM Pistols I wish I could pose with my watches and some very exotic switch blades as well. It's a shame


My old Dad used to have a CZ75 back in the day. It was fairly careworn but an excellent pistol.


----------



## brandon\

jimzilla said:


> I have some absolute beautiful CZ 9MM Pistols I wish I could pose with my watches and some very exotic switch blades as well. It's a shame





Kotsov said:


> My old Dad used to have a CZ75 back in the day. It was fairly careworn but an excellent pistol.


Any experience with a TZ? I have a 9mm on my hands for a while. If I like it, I can keep it.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Only one I ever packed or liked was my old nickel plated Colt SM auto, you just couldn't break the bloody things. I'm a bit old fashioned in I was one of the chaps who actually liked the British FN SLR and cut me teeth on an old Lee Enfield .303 back in the day of army cadets but they remained a viable NATO sniper piece til the 90's, the SLR and L-E are still made in the US today and quite popular. For sheer simplicity and abs wrath of doom, silenced Sten the original "smudge" gun and very disconcerting as all you can hear really is like a clacking sound of the bolt and you kept 'em cool by widdling on them as they got toasty hot, Brens and GPMG's like the L1 you had to widdle on the hot barrels whilst you swapped in the cooled off one  

I do remember the time they were looking to re-activate the SLR's rifle grenade's with a more modern and reliable one but Uncle Sam was putting pressure on for us to abandon the SLR in the vain hope we would buy the M16 which the SAS and the Aussies had reported back many times in Vietnam what an atrocious piece the 16 was but the 16 had the M203 attachment which Britain had nothing to match so we maintained a small consignment of the "toys" and often British special forces took two rifles into operation. Thing is, that 7.62 round as any Kalashnikov firer would agree with, is one heck of a long range piece with massive punching power compared to the widdly little 5.56 rubbish NATO got fobbed off on, as a soldier you want maximum terminal force and the 5.56 range is very limited and lethality drops off quite quickly over distance and this has been seen in Afghanistan where the AK-47 is absolute king of the field.


----------



## CPR101

brandon\ said:


> And I'm really blown away by the bracelet. The quality is top notch - not just for a Vostok, but period. It's one of the best bracelets I've owned.


Truthfully, that mesh bracelet looks gorgeous, it really matches your Scuba Dude! I didn't know Meranom sold such good looking mesh bracelets.


----------



## Dondo

Friday arrival, the rubber strab for my new Ratnik! Enjoy your weekend!! Best regards Dondo.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Don't suppose that you've got a Raketa 2614h balance assembly that you're outing among the bits?


Spotted this on my travels if its the right one or not?









Men's mechanical wrist watch USSR " RAKETA" | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Men's mechanical wrist watch USSR " RAKETA" at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## cuthbert




----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Spotted this on my travels if its the right one or not?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Men's mechanical wrist watch USSR " RAKETA" | eBay
> 
> 
> Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Men's mechanical wrist watch USSR " RAKETA" at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.co.uk


Thanks - it's a 2609, I'm after a 2614, but the balance parts may fit from the looks of it


----------



## balistc

Delete.. Wrong forum. Sorry guys!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I so want a Rado for my collection, kicking myself when the Indian's were flogging off Diastar's at ridiculous prices not buying a few and building a good one out of the pieces  I do love the detail work on your Rado there m8.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Thanks - it's a 2609, I'm after a 2614, but the balance parts may fit from the looks of it


£10ish?









VINTAGE RAKETA 2614 H 19 Jewels USSR man`s watch for Parts - L 1022 | eBay


I will do my best to resolve any problem that had occured. Case - 35 mm without crown. Distance between lugs - 18 mm.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## balistc

Delete.. Sorry guys, wrong forum!


----------



## mariomart

balistc said:


> A watch I've been eyeing off for a couple of years. Finally found one at a price I couldn't pass up. Perfect on my 8.5" wrist.
> 
> Rado Tradition Captain Cook MkIII
> 
> It's surprisingly light for a 46mm watch. Hardened ti case, and the domed sapphire is wonderful.
> 
> Now to find the perfect tropic or rally strap for it. 26mm wide lugs so a bit harder to find.


You do realise this is the Soviet/Russian forum?

Nice watch by the way


----------



## balistc

My apologies! I am on tapatalk and didn't realise.


----------



## OCSleeper

Buying has picked back up after returning from vacation. A Sekonda 3017 and a nice little package deal, a couple quartz and Slava Moscow textured dial. 
I really wanted to refrain from buying the Sekonda but my fear of these watches being harder to come by, especially in the condition of this one, was enough for me to pull the trigger. 
I'll carry the guilt of the purchase for a couple weeks but it'll be worth it. Now my Poljot dialed 3017 has a partner.

Seller pics:

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> £10ish?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> VINTAGE RAKETA 2614 H 19 Jewels USSR man`s watch for Parts - L 1022 | eBay
> 
> 
> I will do my best to resolve any problem that had occured. Case - 35 mm without crown. Distance between lugs - 18 mm.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.co.uk


Think that I've found a Sekonda branded one for pennies, though no photo of the movement - looks like it's right  got them both 'watched', thanks


----------



## Dodgydruid

I would prob cash in my whole collection for that Sekonda 3017... I'm umming and ahhing whether to sell on the two incoming Amphibia as prices are really good for UK based new ones right now :S

I've been buying weird Alba's today and some of them spring loaded case/movement holders, both the Alba's are ana-digi but one apparently uses the same ball bearing and spring switch as my Pulsar v600, I have sourced a Japanese Alba v600 if I want to be lazy but I rather want the daytona yellow dial I have here waiting hehe I have been naughty putting non Russian stuff up in this thread so my apols folks... I will self chastise myself at some point no doubt 

Today is going to be pulling apart my Slava big red star quartz, going to give my new Aldi Ferrex multimeter a good using of on it to find out where the problem lies with that one, also got on the deck the Slava plain 3056A to change coil on and carry on pulling the other quartz down to parts and having a look at what is causing my Slava tank quartz to stop occasionally for about half an hour then restarts runs for couple days then loses half an hour. Got a strong battery in there so its tres annoying as I like my tank quartz.

I expected in the big red star a 2356 quartz but its a 3056A quartz which is odd. 

I might go out and redo the Reliant's rear windows making it back into a "del boy" van, got the vinyl for inside and out and just a matter of trimming it, have a big bit of plyboard cut out to give me a van floor as well and I can remove rear seats as its only me and daughter now and she's moving to Scotland very soon so will just be me and thinking maybe going back to two wheels.

Today's wear is my 119 Amphibia, back on its leather 5 ringer, I do love that watch and will say its my favourite Amphibia by far, Komandirskie.com btw have back in the anchor navy NATO straps I saw last nite.


----------



## Ligavesh

Damn it, couldn't resist these two beauties....



















You know it's getting pretty bad when sellers start offering you gifts - that means no more shopping!


----------



## Dodgydruid

For those of you wanting handmade 18mm (and other sizes) this chap has just upped a stackload of 18mm hand crafted leather straps and the quality is superb. I just bought the one below for my 119 and will prob be buying some more but at a tenner a pop I am liking that all day long 









Handmade Olive Green Thick 'Worn' Textured Leather Watchstrap 18mm | eBay


The strap you are buying is the strap in the main picture. Constructed from leather with a steel clasp.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sooo its not Russian but it is Soviet... step forward the Ruhla I have long coveted and this came up at a cracking price working too...


----------



## Dodgydruid

And apart from the oddities still got bids on... having no doubts I will be outbid on, that is me done for next couple weeks as balance in bank precariously lean hehe


----------



## Utva_56

Journey of 170548 started on 4 th of March 2020 at Chistopolj. After 202 days in transit , made it to the final destination.
Was very happy this morning when I picked up a parcel at the local NZ post hub. This watch is also special as it has custom caseback.


----------



## Dodgydruid

That is a sweet piece m8  I yet have to acquire a 170 and a 150 from the mainstream models and I do like them paddles indeed and the clean bezel.


----------



## Utva_56

Dodgydruid said:


> That is a sweet piece m8  I yet have to acquire a 170 and a 150 from the mainstream models and I do like them paddles indeed and the clean bezel.


Thanks DD,
Already thinking to transfer to 710 or 090 case , as bezel is overhang 1.2 mm on the lug side.


----------



## Bsw_sc

So this one arrived today in the mailbox... I am going to try to polish out that crystal a bit but I must say I really like this watch. The size is perfect and it has a unique appearance that I like


----------



## Dodgydruid

If you can, it pays to polish both sides if poss, as fine dust and used oil particles can film over on the inside of the crystal and the clarity after a good polish makes it feel like a brand new watch. A Hagerty or Connoisseur white metal/steel polishing cloth will get that clean of any ingrained grime too.

The only fly in the ointment is the T pieces on end of bracelet, they seem to end up looking battered and mangled and I have tried using a mandrel in the spring bar channel to tidy them up but the steel is pretty hard stuff.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Got to lay off buying this month, as have had to re-stock on ammo for the wife & myselfs weekend hobby, and we've just come off furlough so the wages have been cut back to our basic - about half of our 'normal' (but still got a cheeky bid on a watch   )


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Lost the watch (attic find Sekonda), but never mind, hopefully it's going to a good home


----------



## miroman

Today bought this Sekonda lecturers:
























And already is on it's way 

Regards, Miro.


----------



## Kotsov

Utva_56 said:


> Journey of 170548 started on 4 th of March 2020 at Chistopolj. After 202 days in transit , made it to the final destination.
> Was very happy this morning when I picked up a parcel at the local NZ post hub. This watch is also special as it has custom caseback.
> 
> View attachment 15461063


That's really nice. Did Meranom do the engraving?


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Got to lay off buying this month, as have had to re-stock on ammo for the wife & myselfs weekend hobby, and we've just come off furlough so the wages have been cut back to our basic - about half of our 'normal' (but still got a cheeky bid on a watch   )


Paintballing?


----------



## Ligavesh

Didn't plan to buy, but someone else put these two in their cart, and I wasn't gonna let someone take these couple unique (at least for me - I've never seen them on ebay) pieces away:










"30 years of the Zainskaya Gres (powerplant)" - I'd be surprised to see another one of these if it's authentic, hopefully.










Hadn't seen this Poljot anywhere else either, fingers crossed it's authentic, too.

Oh well, at least I've got delayed paying with my paypal - it would be as if I had bought them the next month - which makes it ok and totally not pathologic


----------



## Ligavesh

The downside of that Vostok is that I would be always too scared to touch the dial, therefore I couldn't remove and relume the hands or the dial itself.


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Didn't plan to buy, but someone else put these two in their cart, and I wasn't gonna let someone take these couple unique (at least for me - I've never seen them on ebay) pieces away:
> 
> View attachment 15463876
> 
> 
> "30 years of the Zainskaya Gres (powerplant)" - I'd be surprised to see another one of these if it's authentic, hopefully.
> 
> View attachment 15463882
> 
> 
> Hadn't seen this Poljot anywhere else either, fingers crossed it's authentic, too.
> 
> Oh well, at least I've got delayed paying with my paypal - it would be as if I had bought them the next month - which makes it ok and totally not pathologic


If you decide you don't want the first one I'll take it off your hands. It's so ugly it is beautiful.


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> If you decide you don't want the first one I'll take it off your hands. It's so ugly it is beautiful.


Haha, the only chance you've got is for me to go bankrupt from buying all these watches and then having to sell them off. Either that, or you infiltrate the postal service somewhere on the way from Russia (or Ukraine?) to Germany and snatch the package. Otherwise, I plan to celebrate 30 years of the Zainskaya Powerplant for a long time


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Haha, the only chance you've got is for me to go bankrupt from buying all these watches and then having to sell them off. Either that, or you infiltrate the postal service somewhere on the way from Russia (or Ukraine?) to Germany and snatch the package. Otherwise, I plan to celebrate 30 years of the Zainskaya Powerplant for a long time


I'm Ok with the odds


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Paintballing?


Nope, airgunning (Field Target), go through a tin of pellets roughly every 2 weeks or so, so easiest & cheapest way is to buy in bulk (minimum of 10 tins - 5,000 pellets - equates to around £85-£100+, depending on deals available)


----------



## Danilao

Ligavesh said:


> Didn't plan to buy, but someone else put these two in their cart, and I wasn't gonna let someone take these couple unique (at least for me - I've never seen them on ebay) pieces away:
> 
> View attachment 15463876
> 
> 
> "30 years of the Zainskaya Gres (powerplant)" - I'd be surprised to see another one of these if it's authentic, hopefully.
> 
> View attachment 15463882


I also have this model and you can find it presented (somewhere) on this topic Vostok, Raketa ecc. "aziendali/istituzionali": thread collettivo - cccp-forum.it here is my sample


----------



## Utva_56

Kotsov said:


> That's really nice. Did Meranom do the engraving?


I bought it from Komandirskie.com back at end of February. They have engraving service in the parts and accessories section ( 1000 ruble). I have made a template using autocad ( dwg file).


----------



## Ligavesh

Danilao said:


> I also have this model and you can find it presented (somewhere) on this topic Vostok, Raketa ecc. "aziendali/istituzionali": thread collettivo - cccp-forum.it here is my sample
> 
> View attachment 15464644
> 
> 
> View attachment 15464645


A fellow colleague from the Zainskaya Powerplant! It would be fun to collect ALL of these 'collective' special edition Vostoks - now that's a goal I don't need in my life.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I've been behaving then spotted this... Buried in there are not one but two 19 jewel Sekonda mens and a couple Sekonda winder ladies, the rest is just dross most likely but 4 winder Sekonda's for a fiver... yep I am happy with that 










My extra thick green textured hide strap arrived today as well as my 20mm Geckota 2 piece zulu and both on their target watches, the dark green hide handmade strap (lawr389 on ebay) just works super well with the dark green dial on my 119. The Geckota I put onto my sterile Bliger and transformed that too, am hooked on them 2 piece zulus now lol.

Daughter and I went to Aldi's and they have in for £13 the padded lined lumberjack jackets in grey or red, winter is coming so don't end up like the three brass monkeys 

Soz to ppl on my vids me going on about the TV programme Misfits made on my old South London estate, kinda weird seeing where we used to live 25 years ago in Thamesmead.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> A fellow colleague from the Zainskaya Powerplant! It would be fun to collect ALL of these 'collective' special edition Vostoks - now that's a goal I don't need in my life.


I was going to do that then looked into just how many individual, special editions etc there was and my daughter was "nyetski" all the way on that one which is why I settled for one of each case type in the Komandirskie class and aiming for one of each type in the Amphibia class too, think its 170, 150 and 350 the ones I am missing and of course the 22mm 300m 119's can't remember their class number.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK this is a curiosity buy more than anything else but for 5 euros I bought this:










It is a 30xx quartz retrofitted with a Raketa mechanical movement and I bought it to see how it all works and if need be put the movement into one of my other big squares or even my big red star or convert to Miyota day-date's etc to put my large fleet of broken quartz back on the wrist...

Oh and I got it, I got the bally thing I have been after for soooooooo long... a working Seiko 8v20/Pulsar V600 in the Franklin Mint version    See the gods of ebay did not let me down, these V600's are analogue quartz with a twist, they are alarms, dual times, chrono's and countdown timers with the workings done via a rotary switch attached to the bezel and are known as the original "dancing hands" watch and as the nice chap from Pulsar told me, at the time was the most sophisticated watch Seiko group had produced.

Now I have options too in I can swap the spring and balls to my quite rare daytona yellow dial and gold one which is missing only the springs and balls from the switch part or measure precisely the spring and balls by popping the bezel off and then I will have not one but two ultra rare V600's, if I can find a third case I would then have the very nice NASA spec one which is the black dial.










My daytona yellow V600 missing its sub dial second hand which I have one of and the curious set of three springs and ball bearings which make up the "switch" under the bezel, I have sourced a Seiko parts dealer who has several sets of spring and balls for bezels but he said measuring just the hole is likely to be wrong and said to find the exact measurements of the spring and ball so all I got to do is pop off the Franklin bezel and use my Brown & Sharp micrometer to get an abs precise measurement 










So all that is left on my grail of grails list, is a Soviet chrono of some sort, well two as I want a Poljot Sekonda branded black dialled chrono but also a Ruhla GDR chrono which is very like the 60's/70's Seiko subdial type of chrono then that is my grails list fairly complete.

My recently arrived bakelite bezel'd Raketa quartz is working too, the issue with it is around the battery clamp connection and I have to find some insulators and replace the knackered negative side connector which I have got is just those silly little plastic rings are bothersome and have lost two already to the carpet.


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Nope, airgunning (Field Target), go through a tin of pellets roughly every 2 weeks or so, so easiest & cheapest way is to buy in bulk (minimum of 10 tins - 5,000 pellets - equates to around £85-£100+, depending on deals available)


Lovely. Great that your wife enjoys it with you.

I had great times with my dad doing the same. Still have the PCPs, tanks, targets etc. But sadly no father or a suitable piece of land. No accessible clubs either.


----------



## Fergfour

I've wanted one for years but never went through with it. After reading some recent posts and watching some videos and hearing the wonderful sound, I finally pulled the trigger. Shipping is close to $50 UPS but I don't mind paying up for faster delivery and lets face it, this thing weighs quite a bit.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have thought of starting shooting again, used to own a formidable arsenal of bows, crossbows, pistols, rifles and air guns then Dunblane happened and it was a moment of self assessing whether I needed all these devices of destruction so sold on my firearms, think the last thing I had was my evil pistol crossbow which was bloody nasty at close quarters, deactivated my licence and never looked back. Had one of them compound bows with all the pulleys which could put an arrow through a car door, amazing kit so if there was civil war I think I will have fun hehe

Paintballing I was also fond of, was an absolute ar^ehole and took no prisoners either and friends stopped inviting me as I would be last man standing and being an ex professional at it ran rings round folks with my favourite of building a quick hide in a tree and cashing in on the doctrine that no one ever looks up  Even today, wearing bright clothing I can still go to ground in seconds employing the old 5 S's which I was so shocked they haven't taught soldiers about in years in the "modern" army... no wonder they keep getting shot then is my thought


----------



## Kotsov

Fergfour said:


> I've wanted one for years but never went through with it. After reading some recent posts and watching some videos and hearing the wonderful sound, I finally pulled the trigger.
> 
> View attachment 15467696


That was quick...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Lovely. Great that your wife enjoys it with you.
> 
> I had great times with my dad doing the same. Still have the PCPs, tanks, targets etc. But sadly no father or a suitable piece of land. No accessible clubs either.


Shame about having to drop the sport, but without a club/ somebody to enjoy it with, fair play. 
At the moment we're travelling about 50 miles to the club we now belong to (dropped the closest club - difference of opinion over the committees 'right' of altering subs/rules without an AGM - we walked away!) but at least this club offers 7 days a week opening, 50 target FT course & 30 target HFT course. Youngest son comes along (when his wife lets him, usually once a fortnight - she doesn't like 'guns' for some reason, so all his kit is stored here) I'm trying to get my eldest back into it - he's a good shot & given a bit of practice would probably leave me in the dust, but his 'weekend' is Wednesday & Thursday (partly why we joined this club) trouble is, he's usually busy during the Spring/Summer/Autumn with his bees.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I have thought of starting shooting again, used to own a formidable arsenal of bows, crossbows, pistols, rifles and air guns then Dunblane happened and it was a moment of self assessing whether I needed all these devices of destruction so sold on my firearms, think the last thing I had was my evil pistol crossbow which was bloody nasty at close quarters, deactivated my licence and never looked back. Had one of them compound bows with all the pulleys which could put an arrow through a car door, amazing kit so if there was civil war I think I will have fun hehe
> 
> Paintballing I was also fond of, was an absolute ar^ehole and took no prisoners either and friends stopped inviting me as I would be last man standing and being an ex professional at it ran rings round folks with my favourite of building a quick hide in a tree and cashing in on the doctrine that no one ever looks up  Even today, wearing bright clothing I can still go to ground in seconds employing the old 5 S's which I was so shocked they haven't taught soldiers about in years in the "modern" army... no wonder they keep getting shot then is my thought


Worked out just how many airguns we've got between us a while ago 
Always wanted a Longbow, I've had a few goes with them & enjoyed it, and was able to hit a target, but arthritis in my shoulders has put paid to that.
Shape, silhouette, stillness, sound, shadow? (_IF _I remember rightly - v. long time since I had them drilled into me, or even used them)


----------



## Fergfour

Kotsov said:


> That was quick...


I bought it today, when I receive it is another story. A few days to fulfill the order, then customs, they say UPS Express is 3-6 days. We'll see.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Kotsov said:


> That was quick...


My ex wife said that a lot... dunno what she mean't tho.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Worked out just how many airguns we've got between us a while ago
> Always wanted a Longbow, I've had a few goes with them & enjoyed it, and was able to hit a target, but arthritis in my shoulders has put paid to that.
> Shape, silhouette, stillness, sound, shadow? (_IF _I remember rightly - v. long time since I had them drilled into me, or even used them)


Shape, shine, shadow, silhouette, sound and an extra of smell, yes once upon a time us old lot were given orders to not do anything except cold water washing with no soap or shower gel sort of stuff, American's thought we were crazy and I remember this Gurkha telling one bunch of American naysayers on exercise that he could smell 'em a mile off which made them think.

It was discovered after Vietnam that the Vietcong only had to close their eyes and smell for deodorant or listen for the clanking of coins in the pocket or watch high ridges because the American brass wanted eyes max vision so had them walk top of skylines making for easy targets when they should have split a platoon and walked them below the skyline either side. Smoking was also a big no no out on op, lit ciggies could be seen from miles away and the smell too to the trained soldier was a dead giveaway the enemy was close so we had to endure going no smoko and grabbing a puff when it was deemed safe. You also smoked your ciggie with the glowy bit down your barrel which irritated sgts and officers who often did ciggy checks on your SLR, it was a game by and large getting one off against the brass and it was interesting work.


----------



## UDIVER

Two really clean vintage B6-02 Elektronika's, now I just have to wait 2 months to get them


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Shape, shine, shadow, silhouette, sound and an extra of smell, yes once upon a time us old lot were given orders to not do anything except cold water washing with no soap or shower gel sort of stuff, American's thought we were crazy and I remember this Gurkha telling one bunch of American naysayers on exercise that he could smell 'em a mile off which made them think.
> 
> It was discovered after Vietnam that the Vietcong only had to close their eyes and smell for deodorant or listen for the clanking of coins in the pocket or watch high ridges because the American brass wanted eyes max vision so had them walk top of skylines making for easy targets when they should have split a platoon and walked them below the skyline either side. Smoking was also a big no no out on op, lit ciggies could be seen from miles away and the smell too to the trained soldier was a dead giveaway the enemy was close so we had to endure going no smoko and grabbing a puff when it was deemed safe. You also smoked your ciggie with the glowy bit down your barrel which irritated sgts and officers who often did ciggy checks on your SLR, it was a game by and large getting one off against the brass and it was interesting work.


Always forget one of them when asked!  Should've remembered 'shine' - cheekbones, forehead & nose plus kit. Though very often, just standing still can 'hide' you effectively - even if not dressed for it - scared a teenager half to death a while back, his basket ball had landed in the back garden, as he was climbing over the fence, I just called out "Would be polite to ask, first!" - I was stood in plain sight just outside the back door - even watched him look round the garden to see if anyone was there!  
Think that I was told at some point, that the glow from a ciggie is viewable from a mile away with the naked eye - and a good deal further when 'drawn' on and a match/lighter from well over 4 (had a great uncle who would never accept the third light from a match)


----------



## Fergfour

Paid for this Sturmanskie Open Space titanium last night.

















Looks like they modelled it afer this quartz watch made by the Watch Industry Research Institute ((HI,II4) , 29 of which were made. Worn by Artryukhin on a Soyuz mission in 1974 (thanks marctibu for the info!)


----------



## RobNJ

Just arrived: a Komandirskie zakaz tank I won last week. I was taken by the matching fade of the red star and the second hand and the appropriately darkened and gloppily-applied lume. It looks like someone just missed the dot at 10.

The case is very dirty, and that may be contributing to the bezel being stuck. There are some scuffs on the crystal that can be buffed out. Most seriously, the date got stuck between 29 and 30 when I tried to advance it and is stuck there. On the other hand, it started right up when wound and is running strong so far; I don't know about timekeeping yet.

So there is some work to be done, but I think it is fundamentally a good watch. Anything I missed?


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Always forget one of them when asked!  Should've remembered 'shine' - cheekbones, forehead & nose plus kit. Though very often, just standing still can 'hide' you effectively - even if not dressed for it - scared a teenager half to death a while back, his basket ball had landed in the back garden, as he was climbing over the fence, I just called out "Would be polite to ask, first!" - I was stood in plain sight just outside the back door - even watched him look round the garden to see if anyone was there!
> Think that I was told at some point, that the glow from a ciggie is viewable from a mile away with the naked eye - and a good deal further when 'drawn' on and a match/lighter from well over 4 (had a great uncle who would never accept the third light from a match)


The third light came about due to the efficiency of German snipers, who would be on trench sniping duty be watching out for the "smoke break" order to be given and he knew that the third light just behind it would be a soldier whereas the first and second the light would be usually in extended arms giving a light to buddies. In WW1, British soldiers had enormous ability in snatching a sight on a German soldier because of the grenade lamp they all had in their helmet tops used to light grenades and explosives. There were some veritable duels of sniper teams between the Germans and British, the Germans and the Russians and even the Italian's had a couple of "aces" that instilled fear into trench and advancing troops. I quite like sniping, when I used to play Ghost Recon I went lone wolf with basically a modern version of the ol' Lee Enfield but set up in a NATO stock, sights etc and I loved it, same with Sniper Elite games.

What is scary is I can't remember what I did today pretty much (too excited waiting for my V600 watch yay) but I can remember drill and battle rules, can buff a pair o' boots to wet glass in minutes, still put a knife edge in a shirt and feel only truly comfy in a set of camo trousers, boots and my MA1 Alpha Industries black flight jacket although a new contender has come to the throne you might appreciate in that Aldi have padded fleece lumberjack coats for £12.99 and abs superb quality and I have my eye on a set of US special forces boots with the zip as I am getting too old and creaky to be doing the hi leg old NATO stuff even with my Austrian special forces boots with speed lacing its tedious and I am lacking a sand coloured set of boots (got a full set of desert and temperate modern armoured shirt and trousers with the neoprene ballistic patches I like to wear but the desert looks silly with black boots).

If you ever want superior quality camo combat's, look for Blue Castle brand ones on ebay, do 'em in urban, woodland, khaki, olive, black, red urban, midnight urban and I swear they are as solid as any '95 issue set of army made stuff.


----------



## OCSleeper

I posted the seller pics of these earlier but they have now arrived and I took some better photos.








Received a good Buy it Now package of $35 USD for these 3. Almost certain the Quartz were never worn, perfect condition and they looked to have their original batteries. The Slava keeps good time but the day will not advance so I'll check into that.









This Sekonda is in good condition. Sellers father-in-law (also a watch collector)owned an antique store where this was for sale before he passed. Seller generously threw in this Komanderskie for "free" since I told him I collect.

























Here it is on a NOS 1960's perlon strap just for fun.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Nice selection there and def love that Sekonda


----------



## RobNJ

OCSleeper said:


> I posted the seller pics of these earlier but they have now arrived and I took some better photos.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Received a good Buy it Now package of $35 USD for these 3. Almost certain the Quartz were never worn, perfect condition and they looked to have their original batteries. The Slava keeps good time but the day will not advance so I'll check into that.
> 
> This Sekonda is in good condition. Sellers father-in-law (also a watch collector)owned an antique store where this was for sale before he passed. Seller generously threw in this Komanderskie for "free" since I told him I collect.
> 
> Here it is on a NOS 1960's perlon strap just for fun.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Is that a German or a French day wheel on the Slava? I'm not sure I've ever seen either.


----------



## Utva_56

Should the day ring be in the Cyrillic letters ? to match Slava on the dial.


----------



## Rolexoman

Have two pieces on the way

The first is a project watch that will require pulling the movement and doing a case polish and and the second one does not look like it will need much, I plan on following my Mentors advice on restoration and want to keep it as original as possible


----------



## Dodgydruid

Rolexoman said:


> Have two pieces on the way
> 
> The first is a project watch that will require pulling the movement and doing a case polish and and the second one does not look like it will need much, I plan on following my Mentors advice on restoration and want to keep it as original as possible
> 
> View attachment 15469862
> View attachment 15469863


Is that a lateish 50's Wostok? Very clean looking and the albatross is flawless, look at the lume dots, the lume pip and the clean dial, well done Sir


----------



## artus

Arrived today
will be swapping the bezel out on the left one and the dial on the right


----------



## mariomart

Shehryar said:


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Reported


----------



## Dodgydruid

artus said:


> Arrived today
> will be swapping the bezel out on the left one and the dial on the right
> View attachment 15470081


My 710640 has the right hand bezel and I just whipped it off as its floppier than a sunday morning power drinker, was worried when the sharp cracks on it led me to think I had knackered the crystal but its back on and firm n fruity on the case, crystal was actually not seated fully was the cracking sound... naughty Vostok


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ordered august, arrived today 








Big panic, the capsule with the hands had popped open in the post and the hands were loose in the package - dropped the minute hand, took a while to find it, luckily, son number 1 spotted it


----------



## Ligavesh

RobNJ said:


> Is that a German or a French day wheel on the Slava? I'm not sure I've ever seen either.


Seems German for "Samstag" - Saturday.


----------



## Fergfour

RobNJ said:


> Is that a German or a French day wheel on the Slava? I'm not sure I've ever seen either.


French would be "Sam" too but something tells me it's German. If you can show some of the other days we could tell for sure.


----------



## Ipse

I know the summer is gone, but a heartless forum member posted this a week ago on WRUW and I had to get one..5th Vostok.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ipse said:


> I know the summer is gone, but a heartless forum member posted this a week ago on WRUW and I had to get one..5th Vostok.
> 
> View attachment 15470749


Of course, for some of the members on here, summer is on its way (lucky people!).


----------



## Kotsov

The


SuffolkGerryW said:


> Of course, for some of the members on here, summer is on its way (lucky people!).


Summer? Are you soft?

Handful of gravel...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Not a watch but another in my "King Dick" collection as I like to entertain myself with revealing to unwitting and the unwary people my large King Dicks... (OK OK its sad I know) but this is a very very rare aeroframe torque wrench and one of the most precise ever made til modernity gave better and digital versions but this is accurate to +- Ilb per square inch and a lovely piece of kit to own.










I have all manner of King Dickery mainly old girder wrenches, some pipe artificer's wrenches and misc bits and pieces and some WW2 stuff and these ancient tools are as good as the day they were made.

If anyone is interested, a youtube channel called Hand Tool Rescue has made heavy tool steel reproductions of the famous Abingdon King Dick girder wrench in 4 in, 6 inch and now the big mama 9 inch sizes and they are absolute astonishing reproductions.

On the Russian side of watches, my GRU 420 Amphibia has touched down in old blighty, so looking forward to that piece, the GRU were like the internal KGB and just as horrible to the people and locked in an internal war with the KGB who both sought to become the only intelligence directorate much like the CIA-NSA-Dept of Def-Homeland Sec turf war that is raging in the US right now.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Of course, for some of the members on here, summer is on its way (lucky people!).


Yes our antipodean cousins are all getting ready for a blistering hot Xmas, it amazed me how the Aussies celebrated Xmas esp when it was usually quite warm and I did see Xmas dinners done on the ol' "Bruce Barbie" with their big 1L cans of Victoria or Fosters... New Zealanders are far far more reserved and my take of the place was very much how Britain used to be but with the horrible bits changed for the better


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo its all hit today  My NOS Vostok dials, my GRU 420 Amphibia, my much much desired Pulsar/Franklin Mint V600 and a big big box of used watches with the 4 Sekonda winders hidden within... like a sad sack I am sitting here making the V600's hands dance like its on substances  

Followers of me youtube channel I will do reviews on the 420 from Komandirskie and the dials in sep vids, I am seriously considering going two wrists loaded for this week... one on each lol

Oh and that 1960's Ruhla came back to life, its keeping superb time, is now on a Soviet ladder bund and I did what I did with me last Ruhla which is basically dab some oil on the various bits I could and just kept it running, a few seconds became a few minutes, a few minutes became 10 minutes then half an hour then a full hour and then half a day it has now passed 24 hours without stopping so I am super super pleased that old beastie came to life. Only nause is the gold plating washed off with IPA so I am guessing it was gold painted or maybe it was nicotine as it no longer smells of an ashtray.


----------



## Dodgydruid

So now, my grail list is looking very bare, being a Sekonda chrono or a Poljot in black, a golden Stadium and a chrome Sekonda Raketa TV to match my golden one and a Ruhla chrono... I trust in the gods of ebay, that someone out there will put up unknowing something juicy and sweet for me to pounce on hehehehe Vostokery is now down to a 150 case and a 170 case from the none exotics and I will have the mainstream amphibia's nailed down leaving the 970, 350 etc and I do want to source a Poljot Amphibian at some point and a Ratnik in the PVD brown then that is pretty much my aspirations in Soviet and Russian pieces.

Surprisingly won't be going out in a mo with a Russian but my ahem 1:1 Omega planet ocean homage on a nice leather 5 ringer as I do likes to impress the young ladies at the pharmacy who all ask about me wrist action and thought to up the game with a bit o' bling...

Oh do check out Lawr389's recent ebay additions to his stock for handmade spanner head buckle'd 18-24mm handmade straps, the bottle green textured thick hide strap adorning my 119 Amphibia is just gawjus, well worth the tenner it cost with free delivery on ebay, I'm waiting til payday and going to grab a couple 24mm 5 ringers and maybe couple more 18mm's. I have got a jumble bag of coloured hides in on its way from ebay plus a bunch of rings and spanner head buckles from aliexpress and a leatherworking kit and going to use the Zuludiver and my favourite 5 ringers as patterns and going to make some and I have my eye on some embossing stuff as I quite like the idea of doing some youtube channel straps for giveaways etc.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Project watch arrived 😀








Guess who's going to be busy for a while (still got 'project Raketa' on the blocks)


----------



## Dodgydruid

I'm in a bit o' distress as caught meself out when opening the box of watches in eagerness and forgot to twist the safety cage on the French knife I use and of course I get my knives sharper than a stanley blade... it was a bit of a spurter and hoping it will stop soon otherwise out with the sutures 










Here's my GRU 420 in all its grim glory... ooo I do like it, that dark off key petrol blue and the seemingly innocent logo...










Box of finger slashing stuff, dug the first Sekonda out... gave a wind... its a runner and on a brand new looking fixoflex rolled gold strap... worth the fiver I paid for the whole on its own and another USSR Sekonda in the collection.










Here's the keeping perfect time Soviet Ruhla from the good ol' days when even I was a twinkle in the milkmans eye...










And last but not least, a pic to explain what I have been waffling on about, the Franklin Mint branded Pulsar V600, what makes it good is it does everything a digital watch can do but with 3 main hands and the little sub hand and it dances the hands when you change modes etc. It is an insanely rare watch and is pride of me collection... I have already had the bezel off, measuring the spring and balls and ordered them so my Pulsar daytona yellow version will be working soon too... go me 










And now I got it I promise I will shut up forevermore about it... Some of these are fetching 600 dollars stateside and this one is looking like the Punisher's watch as my finger did kinda spray a bit


----------



## Fergfour

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Project watch arrived ?
> View attachment 15473364
> 
> Guess who's going to be busy for a while (still got 'project Raketa' on the blocks)


I did a mod with that dial last year, some different gold hands (favinov), bezel (am), case:


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Fergfour said:


> I did a mod with that dial last year, some different gold hands (favinov), bezel (am), case:
> 
> View attachment 15473476


Dial is being taken out, same with the hands, bracelet and the bezel (was cheaper to buy the complete watch, than just the bits (case & movement with the black date wheel fitted)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I'm in a bit o' distress as caught meself out when opening the box of watches in eagerness and forgot to twist the safety cage on the French knife I use and of course I get my knives sharper than a stanley blade... it was a bit of a spurter and hoping it will stop soon otherwise out with the sutures
> 
> View attachment 15473390
> 
> 
> Here's my GRU 420 in all its grim glory... ooo I do like it, that dark off key petrol blue and the seemingly innocent logo...
> 
> View attachment 15473391
> 
> 
> Box of finger slashing stuff, dug the first Sekonda out... gave a wind... its a runner and on a brand new looking fixoflex rolled gold strap... worth the fiver I paid for the whole on its own and another USSR Sekonda in the collection.
> 
> View attachment 15473393
> 
> 
> Here's the keeping perfect time Soviet Ruhla from the good ol' days when even I was a twinkle in the milkmans eye...
> 
> View attachment 15473394
> 
> 
> And last but not least, a pic to explain what I have been waffling on about, the Franklin Mint branded Pulsar V600, what makes it good is it does everything a digital watch can do but with 3 main hands and the little sub hand and it dances the hands when you change modes etc. It is an insanely rare watch and is pride of me collection... I have already had the bezel off, measuring the spring and balls and ordered them so my Pulsar daytona yellow version will be working soon too... go me
> 
> View attachment 15473398
> 
> 
> And now I got it I promise I will shut up forevermore about it... Some of these are fetching 600 dollars stateside and this one is looking like the Punisher's watch as my finger did kinda spray a bit


Surely even you know to cut away from yourself!  Seriously though, hope it seals quick & it stops!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Fergfour said:


> I did a mod with that dial last year, some different gold hands (favinov), bezel (am), case:
> 
> View attachment 15473476


I got some of them unbarred hour arrows and they look awesome but still not decided to put on what lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Surely even you know to cut away from yourself!  Seriously though, hope it seals quick & it stops!


I was so excited at all the shiny things and its this weird French gentlemans knife which has a safety lock and it was just my laziness/excitedness/cackhandedness hehe Still weeping a bit so gonna seal it with superglue and put a plaster on it again.


----------



## Bsw_sc

The clock isn't new, it's the coffee mug.... I have no other reason other than I enjoy the funny looks I get from my coworkers


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> I'm in a bit o' distress as caught meself out when opening the box of watches in eagerness and forgot to twist the safety cage on the French knife I use and of course I get my knives sharper than a stanley blade... it was a bit of a spurter and hoping it will stop soon otherwise out with the sutures
> 
> View attachment 15473390
> 
> 
> Here's my GRU 420 in all its grim glory... ooo I do like it, that dark off key petrol blue and the seemingly innocent logo...
> 
> View attachment 15473391
> 
> 
> Box of finger slashing stuff, dug the first Sekonda out... gave a wind... its a runner and on a brand new looking fixoflex rolled gold strap... worth the fiver I paid for the whole on its own and another USSR Sekonda in the collection.
> 
> View attachment 15473393
> 
> 
> Here's the keeping perfect time Soviet Ruhla from the good ol' days when even I was a twinkle in the milkmans eye...
> 
> View attachment 15473394
> 
> 
> And last but not least, a pic to explain what I have been waffling on about, the Franklin Mint branded Pulsar V600, what makes it good is it does everything a digital watch can do but with 3 main hands and the little sub hand and it dances the hands when you change modes etc. It is an insanely rare watch and is pride of me collection... I have already had the bezel off, measuring the spring and balls and ordered them so my Pulsar daytona yellow version will be working soon too... go me
> 
> View attachment 15473398
> 
> 
> And now I got it I promise I will shut up forevermore about it... Some of these are fetching 600 dollars stateside and this one is looking like the Punisher's watch as my finger did kinda spray a bit


Opinels are rhyming slang for the swear words you use when you cut yourself with one.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I must admit I did turn the air very blue and would have made even the die hardest of Soviet factory workers blink with the profanity that I did uttereth lol My upstair's neighbour asked me about it earlier and I showed him ground zero which has stopped leaking but its a deep ol' bugger of a gash...

Just whapped me thumb trying to knock out the link pins on my new Vostok and I am going "c'mn, watches are supposed to be nice, not blood and pain..."

I will say Russian is the very best language for cursing and invective, I have heard my sister in law go on for half an hour and not repeat herself whilst my poor brother has turned stone white in the face of her atomic bomb temper, I have no doubts who wears the trousers in their partnership. Funny as she tried dominating me too and I am having none of that, her shouting at me to do this and that I am "nyet, not me" so me poor brother prob got his knackers stamped on that time too


----------



## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Project watch arrived 😀
> View attachment 15473364
> 
> Guess who's going to be busy for a while (still got 'project Raketa' on the blocks)


Are you doing a projects thread?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Are you doing a projects thread?


Not sure if it'll be as I go along, or once done (trying a 'as I go' with the Raketa pocket watch)


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I must admit I did turn the air very blue and would have made even the die hardest of Soviet factory workers blink with the profanity that I did uttereth lol My upstair's neighbour asked me about it earlier and I showed him ground zero which has stopped leaking but its a deep ol' bugger of a gash...
> 
> Just whapped me thumb trying to knock out the link pins on my new Vostok and I am going "c'mn, watches are supposed to be nice, not blood and pain..."
> 
> I will say Russian is the very best language for cursing and invective, I have heard my sister in law go on for half an hour and not repeat herself whilst my poor brother has turned stone white in the face of her atomic bomb temper, I have no doubts who wears the trousers in their partnership. Funny as she tried dominating me too and I am having none of that, her shouting at me to do this and that I am "nyet, not me" so me poor brother prob got his knackers stamped on that time too


Noticed that the pins on my two new bracelets are in there tight - still, better that than so loose that they fall out.
Know that a lot of Dutch will swear in English, as Dutch isn't 'expressive' enough (strange hearing a person who you know doesn't speak English coming out with fluent English swearing!  ) Though saying that, I once knew a bloke who didn't swear, but could really go to town with the Queens English - and we knew that he was very upset - it was wonderful to hear, and an education!


----------



## mightymiloquinn

Got myself a birthday present. Let's see if it arrives before Xmas... Looks like it could use a new crystal, but we'll see what it looks like in person.


----------



## Sekondtime

Dodgydruid said:


> Here's the keeping perfect time Soviet Ruhla from the good ol' days when even I was a twinkle in the milkmans eye...
> 
> View attachment 15473394


I know this is going to sound pedantic, but just a point of clarification, a Ruhla is not Soviet it is East German. There was a period when the Factory was under Soviet control (Soviet Action Assembly for Precision Machines - Avtowelo) but this was from July 1946 until 30th April 1952 during the Soviet Military Administration of Eastern Germany.

Dodgydruid 's newly acquired watch dates from the 1970s.

Sekondtime

Ostalgie-Ruhla Watches of the GDR


----------



## Wazowie

mightymiloquinn said:


> Got myself a birthday present. Let's see if it arrives before Xmas... Looks like it could use a new crystal, but we'll see what it looks like in person.
> View attachment 15475037


congrats with your birthday, nice looking watch too


----------



## Fergfour

Sekondtime said:


> I know this is going to sound pedantic, but just a point of clarification, a Ruhla is not Soviet it is East German. There was a period when the Factory was under Soviet control (Soviet Action Assembly for Precision Machines - Avtowelo) but this was from July 1946 until 30th April 1952 during the Soviet Military Administration of Eastern Germany.
> Dodgydruid 's newly acquired watch dates from the 1970s.
> Ostalgie-Ruhla Watches of the GDR


I mentioned this before and was told that no one in the German forum knows anything about Ruhla so the Russian forum sort of adopted them.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Umm, the GDR was fully part of the Warsaw Pact and very much a part of the Soviet, to say the GDR wasn't Soviet is a bit like saying India was never British. E Germany was like Poland, Hungary, the Ukraine, semi autonomous within the CCCP and Warsaw Pact and you can bet a dollar safe that management at Ruhla was passed through the GDR politburo with more than a nod towards Moscow. 

So whilst Ruhla didn't fall under the main Russian control of the factories, it is utterly inconceivable that Ruhla operated in anything other than under full Soviet control. The lines were a bit blurred in Berlin mainly because of the cross contamination between east and west saw some freedoms not seen anywhere else in the Soviet empire.


----------



## Dodgydruid

With only my Sekonda curvy TV to arrive tomorrow I am all out buying wise, my daughter kindly bought me a Megalith tuna can homage off of Aliexpress today in the silver and hulk colours which was nice as I lack a hulk as yet and I am quite liking these Megalith branded stuff as it seems like this chinese company is giving a damn over quality.

I've got my Reliant up on jacks and got some work to do there before its MoT, been doing some advisory help to a fellow youtuber in the US and has kinda lit the fire under my mechanicking hands and it seems I have attracted the ire from someone in the "old guard" in here so will be spending my evenings finishing my projects up and putting the results up on my youtube channel with my Raketa bakelite quartz diver thingy looking like its up first for a permanent fix once I work out the actual arrangement of how the little insulators work.

I missed out on a TW Steels piece earlier, it sold for £22 argh so consoled myself with an Alba VX42 with a canteen crown, I mean Alba? Woulda preferred the TW but can't win 'em all. My first service attempts is going to be my Chaika Stadium and Sekonda gold tv as both I liked wearing and both have gone slow on me, the Sekonda was a NOS so just needs a bit of lube, the Stadium was a daily wearer til it too went slow and stoppy on me.

Back to me Raketa quartz and toodle pip... for nowski


----------



## Sekondtime

Fergfour said:


> I mentioned this before and was told that no one in the German forum knows anything about Ruhla so the Russian forum sort of adopted them.


Yes, you are correct. The Russian forum is the best place although sometimes the German forum does indulge in the odd Ruhla now and again.


----------



## Sekondtime

Dodgydruid said:


> Umm, the GDR was fully part of the Warsaw Pact and very much a part of the Soviet, to say the GDR wasn't Soviet is a bit like saying India was never British. E Germany was like Poland, Hungary, the Ukraine, semi autonomous within the CCCP and Warsaw Pact and you can bet a dollar safe that management at Ruhla was passed through the GDR politburo with more than a nod towards Moscow.
> 
> So whilst Ruhla didn't fall under the main Russian control of the factories, it is utterly inconceivable that Ruhla operated in anything other than under full Soviet control. The lines were a bit blurred in Berlin mainly because of the cross contamination between east and west saw some freedoms not seen anywhere else in the Soviet empire.


That would be news to the comrades at Ruhla. Whilst it is true to say that the Warsaw pact nations were under the Soviet sphere of influence, they were all sovereign states (and not part of the USSR) and sometimes did not follow the political line set by Moscow. Indeed there were occasions when the SED Government in Berlin pressured Moscow! Only the various Soviet Republics and Autonomous Soviet Republics were under direct control from Moscow.

A good read if you have the time is Red Prometheus, Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany 1945 - 1990.


----------



## Ligavesh

You bastards made me do it...



MattBrace said:


> Poljot Okean 3133 Komandirskie USSR Shturmanskie Chronograph Rare Early Edition | eBay
> 
> 
> The appearance condition of this item is very good, it looks just beautiful & flawless. Only the earliest models had this type of stem & crown!
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.com


----------



## fla

Dodgydruid said:


> Umm, the GDR was fully part of the Warsaw Pact and very much a part of the Soviet, to say the GDR wasn't Soviet is a bit like saying India was never British. E Germany was like Poland, Hungary, the Ukraine, semi autonomous within the CCCP and Warsaw Pact and you can bet a dollar safe that management at Ruhla was passed through the GDR politburo with more than a nod towards Moscow.
> 
> So whilst Ruhla didn't fall under the main Russian control of the factories, it is utterly inconceivable that Ruhla operated in anything other than under full Soviet control. The lines were a bit blurred in Berlin mainly because of the cross contamination between east and west saw some freedoms not seen anywhere else in the Soviet empire.


Following your logic, let's say, are Estonia or Turkey very much a part of the USA or UK, as they are fully part of the NATO?

Countries of the Eastern Block were quite independent in many matters related to business, even produced many types of own weapon instead of buying it from USSR.


----------



## dpn

Hi all, I'm happy to have joined this forum and to have just purchased my first Russian watch. I'm really grateful for the information stickied in this forum, as it clearly explained the differences between the different Vostok Amphibia models and made my purchasing decisions a lot easier!

I've enjoyed assembling and modding ETA 6497/6498 and Seiko watches. I realized last night that I wanted to buy a true "beater" watch -- something that I'd like wearing, but that I'd trust to be waterproof and rugged enough to wear everywhere. My wife commented yesterday that I frequently don't wear a watch despite having a nice collection, and I realized that it was because I'm really worried about damaging my expensive watches. Even my most rugged watch, a Seiko SKX779 black monster, has a lot of sentimental value and I don't want to beat it up any more than I already have in the ten years I've owned it.

As I've never owned or worn one of the Vostok watches, I decided to buy one. The specific model I was most interested in wearing, a Vostok Amphibia SE with a fully lumed dial, was sold out. No worries there, as I realized I could build myself something equivalent or better by taking advantage of all the cool variations of case sizes and shapes that are available.

Here's what I have coming in the mail:

A "tonneau" case Vostok Amphibia 090662 (~$64)
A compatible fully-lumed dial (~$22)
A "heat blued" set of Vostok Amphibia hands (~$6)
An all black set of Vostok Amphibia hands (~$5)
A 22mm mesh bracelet (~$8)
A 22mm black silicone strap (~$8)
A US-made upgraded stainless steel bezel that can accept Seiko SKX007 bezel inserts (~$37)
My plan is to swap out the dial and hands first. I think that the all-black hands will probably look best, but I'm super curious about the quality of the "heat blued" steel hands. I've been learning how to heat blue steel myself, and I'm dying to know what a $6 set of heat blued hands from Vostok are like. I'm a tiny bit suspicious of them; given the premium charged by other manufacturers for real heat blued steel, $6 is a huge bargain. For the all black hands, I'm very tempted to pull out the lume and see how they look as "skeleton" hands.

I haven't settled on whether I'll keep the stock chromed-brass bezel, or whether I'll like the SS bezel with a Seiko insert instead. I'm not looking at a super fancy sapphire or ceramic bezel insert, but want something that matches the overall aesthetic of the watch (with its industrial-finish steel and thick acrylic crystal).

In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have bought the US-made upgraded stainless steel bezel until I become 100% convinced that the chrome-plated brass Vostok bezels aren't what I want. Since they're readily available used for just a few bucks each, it would have been smarter for me to have just tried a couple of those options first. Adding the SS bezel (and buying a Seiko bezel insert) will push this watch out of cool-but-cheap-enough-to-beat-up sweet spot I'm looking for. Also, if I had just purchased the watch, dial, heat-blued hands, and mesh bracelet, I would have come right in at a total cost of $100. As purchased last night, I spent $150. With one of the fancier Seiko bezel inserts, this climbs to $200 ... which is expensive enough to discourage me from wearing my watches.

Anyway, I'm now playing the waiting game. I know that the watch and parts I ordered from Meranom will get here quickly enough, but the fully-lumed dial is coming from Vostok-Watches 24 on a slow boat. I gather that this extended waiting period is one of the key parts of the Russian watch experience. ;-)

The base watch: Vostok Amphibia 090662:








The fully-lumed dial in normal light and glowing:














The heat-blued hands and the black hands I might skeletonize:


----------



## cagatay1903




----------



## Bsw_sc

I made an offer and the seller accepted and this beast is scheduled to be delivered to my house today ! I am excited about this one, it will be mounted on the wall in my office


----------



## Fergfour

Bsw_sc said:


> I made an offer and the seller accepted and this beast is scheduled to be delivered to my house today ! I am excited about this one, it will be mounted on the wall in my office
> 
> View attachment 15479625


Nice! I'm actually supposed to receive my Ships clock today as well, I got the 24 hour version. Can't wait to hear the ticking while I work in my office.


----------



## dpn

Those submarine clocks are super cool. Is there a known good seller of them (similar to the wristwatch situation), or is this more of a crapshoot? A quick Google search shows a lot of price variation.


----------



## RobNJ

Arrived today from a Ukrainian seller, after about 5 weeks shipping time, a rectangular (almost square) Au 20 2209-based Luch.










The caseback (blurry photo, unfortunately) has the pentagonal Luch (or Minsk watch factory) symbol...










...as does the movement itself (this a seller's photo, haven't popped it open yet).










So I'm hoping I'm looking at a consistent pre-1975 Luch. I currently have it running on my desk while I go to a meeting online.


----------



## OCSleeper

Bsw_sc said:


> I made an offer and the seller accepted and this beast is scheduled to be delivered to my house today ! I am excited about this one, it will be mounted on the wall in my office
> 
> View attachment 15479625


It was this post that pushed me into doing something I said I would never do. Yes, purchase a ship clock!
Clock was listed at a reasonable price and I offered significantly less and it was accepted. U.S. seller of estate sale items.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Bsw_sc

Here's a follow up pic of her hanging in the office. The sweet sweet sound of those ticks with the glass open


----------



## Bsw_sc

This just arrived in my mailbox today. My first 710 case and it doesn't disappoint. Thank you Komandirskie.com; it was only a little over 3 weeks delivery time as I ordered September 10th.


----------



## Wazowie

Pulled the trigger on this beauty, movement is all authentic too.


----------



## Fergfour

Bought 17 days ago and arrived today. Not sure what I'm putting them on yet, I just liked them.


----------



## Kotsov

Really like the top one. Where did you get it from?


----------



## Fergfour

Kotsov said:


> Really like the top one. Where did you get it from?


Meranom


----------



## Fergfour

I liked the TV reissue so much that I figured why not the MIR too. 20% discount. The upcoming Sadko? We'll see.


----------



## Ligavesh

Comrades, I got depressed. I was looking around on ebay, I stumbled upon two big dealers, opened up every watch I liked in a new tab... This is what it came down to:










And that is just for one dealer!

I am never gonna have all the watches I like


----------



## Fergfour

Fergfour said:


> I liked the TV reissue so much that I figured why not the MIR too. 20% discount. The upcoming Sadko? We'll see.
> 
> View attachment 15486166
> View attachment 15486167


Weird, customs sent it back to Slava. They don't know why. They said when they get it they will try either DHL or EMS instead of UPS. Oh well at least I know it won't be months before I receive it like it was not too long ago.


----------



## OCSleeper

Already arrived and ticking away! Unfortunately it will probably be relegated to duty as a garage clock. The wife will most certainly declare me crazy if I attempt to hang it in the house.









Do the stamped markings on the edge, viewed with the cover open, give info about the year manufactured? The layout of my markings are not quite the same as some others I've seen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

This bezel from meranom is amazing:










I don't know what they use, but the lume is pretty good - but you're gonna have to trust me on this one, cause my stupid phone stubbornly didn't want to take a picture in the dark when the bezel was in focus, and I was too lazy to get my digital camera:


----------



## stevarad

Saw this today on meranom and had to buy it...immediately. New SE model, blue icebreaker.









Часы Восток Амфибия SE 710B45S Ледокол


Наручные механические Часы Восток Амфибия SE 710B45S Ледокол синий Антимагнитная крышка




meranom.com





Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## gak

stevarad said:


> Saw this today on meranom and had to buy it...immediately. New SE model, blue icebreaker.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Часы Восток Амфибия SE 710B45S Ледокол
> 
> 
> Наручные механические Часы Восток Амфибия SE 710B45S Ледокол синий Антимагнитная крышка
> 
> 
> 
> 
> meranom.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Came here with the same intent and see you already picked one. 1 Green icebreaker is on its way to me .


----------



## Fergfour

I like the Icebreaker! I think I like the orange dial the most. Cool indices, new caseback design, border around the date are very nice. Anti-magnetic too?
So I assume it has that extra metal piece covering the movement? Always wondered how much more protections the antimagnetic Vostoks are compared to the usual.


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> I like the Icebreaker! I think I like the orange dial the most. Cool indices, new caseback design, border around the date are very nice. Anti-magnetic too?
> So I assume it has that extra metal piece covering the movement? Always wondered how much more protections the antimagnetic Vostoks are compared to the usual.


the orange is gone, man, the orange is gone nevermind, I'm dumb


----------



## gak

Ligavesh said:


> the orange is gone, man, the orange is gone


still there


----------



## Ligavesh

gak said:


> still there


Oh **** you're right. My bad.


----------



## Ligavesh

I bought the green one, then I changed my mind and I wrote an email to meranom to change the order to the orange one - then I remembered that I already have an orange Neptune _and_ I have bought an orange dial with hands and all for a mod/build from Favinov (plus I have my red Komandirskie modded with the very same bezel, so it's kinda close to orange) - so I changed my mind _again, _and I wrote them _again_ to appologize and leave the order as is, i.e. to send me the green one. So I'll either get the green one or the orange one, I'm not sure now.

It's very possible that, given they're not sold out indefinitely, I'll buy both versions eventually, like I did with the orange and teal Neptune.


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> Bought 17 days ago and arrived today. Not sure what I'm putting them on yet, I just liked them.
> View attachment 15485154


It goes well with red, orange, other bright colors probably too


----------



## mariomart

stevarad said:


> Saw this today on meranom and had to buy it...immediately. New SE model, blue icebreaker.


Yep, I couldn't resist the Orange dial. damn you Stevan ..........


----------



## stevarad

mariomart said:


> Yep, I couldn't resist the Orange dial. damn you Stevan ..........
> 
> View attachment 15493999


You are welcome ))

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## stevarad

Ligavesh said:


> I bought the green one, then I changed my mind and I wrote an email to meranom to change the order to the orange one - then I remembered that I already have an orange Neptune _and_ I have bought an orange dial with hands and all for a mod/build from Favinov (plus I have my red Komandirskie modded with the very same bezel, so it's kinda close to orange) - so I changed my mind _again, _and I wrote them _again_ to appologize and leave the order as is, i.e. to send me the green one. So I'll either get the green one or the orange one, I'm not sure now.
> 
> It's very possible that, given they're not sold out indefinitely, I'll buy both versions eventually, like I did with the orange and teal Neptune.


)))) You made my day better )))

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Bsw_sc

I was wearing the Ratnik today but the mail lady dropped of this new Komandirskie I ordered a few days ago. Guess I will wear it for the remainder of the day and then put on a deployment clasp tonight when I get home ...


----------



## Bsw_sc

OCSleeper said:


> Already arrived and ticking away! Unfortunately it will probably be relegated to duty as a garage clock. The wife will most certainly declare me crazy if I attempt to hang it in the house.
> 
> Do the stamped markings on the edge, viewed with the cover open, give info about the year manufactured? The layout of my markings are not quite the same as some others I've seen.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This is the very reason mine is hung up at the office and not at home...

Yes, one of the sets up numbers (on mine it's at the 1 o'clock position says 95-2 meaning second quarter of 1995). I do not know what the other markings mean though. Mine has a 6878 at the 5 and a 14 at the 8 ?


----------



## miroman

Arrived few days ago. OKEAH and Poljot Amphibian needed a lot of work. Lecturer's Sekonda worked fine on arrival:



Regards, Miro.


----------



## stadiou

I seem to have done it again....just bought a very clean but non running black dialled Sekonda 3017. Will probably cost more to fix the damn thing than the purchase price. Now, what willI have to sell to avoid the wrath of the big boss?


----------



## Bsw_sc

This 21 case Komandirskie arrived in the mailbox today.... I really like the dial colors. Unused in original box for $35 from a USA seller too. This one and the submarine 81 case Komandirskie that arrived yesterday both from the same seller


----------



## Ligavesh

I bought this refurbished Molniya pocket watch turned wrist watch more than two months ago, it finally arrived today. Very happy with it.


----------



## Kotsov

That is lovely


----------



## thewatchadude

I have a Slava tank and a big zero in the mail. The wait has begun!
In the meantime I resisted the Meranom orange SE when it appeared in stock again, but might go for another color--or three...


----------



## yekaterinburg

I picked up a Raketa Atom in good condition yesterday. I've been on the look out for one of these for a while and this one finally seemed to tick all my boxes!

















Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## haha

yekaterinburg said:


> I picked up a Raketa Atom in good condition yesterday. I've been on the look out for one of these for a while and this one finally seemed to tick all my boxes!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


One of the most beautiful and very difficult to find in a good condition (the varnish ages very badly) soviet watches !

Found this sunburst Vympel on a very good condition (scratches on the crystal, not on the dial).
I wonder about it. The other Vympels with a sunburst dial that i found have a solid gold case and a slightly different design. Dashiell had one similar to this one, but according to his website, he seems to have sold it. Meaning he doesn't consider it as legit ?!


----------



## OCSleeper

First day off after 13 straight 12 hour shifts, so excuse me if I cheat a little.
Purchases from the last week or so that have arrived in the last couple days....









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Yokohama

Base for a matt brass diver project

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

The listing was for 14 NOS Vintage Russian watches. Won the bid at $11.50 USD. Package arrived two days later with 16 watches! Slava quartz 2356.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

Couldn't resist bidding for this one a few days ago, it arrived today, it's almost as new. I didn't wanna bid too much given how many watches I've bought lately- luckily for me, the others wanted even less, so all in all pretty good deal.










Has anyone figured out why is the date always pushed to the left on the 3133s? Anyway, I'll try to make better photos sometime later.


----------



## Bsw_sc

OCSleeper said:


> The listing was for 14 NOS Vintage Russian watches. Won the bid at $11.50 USD. Package arrived two days later with 16 watches! Slava quartz 2356.
> 
> 
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> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


gonna sell any of them ?


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## Bsw_sc

This arrived today in the mailbox... my first Russian quartz.


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## OCSleeper

Bsw_sc said:


> gonna sell any of them ?


I'm sure I will. I'll be testing all of them with new batteries and even then I wouldn't be surprised if the gears are sticky. Currently in the middle of a demanding work schedule so that's on hold for the next couple weeks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> I bought this refurbished Molniya pocket watch turned wrist watch more than two months ago, it finally arrived today. Very happy with it.
> 
> View attachment 15497857
> 
> 
> View attachment 15497858
> 
> 
> View attachment 15497898


We should have a watch of the year competition at Christmas. If we did this would get my vote.


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## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> I'm sure I will. I'll be testing all of them with new batteries and even then I wouldn't be surprised if the gears are sticky. Currently in the middle of a demanding work schedule so that's on hold for the next couple weeks.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


i wanted to buy these as well but decided to pass. Lucky you!


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## Utva_56

581827 on its way to NZ.


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## Bsw_sc

Think I like it with the metal bracelet. It's a tad small and thin for my liking but the bracelet helps make it feel a little more substantial. I do like the dial quite a bit


----------



## OCSleeper

Picked up this Poljot, simply listed as a Che Guevara watch.
Anyone know an approximate year of production?


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## mariomart

Purchased these Radio Room Albatross's from a lovely seller in Manila, Philippines.

He had over a dozen for sale, all in differing conditions, and I'm hoping these 2 are in good condition, but the price was very good 

Should be with me within a week.


----------



## Bsw_sc

Put a clear case back I got from Komandirskie.com on this amphibia. I really like how it makes it a little bit thicker and I enjoy seeing the movement at work.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Still got me hand in the till of Soviet watchdom... just been very busy getting car sorted for MoT and some family issues going on hence my scarcity.

So picked up this from my favourite seller Bestrus who had this with postage at £20 all together...










The lume looks awful on these domed 119's hence why some people ignore them thinking they were painted on by a three year old with a coal sack over head, in reality as with my 1st 119 the lume is perfectly fine and just distorted by the odd shaped crystal.

Also snagged this little beauty.










Part of a joblot that included 2 two register chrono's one of being a pretty awesome Maserati branded one and a very unusual Seiko men's quartz in a ornate round case, paid £8 for the lot knowing this Sekonda is a very nice addition to the collection.

The converted Poljot square quartz arrived and after giving it a bit of an oil the Raketa 2609 movement sprang into life and keeps very good time but the lower quadrant crown is very difficult to wind so might invest in some crown turners.

Have been dismantling my Wasserproof Ruhla since I got the caseback off using the superglue and big nut hack, what an insanely simple movement and wondering do I oil the pivots or maybe use a grease but so simple and what was stopping it was the balance pivots were gummed up.


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> Still got me hand in the till of Soviet watchdom... just been very busy getting car sorted for MoT and some family issues going on hence my scarcity.
> 
> So picked up this from my favourite seller Bestrus who had this with postage at £20 all together...
> 
> View attachment 15515850
> 
> 
> The lume looks awful on these domed 119's hence why some people ignore them thinking they were painted on by a three year old with a coal sack over head, in reality as with my 1st 119 the lume is perfectly fine and just distorted by the odd shaped crystal.
> 
> Also snagged this little beauty.
> 
> View attachment 15515851
> 
> 
> Part of a joblot that included 2 two register chrono's one of being a pretty awesome Maserati branded one and a very unusual Seiko men's quartz in a ornate round case, paid £8 for the lot knowing this Sekonda is a very nice addition to the collection.
> 
> The converted Poljot square quartz arrived and after giving it a bit of an oil the Raketa 2609 movement sprang into life and keeps very good time but the lower quadrant crown is very difficult to wind so might invest in some crown turners.
> 
> Have been dismantling my Wasserproof Ruhla since I got the caseback off using the superglue and big nut hack, what an insanely simple movement and wondering do I oil the pivots or maybe use a grease but so simple and what was stopping it was the balance pivots were gummed up.


Good to have you back


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## stevarad

OCSleeper said:


> The listing was for 14 NOS Vintage Russian watches. Won the bid at $11.50 USD. Package arrived two days later with 16 watches! Slava quartz 2356.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




You are joking, right?



Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


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## Dodgydruid

So this came up at a very reasonable price and another Sekonda in the fold, be aware prices are beginning to heat up for Russian and Soviet stuff... but still bargains to be had


----------



## Ligavesh

Not a watch, but a very nice and comfortable (and cheap) leather strap for my Raketa Amphibian:




































Uhrenarmband LORICA® Kunstleder wasserfest ORANGE BLACK High-Tech | eBay


Entdecken Sie Uhrenarmband LORICA® Kunstleder wasserfest ORANGE BLACK High-Tech in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!



www.ebay.de


----------



## frenchtreasure

Got this one, never owned a Neptune in orange. Let's see how it goes


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Not a watch, but a very nice and comfortable (and cheap) leather strap for my Raketa Amphibian:
> 
> View attachment 15517615
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> 
> View attachment 15517616
> 
> 
> View attachment 15517619
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Uhrenarmband LORICA® Kunstleder wasserfest ORANGE BLACK High-Tech | eBay
> 
> 
> Entdecken Sie Uhrenarmband LORICA® Kunstleder wasserfest ORANGE BLACK High-Tech in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.de


I bought one of these from Komandirskie.com to be fitted to my Raketa quartz diver when I get round to fixing the damn thing (I got to make a new brass plate battery clamp) as it goes so well with the orangey theme of the Raketa.





Ремень JD044-R для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой


Ремень JD044-R для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой по России от завода производителя. Более 10 лет опыта и 1000 довольных клиентов




komandirskie.com


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## 979greenwich

mariomart said:


> Purchased these Radio Room Albatross's from a lovely seller in Manila, Philippines.
> 
> He had over a dozen for sale, all in differing conditions, and I'm hoping these 2 are in good condition, but the price was very good
> 
> Should be with me within a week.
> 
> View attachment 15515008


Amazing find, Mario. Where do you find such deals?
Do they have red letters on the movement?


----------



## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> Amazing find, Mario. Where do you find such deals?
> Do they have red letters on the movement?


I won't know about the red lettering until they arrive.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Hehe that allegedly broken Sekonda De Luxe in the joblot, holding good time and was simply overwound and is now on the bench for timekeeping and seems to be holding good time... the two chrono's have ISA movements in so new learning curve and the Maserati one is absolutely awesome looking, the price on the other wasn't cheap either having an unusual countdown and lap countdown for yacht race finishes so the blurb says... So far this has been the best £12 incl delivery on a joblot altogether.


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## Dodgydruid

Sat this morning with the Sekonda, giving a thorough clean using the connoisseur cloth and its come up like a new pin... Only fly in ointment is its missing a second hand, could someone suggest the age of this one? Its kept astonishing time and gives a very good baby timegrapher, not bad for something spotted in a £12 delivered "broken joblot" eh?










I'll go over the creases in the upper case with some pegwood to get that crevice mangunge out but I am quite pleased and I do like the art deco numerals and these De Luxe's seem to attract lively money, just a shame the second hand is missing 

Is it a Poljot second hand that would fit as I am guessing this is a Poljot rebrand?


----------



## 979greenwich

Birthday present from my lovely wife.
Has anyone seen a catalogue picture of this watch?


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## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> Birthday present from my lovely wife.
> Has anyone seen a catalogue picture of this watch?


Nice... NOS?


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## 979greenwich

Almost, except two dings. Looks like someone wore it a few times, knocked some door jambs and put it away. It's a very tall and chunky watch.


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## Straight_time

Dodgydruid said:


> View attachment 15521675
> 
> 
> Is it a Poljot second hand that would fit as I am guessing this is a Poljot rebrand?


Nope - search for this late '60s Vostok 2209 model's hand (but the Sekonda seems to have been fitted with a longer one)


----------



## Straight_time

979greenwich said:


> Birthday present from my lovely wife.
> Has anyone seen a catalogue picture of this watch?


Can't find this exact model unfortunately; a very similar one sharing that seldom seen case opens the Poljot section in the 1987 Consumer Goods catalog


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## Dodgydruid

Straight_time said:


> Nope - search for this late '60s Vostok 2209 model's hand (but the Sekonda seems to have been fitted with a longer one)
> 
> View attachment 15523215
> 
> 
> View attachment 15523216


Cheers, info very much appreciated and now to go through my tubs of old Vossies to see if I have such a piece to harvest an interim one.


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## 979greenwich

Straight_time said:


> Can't find this exact model unfortunately; a very similar one sharing that seldom seen case opens the Poljot section in the 1987 Consumer Goods catalog


Thanks. I found few similar watches, apparently from the same family in the 79' Soviet watches catalogue:


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## Dodgydruid

I just snagged a lovely square Poljot myself, I actually behaved myself mostly in the last month and got me finances back under my control and less nagtastic times via daughter too 










Quick question on quartz battery clamps... what is the thickness of the actual brass plate themselves as I got my Raketa quartz diver ready to go and my big square black Poljot also needing a battery clamp and I want to make a half clamp like I have in my Slava tank quartz and none of my sheet stuff is remotely thin enough?


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## Kotsov

Could you beat some copper mains wire to the correct thickness?


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## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> Could you beat some copper mains wire to the correct thickness?


Probably copper wouldn't be hard enough to do the job, but taking a hammer to a bit of brass wouldn't be that difficult, would need to be annealed though


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## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Probably copper wouldn't be hard enough to do the job, but taking a hammer to a bit of brass wouldn't be that difficult, would need to be annealed though


Why anneal it? Won't that soften it?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Yes, need to anneal it before bashing it, stops it from splitting, and it'll form better (or can heat it and work the metal when hot)


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## Ligavesh

So these two arriwed today:



















Funny thing about German customs - I buy a beat up old Raketa or Poljot or Raketa or whatever - I always need to go to the customs office to present transaction documents and pay a few euros VAT... These two come straight in, not a word from customs or anyone else - same was with my bronze Amphibia - I think it's the flat boxes, it would be nice if Sadko and the Zlatousts could also come in such boxes...

Anyway about the watches - very pretty, strap very comfy to wear, but - I'm not happy with the dial-bezel combination. On it's own, I think the bezel is great, but it's mat surface doesn't combine well with a shiny surface of the dial, so I'm thinking about changing them with something more shiny - that is if I can get them off, they're put proper tight right from the factory...

PS. see @stevarad - I bought both again, like the Neptunes I couldn't decide


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## stevarad

Glad to see that there are craziest then me ))


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## OCSleeper

Today's incoming assortment. I bought the straps with certain watches in mind but have no memory of which watches those were, with the exception of the brown nato with bronze buckles. Sometimes I'll buy cheap vintage NOS straps just to have on hand (brown Corfam rally).

The Sturmanskie came from eBay from a seller who just happened to live 20 miles away.



















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Kotsov said:


> Could you beat some copper mains wire to the correct thickness?


Cheers for the good ideas there folks 

I tried with some thick copper mains earth cable and it just was too much to get it to a nice thin plate without it fracturing even with annealing, I even tried flattening some fine copper pipe in a vice then under a hammer but couldn't get it satisfactory. So I gave it a go and it gave me an excuse to dig out some of my older tools to bash around with hehe

So now sitting here with sharp scissors and some brass foil but the foil is too flimsy to take a screwhead as it tears through quite easily, I am going to try out some coke can to see if that tears under load or not but not too sure about galling issues if a battery lets go on alloy and what carnage that would cause 

Then quick as a flash it came to me... cheap Chinese rocker switches so digging thru me electrics box and gonna have a hammer on a couple to see if I can harvest the contacts from in there.


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## Dodgydruid

So the day before me birthday, my latest Amphibia from Mr Bestrus on ebay arrived yay and I am wondering if this is a 119 or a 090 as it has the standard flat acrylic crystal completely different from the domish type of crystal in my bottle green 119. (Is the higher domed type possible to get replacements for I wonder as I do like the one on my green 119?)

Works flawlessly, Bestrus always wraps the pieces I get in either foil or a foil backed foam wrapping to protect it from magnetism, it has the Soviet mark of quality caseback and the lume is no longer light reactive but phosphors beautifully under UV so its really quite old (date estimate anyone?)

Dug out and resized my spare "boilerplate" bracelet and just the ticket for this, suits it so well, bit pinchy so going to knock the clasp pin back a notch for comfort.

This is no 11 Amphibia, have bought another display box incoming and seriously need to have a cull to downsize but I get started doing it and then get distracted and so I put them all back the ones I want to move on and my youngest sets her jaw muscles to supernag more and more


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> So the day before me birthday, my latest Amphibia from Mr Bestrus on ebay arrived yay and I am wondering if this is a 119 or a 090 as it has the standard flat acrylic crystal completely different from the domish type of crystal in my bottle green 119. (Is the higher domed type possible to get replacements for I wonder as I do like the one on my green 119?)
> 
> Works flawlessly, Bestrus always wraps the pieces I get in either foil or a foil backed foam wrapping to protect it from magnetism, it has the Soviet mark of quality caseback and the lume is no longer light reactive but phosphors beautifully under UV so its really quite old (date estimate anyone?)
> 
> Dug out and resized my spare "boilerplate" bracelet and just the ticket for this, suits it so well, bit pinchy so going to knock the clasp pin back a notch for comfort.
> 
> This is no 11 Amphibia, have bought another display box incoming and seriously need to have a cull to downsize but I get started doing it and then get distracted and so I put them all back the ones I want to move on and my youngest sets her jaw muscles to supernag more and more
> 
> View attachment 15526673
> 
> View attachment 15526674
> 
> View attachment 15526675
> 
> View attachment 15526683


Looks like a 090 matt finish to me


----------



## thewatchadude

Haapy experience in October: I bought and received 3 watches from both Russia and Ukraine. First time the delivrery is so quick! 

The three watches are a Slava tank, a Slava big zero, and a Raketo wind rose. All far from pristine and neesing pieces or work, but prices were good and the watches OK overall.


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Looks like a 090 matt finish to me


Its got the lined "sunburst" lines like a 090, the 119's or mine does anyway seem deeper and more pronounced than the 090's ones so its prob a 090 which I don't mind either


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## Avidfan

Dodgydruid said:


> it has the Soviet mark of quality caseback and the lume is no longer light reactive but phosphors beautifully under UV so its really quite old (date estimate anyone?)


Here's an image from a 1983 catalogue...(yours is a 1190820 btw  )


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## Dodgydruid

Thats cool m8, seems it lost its paddle hands at some point in the past as the lume is quite yellowed and matching almost the painted numbers and markers  Its so weird how camera's distort the markings on these 119s as they look awful in pics but in reality look perfectly fine


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## Avidfan

Dodgydruid said:


> Thats cool m8, seems it lost its paddle hands at some point in the past as the lume is quite yellowed and matching almost the painted numbers and markers  Its so weird how camera's distort the markings on these 119s as they look awful in pics but in reality look perfectly fine


Always paddle hands AFAIK, here's a colour catalogue image:


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## Dodgydruid

I'm tempted to wait and see if these (Ремень Нато 56 для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой) come back into stock in 18mm or if not message Lawr389 on ebay to see if he can do me a one off 5 ringer in a dark blue distressed strap as I do like the green extra thick one he did which is on my bottle green one and the extra thick oxblood which is on one of my Sekonda auto's.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Avidfan said:


> Always paddle hands AFAIK, here's a colour catalogue image:
> 
> View attachment 15527029


I will prob have to have a paypally sort of chat with Mr Favinov then


----------



## Avidfan

Dodgydruid said:


> I will prob have to have a paypally sort of chat with Mr Favinov then


These hands aren't made anymore being for a 2209, I'm not too sure if new ones would fit, personally I would hunt down some originals on a really cheap wreck and then get them relumed if it's missing...


----------



## Dodgydruid

I might try that, I'll ask the seller I got it from and couple others, I did get a set of paddles from Favinov a while back but there are for my still waiting to be done 090 which I have changed the lume on the dial to blue to match the paddles I got.

Found on ebay the 18mm anchor NATO for £7... quite pleased with that and now winging its way, its a shame they didn't do the navy camo in 18mm as I quite like that, if that doesn't pan out I will swap it out for the navy two piece zulu on my "grille" 090 as I have kinda built my collection around my Amphibias. 

Only ones left to buy is the 150, the 170, the 960 and the 350 which will prob be my last Russian purchases of note, leaving me time to save up for a 3133 and a Ruhla chrono as I am never gonna afford a Strela in this lifetime lol 

I am rebuilding my PC tonite moving into the modern world of Ryzen and fancy bits and pieces, I spent today stripping down my Ruhla "wasserproof" ancient and oddly awful mild steel and no jewels movement, a right strange setup but simplicity itself now I see how it works


----------



## 979greenwich

Mine says hello


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## Dodgydruid

My one waves back  Am looking at reluming the blue paddle hands I got from Favinov as I got aged yellow to green and will order another set for the project 090 or just use a set of broad arrows I got coming from Aliexpress instead


----------



## Ligavesh

Bought some stuff from One Second Closer for mods I'll finish maybe in 10 years...


----------



## Ligavesh

Oh, I forgot... I put a small bid on a Poljot Signal that I know is franken, bit still I like the dial, so whatever. Anyway, like I said, I put a small bid, expecting for someone to out-bid me, but no one did and now I have this nice franken signal Kirovskie (that is, I'll have it soon)....


----------



## OCSleeper

OCSleeper said:


> Today's incoming assortment. I bought the straps with certain watches in mind but have no memory of which watches those were, with the exception of the brown nato with bronze buckles. Sometimes I'll buy cheap vintage NOS straps just to have on hand (brown Corfam rally).
> 
> The Sturmanskie came from eBay from a seller who just happened to live 20 miles away.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I believe this was the combination I had in mind for this NATO strap










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cookiemonster94

Bought this antimagnetic Raketa off ebay.


----------



## 979greenwich

Dodgydruid said:


> My one waves back  Am looking at reluming the blue paddle hands I got from Favinov as I got aged yellow to green and will order another set for the project 090 or just use a set of broad arrows I got coming from Aliexpress instead


If you need paddle hands and parts, i saw this listing today:








Soviet mechanical watch Vostok Amphibian USSR For Spare Parts Or Repair | eBay


Made in USSR 1970 - 80s. For Spare Parts Or Repair.



www.ebay.com


----------



## Dodgydruid

979greenwich said:


> If you need paddle hands and parts, i saw this listing today:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Soviet mechanical watch Vostok Amphibian USSR For Spare Parts Or Repair | eBay
> 
> 
> Made in USSR 1970 - 80s. For Spare Parts Or Repair.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.com


Cheers m8, that dial is in slightly better nick and the semi domed crystal something that seems impossible to get (apparently its supposed to be a lens effect for underwater if anyone can confirm this?)

I know he's a good seller as I got my quartz joblot off him earlier this year and for the price of £12 plus a few quid postage I got out of it a sterling condition Poljot square 3050 that hasn't dropped a second since I put a good quality battery in and dabbed some oil on the pinions and jewel.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bought... ^-^ I was thinking the hairspring on the balance looked in fairly good nick and it would be good to have a spare 2209 to strip down and rebuild for another project and means I got the means to make my current wearing one all authentic again but I think I am gonna stick with the Made in USSR dial on mine as that one is a CCCP one...

BTW there is it seems an authentic 300m 119 on ebay I spotted with the correct caseback, semi dome crystal and 22mm lugs, bit pricey for me but now I know they do come up on occasion and thinking the dial is it correct? (☭ Rare Watch Vostok Barrel NVCh 30 ATM 300M Amphibian 2209 USSR Vintage Soviet | eBay)

So apart from another 119, I have sniped two Pulsar dancing hands this last 24hrs, one a V691, the other a V601 both with the civvy version of the RAF sort of theme, as for me back to gingerly trying to get the mainplate onto a Ruhla type 24 "tinpot" movement, where oil isn't man enough for most parts on that and greases being the byword on those steel on steel pivots and axles and I am so surprised the pivots haven't been worn down to the cheeks


----------



## Dodgydruid

I know its not Russian but I know SuffolkGerry would appreciate this, just snagged a full size Smiths Empire pocket watch with the intention of getting one of them pocket watch straps one of my Russian sellers seems to have a lot of for the ultimate in wrist monsterism's...

And Made in Gt Britain is always nice


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I know its not Russian but I know SuffolkGerry would appreciate this, just snagged a full size Smiths Empire pocket watch with the intention of getting one of them pocket watch straps one of my Russian sellers seems to have a lot of for the ultimate in wrist monsterism's...
> 
> And Made in Gt Britain is always nice


Made in Great Britain is nice - not able to get much with that mark now!   
Would like to get one of their 'Made in England' ones, the 'Great Britain' were from the Welsh factory, 'England' are from the London one.


----------



## elcogollero

A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd have a wee look at Ebay - just to have a look you know... I now have 5 watches incoming! 2 poljots, 2 raketas and a sekonda/luch. I think I've done well with them - I'll post them on my thread.

I have a few more on my ebay watch list! I need help!


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I know its not Russian but I know SuffolkGerry would appreciate this, just snagged a full size Smiths Empire pocket watch with the intention of getting one of them pocket watch straps one of my Russian sellers seems to have a lot of for the ultimate in wrist monsterism's...
> 
> And Made in Gt Britain is always nice


What Russian seller? I'm also looking for straps with folding ends for a pocket watch- turned wrist watch.


----------



## Ligavesh

elcogollero said:


> A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd have a wee look at Ebay - just to have a look you know... I now have 5 watches incoming! 2 poljots, 2 raketas and a sekonda/luch. I think I've done well with them - I'll post them on my thread.
> 
> I have a few more on my ebay watch list! I need help!


No you don't, that's child's play.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> What Russian seller? I'm also looking for straps with folding ends for a pocket watch- turned wrist watch.


I could be interested in one or two myself - depending on if they're 'sized' to a certain size of watch - will have to check sizes of Raketa and Smiths to see if any great difference


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## Dodgydruid

elcogollero said:


> A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd have a wee look at Ebay - just to have a look you know... I now have 5 watches incoming! 2 poljots, 2 raketas and a sekonda/luch. I think I've done well with them - I'll post them on my thread.
> 
> I have a few more on my ebay watch list! I need help!


Welcome to the crazy world of Soviet watch collecting... there is something so compelling to make us want just that one and that one, oh look there is one just have to have and they have so much character which western watches just lack imho


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Made in Great Britain is nice - not able to get much with that mark now!
> Would like to get one of their 'Made in England' ones, the 'Great Britain' were from the Welsh factory, 'England' are from the London one.


I spotted it coming to an end in my feeds for a few pounds, missing its crown ring and gummed up with age but all complete. Its not a fusee which is cool. It reminded me of the puppy last to go in the pet shop that no one wanted lol

Yes I saw that the Gt Britain ones were made in the Powys factory, still a halcyon days sort of piece harking back to the days when Britain was the only game in town when it came to quality crafted goods where things were crafted with expertise and 110% effort in every aspect... I find it ultimately depressing how even in my own life I remember when British goods were still regarded with high regard for quality and how today our manufacturing industrial base just wiped out by vulture corporations.


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## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> No you don't, that's child's play.


wait, @elcogollero , I have a reaction image


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## Dodgydruid

The Vostok naval NATO (try saying that when yer drunk) arrived today super quick and looks epic on my 119 matching the blue of the dial almost perfectly 










The Okean bracelet, I am fitting a refurbished Leningrad clasp to and then fitting that to my Raketa divers quartz with the black bakelite bezel which only waiting on some suitable brass sheet to make a battery clamp for. Gonna make a simple up and over battery clamp as its been thoroughly cleaned but the clamp it had was the wrong type and shorts out battery, both my working 3050's have the simpler L shaped clamps and might just do that. Replaced the negative connector from a scrapper, also my black Poljot big square is now working so got to do a clamp for that (do these sellers filch the clamps or something for other pieces over there as quite a few have come here in working order but missing or having the incorrect clamps shoved in?) and I have to just reseat the hands correctly as it looks like someone tried to remove the dial without removing the hands first 

I can see not only an Amphibia nite video coming but a Soviet quartz nite video coming, I must start to break down that 3055 Luch which is in pristine condition but someone had a thought to tinker inside and opening the caseback revealed a jumble of small bits just falling out  Hairspring is good though and oscillates freely so maybe this will be just a trial and error to get all the small bits back where they should be


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## Dodgydruid

Oh Brit folks, Lidl have in at mo extra large tiered toolboxes in at mo for £20, I pleased my youngest immensely when I got the last of my "working" tools out the kitchen and it was big enough to put my multimeter, car battery charger, my calipers and micrometers, all my King Dick wrenches and my airframe torque wrench (Parkside Metal Tool Box - at Lidl UK)

I've instructed daughters that for Xmas I want a metal tool stacker on wheels, I bought a plastic Black and Decker 3 section stacker but the drawers plastic runners snapped quite quickly and despite waxing lyrical about how strong and tough it was, it was in reality about as tough as a Boris Johnson promise.

I might get another of the Lidl's ones for my watch tools but make dividers and organisers so the tools are kept in place and organised rather than flying about in there. My watch tools are spread out between a plastic hobby case, an old sweets plastic tub, a large microwave dinner tray and my "working" set in front of monitor on my computer desk that being a couple screwdrivers, pair of jewellers pliers, jewellers hammer, case openers, stack of cleaned wooden lolly sticks, spring bar tool and a map pin, oh and my fibreglass/SS/brass cleaning pens.


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## elcogollero

elcogollero said:


> A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd have a wee look at Ebay - just to have a look you know... I now have 5 watches incoming! 2 poljots, 2 raketas and a sekonda/luch. I think I've done well with them - I'll post them on my thread.
> 
> I have a few more on my ebay watch list! I need help!


6.... another sekonda/luch. I should stop and wait for them to arrive.


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## Dodgydruid

I am always a fan of a Sekonda and my Sekonda's are vying with my Vostok's for dominance in the boxes hehe Strange too how I haven't got a working Timex in the lot except some weird quartz horrid thing which I put into the box of unwanted's. See in the 70's in the UK the budget market was dominated by Timex who basically blew themselves out of the water as the quality became dreadful and up pops Sekonda selling affordable reliable watches which entrenched them firmly in the hearts of the British. 

Its quite funny in there is quite a lot of older people who really think Sekonda is a British made brand seemingly myopic at that little USSR at the bottom hehe I have wondered too if there was a bit of reverse psychology going on there with the Russian people pitching the Sekonda's to the Russian's as some sort of western influenced model, wished there was a book on Sekonda history as I have often wanted to do a video on the rise of the brand.

Whilst Sekonda worked brilliantly for the Soviet watch factories in getting their foot under the British door so to speak, the similar Cornavin "experiment" in America was not anywhere near as successful and probably due to America having many decent watchmakers still active and the American consumers would not have tolerated the same poor levels of quality with Timex as us in Britain had to endure and you did see a distinction of American Timex and just Timex the latter being the dreadful ones. Also I suspect the Americans were a touch more unforgiving about stuff from the USSR than the British.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I am always a fan of a Sekonda and my Sekonda's are vying with my Vostok's for dominance in the boxes hehe Strange too how I haven't got a working Timex in the lot except some weird quartz horrid thing which I put into the box of unwanted's. See in the 70's in the UK the budget market was dominated by Timex who basically blew themselves out of the water as the quality became dreadful and up pops Sekonda selling affordable reliable watches which entrenched them firmly in the hearts of the British.
> 
> Its quite funny in there is quite a lot of older people who really think Sekonda is a British made brand seemingly myopic at that little USSR at the bottom hehe I have wondered too if there was a bit of reverse psychology going on there with the Russian people pitching the Sekonda's to the Russian's as some sort of western influenced model, wished there was a book on Sekonda history as I have often wanted to do a video on the rise of the brand.
> 
> Whilst Sekonda worked brilliantly for the Soviet watch factories in getting their foot under the British door so to speak, the similar Cornavin "experiment" in America was not anywhere near as successful and probably due to America having many decent watchmakers still active and the American consumers would not have tolerated the same poor levels of quality with Timex as us in Britain had to endure and you did see a distinction of American Timex and just Timex the latter being the dreadful ones. Also I suspect the Americans were a touch more unforgiving about stuff from the USSR than the British.


Why not get in touch with Sekonda and see if they've got a 'timeline' publication (might have an 'in-house' one)


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Why not get in touch with Sekonda and see if they've got a 'timeline' publication (might have an 'in-house' one)


A good idea and I have just finished a nice email with some piccies of several of my new and old Sekonda's, cheers m8


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> A good idea and I have just finished a nice email with some piccies of several of my new and old Sekonda's, cheers m8


Know when I was looking to get my old Sekonda fixed, they were fairly quick in replying to me. If you want, could look up the name of the guy who replied?


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## SuffolkGerryW

Finally got the replacement 2416 movement through, just got to find the time to fit the dial and hands. Then to finish the casework


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## elcogollero

Another.... this time a Sekonda/Raketa that I just could not say no to. The case is filthy but the dial looks pristine. Hopefully it will clean up well.


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## Leo13

*Raketa TV* - not with the movement 2428 but with the movement 2609HA (NA) - the famous «Плоская Россия» - "Thin (Flat) Russia" - very thin 2.7 mm movement. It is much more elegant model, in a bigger case. The history of the mechanism «Плоская Россия» is quite interesting. The origin of the idea dates back to the 1970s, when it was decided to produce a mechanism with additional complications at the Petrodvorets watch factory (calendar, self-winding, 24-hour time indication). The mechanisms of "Baltika" and "Russia" were not suitable for the implementation of this idea. A mechanism with a flat surface on the side of the dial was needed - hence 2 calibers were developed in PChZ: 2409 and 2609.Н. Of these two mechanisms, 2609 were selected as the more reliable (the simplest and most reliable mechanism in the USSR). Thus, the 2609 became the primary movement at Petrodvorets, and the 2409 was transferred to the Chistopol watch factory.

Unlike the Baltika 21 jewels mechanism, the mechanisms 2609.Н and 2409 were completely developed by the Russians - developed "from scratch" by I.A. Starkov and M.A. Kiselev. The first watch based on the already basic "Flat Russia" movement was launched in 1972. Later, the "Flat Russia" mechanism was greatly simplified. In the period from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, the so-called skew mechanism. At the beginning of the 1980s, automatic watch folding machines appeared, which were located on the third floor of the 8th Petrodvorets workshop. In the following years, the mechanism was simplified even more, e.g. the shock absorber under the evacuation wheel, the wheels and the balance were no longer gilded, the stone was removed from the central wheel, which means that a simplified mechanism was created.
Here it is:







​


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## Odessa200

Great watch and nicely preserved outside. Unfortunately the movement is wrong (should be 2609НП) but I guess you knew this based on your extensive research below. Just stating this in case someone less knowledgeable reads this post... This is one of the models that I am still searching for...



Leo13 said:


> *Raketa TV* - not with the movement 2428 but with the movement 2609HA (NA) - the famous «Плоская Россия» - "Thin (Flat) Russia" - very thin 2.7 mm movement. It is much more elegant model, in a bigger case. The history of the mechanism «Плоская Россия» is quite interesting. The origin of the idea dates back to the 1970s, when it was decided to produce a mechanism with additional complications at the Petrodvorets watch factory (calendar, self-winding, 24-hour time indication). The mechanisms of "Baltika" and "Russia" were not suitable for the implementation of this idea. A mechanism with a flat surface on the side of the dial was needed - hence 2 calibers were developed in PChZ: 2409 and 2609.Н. Of these two mechanisms, 2609 were selected as the more reliable (the simplest and most reliable mechanism in the USSR). Thus, the 2609 became the primary movement at Petrodvorets, and the 2409 was transferred to the Chistopol watch factory.
> 
> Unlike the Baltika 21 jewels mechanism, the mechanisms 2609.Н and 2409 were completely developed by the Russians - developed "from scratch" by I.A. Starkov and M.A. Kiselev. The first watch based on the already basic "Flat Russia" movement was launched in 1972. Later, the "Flat Russia" mechanism was greatly simplified. In the period from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, the so-called skew mechanism. At the beginning of the 1980s, automatic watch folding machines appeared, which were located on the third floor of the 8th Petrodvorets workshop. In the following years, the mechanism was simplified even more, e.g. the shock absorber under the evacuation wheel, the wheels and the balance were no longer gilded, the stone was removed from the central wheel, which means that a simplified mechanism was created.
> Here it is:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ​


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## Leo13

Odessa200 said:


> Great watch and nicely preserved outside. Unfortunately the movement is wrong (should be 2609НП) but I guess you knew this based on your extensive research below. Just stating this in case someone less knowledgeable reads this post... This is one of the models that I am still searching for...


The movement is absolutely correct - 2609НП it is in cyrylic - "НП" means "NA" . 
See phot o of my movement below....... 

kk


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## Odessa200

this is much better but I suggest you do NOT substitute NP (НП) with NA (HA) because everyone will think you are talking about HA. But I am glad you got the correct one!



Leo13 said:


> The movement is absolutely correct - 2609НП it is in cyrylic - "НП" means "NA" .
> See phot o of my movement below.......
> 
> kk


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## Leo13

Odessa200 said:


> this is much better but I suggest you do NOT substitute NP (НП) with NA (HA) because everyone will think you are talking about HA. But I am glad you got the correct one!


The correct name of this movement in Latin is : "NA" - letter 'H" in cyrylic menas "N" - just like at mroatman website - see below...

xcc


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## Odessa200

Leo13 said:


> The correct name of this movement in Latin is : "NA" - letter 'H" in cyrylic menas "N" - just like at mroatman website - see below...
> 
> xcc


Nope. . Our friend had made a mistake (or maybe his watch has the HA movement). Here you can see some watches have HA and some HP. How would you differentiate them if you call HP as HA?







no


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## Leo13

Okey Dokey - thank you for catalogue photo. I think it is exactly the same movement, difference is only in external features (eg. waterproof or not...)
Regards.


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## Ligavesh

Leo13 said:


> The correct name of this movement in Latin is : "NA" - letter 'H" in cyrylic menas "N" - just like at mroatman website - see below...
> 
> xcc


No offense, I don't think you should be lecturing Slavs about the correct writing of cyrillic letters


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## Odessa200

Leo13 said:


> Okey Dokey - thank you for catalogue photo. I think it is exactly the same movement, difference is only in external features (eg. waterproof or not...)
> Regards.


it is a similar movement but Precision (this is what П stands for). Anyway, great buy! Enjoy it!


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## Leo13

Ligavesh said:


> No offense, I don't think you should be lecturing Slavs about the correct writing of cyrillic letters


I am not . Discussion is about movement....


Odessa200 said:


> it is a similar movement but Precision (this is what П stands for). Anyway, great buy! Enjoy it!


Thank you - it is clear for me now. The information about 2609 HP was presented years ago here: Raketa movement information
It receives an increased accuracy class in comparison to HA. The duration of the course is increased to 44 hours, the daily error was + 10-30 seconds. The functions remain the same.
Regards.


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## Straight_time

Leo13 said:


> Thank you - it is clear for me now. The information about 2609 HP was presented years ago here: Raketa movement information


To avoid (further) confusion, it should be better to not mix Latin and Cyrillic letters in the same acronym... 
There is no such thing as a "2609 *HP*" caliber, it's either *НП* _or_ *NP*; if you were writing HP in Cyrillic, then it would transliterate into "NR"


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## Danilao

Poker


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## Leo13

I have been looking for this model at a good price and in good condition for quite a long time.
Buran KGB Automatic from the early 90s of the last century - the so-called KGB series made for the German recipient in 3 versions and in each version 1999 copies. The 3 versions are: KGB President, KGB Officer and KGB Operational.

Movement 2416lang=RU style='mso-ansi-language:RU'>БEN'> - 21 jewels despite 17 jewels visible on the dial of the watch - the explanation says that it was linked to export restrictions and a higher tax on watches with more stones, hence the data was distorted. Watches were available on the German market. 
lang=EN style='mso-ansi-language:EN'>Each copy is neatly packed, numbered and with papers. Price in 1990 - 498 DM (German marks). My version is President.

href="Wostok Buran Automatic, 1975"
target="_blank">Wostok Buran Automatic, 1975





​


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## JacobC

Bought 3 recently........my wallet is screaming.










Hope this one isn't fake. Real gamble because very little is known on this variation and Raketa itself couldn't decide on a reference number.

















Got lucky and found these with box and papers.


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## Ligavesh

Why did i have to look around komandirskie.com last night... Anyway, I saw this limited edition pilot's watch with a 2415 vostok movement and a unidirectional rotating bezel and thought what the hell, let's end the year with a bang...

Pilot watch -T1


























edit: after I ordered mine there were no more available, but I see now you can make an order again, so if anyone will...

edit2: at first I thought what a stupid impulse buy, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, which means I shouldn't feel bad about insta-buying it


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## JacobC

Ligavesh said:


> Why did i have to look around komandirskie.com last night... Anyway, I saw this limited edition pilot's watch with a 2415 vostok movement and a unidirectional rotating bezel and thought what the hell, let's end the year with a bang...
> 
> Pilot watch -T1
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> edit: after I ordered mine there were no more available, but I see now you can make an order again, so if anyone will...
> 
> edit2: at first I thought what a stupid impulse buy, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, which means I shouldn't feel bad about insta-buying it


I really like the strap with Phillips screws on it. Very unusual and cool!


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## OCSleeper

These two arrived in the mail over the last couple days. 

















The only good thing about Covid this year is that it's allowed my collection to flourish since the money isn't being spent on travel. I'm doing my best to convince my wife that my collection is an investment. This came about while having dinner with a childhood friend whose an accountant for Microsoft that first mentioned it, now whenever I bring it up she at least gets a laugh out of it knowing I'm using his playbook.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Shockwave




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## Dodgydruid

Another Chaika 3050 quartz to add to the collection, says its not working but looking at the pics inside I think the gold wires are crossed from circuit board to motor, I got a couple 3050's spares now and my big square Poljot everything electrical is working so that will become a donor.










I got it from the same chap I bought my recent parts 119 Amphibia from Mr Uktraintm, he has quite a few cool project watches including some bulk options, if you are looking for a Slava tank quartz complete he has one going very cheap but mines working so let someone else have the bonus if they want one.

Running out of options for things to snap up, I was hoping this was a 3055 but its a 3050 which suits me fine but do want to fix my 3055 up as the watch itself is immaculate but someone fiddled inside and its just a jumble of parts  Now if I thought I could put a Slava auto in there I would prob have a go at that.


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## lyi

Прилетела красавица! The beauty has landed


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## lyi

By the way, I do have a beast in my Raketa collection ))


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## Dodgydruid

BTW parts hunters, there is a chap called hemingeorg on eBay who has a TON of old Sekonda and Poljot NOS parts, I mean a lot of very hard to find pieces for the Poljot based watches... If you are a collector, a watch smith etc then you prob want to win those as unlikely these parts seen anywhere else for a long time lol

Oh and another ebay seller antiques-ussr has the crystals for Poljot Alarm the square types which are like rocking horse poo, also has the Slava hex glass, Raketa "baker" glass, Slava "fridge" crystals, I've snagged a fresh crystal for my square alarm and a new crystal for my Sekonda curvy square... he has some abs gawjus pieces I am still drooling over hehehehe.


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## skipvel

Thanks for the tip; never could find Mr Uktraintm though.


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## Dodgydruid

Oh dear... had to be done but for the paltry price of £11 I had to snag this esp as its on its original bracelet too... I was caught between this, a chrome Raketa "baker" and another but I do likes me Poljot's and that 1980's style bracelet is just cool imho Worth looking at the seller's stuff (etco3) as has quite a few cheapies










Its a model type I lack so no brainer for the collection hehe, I also despite telling meself no more chrono's bought a quartz N3475 BKT Sekonda chrono with the panda eyes but it was new and picking up a chrono for £9.50 is never crazy even if I break it for the movement.

And I had a result with one of my projects, a two tone Accurist 0S60 powered chrono, it had gotten stuck in hacked mode so took backplate off gingerly and saw the little nub had jumped out and put it all back together and its now keeping perfect time, chrono is working properly and have ordered a very nice fitted end links oyster in the same two tone for it and that will be a wearer for sure


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## Dodgydruid

skipvel said:


> Thanks for the tip; never could find Mr Uktraintm though.








Security measure







www.ebay.co.uk


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## Dodgydruid

Sorry that was me being English and using a honorific my bad


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## OCSleeper

This one arrived yesterday and I'll say before it arrived I had a bit of a scare. Enough of a scare to self impose an eBay ban for the time being.

Winning the bid at approx. $200 seemed too good to be true. After paying I studied the pics a little harder and also searched the internet for this specific model only to find that every photo the seller posted with the exception of one was from someone else's closed auction. I messaged the seller twice to ask about the pics and if I was in fact getting the case and box, not accusatory at all in regards to the photos. Never heard a thing and kept my fingers crossed......

































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Wow that makes an Invicta look dull, love the jewelled buttons and crown going on there and what a piece for anyones collection 

Is it mechanical or quartz chrono? Layout is very similar to my Maserati 8171.201 ISA powered 2 register chrono but my one is nice but nowhere near as nice as that beauty you got


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## Dodgydruid

Is it me or does Putin on the back look like the Russian dude out of Man from UNCLE in the sixties?


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## Odessa200

lyi said:


> Прилетела красавица! The beauty has landed
> 
> View attachment 15548531


Nice one!!! Congrats!


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## OCSleeper

Dodgydruid said:


> Wow that makes an Invicta look dull, love the jewelled buttons and crown going on there and what a piece for anyones collection
> 
> Is it mechanical or quartz chrono? Layout is very similar to my Maserati 8171.201 ISA powered 2 register chrono but my one is nice but nowhere near as nice as that beauty you got


Mechanical, 3133.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Spotted this and snapped up for £8, has a better case than my working one and always good for some spares if it doesn't work


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## Dodgydruid

Oops, totally forgot I bidded on this one as well... oh well Slava "tank" quartz "R" us but looking at the three I can build a good clean one and have a good beater one and have the third one up to sell










Sekonda did get back to me to say they never did a Sekonda branded version of this which I hoped for but explained their records of that time were sketchy as they were unaware they had done an auto tank under the Sekonda brand, still a good clean one of these fetch good money so for a bit of up front I gets a workhorse, a clean one and hopefully one to get some moolah back on or trade.

The parts 119 arrived today which was stupendously fast, its missing its second hand but that's no biggie and feels overwound.


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## Dodgydruid

Poljot big square day date arrived today overtaking the Sekonda auto bought from same seller a fair bit previous lol










Just had to do a complaint with fleabay, auction ended at :20 secs but ebay allowed a sniping bid in at :34 which in internet terms is a bloody large window past the auction end grr It was for a big blue quartz Chaika too arrgh oh well can't win 'em all and the gods of ebay have been kind of late so have to take the losses as easily as the wins.

The parts 119, it was overwound and wants to run but just doesn't do the tick thing but I reckon I can get that 2209 running giving me a spare movement plus the very clean domed crystal for the other one and the paddle hands for it making it the proper fitment but the dial whilst in better condition in one way is covered in crazing with metal beginning to show in the cracks so that is going to be retired into my box of Vostok dials methinks.

I am still wondering what to get for my snowfall build, got the round case, black pvd bezel on way, ordered some hands close to the broad swords from aliexpress, I could go right now with a 2414A movement or do I hold out for a 2416b or consider harvesting the auto out of my GRU 420 :S


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## Dodgydruid

Finally, got one for $23... big bad blue Chaika...










Seller had a slate grey version which on hindsight would have prob been the better one as we all see the blue but rarely see the grey variant but tis done.

Now the only one left to find is a Raketa screwtop quartz and start to getting my project ones fixed hence why I grabbed several 3050's for parts etc. I am getting quite a formidable quartz collection at this rate although several are in the queue for repair like my 3055 Luch which I just don't know where to start as when I opened it all little parts fell out leading me to give my first neg feedback on ebay as it was sold to me untouched.


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## Ligavesh

This Slava was too cheap and in a state too good to miss - also it had 6 other people watching it, so I thought get it while you can... Hopefully it works as good as it looks (it says so in the description), we'll see soon, it was a seller in Germany who was selling it.


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## Dodgydruid

I'm waiting for the Sekonda branded version of that same model, I quite like the design of those cases and surprisingly the auto versions of these movements are seemingly more robust than the handwinding, or rather set time and no winding of the non autos.










I did have one with the Okean like dial but the hands self destructed on it rendering it useless so I do have some spares if ever need like crystal, case etc as the movement from that is being fitted to my Slava tank.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Poljot big square day date arrived today overtaking the Sekonda auto bought from same seller a fair bit previous lol
> 
> View attachment 15553207
> 
> 
> Just had to do a complaint with fleabay, auction ended at :20 secs but ebay allowed a sniping bid in at :34 which in internet terms is a bloody large window past the auction end grr It was for a big blue quartz Chaika too arrgh oh well can't win 'em all and the gods of ebay have been kind of late so have to take the losses as easily as the wins.
> 
> The parts 119, it was overwound and wants to run but just doesn't do the tick thing but I reckon I can get that 2209 running giving me a spare movement plus the very clean domed crystal for the other one and the paddle hands for it making it the proper fitment but the dial whilst in better condition in one way is covered in crazing with metal beginning to show in the cracks so that is going to be retired into my box of Vostok dials methinks.
> 
> I am still wondering what to get for my snowfall build, got the round case, black pvd bezel on way, ordered some hands close to the broad swords from aliexpress, I could go right now with a 2414A movement or do I hold out for a 2416b or consider harvesting the auto out of my GRU 420 :S


Got a new movement from the 090 that needs the balance assembly (I can't see well enough to figure out why it stops when I screw it down) also needs the auto wind weight refitting - if you want to pay postage (it's got a black date wheel, but I've got a new white one that came with a replacement movement)


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## miroman

One interesting model arrived today. It was in a horrible case, with heavy worn crown, cracked glass, and was not-working. Fortunately the movement needed only cleaning and oiling. Found another case, new crown and glass, and voila:



























Regards, Miro.


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Got a new movement from the 090 that needs the balance assembly (I can't see well enough to figure out why it stops when I screw it down) also needs the auto wind weight refitting - if you want to pay postage (it's got a black date wheel, but I've got a new white one that came with a replacement movement)


Aw bugger, I just come on net after carefully pulling hands and dial off me GRU 420 lol Its done now and I am going to put the GRU dial on a spare 2414A movement as it never felt right it being an auto Komandirskie with Amphibia hands lol I had to do it in cold blood as otherwise I wouldn't have done it and I bought the whole thing for £38 and from it are born two good pieces hehe

It is going to look cool I think as the snowfall dial is super Soviet brutal lacking any attempt at "fluffy" and all I got to do now is change the bezel on the 420 for the black one, ah wait hands still to arrive as I bought a set of kinda broadsword looking ones off of aliexpress. I might if I feel like it later on just slap on the standard arrows just to see what she looks like.

Cheers for thinking of me mate, if ever you need any spares if I got it not a problem


----------



## Dodgydruid

BTW watch out in the watchmaking forum... there is a right moody German in there who had a right pop at me for asking if anyone knew the actual precise sizes of Miyota hands.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Got a new movement from the 090 that needs the balance assembly (I can't see well enough to figure out why it stops when I screw it down) also needs the auto wind weight refitting - if you want to pay postage (it's got a black date wheel, but I've got a new white one that came with a replacement movement)


Hey if you want a case and dial for that movement, I got an octagonal, a roundy and a 119 spare cases with good crystals and I got a ton of dials including an Albatross and some other cool ones if you want to build up a bitsa?


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Got the original dial and hands on it, as they were going to go into the 'spares' box after the build anyway - the only thing that wasn't planned, was the movement - my cockup with the weight screw & dropping that into the balance spring added the movement to the spares list


----------



## Bsw_sc

Really liking this one !


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Got the original dial and hands on it, as they were going to go into the 'spares' box after the build anyway - the only thing that wasn't planned, was the movement - my cockup with the weight screw & dropping that into the balance spring added the movement to the spares list


Bestrus has new complete assy's complete with bridge for £11.99 which for a complete new one isn't bad at all compared with other watch brands prices. I do have some complete assy's for the 2409/14 sets if you would like one then that gives you a good spares movement to keep your main running if need be. Actually the wheel change isn't that difficult I found as quite an easy stud to undo and replace, heck if I can do it anyone can hehe

Hitting Komandirskie.com next week for 8 plastic boxes as I quite like keeping my Amphibia's separate from the main lot and means I can free up 8 slots in my displays as beginning to get overloaded again space wise and another display box isn't viable and a pain in the bum when I fancy a wear of something say my Luch boilerplate and I have to root through the boxes to find the thing. I did start to number the boxes and then catalog on a database but have to finish that off. Couple of my youtube subscribers have asked when I am doing a full review of the fleet video and I am OMG its gotten a bit out of control...

Buying wise, I am down to a gold Chaika Stadium and a chrome fish eye and then I can post Xmas start to put money aside for a 3133, although I just saw the 9999 rouble red and black turbina up on Komandirskie.com and I am like drool drool me wants waah  But with the two magic eye watches I do believe I have pretty much one of each Soviet mainstream watch which was my goal.

After that I dunno what I am going to do when I reach that milestone, I will likely push on fixing all my quartz up as have been dissecting the three main movements to see how they work and interestingly they are super clever, maybe try and find one of them Slava Accutron tuning fork watches but never see them at all no doubt all been harvested for the American models as many parts are interchangeable.


----------



## haha

This Raketa had been in my wish list until i gave up on it. It's not rare, but the prices for a sample in good condition were a little too high in my opinion and i wasn't so crazy about it.
Earlier this week i finally stumbled across this NOS with box and papers and couldn't resist it. No regrets...


----------



## thewatchadude

Today I bought this:


----------



## Kotsov

thewatchadude said:


> Today I bought this:


Me too


----------



## Ligavesh

A design worthy of a Raketa  Ah, I'll get mine double the price on ebay like I got a blue 1967 recently, I'll show it here when it arrives...


----------



## Ligavesh

haha said:


> This Raketa had been in my wish list until i gave up on it. It's not rare, but the prices for a sample in good condition were a little too high in my opinion and i wasn't so crazy about it.
> Earlier this week i finally stumbled across this NOS with box and papers and couldn't resist it. No regrets...
> View attachment 15558156
> 
> 
> View attachment 15558157


Where do you find it when it's so common, I don't remember seeing this model?...


----------



## haha

Here are a few from the bay 1 2 3 4


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## Ligavesh

haha said:


> Here are a few from the bay 1 2 3 4


Thanks! I'll put a couple of those on the list, I'm not buying for the time being, hopefully they're still there when I decide to buy again.


----------



## haha

Ligavesh said:


> Thanks! I'll put a couple of those on the list, I'm not buying for the time being, hopefully they're still there when I decide to buy again.


I recommend to buy this one in a good condition only. Scars of old age don't really suit it.


----------



## davxls

These three bought through Instagram.


----------



## bitsofprogress

I didn't really buy it as such (though sent out enough hints) but received it as a gift 



















The second photo was not taken by me but captures well the nicely executed caseback. The 40mm case is at the top end of what my bony wrists can pull off but with the after-market bracelet, I think it works out. Now I await opportunities to put the chronograph to use and wow those nearby with tachymetric wizardy!


----------



## Ligavesh

Now just to learn how to use it


----------



## 979greenwich

Apparently you try to merge the 2 lines into 1, and get the numbers close to zero 
Congrats, I almost pulled the trigger, but stayed with Clock tuner and Tickoprint apps instead, figured I could get at least 5 Vostok watches for the price of a timegrapher...


----------



## raistlin65

deleted


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> Apparently you try to merge the 2 lines into 1, and get the numbers close to zero
> Congrats, I almost pulled the trigger, but stayed with Clock tuner and Tickoprint apps instead, figured I could get at least 5 Vostok watches for the price of a timegrapher...


Well 5 beat down ones - yes, this one was relatively cheap on aliexpress, I got it in their 11.11. sale, hopefully it works right.
Maybe the apps would've been sufficient for me too, but just having the gadgets is almost as exciting as having the watches themselves


----------



## Ligavesh

raistlin65 said:


> Tissot PRS 516 on sale at Nordstrum Rack.


Nice looking thing, but this is a forum for Russian watches (and the Warsaw Pact more or less), not for Russian people with Swiss watches


----------



## raistlin65

Ligavesh said:


> Nice looking thing, but this is a forum for Russian watches (and the Warsaw Pact more or less), not for Russian people with Swiss watches


Ooppss. I hit the new posts listing and didn't notice the forum


----------



## Ligavesh

raistlin65 said:


> Ooppss. I hit the new posts listing and didn't notice the forum
> View attachment 15565162


Still, a lovely design - worthy of being posted on the Russian forum


----------



## bitsofprogress

Ligavesh said:


> Well 5 beat down ones - yes, this one was relatively cheap on aliexpress, I got it in their 11.11. sale, hopefully it works right.
> Maybe the apps would've been sufficient for me too, but just having the gadgets is almost as exciting as having the watches themselves


Congrats! My watchmaker (who happens to be a Russian gentleman) uses this exact brand. He has brought back vintage HMT's from death and made them operate +/-5 s/d with the WeiShi so I see a lot of super accurate watches in your future!


----------



## Utva_56

Arrived today, Vostok 581827. Change the original strap (as it is padded), with a thinner one. It is a nice dress watch with a retro vibe.


----------



## Dodgydruid

979greenwich said:


> Apparently you try to merge the 2 lines into 1, and get the numbers close to zero
> Congrats, I almost pulled the trigger, but stayed with Clock tuner and Tickoprint apps instead, figured I could get at least 5 Vostok watches for the price of a timegrapher...


I get on with my 50 quid "baby timegrapher" quite well, I like the acoustic graph of Tg5 it uses which gives you a very precise idea of how out of true the balance is with the idea of getting the two lines in the acoustic graph to be equal.


----------



## Dodgydruid

My Poljot arrived today and just about to attack with Hagerty cloth to make it gleam, still on its smart Poljot fitted bracelet and apart from some marks on the crystal is actually in pretty damned good condition yay


----------



## Dondo

Dear Comrades,

so I finally received my Ebay nego and the Poljot bracelet yesterday, keep on hunting! Stay healthy, f... the virus! Dondo


----------



## Bsw_sc

Got my clear case back today from Komandirskie.com.... love the profile of it on this 710


----------



## OCSleeper

Today's arrival. Older would've been nice but got it for a good price.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bsw_sc said:


> Got my clear case back today from Komandirskie.com.... love the profile of it on this 710
> View attachment 15567280
> View attachment 15567282
> View attachment 15567283


I've got a small and a large window type but have held back on fitting them as yet as I am experimenting with gold and copper leaf as I want to gild the visible parts of my 710 and 160 starting with the rotors but its a lot fiddlier than I imagined hence using practice bits to gild and the stuff is so soft its very hard to trim easily without it tearing or looking ragged lol I also grabbed some blued and gold tone screws to add some features.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I've got a small and a large window type but have held back on fitting them as yet as I am experimenting with gold and copper leaf as I want to gild the visible parts of my 710 and 160 starting with the rotors but its a lot fiddlier than I imagined hence using practice bits to gild and the stuff is so soft its very hard to trim easily without it tearing or looking ragged lol I also grabbed some blued and gold tone screws to add some features.


Think that the 'best' way to cut it, is to use a long curved blade and a cutting mat, so that you don't drag the blade along but roll it along the curve (or a cutting disc like a very sharp pizza wheel - check craft shops for what I'm on about)


----------



## elcogollero

Triple delivery - I think my head is about to explode!


----------



## 307

OCSleeper said:


> Today's arrival. Older would've been nice but got it for a good price.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Great purchase! I've been eyeing a Vostok and it's great to see there's a niche group of collectors out there who chase these original watches. So refreshing to see a totally different, unapologetic, approach!


----------



## thewatchadude

Recent arrivals over the past few weeks. The theme of my collection is soviet-era Vostok amphibias... Who did speak about temptation?


----------



## Avidfan

OCSleeper said:


> Today's arrival. Older would've been nice but got it for a good price.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's an unusual caseback on your KGB Amphibia  obviously made specially for export...


----------



## haha

thewatchadude said:


> Recent arrivals over the past few weeks. The theme of my collection is soviet-era Vostok amphibias... Who did speake about temptation?
> 
> View attachment 15567710


Great dial color for this Slava Monster !


----------



## thewatchadude

haha said:


> Great dial color for this Slava Monster !


Thanks. It's actually a bit more reddish than on the photo, but still very nice. This purchase was inspired by a guy on the French forum, who has built a small collection of Slava Monsters of different colours.


----------



## Ligavesh

Ooooooh look what came through the post - earlier than expected! This, along with the Sadko and the Agats will be my last purchase for a while (at least it should be), it looks worthy of it


----------



## Kotsov

Bsw_sc said:


> Got my clear case back today from Komandirskie.com.... love the profile of it on this 710
> View attachment 15567280
> View attachment 15567282
> View attachment 15567283


A stainless movement ring would finish it nicely?


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Think that the 'best' way to cut it, is to use a long curved blade and a cutting mat, so that you don't drag the blade along but roll it along the curve (or a cutting disc like a very sharp pizza wheel - check craft shops for what I'm on about)


I've picked up something like that off ebay, its like a crows beak but scalpel sharp. Its on order now and I can always scrape any bodges off and do over as I got a fair bit of the gold and copper leaf 

I got two of my 3050 quartz today, the Chaika is in perfect condition but them little gold wires are both broken off, the better of the two 3050 Slava "tanks" is in pristine condition and I just need to dig out a AG13 cell for the bugger as a AG12 is just a bit loose but that is working so super pleased and I suspect these taller cells are prob hard to find and also I suspect the sellers put the battery's in wrong way round.

OK, its kinda Russian its kinda not but an offer came up in my ebay feeds tonite I could not resist... TW Steels chronograph with the canteen crown... wait for it... £40 and couple quid postage and I am like Kapow!!! have that in me basket and then some as these TW Steels in just standard form fetch handsome prices but the chrono's are very desirable so it seem.










So putting the tools away and stuff on the two quartz on the desk tonite, for the Chaika 3050 I do have a parts 3050 so going to salvage the wires and stepper off of that one as its a working stepper as the watch itself is immaculate, no scratches on bracelet or case/crystal and very clean, I could hold out for finding my little syringe of gold infused glue as the tiny solder joints are super tiny and way too small for my cheapo iron.

I was in the process of buying this (Wristwatch "SEIKO" Automatic. | eBay) when the TW Steels popped up, a very cheap 7009 Seiko that hasn't been Calcuttarised but missing stem and bezel it seems, if its there in a few days will swipe that too hehe but thought to throw it out there for folks as I quite like my 7009's.


----------



## Dodgydruid

elcogollero said:


> Triple delivery - I think my head is about to explode!
> View attachment 15567704


Hehe does anyone think I can swipe the second hand off the left hand one for my Sekonda De Luxe? 

Nice selection there m8


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Ooooooh look what came through the post - earlier than expected! This, along with the Sadko and the Agats will be my last purchase for a while (at least it should be), it looks worthy of it
> 
> View attachment 15568247
> 
> 
> View attachment 15568249
> 
> 
> View attachment 15568393


Wow I would have that on my arm all day and night for ages, what a thoroughly sweet looking piece. I keep trying to actually reduce my collection and no matter how hard I try, I find reasons why not to and I must be sitting on a proper mini fortune.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Wow I would have that on my arm all day and night for ages, what a thoroughly sweet looking piece. I keep trying to actually reduce my collection and no matter how hard I try, I find reasons why not to and I must be sitting on a proper mini fortune.


I know your pain, mate  If you want, I can tell you where you can find it (although I've already mentioned it in this thread I think), it's 12000 rubles.


----------



## Dodgydruid

It is a cracking piece my friend, do love that strap as well


----------



## Dodgydruid

Seems the gods of ebay are being kind... Raketa quartz ftw  £13 incl postage


----------



## Novatime

Lovely Raketa Quartz! I finally got my Raketa Baker with silver waffle dial ready to wear after fitting a replacement acrylic crystal and a StrapsCo crocodile QR strap. I love the retro television-shaped crystal and dial with its sloped indices. I'm really liking textured, silver and gold dials at the moment.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Novatime said:


> Lovely Raketa Quartz! I finally got my Raketa Baker with silver waffle dial ready to wear after fitting a replacement acrylic crystal and a StrapsCo crocodile QR strap. I love the retro television-shaped crystal and dial with its sloped indices. I'm really liking textured, silver and gold dials at the moment.
> View attachment 15569594


I do like the Baker's, I only have a Sekonda one which worked beautifully for a day then went into super slow mode but its in a long queue of getting sorted lol


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Still waiting for a strap that I ordered over a week ago (18th November), thought that I'd order 'local' from eBay seller in Norfolk, probably have been quicker from China!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yeah I have that when buying stuff from the ebayer who makes them handmade hide straps I adore, he's only in Yeovil which is about 17 miles and they can take a long time. I suspect its because they have centralised in counties so my strap instead of going in a van from Yeovil to here either has to first go to Bournemouth or Bristol sorting offices then come back again to wait for local office to sort and put out for delivery 

Well, the Slava tank quartz is working, well kinda, its keeping seconds abs perfect but its not driving the hour or minute hand round which is not perfect lol I am guessing under the main driven pinion the hour and minute pedestal are driven from the central seconds pinion so now to investigate further. It does mean I have whatever else a working circuit board, stepper, bridge and pinion and will take it from there lol


----------



## Bsw_sc

Dodgydruid said:


> I've got a small and a large window type but have held back on fitting them as yet as I am experimenting with gold and copper leaf as I want to gild the visible parts of my 710 and 160 starting with the rotors but its a lot fiddlier than I imagined hence using practice bits to gild and the stuff is so soft its very hard to trim easily without it tearing or looking ragged lol I also grabbed some blued and gold tone screws to add some features.


That would look amazing. Does sound like it would be easy for it to not turn out right too. Share pics when you do it, would be cool to see before, during and after shots


----------



## Dodgydruid

I will do, would be nice to see it in a reference say in the gold and the copper and the minimal extra weight to the rotor won't knacker the rotor bearings lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just hit Aliexpress and da forty thieves for a couple sets of 4 pk oilers and a set of the 3 hands pushers as the very nice all metal one I have been using sometimes the little bit gets jammed and its pliers out and a bit of a kerfuffle all round so gonna set the second hand pusher in and use the others for the main hands.

Can't sleep so repainting the engraved numbers on bezels and messing about with my recent Poljot which is a strange one as I spotted its a "top loader" or bezel press fit for the movement, it is an astonishingly cool men's piece and I discovered a 1989 engraved message on back too making it just that bit extra special


----------



## davxls

Got this yesterday from my local watch store (small town in Sweden) that I thought only sold brand new watches. Apparently they also had a bunch of vintage watches. You can imagine my surprise when I found this boxed NOS Raketa Copernicus.


----------



## Dodgydruid

That Raketa is almost like brand new  nice find


----------



## davxls

Thanks @Dodgydruid yes it is brand "new" I was the first one removing the paper from the spring bars. Now that I think about I almost regret it 😑


----------



## Dodgydruid

davxls said:


> Thanks @Dodgydruid yes it is brand "new" I was the first one removing the paper from the spring bars. Now that I think about I almost regret it ?


I'm wearing tonite my NOS Sekonda tank auto, I keep it absolutely polished but I do enjoy wearing it, watches are designed to be worn and no doubt down the line scratches and wear will happen but you can have the same feeling some happy Soviet citizen had back in the day for something new and special.

Best thing too is no one has tampered with it, built it out of fresh air and promises or cannibalised bits of broken watches.


----------



## Dodgydruid

After an evening battling for Skymaster's to fix my own, I spotted with only a min left in my saved lists this very nice textured dial Sekonda on a most unusual expanding bracelet so decided to sod Skymaster's for the nite and put another Sekonda into the collection...










Haven't seen this dial type on Slava's or Sekondas so is a bit different and quite "modern" for a Soviet piece.


----------



## Ligavesh

I didn't buy anything, but I found this watch on Etsy:










...which shows that my stupid watch here is a franken:










****ing hate **** like this. **** that guy who changed the original hands. I can forgive the case, but not the hands.


----------



## Ligavesh

That's why I'm not buying anymore, I'm just gonna be selling. Gonna sell this franken **** if I can too.


----------



## safaol

just think of them as custom bulit and it will be fine


----------



## Dodgydruid

Its the hands that are different and not the worst thing to source and put right then it won't be a franken any more.

Sometimes hands do get mangled due to dropping of watch, accidents at work all involving the crystal breaking or being knocked off the case and the hands get mushed. I did just look in my Poljot spares tub but didn't have those type of hands sadly but I did look m8.

If the dial, case, crown etc are all genuine, it would be such a shame to dismiss what is a very clean and nice example of the Poljot, I would enjoy it until you can source a set of hands (perhaps someone in here has a genuine set handy) then you know its 100% full on authentic and enjoy it a bit more for that extra mile run for it


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Its the hands that are different and not the worst thing to source and put right then it won't be a franken any more.
> 
> Sometimes hands do get mangled due to dropping of watch, accidents at work all involving the crystal breaking or being knocked off the case and the hands get mushed. I did just look in my Poljot spares tub but didn't have those type of hands sadly but I did look m8.
> 
> If the dial, case, crown etc are all genuine, it would be such a shame to dismiss what is a very clean and nice example of the Poljot, I would enjoy it until you can source a set of hands (perhaps someone in here has a genuine set handy) then you know its 100% full on authentic and enjoy it a bit more for that extra mile run for it


Thanks for looking, but I think it's a rare type of hands, maybe if I could make them myself out of other Poljot hands - but I don't have the skill for such a thing, and it's not that easy to find a beat up Poljot for parts with the type of hands you need... The thing that bugs me is not so much the authenthicity, but that I see now how much better looking the watch is and how much better readable the dial is with the red hands - I was always wondering how come they made the watch a bit hard to read... I don't know whether the case is exactly the same either, but that doesn't bother me as much (and it probably is the same case).


----------



## Bsw_sc

This arrived today in the mailbox. My first digital Russian watch (actually my first and only digital watch of any make)... Setting the time and date was easy enough to figure out, it is keeping exceptionally good time so far, set it to the world clock. I like the band but it's too tight for me so I just ordered another which should be here in a week or less. Might find another band to put on tonight just so I can wear it in the meantime. I was surprised it doesn't have a light for reading the time in the dark, seems like the type of thing that would be on a digital watch in the 80's. Seller says this watch was made in 1984. It's in pretty good shape too


----------



## jp1999

These 2 beauties.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Bsw_sc said:


> This arrived today in the mailbox. My first digital Russian watch (actually my first and only digital watch of any make)... Setting the time and date was easy enough to figure out, it is keeping exceptionally good time so far, set it to the world clock. I like the band but it's too tight for me so I just ordered another which should be here in a week or less. Might find another band to put on tonight just so I can wear it in the meantime. I was surprised it doesn't have a light for reading the time in the dark, seems like the type of thing that would be on a digital watch in the 80's. Seller says this watch was made in 1984. It's in pretty good shape too
> 
> View attachment 15574268
> View attachment 15574269


This is of course the whole frightening thing with the digital watch, they lost seconds in 5 year periods compared to a mechanical however amazing quality losing in a day.

I've got an Elektronika coming over in a bundle of that and two 3050 quartz pieces and hoping the Elektronika isn't melted away inside due to popcorn battery goo :S


----------



## Dodgydruid

My Sekonda auto arrived today yay and my TW Steel chrono which needed a bit of fettling as the strap is a bit crap but the Sekonda arrived from seller 2012sputnik in perfect condition and non magnetised, never had to demag any from that seller.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo just added another Sekonda auto to the pile, I do have one of these already but the other one the gold is a little worn off and this one is in far better condition.










Also I really didn't comprehend how big the Chaika "big blue" really is, look at it compared to the Slava tank quartz next to it, what a beastie as both arrived today and sooo pleased with the Chaika but wished I spent the extra $2 and got the grey one as that seems to be pretty scarce in comparison to the blue but its gone oh well.










Also, does Dafydd in Wales still frequent these forums? I have heard he is a very reasonable servicer of Russian pieces and wanted to reach out to him in the new year if he would take on a couple of my pieces namely being my Sekonda "baker" and my Slava tank auto.

Am hoping to speak to the "Soviet quartz king" Sergei at some point to see if he can put life back into my Luch 3055 hybrid as it is way way above my skill level and its such a fine piece exterior but inside I got it all parts in a jumble inside and I was fairly miffed with the seller on that.

Was talking with an Amphibia wearer in the post office queue today, had to be the day I wore me TW Steel and not a Russian but he's quite interested in popping along for a tea and see my Soviet wares.


----------



## Avidfan

Dodgydruid said:


> Also, does Dafydd in Wales still frequent these forums? I have heard he is a very reasonable servicer of Russian pieces and wanted to reach out to him in the new year if he would take on a couple of my pieces namely being my Sekonda "baker" and my Slava tank auto.


If you're referring to Dafydd Ellis of Porthmadog then he closed his shop and retired a few years ago, I don't think he was ever a member here though as he didn't use the internet...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Must be the chap, oh well, wishing him a happy retirement


----------



## stevarad

This gang arrived prety fast..
































































































































Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I likes them, my recent TW Steel chronograph has that cream and black lumeless theme going on and is a pleasant combo imho I certainly like those arrows on it with the barless arrow, I see Favinov was selling those with lume a while back and I quite like the shape of them being a touch different


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Do like that blue sunburst effect boctok.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Do like that blue sunburst effect boctok.


I do as well, something Vostok have been good at sunbursts, my standard Boctok with the purple sunburst is a very good looking watch.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sometimes you have to be in it to win it, my saved searches pops up this Sekonda Safari for £3.49 buy it now and I was like vroom










What started my ahem "obsession" with watches and particularly Soviet watches was my broken, forgotten in a drawer 1st edition Safari, after watching an early video by Youtuber My Mate Vince fixing a quartz I had a go with that forgotten Sekonda and its still working albeit sans the second hand as the cheap Miyota I bought for it had no second hand spigot hence why they were like £1.50 at the time being Miyota rejects.

Thing is folks, esp to those out in the wings thinking of having a go at it, is TO have a go at it, pick an old worthless piece and work some magic, OK very few will end up super servicers of the high and mighty watches but some do take the craft from beginnings to something better. Earlier this year I built a Vostok 090 Amphibia using just parts from Komandirskie.com and Meranom and it is extra special to me being creating something new rather than buying someone elses second hand.

On the two recent 3050 quartz, both dead battery side, one seems to have some severe corrosion on the little tongue so having at it with the ol' fibreglass pen to get it back to clean metal, the other electrically seems OK, coil is good, battery juice getting to chip so suspecting a dry joint or a capacitor gone on that one but I do have a couple working circuit boards so going to spend this evening putting in a good board to see if it comes to life.

I did put a video up on my youtube for the recent Sekonda (Slava) auto (link below) which runs perfectly but the date wheel seems stuck, heck I don't need a date function so going to leave WELL alone... Just nice to have something that looks and feels nice on the wrist 

And after visiting a couple of members sites I am laying out a website for my collection dividing it into Soviet and Russian, Swiss, Japanese and Chinese. I am still blown away by Dashiell's Soviet collection which makes mine look like a bad day at the Oxfam shop lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh dear... seems the Sekonda bug is with me again... got a special discount from seller for this working Sekonda TV, which is handy as the one in my projects box isn't running but has a perfect case and bracelet... so I gets one good working clean example and a project for down the road.


----------



## Ligavesh

I have a love/hate relationship with Slava automatics, when they work they're great, but they are way more sensitive than anything I've seen....

Could it be that I shook the watch too hard and that's why it won't work? Rotor spins freely, crown is obviously franken, balance wheel refuses to start spinning, although it spins freely when pushed with a toothpick. The reason I'm asking whether I fked it up is cause it worked for whole 2 seconds and then stopped.




























****ing Slavas, man, they're NEVER worth buying used, always problems with them... I'm sick of wasting my money on ****, I only bought this one cause it looks mint from outside... I havee three auto Citizens from the 70s and they all work FLAWLESSLY - oh, and 5 Glashüttes too, but that's too much to ask from these ****s...


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> I have a love/hate relationship with Slava automatics, when they work they're great, but they are way more sensitive than anything I've seen....
> 
> Could it be that I shook the watch too hard and that's why it won't work? Rotor spins freely, crown is obviously franken, balance wheel refuses to start spinning, although it spins freely when pushed with a toothpick. The reason I'm asking whether I fked it up is cause it worked for whole 2 seconds and then stopped.
> 
> View attachment 15582512
> 
> 
> View attachment 15582514
> 
> 
> View attachment 15582515
> 
> 
> **ing Slavas, man, they're NEVER worth buying used, always problems with them... I'm sick of wasting my money on **, I only bought this one cause it looks mint from outside... I havee three auto Citizens from the 70s and they all work FLAWLESSLY - oh, and 5 Glashüttes too, but that's too much to ask from these ****s...


Lets see what we have: a Cyrillic dial, Latin Calendar, replaced crown.... anything comes to mind? Correct: franken watch. Put together by someone with the only goal: sell! Quality job is not a goal here... then lets add that, this is a late soviet slava, made around collapse of the soviet economy. If the movement is from the late 80s or early 90s then it will be finicky. It was badly made 30 years ago and requires skills to be made useful now.... it is what it is.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> Lets see what we have: a Cyrillic dial, Latin Calendar, replaced crown.... anything comes to mind? Correct: franken watch. Put together by someone with the only goal: sell! Quality job is not a goal here... then lets add that, this is a late soviet slava, made around collapse of the soviet economy. If the movement is from the late 80s or early 90s then it will be finicky. It was badly made 30 years ago and requires skills to be made useful now.... it is what it is.


meh, at least it was relatively cheap... now just to find a good movement to put in this one... I'm a little pissed of cause it's the second automatic (optically good) Slava in a short period that doesn't work... maybe I'll start looking for ones that are beat up on the outside and hope the movement works to replace these ...


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> meh, at least it was relatively cheap... now just to find a good movement to put in this one... I'm a little pissed of cause it's the second automatic (optically good) Slava in a short period that doesn't work... maybe I'll start looking for ones that are beat up on the outside and hope the movement works to replace these ...


Slava's have weak autowinding bridge (specifically the post that the rotor sits on). I just got 3 Soviet Slavas and one of them has an issue so I will be fixing it when I get the spare parts. other than that, I cannot complain much (although other Slavas are manual).


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> Slava's have weak autowinding bridge (specifically the post that the rotor sits on). I just got 3 Soviet Slavas and one of them has an issue so I will be fixing it when I get the spare parts. other than that, I cannot complain much (although other Slavas are manual).


I have a NOS automatic and no issues with it, also have couple of older autos that seem to work fine (although a bit weird - when setting the time, you have to set it half a minute ahead, cause the minute starts moving after half a minute) and a lot of manual ones that are fine - but also 3 autos now that don't work... Slava is in my head a 'finnicky' brand, unlike Raketa or Poljot, or even Vostok.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I do feel your pain as I have two Slava tanks that were apparently "served by a master" and both don't work, so my NOS Sekonda version has to do double duty til I decide to source someone in Russia to put them back into some running order.

My silver dialled version of yours, the hands were held on with good will and the cold hard soul of Stalin and when I found the tiniest blob of some adhesive holding the second hand onto the spindle, I decided to break the watch for parts than keep it going or waste money on getting someone to sort out the bodgery which was terrible.

The recent Sekonda version I just got keeps perfect time and builds up about 12 hours on the power reserve, however the date wheel is stuck and I am so meh about it, seeming to think if these things manage to tell the time and at least one of the complications I should consider that a total win lol

I have a mechanical version in the same Okeanish dial pattern of yours but this is in a snap caseback case and the details are dark grey with gold piping and works perfectly so I think I will call it there with these Slava's.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I do feel your pain as I have two Slava tanks that were apparently "served by a master" and both don't work, so my NOS Sekonda version has to do double duty til I decide to source someone in Russia to put them back into some running order.
> 
> My silver dialled version of yours, the hands were held on with good will and the cold hard soul of Stalin and when I found the tiniest blob of some adhesive holding the second hand onto the spindle, I decided to break the watch for parts than keep it going or waste money on getting someone to sort out the bodgery which was terrible.
> 
> The recent Sekonda version I just got keeps perfect time and builds up about 12 hours on the power reserve, however the date wheel is stuck and I am so meh about it, seeming to think if these things manage to tell the time and at least one of the complications I should consider that a total win lol
> 
> I have a mechanical version in the same Okeanish dial pattern of yours but this is in a snap caseback case and the details are dark grey with gold piping and works perfectly so I think I will call it there with these Slava's.


I'm actually thinking about putting a manual movement inside, there are relatively inexpensive manual day/date Slavas with no automatic function (who would serve as a 'donor') - aside the auto, the rest is I suppose the same? @Odessa200 , what do you think about it? There are even NOS manual movements out there, in that case I would only need a passing stem and crown, or?


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes, I bought a few off a chap on ebay, all NOS and in perfect running order for about £15 which is a pretty good deal and he never seems to run out, dunno who it is as I haven't bought off the chap in a while but do a search for Slava movement and worldwide should pop up.

Wondering how difficult it would be to take a NOS and retrofit it to take the auto works, maybe someone has tried that or it doesn't work?


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Yes, I bought a few off a chap on ebay, all NOS and in perfect running order for about £15 which is a pretty good deal and he never seems to run out, dunno who it is as I haven't bought off the chap in a while but do a search for Slava movement and worldwide should pop up.
> 
> Wondering how difficult it would be to take a NOS and retrofit it to take the auto works, maybe someone has tried that or it doesn't work?


Would surely be interesting to do, but I don't really need it, I'm fine with manual, I bought the watch because of the looks, not the auto.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I found the chap here: Movement Slava 2428 - 26 jewels - NOS Soviet CCCP USSR | eBay

I was lucky as a retiring chap over in Blandford not far from me offered me some good movements at £6 a go which ended up replacing a fair few of my tired or buggered movements, he also chucked in a good Poljot which I am thinking if I can get a good crystal for my chrome fish-eye that gives me a gold and a chrome of each and another notch in the complete "set" that I aim to have one of each of hehe


----------



## OCSleeper

More purchases recently than I'm willing to admit but this one arrived a few days ago. Had to replace the crystal since the original was broken.


















Photo doesn't look bad but it is certainly more impressive in person. Found it here in the States, seller said it was recently serviced, LOL. See the 2nd photo.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Is that Oct 68? Cracking good looking piece I must say and I do like the makers legend at the bottom. I am guessing that is either a good deep plate or 9k gold case?


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> More purchases recently than I'm willing to admit but this one arrived a few days ago. Had to replace the crystal since the original was broken.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Photo doesn't look bad but it is certainly more impressive in person. Found it here in the States, seller said it was recently serviced, LOL. See the 2nd photo.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nice one! Of course it was not serviced (or not serviced well) but I guess this is expected....


----------



## Odessa200

Dodgydruid said:


> Is that Oct 68? Cracking good looking piece I must say and I do like the makers legend at the bottom. I am guessing that is either a good deep plate or 9k gold case?


no, Soviet watches only used 14k  It just looks this way cause needs cleaning/polishing


----------



## OCSleeper

Dodgydruid said:


> Is that Oct 68? Cracking good looking piece I must say and I do like the makers legend at the bottom. I am guessing that is either a good deep plate or 9k gold case?


October of '68, I'd say it's due for another service. This is the only stamp I can find on it.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

Odessa200 said:


> no, Soviet watches only used 14k  It just looks this way cause needs cleaning/polishing


Odessa, you got me thinking, why the heck did I fit that crystal before cleaning the case!? So, out went the crystal and movement and here's the result.

































All by hand as I have not decided on a polisher or ultrasonic cleaner yet.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> Odessa, you got me thinking, why the heck did I fit that crystal before cleaning the case!? So, out went the crystal and movement and here's the result.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
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> 
> All by hand as I have not decided on a polisher or ultrasonic cleaner yet.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Much better! I only do this by hand. Cause in addition to getting same results (just takes a bit longer) you get a 'tactile satisfaction' from getting something done with your own hands. People who use sonic cleaners do not know what they are missing on. The only reason to use it if you run a business and doing by hand is not an option time wise...


----------



## ProgZilla

Sprung for this over the weekend.


----------



## Ligavesh

I'm not supposed to be buying more watches, but the seller gave a generous discount, and I was missing this famous Slava in my collection:










I couldn't find any signs of fakeness/frankenization in all the pics, I beleive it's genuine.


----------



## Gupt0014

I bought this Seamaster 300M on Sunday from Rob Caplan at Topper Jewelers. It arrived this morning professionally packaged. Absolutely flawless transaction and a VERY HIGHLY recommended AD.


----------



## mariomart

Gupt0014 said:


> I bought this Seamaster 300M on Sunday from Rob Caplan at Topper Jewelers. It arrived this morning professionally packaged. Absolutely flawless transaction and a VERY HIGHLY recommended AD.


Beautiful watch  However, you are posting in the Russian forum, James Bond would not be impressed 

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes 🎄


----------



## Ligavesh

Gupt0014 said:


> I bought this Seamaster 300M on Sunday from Rob Caplan at Topper Jewelers. It arrived this morning professionally packaged. Absolutely flawless transaction and a VERY HIGHLY recommended AD.
> View attachment 15588261


Another guest with a Swiss watch - very, very nice, but it isn't Russian


----------



## Gupt0014

mariomart said:


> Beautiful watch  However, you are posting in the Russian forum, James Bond would not be impressed
> 
> Happy Holidays and Best Wishes 🎄


Oops...Sorry comrades. Got carried away...


----------



## davxls

More of a vintage guy, but bought some stuff from komandirskie.com a couple of days ago. 
Before and after pics. My old KGB and my Scuba dude also got some of the new goodies.


----------



## Kotsov

Its probably me being paranoid but is your Reef bezel pip insert still there in your 5th shot?


----------



## davxls

Kotsov said:


> Its probably me being paranoid but is your Reef bezel pip insert still there in your 5th shot?


Hmm, good question. Got to check that out. Took the photos a couple of days ago.


----------



## Ligavesh

Mine is still there, but there's a crack on the glass as you can see - to make matters worse, merqnom doesn't have replacement glass in stockand they can't tell me the dimensions of the glass so I could mayve replace it with a sapphire one from aliexpress or something..


----------



## davxls

Ligavesh said:


> Mine is still there, but there's a crack on the glass as you can see - to make matters worse, merqnom doesn't have replacement glass in stockand they can't tell me the dimensions of the glass so I could mayve replace it with a sapphire one from aliexpress or something..
> 
> View attachment 15589780


You were right, it was gone. Before I even tried it on. Bought it from komandirskie.com. Let's see what they say. 
Bummer about yours. Cant you contact Vostok and get the needed numbers?


----------



## Ligavesh

davxls said:


> You were right, it was gone. Before I even tried it on. Bought it from komandirskie.com. Let's see what they say.
> Bummer about yours. Cant you contact Vostok and get the needed numbers?


I think you quoted the wrong guy  , your answer was probably meant for @Kotsov


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## davxls

Ligavesh said:


> I think you quoted the wrong guy  , your answer was probably meant for @Kotsov


Yes, sorry 😑


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> I'm not supposed to be buying more watches, but the seller gave a generous discount, and I was missing this famous Slava in my collection:
> 
> View attachment 15588250
> 
> 
> I couldn't find any signs of fakeness/frankenization in all the pics, I beleive it's genuine.


Slava?


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## Chascomm

Odessa200 said:


> Slava?


It's a transliteration from Cyrillic.


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## Dave_Hedgehog

Chascomm said:


> It's a transliteration from Cyrillic.


Ракета does not transliterate to Slava!


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## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> Slava?


It said so in the description 

I love sellers who don't know the worth of what they're selling and then sell the stuff for a lower price - unless I'm being tricked, but like I said, in all 12 pictures I couldn't find anything fake: case, glass, hands, dial, movement - everything was correct.

edit: btw, he had more big zeros to offer, also named 'Slava' for some reason (apparently to this seller all Russian/Soviet watches are Slavas), but they had wrong hands or other signs of frankenization.


----------



## Kotsov

Its probably me being paranoid but is your Reef bezel pip insert still there in your 5th shot


davxls said:


> You were right, it was gone. Before I even tried it on. Bought it from komandirskie.com. Let's see what they say.
> Bummer about yours. Cant you contact Vostok and get the needed numbers?


Thats what happened to mine. Must be a production fault as that is the third now.

I contacted Komandirskie for a replacement.


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## davxls

Kotsov said:


> Thats what happened to mine. Must be a production fault as that is the third now.
> 
> I contacted Komandirskie for a replacement.


Yes, I've talked to komandirskie.com and they will send a replacement. Going to take a few weeks though I guess.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just won a pair of Chaika quartz "big square" for a very silly price of $2










Just arrived and on my wrist and exceptionally good looking too on a shouldered expanding bracelet and the watch is in superb condition 










Also my £3.50 Sekonda Safari arrived yesterday... new battery in and working perfectly and this one is the Miyota 6L71 alarm version which is pretty scarce (I know its not Russian)










I put it on my hand made and hand riveted cuff strap which also has like my other Safari a compass built into the strap but the other Safari is on a brown riveted version.


----------



## OCSleeper

Dodgydruid said:


> Just won a pair of Chaika quartz "big square" for a very silly price of $2
> 
> View attachment 15590617
> 
> 
> Just arrived and on my wrist and exceptionally good looking too on a shouldered expanding bracelet and the watch is in superb condition
> 
> View attachment 15590657
> 
> 
> Also my £3.50 Sekonda Safari arrived yesterday... new battery in and working perfectly and this one is the Miyota 6L71 alarm version which is pretty scarce (I know its not Russian)
> 
> View attachment 15590637
> 
> 
> I put it on my hand made and hand riveted cuff strap which also has like my other Safari a compass built into the strap but the other Safari is on a brown riveted version.


A few months back I purchased a non-working Chaika quartz like yours on the right. In my opinion they are very appealing and I have to say I was very surprised at its size. I have it torn apart and cleaned but haven't found the time to reassemble and test it.
Great find!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> A few months back I purchased a non-working Chaika quartz like yours on the right. In my opinion they are very appealing and I have to say I was very surprised at its size. I have it torn apart and cleaned but haven't found the time to reassemble and test it.
> Great find!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I initially bought these for spares but looking at them versus my own one which does work but needs a couple small fixes, both are in superior condition and means I can have a white border and a black border 

Its funny that I have been slowly accumulating parts for all the Soviet quartz except the 3055 hybrid as those are just incredibly rare anyways, I need a good coil for my Slava big red star since that one dissolved under battery goo, its a shame to break any watch but spares just don't exist for these old beasts.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wow was a bitter fight between me and another couple ebay heavyweights for a NOS Sekonda UFO automatic  Sadly I didn't win it but then again I got the arrival today on my wrist working beautifully and I still have my Sekonda tank which is still working abs beautifully and remains pride of my collection.

Didn't know they did gold UFO auto's, now added to my grail list which was looking a bit bare


----------



## Dodgydruid

This is the Sekonda I missed out on, abs beautiful and the seller was the same place I got my Sekonda tank from which was NOS...










So feeling my cajones somewhat shrivelled and learned I was up against some serious heavyweights in the battle for the watch I went and bought an all black and red Skymaster for £20... 'cos I like Skymasters although the one I want is the MB thingy that is more like a Citizen NiteHawk but this will do


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## Chascomm

Dave_Hedgehog said:


> Ракета does not transliterate to Slava!


Sorry, I forgot to add:


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## Dodgydruid

Prob a good idea not to have Slava in the same sentence as отверстие... might give ppl the wrong impression hehe

Just finished demagging my Slava based Sekonda with the textured dial, gained about 5 mins in the night, couldn't sleep so thought do some watch stuff. Going to go through my project box today and see if I can't move some of them out into the collection and prob will do the movement transplant for my Slava tank finally as I want to keep my Sekonda one in its pristine condition.


----------



## thewatchadude

The orange 710 SE appeared at meranom again... Reminds me of Xmas period two years ago when they released a flurry of SEs and I totally exploded the budget for that year and the next--I'm afraid the budget never came back to normal :/


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## Odessa200

Ooooo mama.... got a box full of fantastic watches  will post a few soon.


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## OCSleeper

Odessa200 said:


> Ooooo mama.... got a box full of fantastic watches  will post a few soon.


Can't wait to see what you got!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

Picked this up today. With a little TLC from one of our fellow forum members in the near future I should have a good looking watch. A seller here Stateside had this among his non-watch offerings and accepted my offer of almost half his asking price.

























By the time it's cared for it will be much cheaper than one of similar condition..... I hope.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

I love those Okean's, the caseback, the dial and layout, even the bracelet it just ticks all my boxes.


----------



## Miggyd87

This showed up, freebie, but as you can see, tape is holding the bezel on. Need to make a bezel retention spring...24AWG stainless tempered spring steel is on the way.

My first Vostok, Komandirskie 350515, very excited!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Has anyone tried converting a Vostok bezel to that of the unidirectional clicky bezels we see on other watches? Just an idle thought as I had the bezel off my Bliger last night and was musing how it would open up a whole new level of modding wise if we could use actual Seiko or other brand with a bit of conversion.


----------



## 979greenwich

A budget trio from Naznatsol. Won 2 auctions and one more for the road.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have bought from the chap several times and always arrived in good order and time, I think I got one of my 090's from him and its worked lovely. I sometimes if the deal is too good to be ignored will buy from ones I don't know but prefer to let my pocket be my guide and if it turns out to be a pile of doings then I just won't buy from that one again.

Three lovely Vostok's you have there, will you be keeping as is or refreshing the 2234's? I think that 090 is just how one should be showing her wrinkles with pride, you can't find a tougher watch than these ol' Vostok's...


----------



## 979greenwich

I really don't mind wrinkles, especially if it means you can get the watch for 10 $ (compared to 300 for NOS komandirskie tank that was mentioned earlier this week). 
And that's how you end up with too many watches. I wouldn't even buy this 119 if i didn't already have 6 different versions of it.
I'm always hesitant to preventive service a watch that runs OK, especially if it's a Vostok. Raketa, maybe. 
My wife immediately hijacked the blue cushion zakaz. Poor old thing will again be a field watch


----------



## Dodgydruid

979greenwich said:


> I really don't mind wrinkles, especially if it means you can get the watch for 10 $ (compared to 300 for NOS komandirskie tank that was mentioned earlier this week).
> And that's how you end up with too many watches. I wouldn't even buy this 119 if i didn't already have 6 different versions of it.
> I'm always hesitant to preventive service a watch that runs OK, especially if it's a Vostok. Raketa, maybe.
> My wife immediately hijacked the blue cushion zakaz. Poor old thing will again be a field watch


Its a 119? Cool, I have two myself and love the slightly slimmer profile and the lens crystal, I have out in front of me the paddle hands I am reluming for my big 12 and 6 blue 119. I am aiming for one of each type mainstream Soviet men's pieces and focusing of late on Sekonda branded if poss and found out to my cost just how many men's Soviet watches there are lol


----------



## 979greenwich

For reluming I recommend adding a tiny bit of brown watercolour to "age" the mix (comrade Mario's great advice). Result:


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## Dodgydruid

979greenwich said:


> For reluming I recommend adding a tiny bit of brown watercolour to "age" the mix (comrade Mario's great advice). Result:


What a good tip, gonna clean off the one I done and go hunting for some brown paint as I am sure my daughter has some old paints somewhere, cheers


----------



## davxls

These are my newest addition.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Newly arrived and keeping good time Sekonda, case is in need of some polishing and on my other one of these the crystal is also as bad as this one so am hoping someone can tell me what type of Poljot this is so I can order a fresh crystal.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Not been doing much at mo, the Raketa quartz arrived yesterday but sadly despite its interior condition of perfect it is resisting any attempts to fire up so its on the cushion with the circuit board off at mo and prob going to reflow the solder joints in a bit to see if that is the issue.

Just sprang for a set of hands for my Sekonda De Lux after some backwards and forward between seller and me as seller wasn't quite getting it that this is the smaller older one not the later larger one and the first set suggested to me would have been wrong but we got there in the end and I also bought a clean 090 plain blue dial for my much lamented "sterilised" 090 but that is my last watch purchase for the year.

Hit Aliexpress for several of them shrouded movement trays, little round segmented trays where you can put the mainplate in the central roundy bit and have the various components laid out in the little segments around it with a airtight plastic shield, and a balance tack simply as they are an ace bit of kit for more than just balances and in the process of stripping down a pocket watch.

So wishing you all a S rozhdyestvom Hristovym! I'm being a bit naughty as wearing my recent addition of a good ol' black and red highlight Accurist Skymaster... yep tis my shame but I don't care, its my wrist that has to bear the burden hehe


----------



## OCSleeper

Good luck with your Raketa quartz, Dodgydruid. My hopes are to get working on some of my project watches over the holidays. Not too likely as the wife will have other plans for me on my days off. 5 more watches currently in transit, I’ll post when they arrive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Thank you, I do have a working 3056A board which I am going to switch out then at least I know if it is the board or not with the only other candidate being the motor itself left to rule out 

Always felt wives enjoyed Xmas far far more than us blokes with itchy feet and restless hands and only so much Xmas telly to endure hehe Now with both daughters flown the nest and on me own I am just going to rain foods down on my cats, prob do my best to get on the outside of a bottle of Woods 100 navy rum and fall asleep  Actually my youngest is flying down from Glasgow on the 21st to spend a week here as she hates being on her own up there so will prob buy her a bottle of something wicked and can get gloriously drunk together


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just received my 10th Russian watch today. What do you think?


----------



## Aivan47

I wasn't a soviet watch collector until now.








I bought the white amphibian 1 year ago and i had a wostok that get stolen 1 month ago so i bought another to replace it (the golden one with the black dial) but the shipping price was high so i bought another (the black cadet) but i was still undecided about which cadet i liked the most , so i bought the other version for sale (the golden cadet) and i saw the pocket watch and it made a click with me so i also bought it, and now i think I'm into soviet watches


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## Dodgydruid

GMTtwotone said:


> Just received my 10th Russian watch today. What do you think?


My very first Russian was the blue version of this exact style of Amphibia, I quite like the no frills no nonsense does what it says on the tin style.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Aivan47 said:


> I wasn't a soviet watch collector until now.
> View attachment 15606708
> 
> I bought the white amphibian 1 year ago and i had a wostok that get stolen 1 month ago so i bought another to replace it (the golden one with the black dial) but the shipping price was high so i bought another (the black cadet) but i was still undecided about which cadet i liked the most , so i bought the other version for sale (the golden cadet) and i saw the pocket watch and it made a click with me so i also bought it, and now i think I'm into soviet watches


I have those two same cadets, bought them for my nephews but my brother now living in Switzerland has found it impossible to come collect them thanks to baloneyvirus shenanigins. They look quite good on a ringer strap, I have my Pulsar V691 on a black 5 ringer and my V601 on a olive 5 ringer as both are the "civilian" tri-peaks thingy designs.

If I ever do a scuba dude I want one of them all lume ones I found on ebay which are an off white in daylight but glow ferociously at night, I just recieved my first kinetic which is a Pulsar with a lumibrite dial so I may well do a scuba dude with an all lume dial yet (sounds really dodgy saying I am going to do dudes I mean build a watch just in case people think I am a bit strange... )


----------



## Ligavesh

Bought this little gem very cheaply, I love the aged dial and as always have faith in the 2609 HA movement 



















The case also looks very clean, if it works well I reckon for the 25 euros with shipping it's a steal.


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> Bought this little gem very cheaply, I love the aged dial and as always have faith in the 2609 HA movement
> 
> View attachment 15607762
> 
> 
> View attachment 15607763
> 
> 
> The case also looks very clean, if it works well I reckon for the 25 euros with shipping it's a steal.


I don't have box and papers for many of my watches but this one I picked up a few months back. I'm a fan of the textured dial and I see that patina doesn't look too bad on it. Passport says 1991.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## elcogollero

Today I have bought a Sekonda/Raketa with the 2609.1 It was sold as not working - it will be my first attempt at rescuing an old watch. It was sold from a dealer in Mallorca - a popular holiday destination for British tourists, which is how I imagine it got there. I'll post before and after pics on my thread.


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## SinanjuStein

I was pleasantly surprised when the seller actually accepted my lowball offer, especially when much worse looking ones are up for sale for twice or more.










Hands might have been replaced (since it should have a steel lolipop seconds hand IIRC) at some point but the dial is what hooked me on it and it all matches pretty darn well. And i can see those small dents on the minute hand, might replace them i can actually find a nice pair.


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## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> I was pleasantly surprised when the seller actually accepted my lowball offer, especially when much worse looking ones are up for sale for twice or more.
> 
> View attachment 15609992
> 
> 
> Hands might have been replaced (since it should have a steel lolipop seconds hand IIRC) at some point but the dial is what hooked me on it and it all matches pretty darn well. And i can see those small dents on the minute hand, might replace them i can actually find a nice pair.


The second hands on the 2209 movements are slightly different to the 24xx variants which can see odd seconds hands appear on these tonneau's simply due to the scarcity of proper ones.

Looking at that, what's not to love? Clean bezel and markings, certainly a very clean dial, hands look right, yes it does flow quite nicely


----------



## Dodgydruid

Rather sad this is now my only working Soviet quartz 










This time last year my Slava big red star, tank quartz were still working and I spotted this one had stopped but moving it started it up again and is holding good time so have been giving it a bit of a wear after I put it on the silver brick bracelet (must get some more as they are awesome and going to grab some more of the gold versions) Have grabbed a load of Duracell and Renata AG13's so I got some decent quality cells in my box of batteries.


----------



## OCSleeper

SinanjuStein said:


> I was pleasantly surprised when the seller actually accepted my lowball offer, especially when much worse looking ones are up for sale for twice or more.
> 
> View attachment 15609992
> 
> 
> Hands might have been replaced (since it should have a steel lolipop seconds hand IIRC) at some point but the dial is what hooked me on it and it all matches pretty darn well. And i can see those small dents on the minute hand, might replace them i can actually find a nice pair.


Looking closely at your minute hand it appears that is only extra lume that is showing from underneath on the bottom edge. 
When I polish or clean up my hands I use a few items, mostly I tear the 1000 and 3000 grits of paper from a fingernail polishing stick, roll it and place it between tweezers to carefully clean the hands. If you have the ability to remove the hands do it, but with dial protection, caution, and a steady hand you'll have that minute hand perfect right where it sits.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SinanjuStein

OCSleeper said:


> Looking closely at your minute hand it appears that is only extra lume that is showing from underneath on the bottom edge.
> When I polish or clean up my hands I use a few items, mostly I tear the 1000 and 3000 grits of paper from a fingernail polishing stick, roll it and place it between tweezers to carefully clean the hands. If you have the ability to remove the hands do it, but with dial protection, caution, and a steady hand you'll have that minute hand perfect right where it sits.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Counting that it's the picture from the seller, you may have a point and i can take a closer look when i receive it. I have the tools and hands for the job, i do need a better loupe.

Though that'll happen when it arrives, hopefully sometime within the next century.


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## Dodgydruid

I bought one of them magnifying visors which has a basic 3x for semi close work and a rotatable ring loupe you can pull down to give me 10x which is plenty for even a ladies small movement and is uber useful and pretty cheap at about £7.

I have also a large glass with helping hands and a pair of x25 loupe spectacles which I can't wear because of my glasses but managed to hodgepodge a bodge where I have one I can swing down over my specs and on top of that for really really fine work I bought one of them USB microscopes and a decent stand for it running it via my tablet and is actually pretty good but the visor is the best all rounder for my diabetes raddled eyes hehe

Komandirskie.com have 10x loupe's often up for sale for a very good price, they tend to sell out quite quickly, found under the accessories tab, if they have sold out you can subscribe and usually a couple of days you will get a notification that there is more in stock. (Лупа х10 для часов Восток купить с бесплатной доставкой)


----------



## krang.gang

Hi all, newbie here.

Yesterday I received my 5th Russian purchase the Slava 2428 watermelon which I'm very excited for but I'm struggling to find a suitable band for it. Is there a go-to place for sourcing old Slava watch bands or is trawling ebay the only method? My understanding is this watch originally had a leather band but I'd be most interested in putting a stainless steel one on it.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Dodgydruid

krang.gang said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> 
> Yesterday I received my 5th Russian purchase the Slava 2428 watermelon which I'm very excited for but I'm struggling to find a suitable band for it. Is there a go-to place for sourcing old Slava watch bands or is trawling ebay the only method? My understanding is this watch originally had a leather band but I'd be most interested in putting a stainless steel one on it.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> View attachment 15611401


I have found ebay the best for vintage period 18mm bracelets, you can also find 18mm bracelets on Aliexpress which might be a better option with you being in the antipodes.

Also expanding bracelets don't look too bad on these big Slava's either. Search ebay for "Soviet watch bracelet" will bring up some nice examples of bracelets with clasps plus a lot of rubbish you will have to sift through.

Soviet ones will tend to be quite used in comparison to a similar aged Seiko or Pulsar SS bracelet, you will likely to get a good match between bracelet and case give the bracelet a good polish to bring it up to lustre so it doesn't look out of place against the chrome of the Slava there.

I bought some of these for my stuff (Vintage Stainless Steel Watch Bracelet with 18mm Straight Ends, Vintage Bracelet | eBay) and they go really well with the old Soviet stuff imho but you might have different tastes and likes to what I like.


----------



## krang.gang

Dodgydruid said:


> I have found ebay the best for vintage period 18mm bracelets, you can also find 18mm bracelets on Aliexpress which might be a better option with you being in the antipodes.
> 
> Also expanding bracelets don't look too bad on these big Slava's either. Search ebay for "Soviet watch bracelet" will bring up some nice examples of bracelets with clasps plus a lot of rubbish you will have to sift through.
> 
> Soviet ones will tend to be quite used in comparison to a similar aged Seiko or Pulsar SS bracelet, you will likely to get a good match between bracelet and case give the bracelet a good polish to bring it up to lustre so it doesn't look out of place against the chrome of the Slava there.
> 
> I bought some of these for my stuff (Vintage Stainless Steel Watch Bracelet with 18mm Straight Ends, Vintage Bracelet | eBay) and they go really well with the old Soviet stuff imho but you might have different tastes and likes to what I like.
> 
> View attachment 15611529


appreciate the advice! I think I'll get a temp band so I can start wearing it now and keep an eye on ebay while I find the right one


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just snagged a tidy Luch quartz for the shocking price of $1.88  Spent way more on the postage lol but its another notch in the bedpost of Soviet watch collecting hehe










Remember too Xmas day is golden for winning bids, hardly anyone goes on ebay on Xmas day, year before last I won my Seiko 7009 3100 for a pound and I got something cool last Xmas day I can't remember think it was a uber low price Amphibia.


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## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> Just snagged a tidy Luch quartz for the shocking price of $1.88  Spent way more on the postage lol but its another notch in the bedpost of Soviet watch collecting hehe
> 
> View attachment 15611654
> 
> 
> Remember too Xmas day is golden for winning bids, hardly anyone goes on ebay on Xmas day, year before last I won my Seiko 7009 3100 for a pound and I got something cool last Xmas day I can't remember think it was a uber low price Amphibia.


That really looks like a 2234 blue Komandirskie Zakaz case, and after checking a bit on the completed eBay bid itself it's quite a interesting franken to look at. And knowing how they usually make these franken watches it's probably a damaged dial that is likely glued as they chipped the dial feet off, the hands do look like the correct (relumed) 2234 hands.










I think it's a 2234 Zakaz movement inside and not some quartz, especially via the date disc color. And whoever repainted that dial sprinkled quite a bit of paint on it since you can see that the indexes of the original are basically sunken in that paint.

Sorry to burst your bubble..


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> That really looks like a 2234 blue Komandirskie Zakaz case, and after checking a bit on the completed eBay bid itself it's quite a interesting franken to look at. And knowing how they usually make these franken watches it's probably a damaged dial that is likely glued as they chipped the dial feet off, the hands do look like the correct (relumed) 2234 hands.
> 
> View attachment 15611799
> 
> 
> I think it's a 2234 Zakaz movement inside and not some quartz, especially via the date disc color. And whoever repainted that dial sprinkled quite a bit of paint on it since you can see that the indexes of the original are basically sunken in that paint.
> 
> Sorry to burst your bubble..


It cost me $1.88 plus a bit of postage, you have to be a little bit of a gambler when buying from Russia etc, OK if I was paying top dollar for it then if it turns up a total abomination that even I couldn't stomach then yep I would be jumping up and down with good reason but less than a pound it will just end up in spares if not working and I am hoping this is a 2356 movement as I need a couple spare coils for two.

Just won my first working jump hour phew... over a year have been outbidded on many and threw a bid in on this auld Trafalgar thinking outbid at last moment sort of fing but just got a "you have won" and all bought and paid for... 










There are subtle differences between the Luch and the Vostok, the crown is set deeper in the Luch which is inset into the bezel edge, the lug shape looks a tiny bit different but yes those hands do look Vostok'y indeed.

If its working most likely it will end up on a strap and kept as a curiosity, like my road crash Roamer in the glaring bright yellow and green from India, it was just sooooooo bad I had to have it and surprisingly its been running OK.

Here's the Amphibia dial I grabbed for my grille'd 090, where the isopropyl alcohol got in under the lacquer layer it all turned into crazy paving and delaminated off the dial and is an utter mess so from the seller who sorted me out the proper Sekonda De Lux hands for my smaller older version, I grabbed this to see if it will look better than the abomination inside my 090.


----------



## Odessa200

krang.gang said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> 
> Yesterday I received my 5th Russian purchase the Slava 2428 watermelon which I'm very excited for but I'm struggling to find a suitable band for it. Is there a go-to place for sourcing old Slava watch bands or is trawling ebay the only method? My understanding is this watch originally had a leather band but I'd be most interested in putting a stainless steel one on it.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> View attachment 15611401


i use a plain Soviet bracelet and like the look.


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> It cost me $1.88 plus a bit of postage, you have to be a little bit of a gambler when buying from Russia etc, OK if I was paying top dollar for it then if it turns up a total abomination that even I couldn't stomach then yep I would be jumping up and down with good reason but less than a pound it will just end up in spares if not working and I am hoping this is a 2356 movement as I need a couple spare coils for two.
> 
> Just won my first working jump hour phew... over a year have been outbidded on many and threw a bid in on this auld Trafalgar thinking outbid at last moment sort of fing but just got a "you have won" and all bought and paid for...
> 
> There are subtle differences between the Luch and the Vostok, the crown is set deeper in the Luch which is inset into the bezel edge, the lug shape looks a tiny bit different but yes those hands do look Vostok'y indeed.
> 
> If its working most likely it will end up on a strap and kept as a curiosity, like my road crash Roamer in the glaring bright yellow and green from India, it was just sooooooo bad I had to have it and surprisingly its been running OK.
> 
> Here's the Amphibia dial I grabbed for my grille'd 090, where the isopropyl alcohol got in under the lacquer layer it all turned into crazy paving and delaminated off the dial and is an utter mess so from the seller who sorted me out the proper Sekonda De Lux hands for my smaller older version, I grabbed this to see if it will look better than the abomination inside my 090.


Gambler or not, it's better to know what you're looking at before you gamble. I'm _*very*_ certain about what i said, that's the same case with either a 2214 or 2234 movement (likely the latter) and to start with i don't think the Luch 2356 has a date function 

I don't mind people buying what they one, even if it means buying the kind of watches that they repaint in street stalls in India but i wouldn't recommend people buying them no matter how cheap they are. Especially considering the "DNA" lubrication that the movements are usually running on.

Well, i guess if it's as cheap as you say and the movement is a real 2234 i think there's an original correct dial on eBay.


----------



## Ligavesh

Couldn't resist this new 'Panerai' 170 model, goddamit, they could make a hundred different ones of these, I think I'd buy them all... 
Now the long postal wait.


----------



## falika

krang.gang said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> 
> Yesterday I received my 5th Russian purchase the Slava 2428 watermelon which I'm very excited for but I'm struggling to find a suitable band for it. Is there a go-to place for sourcing old Slava watch bands or is trawling ebay the only method? My understanding is this watch originally had a leather band but I'd be most interested in putting a stainless steel one on it.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> View attachment 15611401


Nice score! Mind if I ask where you were able to snag that watch? Way high up on my list. I've often seen it paired with a gray strap, by the way, which balances the color of the numbers.


----------



## krang.gang

Odessa200 said:


> i use a plain Soviet bracelet and like the look.
> View attachment 15611913


Looks good! I have a similar bracelet on a different Slava maybe I'll use it as a temp



falika said:


> Nice score! Mind if I ask where you were able to snag that watch? Way high up on my list. I've often seen it paired with a gray strap, by the way, which balances the color of the numbers.


Instagram of all places, saw people discussing them and messaged a guy to see if he was interested in selling his and he had a spare!


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> Gambler or not, it's better to know what you're looking at before you gamble. I'm _*very*_ certain about what i said, that's the same case with either a 2214 or 2234 movement (likely the latter) and to start with i don't think the Luch 2356 has a date function
> 
> I don't mind people buying what they one, even if it means buying the kind of watches that they repaint in street stalls in India but i wouldn't recommend people buying them no matter how cheap they are. Especially considering the "DNA" lubrication that the movements are usually running on.
> 
> Well, i guess if it's as cheap as you say and the movement is a real 2234 i think there's an original correct dial on eBay.


I've got a full blue set for a 2234 in my Vostok tub plus maybe a good candidate for my "blizzard" dial which I balked at going further in stripping my new GRU 420 down further for and put it all back together AND without damaging anything which is a first for me 

Your case is compelling, in my pic the markers aren't raised but just flat squares of a brass look but the date window is where it kinda looks a bit suspicious coupled with the hands, I don't mind adding another Commander to the three I already have and just looking through my dials box for Vostok, yep got a nice blue one in very good condition and I know a chap on ebay who sells new crystals too 

But until I have it in my hand so to speak we will not know and like a lot of ppl broken doesn't always been useless as spares on hand always better than waiting a month for something silly.

I am umming and ahhing right now on a very cheap Slava tank quartz that is serviced at a very good price in a private offer and a Slava tank auto with the not so common bright green dial but is temperamental allegedly... thing is I find a lot of these private "offers" can be "buy my broken crap and I will blame it on the post". See I can be green but learning, do I need another Slava tank when I have that perfect NOS Sekonda tank I got for £14?

Tonite I am wrestling with an Accurist 6w50 "dancing hands" trying to free up gummed up pushers to little avail  Compared to "buy my broken crap re: dancing hands" Soviet watches are a breeze compared to trying to get these fiddly barstewards working hehe

My large Poljot 3050 quartz has responded well to a Renata AG13 in, hasn't stopped and started all day so that is a "phew" but keeping my eye on it as it is my last working Soviet quartz, well not if you include the identical one someone stuffed a Raketa mechanical movement in I got here that works beautifully just a terrible pain to wind up, I paid £5 for the Ratekajot but it works so well I haven't the heart to break it.


----------



## Grant J

Santa came 2 days early.
Just a few cheap vintage items ordered over a month ago, so playing catch up.









One of the nicer pieces.


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> Your case is compelling, in my pic the markers aren't raised but just flat squares of a brass look but the date window is where it kinda looks a bit suspicious coupled with the hands, I don't mind adding another Commander to the three I already have and just looking through my dials box for Vostok, yep got a nice blue one in very good condition and I know a chap on ebay who sells new crystals too


I thought i said earlier, the markers aren't raised because the dial has been drenched in paint to the point the markers look flat. Woe to the uninformed who purchase Dimitri's shed artwork.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> I thought i said earlier, the markers aren't raised because the dial has been drenched in paint to the point the markers look flat. Woe to the uninformed who purchase Dimitri's shed artwork.


You seem a little caught up in this and I don't know why and trying to do this without causing any actual offence or cause arguments etc either but look, its a $1.88 watch, we've agreed the hands etc are most likely a Commander Vostok and it may well turn out to be a rehashed Commander Vostok that has cost me less than a pound, not knowing if its under the hood a claimed quartz in the form of cheap Chinese lozenge quartz or a true Soviet one or a Vostok 2234, for less than a pound I am not worried and it will either be kept as is as a sage lesson on naughty no no's or pulled to pieces and give life to another worthy Commander in my extensive stash.

Half the watches I do buy just don't work, I put them into my project box in a nice plastic ziplock baggie in a nice dry comparted case for the days of when I get the parts to make it work and I spend my rather quiet days either polishing, cleaning, working through small projects, evicting tenants from the project box or if I find a particular hard to find part I spend sorting out and putting stuff into my main collection where strapped or bracelet'd up it becomes part of my wearing routine with them spread across many 20/24 slot display cases all ordered in Soviet, Vostok Amphibia, Vostok Komandirskie, non Soviet, Chinese, Japanese and so forth.

Its like today, I was sent an offer from a trusted seller I have used on many occasions, offering me for £9 this Slava, already I have found its proper crystal from my chap on ebay who seems to have all the crystals in stock and that too is on its way and the rest I will do with dremel and mops, hagerty cloths etc and will go sit next door to its Sekonda version and another pair "in the bag" as I aim to snag both the Sekonda version if one is available and the main Soviet version just because it is nice to have one of each 










I'm doing all of this because I actually enjoy sitting here with a polishing cloth, putting the old beasties on my wrist and people local shops etc all say "hey what you wearing today?" and they all take an interest in these old Soviet watches like the one above that looks so alien to the the standard round and square shapes people are used to here in the UK and I like coming in here admiring other people's buys and handiwork and I don't do it as some sort of willy waving "my collection is bigger than yours" sort of thing but because I do seem to have some luck, some ability in finding some of these weird and wonderful pieces and sometimes like my £12 Gagarin or my £14 Sekonda NOS tank or my £4 solid gold Avia, you can pull off an absolute astonishing coup or buy that earns you a bit of kudos in the community.

One of the actual reasons WHY I do all this too, is thanks to being rinsed three times by divorce, I have no posh car, no big house anymore to leave to my children but instead I have my watch collection to leave to them, my vintage and rare tools, my rare model steam engine collection including an almost unique 1939 Mamod SC3 in pristine condition that is rarer than hen's teeth, my 1958 Lambretta and my 1985 Vespa, my many first edition books and Tolkien collection of works, I may not have a big posh sellable car or a big fancy house to leave them but I reckon they will be able to convert all that into a nice handy lump of money when I have gone and won't attract the taxman either and the funny thing is all three ex wives spooged that money they screwed me over with up the wall and live very sad lives... they had their fun but I got my treasures and only my girls and grandchildren get to benefit from that.

I even buy from the Indians and managed to put right my Seiko 7009-3040 which works beautifully and it cost me what £12 I think, £12 for a Seiko that gives a very pleasing timegrapher readout is a result in my book, the £7 Seiko 7009 I bought from one of my Russian sellers arrived yesterday, due to being bounced about a bit, its fully wound up and simply lacking a crystal and stem but keeping absolutely flawless time and from Spain I have ordered the correct crystal and stem for a few pounds and another worthy quality Seiko in the team.

What else have I to do with my time stuck on disability and spending the days trying to cope with the evil pains and hurts from my said disabilities? At least I am doing something worthwhile in my eyes, I could spend those few pounds here, few pounds there on drugs, drink, debauching but I buy old Russian and other watches, I spoil my cats and children rotten and I drive a ****ty little three wheel van but live a very clean life that I can live with myself hurting no one and just keeping score against the universe one day at a time.


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> You seem a little caught up in this and I don't know why and trying to do this without causing any actual offence or cause arguments etc either but look, its a $1.88 watch, we've agreed the hands etc are most likely a Commander Vostok and it may well turn out to be a rehashed Commander Vostok that has cost me less than a pound, not knowing if its under the hood a claimed quartz in the form of cheap Chinese lozenge quartz or a true Soviet one or a Vostok 2234, for less than a pound I am not worried and it will either be kept as is as a sage lesson on naughty no no's or pulled to pieces and give life to another worthy Commander in my extensive stash.
> 
> Half the watches I do buy just don't work, I put them into my project box in a nice plastic ziplock baggie in a nice dry comparted case for the days of when I get the parts to make it work and I spend my rather quiet days either polishing, cleaning, working through small projects, evicting tenants from the project box or if I find a particular hard to find part I spend sorting out and putting stuff into my main collection where strapped or bracelet'd up it becomes part of my wearing routine with them spread across many 20/24 slot display cases all ordered in Soviet, Vostok Amphibia, Vostok Komandirskie, non Soviet, Chinese, Japanese and so forth.
> 
> Its like today, I was sent an offer from a trusted seller I have used on many occasions, offering me for £9 this Slava, already I have found its proper crystal from my chap on ebay who seems to have all the crystals in stock and that too is on its way and the rest I will do with dremel and mops, hagerty cloths etc and will go sit next door to its Sekonda version and another pair "in the bag" as I aim to snag both the Sekonda version if one is available and the main Soviet version just because it is nice to have one of each
> 
> I'm doing all of this because I actually enjoy sitting here with a polishing cloth, putting the old beasties on my wrist and people local shops etc all say "hey what you wearing today?" and they all take an interest in these old Soviet watches like the one above that looks so alien to the the standard round and square shapes people are used to here in the UK and I like coming in here admiring other people's buys and handiwork and I don't do it as some sort of willy waving "my collection is bigger than yours" sort of thing but because I do seem to have some luck, some ability in finding some of these weird and wonderful pieces and sometimes like my £12 Gagarin or my £14 Sekonda NOS tank or my £4 solid gold Avia, you can pull off an absolute astonishing coup or buy that earns you a bit of kudos in the community.
> 
> One of the actual reasons WHY I do all this too, is thanks to being rinsed three times by divorce, I have no posh car, no big house anymore to leave to my children but instead I have my watch collection to leave to them, my vintage and rare tools, my rare model steam engine collection including an almost unique 1939 Mamod SC3 in pristine condition that is rarer than hen's teeth, my 1958 Lambretta and my 1985 Vespa, my many first edition books and Tolkien collection of works, I may not have a big posh sellable car or a big fancy house to leave them but I reckon they will be able to convert all that into a nice handy lump of money when I have gone and won't attract the taxman either and the funny thing is all three ex wives spooged that money they screwed me over with up the wall and live very sad lives... they had their fun but I got my treasures and only my girls and grandchildren get to benefit from that.
> 
> I even buy from the Indians and managed to put right my Seiko 7009-3040 which works beautifully and it cost me what £12 I think, £12 for a Seiko that gives a very pleasing timegrapher readout is a result in my book, the £7 Seiko 7009 I bought from one of my Russian sellers arrived yesterday, due to being bounced about a bit, its fully wound up and simply lacking a crystal and stem but keeping absolutely flawless time and from Spain I have ordered the correct crystal and stem for a few pounds and another worthy quality Seiko in the team.
> 
> What else have I to do with my time stuck on disability and spending the days trying to cope with the evil pains and hurts from my said disabilities? At least I am doing something worthwhile in my eyes, I could spend those few pounds here, few pounds there on drugs, drink, debauching but I buy old Russian and other watches, I spoil my cats and children rotten and I drive a ****ty little three wheel van but live a very clean life that I can live with myself hurting no one and just keeping score against the universe one day at a time.


I aimed to educate or point out a few things you missed, not to offend or antagonize you by any means. I apologize if i did.

And i agree, this hobby of collecting watches is a lot more fun when you tinker with them and learn about what you are wearing on your wrist and moreso if you've fixed it or assembled it yourself. You could have a watchbox filled with all the newest expensive wristwatches that look amazing, but in the end all you did was click a few buttons to spend money and picked them up from the mail and that kind of ruins a lot of the fun in that. I like tinkering with them, fixing them and all of my mechanical watches i adjusted myself (except a couple of good runners), though i've sold my timegrapher along with most of my tools while i was in the army about 4 years ago. (i'm already out of that so...)

And since we are dragging this conversation very much out of topic so i'll bring it back by a picture a very unusual type-1 movement from a watch that i should probably dig back up and perhaps check with a Geiger counter...


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I even buy from the Indians and managed to put right my Seiko 7009-3040 which works beautifully and it cost me what £12 I think, £12 for a Seiko that gives a very pleasing timegrapher readout is a result in my book, the £7 Seiko 7009 I bought from one of my Russian sellers arrived yesterday, due to being bounced about a bit, its fully wound up and simply lacking a crystal and stem but keeping absolutely flawless time and from Spain I have ordered the correct crystal and stem for a few pounds and another worthy quality Seiko in the team.


How did you manage that?! I never got anything I ordered from India on ebay


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> How did you manage that?! I never got anything I ordered from India on ebay


The seller I use is Royal Time Now if that's any help, always turned up as advertised and work very well


----------



## Dodgydruid

Aieee... plied with Merlot and a large bottle of scotch infused McKewans beer... I hit the go go button on this Slava Tank Quartz... look I like wearing these bloody things and after swapping the board on my dead one it didn't spring into life and £18, well its a Xmas pressie to meself for a working one 










With me daughter beside me newly flown in from Glasgow cos she had an exemption to travel so if you looked up and saw her giving all you tier 4's a couple two fingers as she jetted past it was done in a christmassy fashion and she said to me that I really did love the quartz one more than the auto tank one and so its done.

Wishing you all a merry (hic) Xmas, or whichever saviour flavour you follow, will be doing a Xmas video on me youtube channel tomorrow and intend to be rip roaringly sloshed when I do so, adorned with my new No 1 t shirt by the group who starts with a "K" and sings a very very rude Xmas song... and my daughter bought me a steampunk giant skull clock (you have no idea how hard that phrase is to say slosheroonied) but the cheapo chinese movement was all in bits inside so going to fix that up tonite whilst I still have the power of sight cos that Scotch Whisky Beer is awesome...

Toodle Pipski's 🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅🎅


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## Dodgydruid

Oh and I been listening in on the Justin Bieber song a bit, not because of him as I cannot stand the wally but the Lewisham and Greenwich Nurses I have much to be thankful for as my youngest was born in Greenwich hospital, her mother was born in Lewisham, my elder and passed on brother born in Lewisham and my fathers fathers family all hailed from Greenwich and gave my great grandfather much dignity in his last years as they did with my great grandmother and grandparents, absolutely brilliant folk all round and well deserving of some kudos imho  OK now I am being suggested its time for me to have a bit of a Xmassy lie down and sleep off some of this fine heady brews, peace out y'all


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## Odessa200

Got a book for a change... holiday reading! Not an easy book to find at least in the USA. One more copy is available from UK in case someone wants it


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## OCSleeper

These 3 arrived last night as a single lot purchase. Saved the listing for the heck of it and the seller offered them at the price of a movie and popcorn.

Two of them have never been worn and the other was worn, never cleaned, but not too abused.
I cleaned up the blue Vostok and changed the cracked crystal.











































To My Nephew Mikhail Mikhailovich from Aunt Maria February 1977



























To Shurinu Mikhail Mikhailovich from Maria February 1977



















I'd like to thank my wife for the translations.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

Goddamn, Mikhail Mikhailovich was getting a lot of watches in February 1977. He clearly preffered to wear the blue one


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## GMTtwotone

Odessa200 said:


> Got a book for a change... holiday reading! Not an easy book to find at least in the USA. One more copy is available from UK in case someone wants it
> View attachment 15613998


I want it! Message me.


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## Odessa200

GMTtwotone said:


> I want it! Message me.


will do


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> These 3 arrived last night as a single lot purchase. Saved the listing for the heck of it and the seller offered them at the price of a movie and popcorn.
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Oh man what a trio of gorgeousness going on there, the blue with the myriad colours at the edge, the bright burgundy sunburst and all so good looking indeed 

These watches were obv given in love and kindness and a shame they ended up for sale in these uncertain times but now they have a new home where they can shine and be appreciated again


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## Dodgydruid

So... remember when I was umming and ahhing about whether to buy the green Slava tank auto or the Slava tank quartz...? Well today the seller of the auto offered me the tank auto for $15 and its that bright forest green dial that swung it so I ended up buying both in the end 










Todays wear is not a Soviet unusually, part of my thing is I punt silly bids on silly things and sometimes it pays off. So the few pounds I gambled on a very old Ingersoll on its original expanding bracelet produced a clean but not working watch which whilst watching youtube stuff last night I freed up like I did the gummed up NOS Ruhla then had the case back off and it was abs spotless inside and gave all the visible jewels a dab of the slippery stuff and it has run all nite and day so far not dropping a second.










So this one will be cleaned up, the crystal polished and will go and live next door to my gold Avia.

The trick with some of these gummed up pieces is they simply need gentle persuasion say gently whapping 'em into your hand or something soft and see if you can get a second, then a few seconds, then 15 seconds and will be jerky at first but given gentle persuasion these stuck movements may come back from the dead and I know that down the line when I am competent enough to service this I know this works very well and will respond very well to a proper lubrication of parts. But its Xmas, this piece has been loved in its time by someone prob passed on by now so going to give it a day out as prime of place on my wrist before squirrelling it away to await a much needed clean and lube 

As for servicing, I can now competently do the mechanical side of the service, that is everything up to the balance assy and thanks to youtuber Relogio Afficinado a Spanish chap who likes Soviet watches, he does lessons on watch servicing and repair tasks and he showed in great detail the technique of the twist and turn putting a balance wheel into a movement so with my poor 2234 I am practising and practising this technique and my last blind spot seems to be overcome.

Anyways, wishing you all a happy Xmas today and a prosperous and fun 2021.


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## Ligavesh

Well not today exactly, bought it a long time ago from Wish and it came a few days ago:










It's a Hamilton.


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## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Well not today exactly, bought it a long time ago from Wish and it came a few days ago:
> 
> View attachment 15616747
> 
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> It's a Hamilton.


Well it prob started off as watch until Wish got hold of it, a small team of Chinamen went at it to make it into a ring... Is it infused with hidden powers like magically spotting the best bargains on Aliexpress when you wear it or gain the ability to sell even the very worst of items to just about anyone???



I just snagged another Pulsar dancing hands piece, its the Pulsar version of the Seiko 8M25 as I cannot resist a dancing hands watch


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## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Is it infused with hidden powers like magically spotting the best bargains on Aliexpress when you wear it or gain the ability to sell even the very worst of items to just about anyone???


The number of times I've been fooled by Chinese sellers, they probably all wear rings like this (Ukranians, too) 

I'll try it's magic powers as I'm trying to reduce the collection a bit in the coming months, not a bad idea


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## Dodgydruid

After a awesome tip off by Mr SuffolkGerry the fine chap that he is... I snagged for a fiver this quite pleasant Soviet ladies quartz pendant piece, seems to have a very pleasant gold looking tiny but still following the quartz layouts of the Soviet pieces so I am looking forward to this as with eldest's birthday coming up in feb a fine one to give her as she said the reason she doesn't wear my watches is because she doesn't like the pressure on her wrist as they snag etc. So I says to her, well what about a pendant or necklace one and she was yep will wear one of them, sorted


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## Kirill Sergueev

Dodgydruid said:


> So... remember when I was umming and ahhing about whether to buy the green Slava tank auto or the Slava tank quartz...? Well today the seller of the auto offered me the tank auto for $15 and its that bright forest green dial that swung it so I ended up buying both in the end
> 
> View attachment 15616406


My sideburns grew instantly just after the look at that watches...and "One way ticket" (Russian cover) start ringing in my brain...


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## Dodgydruid

Oh I just love the 1970's, it was a fun time to be growing up, there lacked the modern nastiness our societies have seemed to develop and it was a still quite balmy, comfortable time following on from the 60's.

My first actual memory was the space crisis back in 1969 I think it was as I was all upset cos me mum was crying and me dad shouting at the telly, so that is the only bit of the sixties I do actually remember as I was only 3 when the crisis happened lol

Ironically, my all time favourite bike the Raleigh Chopper the icon of the 60's and the 70's was designed by the same chap who designed my Reliant Robin, he's prob looking down at me with some pity about my life choices etc and these old beastie tanks just scratch that itch because back then I was too little to have a big beastie tank and prob would have looked daft on me wrist 

Only thing I brought from that era was in 1976 was I had my head shaved like so many of us had to because of the heatwave that hit which led to wasps nesting in kids hair, haven't allowed my hair to grow long ever since as just easier to handle and was lucky when I joined up I was the only one there with a ready to go regulation crop top 

Indeed tonite I am giving the Slava's brother my Sekonda tank a day out of its box. Gave it the usual cloth cleaning and then on my wrist for a bloody good wear, even my daughter says its the watch that suits me best and she like me was pretty gutted when my quartz one died...


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> After a awesome tip off by Mr SuffolkGerry the fine chap that he is... I snagged for a fiver this quite pleasant Soviet ladies quartz pendant piece, seems to have a very pleasant gold looking tiny but still following the quartz layouts of the Soviet pieces so I am looking forward to this as with eldest's birthday coming up in feb a fine one to give her as she said the reason she doesn't wear my watches is because she doesn't like the pressure on her wrist as they snag etc. So I says to her, well what about a pendant or necklace one and she was yep will wear one of them, sorted
> 
> View attachment 15618106


Hopefully it isn't too 'dead' then, I just thought that it might be good for parts for you (up as 'not working', and looked clean inside) and you are always looking for Soviet spares.


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## Dodgydruid

Spotted these on Aliexpress and da forty thieves for about a tenner so grabbed one as it was a toss up between an acrylic layered tidy, a rosewood tidy or this one and I thought this one suits my needs and can get all my "to hand" tools like tweezers, screwdrivers etc in one central place.










Heres the link (US $6.5 |Repair tool storage box Multi layer dental pliers storage rack Drawer type parts Manual pliers accessories Desktop display rack|Jewelry Tools & Equipments| - AliExpress) but do shop around as some are being listed with quite high postage but thought £10.31 was a fair price imho


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## SuffolkGerryW

Let us know what it's like when it arrives - looks OK in the picture though!


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## Grant J

What is the next best thing to getting a watch in the mail?
Getting the right size bands to fit it!
Finally I can wear these Raketa pieces with the slightly non-standard 19mm straps.
Cheapy bands from China means I have more "watch money" 









I have a pet hate for sellers selling watches with the wrong size bands. 
(Don't even get me started on Volna's with 18mm bands cut down to 17!!  )


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## arktika1148

Finger slipped 

Hope to see soon , curious on the strap to suit , we'll see


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## Dodgydruid

Oh here is that repro 090 dial I ordered with the correct hands for my Sekonda De Luxe arrived today and the seller chucked in a set of silvered Amphibia arrows so well pleased all round 










I know it isn't a real one but its got to look way better than the sterilised one in there at mo and as its the grille bezel one it will make it just look tidier as the grille hides a lot of sins but even with it on the current dial looks rough and I suspect lacking its lacquer is starting to delaminate on the edges.

You would have to be super vigilant and bionic eyesighted to spot its not an original dial I would say and its my wrist its gotta sit on, I am quite a pragmatist in that regard preferring my Amphibia's to look good all the time inside and out and I still haven't found a home for my other grille bezel or the two glass casebacks I have as I think its pointless putting a display back on a bracelet'd piece as who is going to see it lol?


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## OCSleeper

Last nights arrival. Another offering from, as I call them, a non-watch seller from the U.S. Listed as new but needing repair. Asked what was wrong with it and she said, "The wheel is not turning", haha ok, I ask, "What wheel? She says, "The wheel to set the time".

How many Vostoks have been tossed because of this!?

My next question was how she came into possession of this watch. Well, her sister was living in West Berlin when the wall came down and as the East Berliner's, as she called them, would come to sell items in West Berlin her sister bought it as a gift. Apparently no one ever showed them how an Amphian/Komanderskie works. The only marks on this watch are from storage for 30 years but it runs and functions perfectly, including that time setting wheel.
I cleaned up one of my spare period correct bracelets for it.










































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> Last nights arrival. Another offering from, as I call them, a non-watch seller from the U.S. Listed as new but needing repair. Asked what was wrong with it and she said, "The wheel is not turning", haha ok, I ask, "What wheel? She says, "The wheel to set the time".
> 
> How many Vostoks have been tossed because of this!?
> 
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That is like brand new wow what a result 

When I did my stint in W Berlin in the British sector I do remember the shifty souls who would appear in bars or out of the ends of alleys selling cheap watches and jewellery, you always saw their lookouts lurking like a sore thumb at a wedding as likely plenty of blokes who would have turned them over as it was quite grim in that city during the cold war and Berlin was surrounded by the naughty boys from the far east.

We were told to abs steer clear of 'em and blatantly told they would like nothing better than getting a sozzled serviceman down an alley to be rinsed of clothes, items of value, money and of course our highly prized "papers" which no doubt the funny lot with the token leather trenchcoats and pulled down trilby's would have paid top dollar for. It did happen too, one of our lot caught on his own took a wrong turning and ended up pretty carved up and found naked in a pile of rubbish down an alleyway.


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## Flobalob

Today I bought three Vostok watches, with luck I should have them next week... A problem with these things is that there are so many to chose from.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Just scored this Sekonda branded 'Baker' off ebay


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Just scored this Sekonda branded 'Baker' off ebay
> View attachment 15626720


That is def a cracking looking piece m8, the more I see it the more I wants one lol Esp with that matching bracelet, a good score


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## Dodgydruid

Anyone in the UK having issues trying to buy stuff from Russia? I went to buy something from one of my usual sellers and ebay refused to let me complete my purchase saying something about not accepting credit or debit cards or allowing paypal which is bonkers :*(

So had to assuage my watch buying juices with a Swiss Timemaster alarm on its original "boilerplate" bracelet and treated myself to a motorcycle lift so I can get my Vespa back on the road as my bones are too old to be scrubbing on the floor these days.

















Spent a quiet new years day just doing some battery maintenance on the ol' quartz's and waiting for one of the Russian's to come back to me to see if it is something to do with Britain's end the ebay problem or something their end lol I might redial my grilled 090 with that aftermarket one and use up those superb looking hands it came with and whip the Sekonda De Luxe movement out and install its missing second hand then two good 'uns put back into circulation as finished.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Anyone in the UK having issues trying to buy stuff from Russia? I went to buy something from one of my usual sellers and ebay refused to let me complete my purchase saying something about not accepting credit or debit cards or allowing paypal which is bonkers :*(
> 
> So had to assuage my watch buying juices with a Swiss Timemaster alarm on its original "boilerplate" bracelet and treated myself to a motorcycle lift so I can get my Vespa back on the road as my bones are too old to be scrubbing on the floor these days.
> 
> View attachment 15627944
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> Spent a quiet new years day just doing some battery maintenance on the ol' quartz's and waiting for one of the Russian's to come back to me to see if it is something to do with Britain's end the ebay problem or something their end lol I might redial my grilled 090 with that aftermarket one and use up those superb looking hands it came with and whip the Sekonda De Luxe movement out and install its missing second hand then two good 'uns put back into circulation as finished.


My m/c lift wouldn't be much use to you - it's a full length hydraulic one - wheel the bike on, onto it's stand, strap down for safety and pump it to the height required.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> That is def a cracking looking piece m8, the more I see it the more I wants one lol Esp with that matching bracelet, a good score


Hopefully will look as good when it arrives


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> My m/c lift wouldn't be much use to you - it's a full length hydraulic one - wheel the bike on, onto it's stand, strap down for safety and pump it to the height required.


Yes, that is a bit big for my needs really esp as I need to hang the engine end off so I can change the rear shock which is a crappy job as the top bolts always seize up. I've done the front end save a bit of loom soldering but its also handy for extra height putting in the new cables and stuff and bearing in mind this is all done in my front room it would be quite nice to pull up a low stool on wheels I got and just whack the spanners on hehe I also have to get the zorst off as the cheapo chrome on it has gone for an early shower and I got some pretty blue titanium exhaust wrap to go over it once I painted it with VHT paint to stop it rusting further. Its weird too that I declared it SORN but for some reason its showing still taxed and I have kept it insured simply to keep my ten years no claims on it fresh.

Sadly my '58 Lambretta won't fit on it as its main frame is just a long bent scaffolding tube (Lambretta or rather Innocenti before the war were a major scaffolding company in Italy hence why modern standard scaffold poles are used to repair bent frames by simple cut and shutting... good as new)

Got a dirty job on the Reliant coming up too, timing chain cover gasket and sump gasket both are weeping and that is a nasty job as the sump is coated in a thick tarry residue that Jizer won't break down cos its mixed with road tar and lorry diesel under there and its nigh on an inch thick. One of the two minor advisories I got on the last MOT, that and tyres getting near their end treadwise (had 'em on for ten years nearly so had to agree that was a fair call) Need to pick up a new alternator as the "new" one I paid for at the ripoff motel garage prior it was discovered wasn't new they just painted the metal casing with some alloy paint grr They went out of business but I must have paid 'em close on to a couple grand for ripoff stuff they did and to think I gave them a drink usually too for work done on top of the bills then I finds out these "new" parts were coming off a scrapped old Rialto parked out of sight.

Oh well now going to give the magnetbombed Sekonda another blast on the demagger, I took it out the case and held it balance wheel closest to the blue brick and it did seem to unbunch a bit so going to give it another blast, found out too NOT to wear a mechanical when doing it as I accidentally magged up my Slava curvy tv but that demagged beautifully and is telling perfect time again


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## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Anyone in the UK having issues trying to buy stuff from Russia? I went to buy something from one of my usual sellers and ebay refused to let me complete my purchase saying something about not accepting credit or debit cards or allowing paypal which is bonkers :*(
> 
> So had to assuage my watch buying juices with a Swiss Timemaster alarm on its original "boilerplate" bracelet and treated myself to a motorcycle lift so I can get my Vespa back on the road as my bones are too old to be scrubbing on the floor these days.
> 
> View attachment 15627944
> 
> View attachment 15627945
> 
> Spent a quiet new years day just doing some battery maintenance on the ol' quartz's and waiting for one of the Russian's to come back to me to see if it is something to do with Britain's end the ebay problem or something their end lol I might redial my grilled 090 with that aftermarket one and use up those superb looking hands it came with and whip the Sekonda De Luxe movement out and install its missing second hand then two good 'uns put back into circulation as finished.


I had problems a few days ago with buying from a guy from Moldova on ebay - I've bought a few pieces from him, a big seller, but now ebay wouldn't let me buy, it sad something ridiculous about the buyer not allowing me to buy or something like that..


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## Pasotibbs

Also I checked today and prices appear to be 20% higher than last week for both Ukrainian and Chinese Items I have bought recently, not sure if this is just exchange rate or Ebay ?


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## 979greenwich

See tax changes starting from 1.1.2021.


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## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> See tax changes starting from 1.1.2021.


Please explain. What countries impacted? I used to buy tax free for years and a few years ago they started collecting taxes fro USA buyers. I certainly do not want another hike


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## Avidfan

I noticed this morning on eBay.co.uk that it now states that I will have to pay 20% VAT on all auction prices but this does not seem to apply to BIN or best offer or for UK auctions, I'm guessing that this is all due to the UK leaving the EU.


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## 979greenwich

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Your VAT obligations in the UK & EU


If you sell goods in any EU country or in the UK, you may be required to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) and to collect VAT on your sales. If you are a non-UK or non-EU seller with goods in the UK or EU, or you sell goods into the UK or EU, eBay will account for VAT under certain circumstances.




www.ebay.com


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## SuffolkGerryW

Avidfan said:


> I noticed this morning on eBay.co.uk that it now states that I will have to pay 20% VAT on all auction prices but this does not seem to apply to BIN or best offer or for UK auctions, I'm guessing that this is all due to the UK leaving the EU.


Fairly sure that eBay are overstepping, as I'm fairly sure that anything that has a retail value of less than £35 incurs no import taxes from UK customs and revenue and if bought second hand, as a private sale - not from a business - then can't see that vat would be applicable. 
Might be wrong though.


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## SuffolkGerryW

979greenwich said:


> __
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> 
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Notice that it says "business". AFAIK, in the UK, you don't have to register for vat unless your turnover is greater than £10,000 (I'm going on figures that are several years old)


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## Avidfan

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Fairly sure that eBay are overstepping, as I'm fairly sure that anything that has a retail value of less than £35 incurs no import taxes from UK customs and revenue and if bought second hand, as a private sale - not from a business - then can't see that vat would be applicable.
> Might be wrong though.


Well as said above it seems as though if I use "make offer" or BIN there's no VAT, but for any overseas auction eBay are going to add 20% VAT to the price, this also seems to apply to used watches with a starting bid of less than £10 for instance

I'll have to see what happens next time I bid for something and win...


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## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> __
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## Dodgydruid

Bloody hell this is going to put an absolute crimp on my buyings in from the east 

Its like when last month ebay said all sales from India were prohibited for delivery to the UK and I couldn't find one thing out there that said this was the case and air haulage was working fine between the two countries.

Sodding greed, another way to put a stealth tax on stuff grr grr


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## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> Bloody hell this is going to put an absolute crimp on my buyings in from the east
> 
> Its like when last month ebay said all sales from India were prohibited for delivery to the UK and I couldn't find one thing out there that said this was the case and air haulage was working fine between the two countries.
> 
> Sodding greed, another way to put a stealth tax on stuff grr grr


The Aussie Government started doing this at the beginning of last year on all online overseas purchases, so an additional 10% GST (Goods and Services Tax) on top of an already crappy exchange rate.


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## 979greenwich

They are trying to screw the Chinese, but looks like they will also screw us. It's all grey zone in Europe - who is a private seller, who is a business seller, what are the VAT thresholds etc. In my opinion, EU should do what it's supposed to and level the VAT % and thresholds across Europe (it' more or less around 20 % everywhere anyway).
I guess i'll buy what i need before July, take down my listings and move them to WUS or Reddit. I really don't need the hassle to register for VAT to sell two watches a year, or have the local IRS hunt me down for a tax offense worth 50 €.


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## SuffolkGerryW

As a thought, when was the last time that eBay (or Google, Starbucks etc.) paid UK taxes?


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## Odessa200

These days most goods are traded via e-channels as opposed to brick and mortar stores. It is too much of an opportunity for governments to pass. In USA we started paying taxes on ebay a year or 2 ago. Initially it was painful but now I do not even notice. Same will be for UK folks eventually. You will just factor in the additional fees... I do have to say that 20% is ridiculously high....


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> As a thought, when was the last time that eBay (or Google, Starbucks etc.) paid UK taxes?


Thanks to Osborne, he "forgave" tens of billions of pounds in taxes to the corporations and his own family luxury wallpaper firm hasn't paid a bean in tax since when he became an MP, I only use ebay because I don't like Amazon's format but not sure if ebay did capitulate and actually pay something.

Google pays less tax than my cats from what I hear and the incoming pres is not fond of the tech giants one bit so I imagine facebook, google, ebay and amazon are likely to be broken up as that was a pet project of Biden when he was vice pres.

Oh the strange Luch not-quartz arrived today, works perfectly for a disguised Vostok lol I'm going to give it a proper good blue dial as the case and crystal, movement are spotless and I got a few dials to choose from the 2234 commander range... pics when I have done the deed  Had a bit of a joke with the seller who as I suspected just was clueless as to what it was, it said Luch quartz on the tin, assumed it was a Luch quartz but hey I paid like couple pounds for it and it gives me a good clean Commander which suits me fine.


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## Dodgydruid

Odessa200 said:


> These days most goods are traded via e-channels as opposed to brick and mortar stores. It is too much of an opportunity for governments to pass. In USA we started paying taxes on ebay a year or 2 ago. Initially it was painful but now I do not even notice. Same will be for UK folks eventually. You will just factor in the additional fees... I do have to say that 20% is ridiculously high....


The VAT free threshold is £15 now down from £35 was it? Last acts of desperate despots is to loot the nation and am feeling somewhat looted of late when I saw bread usually about a pound now at £1.50 in Asda and everything just gone up quite a lot


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> The VAT free threshold is £15 now down from £35 was it? Last acts of desperate despots is to loot the nation and am feeling somewhat looted of late when I saw bread usually about a pound now at £1.50 in Asda and everything just gone up quite a lot


Didn't realise that it had dropped from the £35.
Asda sounds as though they're cashing in - no way that stocks have run out from their warehouses (Used to work as a buyer for a local co-op & we used to have to keep 5 weeks stock minimum in the warehouse), they're just grabbing any profit they can, and blaming it on anything other than their own greedy selves, exactly as the fuel companies do when the price of crude goes up - fuel prices rise straight away - different story when crude goes down though, can take a couple of months or more for the price to drop!



Dodgydruid said:


> Oh the strange Luch not-quartz arrived today, works perfectly for a disguised Vostok lol I'm going to give it a proper good blue dial as the case and crystal, movement are spotless and I got a few dials to choose from the 2234 commander range... pics when I have done the deed  Had a bit of a joke with the seller who as I suspected just was clueless as to what it was, it said Luch quartz on the tin, assumed it was a Luch quartz but hey I paid like couple pounds for it and it gives me a good clean Commander which suits me fine.


Sounds as though you fell lucky on that one then


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Didn't realise that it had dropped from the £35.
> Asda sounds as though they're cashing in - no way that stocks have run out from their warehouses (Used to work as a buyer for a local co-op & we used to have to keep 5 weeks stock minimum in the warehouse), they're just grabbing any profit they can, and blaming it on anything other than their own greedy selves, exactly as the fuel companies do when the price of crude goes up - fuel prices rise straight away - different story when crude goes down though, can take a couple of months or more for the price to drop!
> 
> Sounds as though you fell lucky on that one then


Its holding excellent time and looking at dials whether to have a standard Commander or one of the big lume numbers that were found on these. Yes I am quite happy that with a dial change I will have a perfectly clean usable Commander for a very silly price 

Tried again to buy something from Russia so now going to ask him to send me a paypal link and I just wire over the dosh, still got enuff to keep me going and interested and thanks to Chascomm I picked up a spares for the Timemaster I bought yesterday so looking forward to fixing that Swiss beauty up and its funny when things don't work or are missing stuff I just fidget til I can fix it up. The prices on them Timemaster Alarms is quite lively so I reckon I got a bloody good deal


----------



## Odessa200

Dodgydruid said:


> Its holding excellent time and looking at dials whether to have a standard Commander or one of the big lume numbers that were found on these. Yes I am quite happy that with a dial change I will have a perfectly clean usable Commander for a very silly price
> 
> Tried again to buy something from Russia so now going to ask him to send me a paypal link and I just wire over the dosh, still got enuff to keep me going and interested and thanks to Chascomm I picked up a spares for the Timemaster I bought yesterday so looking forward to fixing that Swiss beauty up and its funny when things don't work or are missing stuff I just fidget til I can fix it up. The prices on them Timemaster Alarms is quite lively so I reckon I got a bloody good deal


tax evasion is a serious matter. Making deal outside of ebay (for ebay listings) is enough to get you banned. Then the tax will be less of your problems if you lose ability to buy via ebay...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes wise words and haven't done that as I have maintained a pretty good reputation with no negs and to lose the account would not be worth it.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Odessa200 said:


> tax evasion is a serious matter. Making deal outside of ebay (for ebay listings) is enough to get you banned. Then the tax will be less of your problems if you lose ability to buy via ebay...


Agreed, tax evasion is serious, however, from what I can see, eBay is slapping a 'fee' on auctions only - if it was a UK official tax, it'd be on all listings (not just auctions) from outside of the UK (I was perusing some auctions earlier - some of the USA listings had the +20%, others hadn't) so to my mind, it's not official - it's eBay coining it with the excuse of 'tax'.
Depends very much if the item you're planning to buy is purely an eBay listing (not on somewhere like 'Etsy' as well - have seen that in the past), and the seller hasn't got a shop/market stall/outlet elsewhere surely? For example, I'll shortly be selling some motorcycle manuals/books - but I've already 'cut a deal' on 3 'rare' items (which would have gone up) and those items wont be going up on ebay (although similar will) I very much doubt that ebay could claim successfully that I have contravened their rules.


----------



## Avidfan

I've just been looking at overseas BIN prices on eBay on items I've been watching and they've all gone up in price by 20% including an extra 20% on the postage charges so it's not just auctions...I'm guessing that when you make a "Best Offer" they'll also put another 20% on your offer price as the postage for this has already gone up by 20%, so it looks as though it's 20% on everything from overseas...


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> Anyone in the UK having issues trying to buy stuff from Russia? I went to buy something from one of my usual sellers and ebay refused to let me complete my purchase saying something about not accepting credit or debit cards or allowing paypal which is bonkers :*(
> 
> So had to assuage my watch buying juices with a Swiss Timemaster alarm on its original "boilerplate" bracelet and treated myself to a motorcycle lift so I can get my Vespa back on the road as my bones are too old to be scrubbing on the floor these days.
> 
> View attachment 15627944
> 
> View attachment 15627945
> 
> Spent a quiet new years day just doing some battery maintenance on the ol' quartz's and waiting for one of the Russian's to come back to me to see if it is something to do with Britain's end the ebay problem or something their end lol I might redial my grilled 090 with that aftermarket one and use up those superb looking hands it came with and whip the Sekonda De Luxe movement out and install its missing second hand then two good 'uns put back into circulation as finished.


Ordered from Komandirskie OK a couple of days ago...


----------



## Kotsov

Cant really complain about the big corporate giants not paying tax when the Queen has her investment portfolio abroad.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Nothing special, just a cheap magnifier - if I find that it's no good for the watches, then probably use it for a couple of models I've got on the blocks


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## Dodgydruid

Kotsov said:


> Cant really complain about the big corporate giants not paying tax when the Queen has her investment portfolio abroad.


I'm a staunch republican nowadays, when I hear she sits down a ten grand a day dinner whilst army veterans in her army are homeless is pretty bad imho Grenfell she was going "oh we are all in it together" rubbish but refused to let even one of her empty properties in Kensington open up to give them poor buggers shelter grr


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## Dodgydruid

Thought to add gratuitous shots of the Luch not-Luch-not-quartz on a fine old Soviet Leningrad "coffin" bracelet and its wear two watches sunday for me so had to give the ol bottle green 119 Amphibia an outing as I was working on its sister the blue big 6 and 12 today then fixed up my recent Pulsar titanium's movement but cannot find the missing baton so its going back together missing the 12 baton but I don't care...


















The crack in the crystal of the Not-Luch wasn't there in the original photos so I guess the bloody thing got stomped on in transit, nyet a problem as I got a brand new one from the chap I bought my 7009 Seiko from in Russia who put it on to protect the dial and hands in transit... how lucky

Tried fitting the replacement crystal on my square Sekonda and I got it to go squarely in... as I was doing up the ring caseback I heard this crack and it had cracked near the 9 mark :*( Oh well, going to have to order couple more now :S


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Nothing special, just a cheap magnifier - if I find that it's no good for the watches, then probably use it for a couple of models I've got on the blocks
> View attachment 15630805


This is the one I bought, works super well with my glasses and the extra 10x loupe gives you a really good close up shot that you can see clearly things like pivots, state of jewel journals quite clearly. Not the most comfortable thing in the world to wear but I can flip it back like a welders helmet, then flip it forward once I got my tool or part and has really helped out my diabetic bad eyes 









Jewelers Head Headband Magnifier LED Illuminated Visor Magnifying Loupe Glasses | eBay


This head visor magnifier is more convenient and useful than a magnifying glass. You just hang it on a hook by your desk and it will always be available. It is great for sewing, reading, stamp/ coin collecting, creating artwork, electronics repair, watch assembly, and so on.



www.ebay.co.uk


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> This is the one I bought, works super well with my glasses and the extra 10x loupe gives you a really good close up shot that you can see clearly things like pivots, state of jewel journals quite clearly. Not the most comfortable thing in the world to wear but I can flip it back like a welders helmet, then flip it forward once I got my tool or part and has really helped out my diabetic bad eyes
> 
> http://[URL]https://www.ebay.co.uk/...708229?hash=item56e915cfc5:g:zG8AAOSw1~ZfPjLC


Did look at those, but was put off by how it was described to increase the mag, (by adding another lens) the one I went for has 5 'lenses' - 1.0X / 1.5X / 2.0X / 2.5X / 3.5X & I figured that 3.5x is probably going to be 'comfortable' to work with - but hey, if I need a higher mag, then this will work for the modelling, and I'll get something better (wasn't expensive!) Probably something like this 25X Magnifier Magnifying Eye Glass Loupe Jeweler Watch Repair Kit With LED Light | eBay


----------



## OCSleeper

Pulled this from the mailbox today, a nice Christmas Day score. $7.74 for a working 3133. Not a fan of this style case and dial but the crown, chrono button, and movement are all useful to me.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Pulled this from the mailbox today, a nice Christmas Day score. $7.74 for a working 3133.


gtfo, that's a robbery


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## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> gtfo, that's a robbery


I almost felt bad for the seller. Almost

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> Pulled this from the mailbox today, a nice Christmas Day score. $7.74 for a working 3133. Not a fan of this style case and dial but the crown, chrono button, and movement are all useful to me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Wow that is a serious good result, I ignored my ebay much of Xmas day as usually I score a good "biggie" like a £1 Seiko 7009 but this year I kinda didn't try as I have got very nearly everything Soviet I want now with the only ones being a mechanical chronograph but an Aliexpress company called Phylida is bringing out a homage to the Omega "tin tin" with a Venus 175 mechanical chrono in (next one up from the Strela's 150) and I might just hit on that.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Feeling a bit cut off now because every piece I have tried to buy has been blocked by ebay so I am going to see if Etsy is the same, seems getting that rare Timemaster alarm watch opened the flood gates for alarm watches as scored an Accurist 6L74 alarm and a very sexeh Accurist AS10 dancing hands alarm watch both in good working order but there is nothing Russian in my watch lists at mo I can buy


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## coltpeacemaker041

bingobadgo said:


> *Re: What did you buy today?*
> 
> Thanks. It's from Meranom, I got them to fit it when I ordered the watch.
> 
> Sent from my [null] using Tapatalk


They will do that? Cool did it cost extra?


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## Ligavesh

coltpeacemaker041 said:


> They will do that? Cool did it cost extra?


Yes, but not much. You do need to buy the new bezel separately though, too.


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## Dodgydruid

I am hoping both Meranom and Komandirskie.com are not hit with the same baloney as ebay is doing at mo.


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## coltpeacemaker041

O


Ligavesh said:


> Yes, but not much. You do need to buy the new bezel separately though, too.


Ok cool thanks mate...


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## Wazowie




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## Dodgydruid

Well I tried to buy my fridge and lo and behold... it went thru yay










So this ticks two boxes, one being my first Cornavin, the other being the full "fridge" and well pleased  I thought £13 plus a bit o' postage was very reasonable for such an iconic Soviet piece, 2012putnik is the seller and he has stacks of good stuff at very good prices.


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## Dodgydruid

Oh I spotted this in my ebay feeds, a Soviet "timegrapher", seen a couple of late but this was quite a reasonable price.









Vintage Soviet watch tester PPCH-7 Timing Machine Timegrapher USSR Measuring | eBay


Made in USSR.



www.ebay.co.uk


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## Odessa200

Dodgydruid said:


> Oh I spotted this in my ebay feeds, a Soviet "timegrapher", seen a couple of late but this was quite a reasonable price.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Vintage Soviet watch tester PPCH-7 Timing Machine Timegrapher USSR Measuring | eBay
> 
> 
> Made in USSR.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.co.uk


i love vintage tools. Especially Soviet made. I use all Soviet manual calipers, screwdrivers, etc but this is where I draw the line. . PPCh 7 is a fine tool but I would not buy it. Even for 10$. Maybe for a museum but not for my workbench.... way to outdated


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## Dodgydruid

I would suppose unique parts would be difficult to find perhaps? If a capacitor on a Weishi blows its a ten minute job to blow in a new one. I have no idea what voltage factor Russia utilises as I love old tools immensely, my oldest working electrical device is a 1903 French voultmetier and got some WW1 and WW2 era stuff with the "broad arrow" markings and some early Abingdon wrenches which became King Dick and in my car I have the most exquisite German socket set which has UNF, Whitworth, Metric and Imperial sockets and is very old and still working fine. 

I also have something a bit weird in a Croydon Precision Company built "Normatest" which was built in the factory next door to the hospital I was born in, in the same month too and works abs brilliantly and I use my ancient bridge megger quite often when diagnosing short circuits but also for injecting current into things as its a 250v one and you wind the little handle and it produces that voltage to test circuit leakage... gangsters used to use them to torture people back in the day but if you do any sort of vintage electrical work a bridge megger is essential in my book.

My daughter has pulled her hair in despair on occasion and she put her foot down when a friend who was closing his garage down to retire offered me for free his full Sun car tuning computer which was working perfectly and is bigger than my car and my daughter was nyet, nope, not a chance and she was walking if I did get it so I had to reluctantly say thanks but no :S


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## GMTtwotone

Received


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## Dodgydruid

Not Russian but horological, my Xmas present from my youngest but the original cheapo nastio Chinese movement was in pieces and it cost me like a quid for a replacement one off ebay, I quite like it but the cats hate it, hiss at it and run away 










My two Chaika big square quartz arrived, exterior they are like new with no scratches on case or crystal but one has had bits taken off and the other is just not working but I have set aside now three divided trays for 3050, 3056 and 3056A parts and going to take the electronics side off leaving the driven gears etc intact under the bridge then just a simple matter of fault finding the boards then build them up one by one. When I get some more trays I will also set aside one for the 2356 quartz too as got quite a few of them now as well.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Arrived today, wound up and ticking away merrily, just got to figure out how to change the day/date individually, both click over at midnight. Needs a wipe over and brushing the corners out.








By all that's holy, the bracelet is rubbish!!!!! Now I understand the comments about the period bracelets!


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## Dodgydruid

I imagine the connecting links are somewhat stretched by this time making it seem loose and disjointed, you can usually tighten the links up with a drift and hammer to nip the links back together, I did this on one of my Leningrad "coffins" which was seriously stretched.

Plenty of options out there for strap or bracelet depending on what you like for preference. I'm a bracelet sort of person myself but you might want a nice quality strap say in navy which would offset the dial and silver metal a treat imho


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## Ligavesh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Arrived today, wound up and ticking away merrily, just got to figure out how to change the day/date individually, both click over at midnight.


Probably by pulling the crown - when the crown is pulled out, pull it again and that should cycle the date - if that doesn't work, the mechanism might be broken.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I imagine the connecting links are somewhat stretched by this time making it seem loose and disjointed, you can usually tighten the links up with a drift and hammer to nip the links back together, I did this on one of my Leningrad "coffins" which was seriously stretched.
> 
> Plenty of options out there for strap or bracelet depending on what you like for preference. I'm a bracelet sort of person myself but you might want a nice quality strap say in navy which would offset the dial and silver metal a treat imho


Much prefer bracelets myself, tempted to get another 'GD040' from komdotcom, though got several leather 18mm straps if I get stuck.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> Probably by pulling the crown - when the crown is pulled out, pull it again and that should cycle the date.


Spot on, thanks - started off a bit stiff, but after a few 'dates' it's eased off, and clicked over nicely.


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## GMTtwotone

Latest. How do you feel about a Chinese company making Russian watches?


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## SuffolkGerryW

The other item that arrived is the magnifier








Comfortable to wear, but still to find out if any use for watches


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I imagine the connecting links are somewhat stretched by this time making it seem loose and disjointed, you can usually tighten the links up with a drift and hammer to nip the links back together, I did this on one of my Leningrad "coffins" which was seriously stretched.
> 
> Plenty of options out there for strap or bracelet depending on what you like for preference. I'm a bracelet sort of person myself but you might want a nice quality strap say in navy which would offset the dial and silver metal a treat imho


Isn't so much the linkages (yes, a bit slack, but no worse than some) it's how much like a knife the outer edges of the plates are - more of a 'T' shirt watch, as I'm sure that if worn with a shirt cuff over it - it'll shave it


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## mconlonx

4 new Komandirskie models - 2 for gifts, 2 to mod...


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## haha

With the addition of this long expected stainless steel Poljot 2209, my collection is nearing completion.


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## OCSleeper

haha said:


> With the addition of this long expected stainless steel Poljot 2209, my collection is nearing completion.
> 
> View attachment 15637641
> 
> 
> View attachment 15637643


Luckily for you and I that I didn't totally love your new addition . But giving up did sting a little.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## haha

OCSleeper said:


> Luckily for you and I that I didn't totally love your new addition . But giving up did sting a little.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


?
I wonder how many members were bidding on this watch ?!
In the last couple of years, I gave up several times on this model, thinking that i'd find better and cheaper later, which of course never happened. 
Ii was time for me to finally put the price and be able to enjoy it...


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## OCSleeper

It’s a beautiful example that I’m sure you will enjoy.
I’ve bought 10 watches since that was up for bidding, with my океан being one of them. No regrets on my part yet. That may change as a few years go by and I still haven’t found one.

Just happens to be the seller is from my birth city( I currently live across the country) and we chatted a bit and he ended up showing me some of his vintage Amphibias. We’ll just say I have him as a saved seller.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## haha

OCSleeper said:


> It's a beautiful example that I'm sure you will enjoy.
> I've bought 10 watches since that was up for bidding, with my океан being one of them. No regrets on my part yet. That may change as a few years go by and I still haven't found one.
> 
> Just happens to be the seller is from my birth city( I currently live across the country) and we chatted a bit and he ended up showing me some of his vintage Amphibias. We'll just say I have him as a saved seller.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I do recommend him. Fast shipping, good communication and follow-up when the watch was a little stuck somewhere on the way.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Isn't so much the linkages (yes, a bit slack, but no worse than some) it's how much like a knife the outer edges of the plates are - more of a 'T' shirt watch, as I'm sure that if worn with a shirt cuff over it - it'll shave it


I would have a go at them edges with a small file to put a chamfer on or if you got a deburr tool handy that will take off the sharp edges lol


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## Dodgydruid

Woke up this morning and a very very good offer in my ebay for this boxed Sekonda bringing my total up to 4 of the things but means I can have two to keep and frees up a couple movements for spares as I got to buy another crystal for the other good one as it didn't go in nicely and doing up the ringback it cracked which means I have to buy another 









I had another brucey bonus in an Accurist I bought to fix up, it arrived in a 1970's Sekonda box and I was like OMG how cool is THAT!!! So my Sekonda Alarm is going to live in there methinks, only paid a few quid for the Accurist which has a loose baton and needs a new bracelet...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Woke up this morning and a very very good offer in my ebay for this boxed Sekonda bringing my total up to 4 of the things but means I can have two to keep and frees up a couple movements for spares as I got to buy another crystal for the other good one as it didn't go in nicely and doing up the ringback it cracked which means I have to buy another
> 
> View attachment 15638955
> 
> I had another brucey bonus in an Accurist I bought to fix up, it arrived in a 1970's Sekonda box and I was like OMG how cool is THAT!!! So my Sekonda Alarm is going to live in there methinks, only paid a few quid for the Accurist which has a loose baton and needs a new bracelet...


Saw similar, but still got a few days (?) to run - was listed as 'mint', tempted, but doubt that I'll go for it.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

SuffolkGerryW said:


> The other item that arrived is the magnifier
> View attachment 15634217
> 
> Comfortable to wear, but still to find out if any use for watches


Now worn them to 'try out' - not too bad (certainly better than the magnifying glass that I was using) - but does seem to have a short 'focal length' and I'm seemingly hunching over the workspace. Haven't tried them with the built-in light yet, as it takes 3 AG10 batteries, and I've only got 2! Good thing about them, is that I can glance away/look at picking up a tool, then back to the workpiece without moving my head - would I have been better buying the higher magged ones? Time will tell if I find that the magnification isn't enough, and I need to switch to a minimum of 10X.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Now worn them to 'try out' - not too bad (certainly better than the magnifying glass that I was using) - but does seem to have a short 'focal length' and I'm seemingly hunching over the workspace. Haven't tried them with the built-in light yet, as it takes 3 AG10 batteries, and I've only got 2! Good thing about them, is that I can glance away/look at picking up a tool, then back to the workpiece without moving my head - would I have been better buying the higher magged ones? Time will tell if I find that the magnification isn't enough, and I need to switch to a minimum of 10X.


I got diabetic eyes so mines extra pain in the bum and trying to get as much done before they end up too bad to do anything about lol I've put some foam pads on the swivel of mine as I nodded it forward a bit too hard and it smacked the bridge of me nose and smarted all day as not a light thing but I have just stripped the scrap timemaster down using it with the pads and isn't banging as hard as it was on me hooter lol

Only use the 10x for things like keyless springs which require that tiny bit extra magnification otherwise I do fine with the main lenses, I was thinking if there is a way to maybe make the switchable lense into a more powerful one say a 20x but then I got the scope for that sort of level but the scope is a bit unwieldy as my hand gets in the way a lot lol

I did see a youtuber who does micro electronics he had on a lamp arm this bloody huge lens and I was thinking yep I would want one of them, big as a dinner plate and then I started looking at the prices of even half that size and I could buy a reasonable car for that sort of dough


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I got diabetic eyes so mines extra pain in the bum and trying to get as much done before they end up too bad to do anything about lol I've put some foam pads on the swivel of mine as I nodded it forward a bit too hard and it smacked the bridge of me nose and smarted all day as not a light thing but I have just stripped the scrap timemaster down using it with the pads and isn't banging as hard as it was on me hooter lol
> 
> Only use the 10x for things like keyless springs which require that tiny bit extra magnification otherwise I do fine with the main lenses, I was thinking if there is a way to maybe make the switchable lense into a more powerful one say a 20x but then I got the scope for that sort of level but the scope is a bit unwieldy as my hand gets in the way a lot lol
> 
> I did see a youtuber who does micro electronics he had on a lamp arm this bloody huge lens and I was thinking yep I would want one of them, big as a dinner plate and then I started looking at the prices of even half that size and I could buy a reasonable car for that sort of dough


The 10X + isn't that much more than I paid for the ones that I did buy, so might be that I'll get a set of them anyway. Just that the jump between the max of 3.5X and 10X would be massive, at least you can 'multi-lens' up to 8X(?) 
Must say that these are very light - seem to be lighter than my normal glasses!


----------



## Bonzodog

Staib bracelet for my Colt.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Bonzodog said:


> Staib bracelet for my Colt.


Sounds interesting, piccy please


----------



## starjay

These last few months fo COVID crazyness, russian watches have been my escape. It feels good to look at my wrist and see something reliable ticking as 1st responder.
Loved the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, so this was a no brainer. Different dial as I already have plenty of blue dials and a beautiful bund bracelet thrown in at no extra cost (it also came with the original Vostok box and bracelet). It arrived today on the mail, and I already ordered a Steve Zissou Watch Back from Meramon.

Ah, the little pleasures of life


----------



## Dodgydruid

starjay said:


> These last few months fo COVID crazyness, russian watches have been my escape. It feels good to look at my wrist and see something reliable ticking as 1st responder.
> Loved the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, so this was a no brainer. Different dial as I already have plenty of blue dials and a beautiful bund bracelet thrown in at no extra cost (it also came with the original Vostok box and bracelet). It arrived today on the mail, and I already ordered a Steve Zissou Watch Back from Meramon.
> 
> Ah, the little pleasures of life
> 
> View attachment 15639361


I can never find those straps as I like them and the ones with big flathead screws instead as little mingey straps always look like a thick elastic band on my svelte er maybe not svelte large and imperfectly blob formed wrist hehe


----------



## starjay

Dodgydruid said:


> I can never find those straps as I like them and the ones with big flathead screws instead as little mingey straps always look like a thick elastic band on my svelte er maybe not svelte large and imperfectly blob formed wrist hehe


I got this from w5556-4 on fleabay. I have freaklish small wrists and this one snugs it perfectly and is quite sturdy.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Well the "tool tidy" arrived from Alirinse and I cannot say I recommend it... The silver "paint" he laughingly uses the word comes off in me hand and I brushed my quite expensive Scottish lambswool jumper up against it and now it looks like David Bowie wore it all glittery and stuff like an out of date Xmas tree grr grr

Nor is it tidy, it manages to be of sizes utterly useless for tidyness of tools, screwdrivers flop about like a sunday morning kebab salad, tweezers have to be jammed in end on because the thing doesn't like angled tweezers, I think the only really useful tidy was the drawer for somewhere to put me rodico... but we shall see if I likes it or it goes under a lump hammer via a youtube vid calling on the darkest forces to inflict curses on the chap buggers at whatever factory made this 










I got things to stand up by putting a little blob of dirty rodico in the bottom of the big holes except for the hand pushers as I wanted to keep them rodico free (except the one I use for second hands which I put a tiny blob in the end and pick second hands up with but that one is in my hobby case)


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## Dodgydruid

starjay said:


> I got this from w5556-4 on fleabay. I have freaklish small wrists and this one snugs it perfectly and is quite sturdy.


Cheers m8, seems hes away with nothing to sell but done a bookmark and will check him out when he's got some ones in


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Well the "tool tidy" arrived from Alirinse and I cannot say I recommend it... The silver "paint" he laughingly uses the word comes off in me hand and I brushed my quite expensive Scottish lambswool jumper up against it and now it looks like David Bowie wore it all glittery and stuff like an out of date Xmas tree grr grr
> 
> Nor is it tidy, it manages to be of sizes utterly useless for tidyness of tools, screwdrivers flop about like a sunday morning kebab salad, tweezers have to be jammed in end on because the thing doesn't like angled tweezers, I think the only really useful tidy was the drawer for somewhere to put me rodico... but we shall see if I likes it or it goes under a lump hammer via a youtube vid calling on the darkest forces to inflict curses on the chap buggers at whatever factory made this
> 
> View attachment 15639420
> 
> 
> I got things to stand up by putting a little blob of dirty rodico in the bottom of the big holes except for the hand pushers as I wanted to keep them rodico free (except the one I use for second hands which I put a tiny blob in the end and pick second hands up with but that one is in my hobby case)


Worst thought - will it come off onto the tools, and then end up in the works of the watch?
Thanks, saved me some money!   
Reckon that I'll do what my original plan was, which was when doing my watch box, I'll put a tray in the bottom for tools. Nice thing about building your own stuff, you can make it to what you want/need.


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## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Worst thought - will it come off onto the tools, and then end up in the works of the watch?
> Thanks, saved me some money!
> Reckon that I'll do what my original plan was, which was when doing my watch box, I'll put a tray in the bottom for tools. Nice thing about building your own stuff, you can make it to what you want/need.


I sat there this evening thinking... hmmm with all the tools I have accumulated surely I can do better and doodled up a much improved design and all I got to do is find my bits of aluminium plate, tube of studding and some nuts and washers and have a go lol

I sprayed some acrylic lacquer over the silver and its stopped rubbing off and I went at the drawer with a file to get rid of injection sprues that were impeding its slideyness so its now working as intended but is very dickywampus imho and wished I went with the wooden one which is made out of a nice beech or elm I suspect, very cheap feeling to the plastic but will say I managed to put all my main tools into one thing now and no more hunting for the right tweezers or screwdriver as I have put a little sharpie mark to denote the smallest and biggest of my screwdrivers.


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## Dodgydruid

Gods of ebay are shining on me it seems... picked up a very tidy Sekonda TV like Gerry's beautiful one he got recently but sadly not on its original bracelet but I got quite a few of them 18mm silver bar 1970's rally bracelets lurking about to make it look cool and my gold version of the same is on the gold brick rally bracelet of the same design so serious matching going on here.

Abs love that navy blue dial even though its had some damage in its history, with a polished crystal this is going to shine 










Now I have the one I wanted, if anyone is interested there is two listings with an all silver Sekonda in a joblot and on its original bracelet and a gold plated navy blue one on a boilerplate bracelet it appears that I had kept my eye on to snipe at the end but now won't be bothering so handing it over to whoever fancies one of these lovely Raketa Bakers in Sekonda form...

Item Numbers - 
174580878414
174576018083

My Sekonda base in my collection is beginning to become the primary brand lol I dunno why but I just cannot resist, I do have a "fridge" on hold as Mr 2012putnik has put it on hold for me as Russia Post can't deliver to the UK at the moment as no carrier service but I have my eye on another fridge as well but a Sekonda version as opposed to the Cornavin version I have on hold.


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I sat there this evening thinking... hmmm with all the tools I have accumulated surely I can do better and doodled up a much improved design and all I got to do is find my bits of aluminium plate, tube of studding and some nuts and washers and have a go lol
> 
> I sprayed some acrylic lacquer over the silver and its stopped rubbing off and I went at the drawer with a file to get rid of injection sprues that were impeding its slideyness so its now working as intended but is very dickywampus imho and wished I went with the wooden one which is made out of a nice beech or elm I suspect, very cheap feeling to the plastic but will say I managed to put all my main tools into one thing now and no more hunting for the right tweezers or screwdriver as I have put a little sharpie mark to denote the smallest and biggest of my screwdrivers.


If it's made in China, the wood is probably not beech or elm - might look like it, but all the air rifle stocks are of a similar sort of wood (can't remember the name, but it starts with a 'Q') which is hard and very bland grained (rubbed one back years ago, and it came out like bone!)


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## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Gods of ebay are shining on me it seems... picked up a very tidy Sekonda TV like Gerry's beautiful one he got recently but sadly not on its original bracelet but I got quite a few of them 18mm silver bar 1970's rally bracelets lurking about to make it look cool and my gold version of the same is on the gold brick rally bracelet of the same design so serious matching going on here.
> 
> Abs love that navy blue dial even though its had some damage in its history, with a polished crystal this is going to shine
> 
> View attachment 15640733
> 
> 
> Now I have the one I wanted, if anyone is interested there is two listings with an all silver Sekonda in a joblot and on its original bracelet and a gold plated navy blue one on a boilerplate bracelet it appears that I had kept my eye on to snipe at the end but now won't be bothering so handing it over to whoever fancies one of these lovely Raketa Bakers in Sekonda form...
> 
> Item Numbers -
> 174580878414
> 174576018083
> 
> My Sekonda base in my collection is beginning to become the primary brand lol I dunno why but I just cannot resist, I do have a "fridge" on hold as Mr 2012putnik has put it on hold for me as Russia Post can't deliver to the UK at the moment as no carrier service but I have my eye on another fridge as well but a Sekonda version as opposed to the Cornavin version I have on hold.


Congrats m8 on finding one. Looks good on the black strap as well - is it a 'stepped' strap?  
That 'gold plated one' needs some work, the day wheel is stuck - I might have been interested in it if it didn't (my track record with Raketas not been good!) though "ticks when shaken" sounds alarm bells!  expensive too at £9.99 to start with - mine started at £4.99, and I 'sniped' it at £13.50 (my 'max' wasn't much more!), so it'll probably be going for the same amount - hopefully whoever gets it can do the work easily!


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## 979greenwich

Finally an old ministry for me, I waited a long time for this.


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## OCSleeper

Last nights arrival. A quick clean, crystal polish, and bracelet link removal and we're in business.
Lucky to find this one with such a nice dial and a bracelet you don't see everyday.

Arrival pic:









Post cleanup:

































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Had to get another 24 slot display box, this one is going to be my Sekonda (old) box as having to utilise boxes and stuff just to stop them swamping the place lol My daughter is coming back down in feb and she is gonna prob go spare at me as I did promise to weed out the stuff I didn't want but kinda forgot...









6-24 Grids Watch Display Case Box Jewellry Storage Organizer Leather Black UK | eBay


<li> Description</li> <li> </li> <li>6/9/10/12/20/24 Grids watch display box, enough space with removable soft velvet pillows, saves space at a glance.</li> <li>Made of premium quality black PU leather/Aluminium and beige velvet lined, which can protect your beloved watches from scratch and...



www.ebay.co.uk


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## system11

Well someone had to buy it eventually and that someone was me. I've seen plenty of the nephrite ones but only this one jasper ever.










Only slight issue is some kind of retaining mechanism is missing so the dial/movement have a bit of play in the case. From a photo I found of a green one with the back removed it should probably be a metal find with 3 bent tabs that brace against the caseback. Here's mine open:










And here's one of the green ones, you'll notice it's a very slightly different construction but I believe the same kind of piece if missing. It would be 30mm diameter and 2-2.5mm wide on the ring. Does anyone know what these parts are called and where I might find one?


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## Dodgydruid

system11 said:


> Well someone had to buy it eventually and that someone was me. I've seen plenty of the nephrite ones but only this one jasper ever.
> 
> View attachment 15645240
> 
> 
> Only slight issue is some kind of retaining mechanism is missing so the dial/movement have a bit of play in the case. From a photo I found of a green one with the back removed it should probably be a metal find with 3 bent tabs that brace against the caseback. Here's mine open:
> 
> View attachment 15645244
> 
> 
> And here's one of the green ones, you'll notice it's a very slightly different construction but I believe the same kind of piece if missing. It would be 30mm diameter and 2-2.5mm wide on the ring. Does anyone know what these parts are called and where I might find one?
> 
> View attachment 15645245


What a beautiful watch, oh I so would love one of those wow 

Could you not make one yourself out of thin tinplate? You could make a forming pattern say out of a slug of metal or puck of wood and using a tapping hammer form the shape into the lip and carefully cut out the tabs which will give you some movement stability or maybe a ring of neoprene just thick enough to engage the edge of the movement and held in position by the caseback.

Or a loose ring of rodico would hold it firm without fouling the works, of course they won't be as original or pretty as the proper part but it does stop the movement from flopping around in there potentially damaging the workings or knocking small parts of the case to wreak some damage in the moving parts.


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## system11

Making myself may be an option, the lip is probably not required, so it would just be a ring of spring steel with 3 tabs in it. Other ideas I had were a ring of foam rubber 1mm taller than the cavity, or even a rubber ring would probably do it, I measured the top edge and that's 32mm diameter. If the ring was thin enough it'd probably work, marks on the back of the case lid show that the gap is very small, so it'd need to be 0.5mm or less thickness.

I think the metal ring is probably the most effort but the best in terms of keeping things still without putting lots of pressure on.

That kind of part must have a name though, potentially someone on this board even has one in their spares box, given that it's a standard Raketa movement it's highly likely several watches use the same part.

In fact this rubber ring is probably an option - if one of these could be sourced in good condition / right size:








Vintage Soviet watch SVET (shine) Raketa 2609HA made in USSR Original WristWatch | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Soviet watch SVET (shine) Raketa 2609HA made in USSR Original WristWatch at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!



www.ebay.co.uk


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## Dodgydruid

I did have a look whilst I was hunting for something else but sadly not, I don't have a lot of Raketa stuff in my collection.

Looking at the retention, the movement is held to the ring by its screws so really a thicker caseback gasket should do the trick in holding the movement ring solidly and not foul the movement parts and the caseback pressure will keep it all snugged in place. Heck you could prob make something out of a bit of card or plastic to engage between caseback and movement ring.

Must say that dark red stone looks bloody awesome... so want one now


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## system11

Seal Foam Sponge Ring Accessories 2PCS Cycling Front Fork High quality | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Seal Foam Sponge Ring Accessories 2PCS Cycling Front Fork High quality at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!



www.ebay.co.uk





Now this might be perfect! Re; above post - there's no gasket at all, nothing really to suggest what this model had but I was expecting something like the green one.

I've just bought the above foam rings, some foam sealing tubes, and various rubber watch gaskets on ebay. One of these must surely work.

Yes it is nice! I had this and a green one on my 'watch' list on ebay for many, many months. They were overpriced but the green one sold some months ago. I finally summoned up the courage to just go for it and buy the red one. It's probably the rarest of the two judging by never having seen one, and it was $2200 but I got it for $1500 by making an offer. They countered which I ignored for a week (actually just procrastinating) and then sent me an offer of what I'd made. Arrived quickly too given that it came from Uzbekistan!


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## mich.g.pan

bought last week.

Surprised myself and bought a Gold Classic automatic.
The American Classic Clipper on a brown Leather Croc strap.
Miyota Automatic with a exibition back.

I found the classic style watch i have been searching for... with new appeal.

mich


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## Chascomm

Welcome to the Russian watch forum, Mich.


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## Dodgydruid

So what to wear, what to wear as both my Slava tank quartz and my Sekonda (Raketa) baker arrived and super pleased with both...










Just finished fixing up a humble Accurist as well where the 6 baton had come off dial, little dab of GE and its back on and nothing going to get that off and just finishing putting a two tone bracelet to the thing and its like brand new.

The Lithuania sourced parcel the bloody Home Office had a right go at it  I mean abs savaged the box, prob think I am having secrets sent to me or microdots or summat and one day I will end up with a poisoned umbrella in the place where the sun shineth not... 

I'm happy, got a tank quartz and a lovely Sekonda to add to the collection, now its just a fridge in Slava form and a fridge in Sekonda form then I think I have nearly all the Sekonda types save the mechanical chrono's.


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## Dodgydruid

OK not a Russian but bought from a Russian seller... added another Pulsar "dancing hands" watch meaning I now have two each of the three V6xx range, this one is a V601 in the Seiko "Age of Discovery" theme, its the most basic of the dancing hands having just a simple stopwatch and a "match" or demo mode where the hands go nuts "dancing" all over the dial, quite handy as I have the same age of discovery in the V691 version which has more functions but neither as good as the V600 which has the alarm, timer.

I actually recently acquired an Accurist AS10 which is crazy cool, it uses the date window as part of the chronograph giving you 30 mins then goes to 31 for 31 mins up to 60 then restarts. I do likes my dancing hands watches and now am full on to getting a Seiko 6m25 which has what seems to be a day window but is the function window having time, 2 alarms, countdown timer, month, match demo mode and 2 time settings but does all this with three analogue hands... so cool


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## 979greenwich

Nothing today, but our former colleague Amil is really flooding the Ebay with his listings. Where on earth does he obtain so many watches...


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## Dodgydruid

The Sekonda arrived today as well, have two in the blue and two in the brown hue dials so going to put one of each in the spares box keeping both the nice working ones in the collection, this one is on its original strap and is boxed so will keep this one for best.


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## Dodgydruid

So... who fancies a cheap Slava tank? Bargain hunters only (Mechanical watch "Slava" TANK - USSR 2427 in a very rare state of preservation w | eBay) So thinking my Sekonda tank auto which is in pristine NOS condition must be worth a bundle


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## Dodgydruid

Or if that isn't a bargain enough... how about this "new from storage" Poljot strangeness that managed to grow a set of Vostok arrows by looks of things... do take the opportunity to view this sellers amazing pieces at such a good price 









Mechanical watch "Poljot" - Jean Cordot Amphibian self-winding, new from storage | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mechanical watch "Poljot" - Jean Cordot Amphibian self-winding, new from storage at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!



www.ebay.co.uk


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## starjay

Dodgydruid said:


> So... who fancies a cheap Slava tank? Bargain hunters only (Mechanical watch "Slava" TANK - USSR 2427 in a very rare state of preservation w | eBay) So thinking my Sekonda tank auto which is in pristine NOS condition must be worth a bundle


The bezels look off, as if someone polished the chrome to remove the scracthes.


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## Dodgydruid

So, after cracking the new crystal on my other square Sekonda I was just about to order another when I had this "feeling" to go take a look at one of my saved sellers and really weird as they had in their recent listings... a clean case with uncracked clean crystal and for a few quid too  It was like me brain was on autopilot and a doddle to just give the case a thorough clean and polish, transfer the gubbins over keeping its correct caseback and sorted...










Teething probs with me Slava tank quartz, wearing it earlier it seemed to stop for about half an hour and I suspect it doesn't like face down time much, very cheap De Luxe here (3 X Sekonda Watches Working (Including De Luxe And Safari) Box 7 | eBay) and you would prob get the money back from the Safari whose own prices are rising and seeing some sold for some considerable dosh of late (he says having paid £3ish for the ultra rare alarm Safari... lol)

Saw another of these unusual textured dial Soviet Sekonda's on its original bracelet starting bid of £15 here (Vintage Sekonda 1970s USSR Mens Mechanical Manual Watch stainless steel 26 jewel | eBay) but apart from my bids ongoing I am having to close me wallet til next payday lol


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## Dodgydruid

Dunno if these are any good but I just bought a set of multimeter tweezers for a few quid for testing Soviet and other quartz circuits, few quid off ebay thought to have a go and see if any good as my meter probes are too phat for some microtesting lol










Also my crystal polish gunge just arrived alongside the biggest bloody Lorus chronograph VD57, in a fridge sort of case and wow its giving the Slava tank quartz on me wrist a run for its money 










I buy this crystal gunge because I only need a light smear and it does the crystal in one pass with your dremel on a reasonably sedate speed, don't run it on full wallop as it will burn your acrylic like nothing else, I have the dial on 2 notches on my Parkside cordless dremelly thingy and it does the bizzo super quick. I don't use the included erm bullet? butt p... nope not going to go there and back on track I prefer to use a common arbor mounted small mop.


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## SinanjuStein

Well the 2209 Amphibia finally arrived. In a better shape than i expected it to be but the crystal needed polish for sure, while the case lines and linear brushing are in excellent shape.










Dial is in good shape overall and i gave it a quick cleaning from the excess dirt, gunk and remains of lume with some rodico. Shame about that very small scratch from the hour hand but it really isn't visible unless under strong unnatural light.










Cleaned the undersides and sides of the hands from excess lume










Though cheap my hand press tools aren't too bad but not as good as the older tools, at least i didn't deform the hands.










Put it on a old leather nato i've had lying around for years, to the point the brass rings on it are already forming a layer of patina. Needs a few more rounds with polywatch, slightly to realign the dial, loosen the bezel to workable levels, and to check the movement when i actually have some time for that (it's running alright so far).


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## AardnoldArrdvark

Just received this little selection from Meranom...

TL -> BR

Despite already having 15 Vostoks this is my first Scuba Dude.
Amfibia Reef with a 24h (not a GMT) hand
Orange bezel which I intend to fit to Suba Dude
Amfibia Red Sea

































Natural light is terrible today as we are alternating between grey and wet, and very wet with thunderstorms (and this is summer!?). Mind you; even with the thunderstorms and heavy rain it's still 22c. Hopefully get some better photos when the weather improves.


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## AardnoldArrdvark

...and here is Scuba Dude with his new bezel...


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## sokol3333

Here are two excellent items I managed to acquire, they arrived today!


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## sean374

I have not bought something yet... But


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## OCSleeper

sokol3333 said:


> Here are two excellent items I managed to acquire, they arrived today!
> View attachment 15652764
> View attachment 15652765
> View attachment 15652766
> View attachment 15652767


Excellent acquisitions!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

These 4 showed up today and came as a lot. It was a Buy It Now for $40 and free shipping! The 3 Russian movements work, the Seiko does not. 
The Kirovskie made it a no brainer buy.










































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## haha

OCSleeper said:


> These 4 showed up today and came as a lot. It was a Buy It Now for $40 and free shipping! The 3 Russian movements work, the Seiko does not.
> The Kirovskie made it a no brainer buy.
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I'm not an expert on Seikos but the dial looks quite Indian to me.
The dial of the Kirovskie is most probably a recent homemade print.


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## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> These 4 showed up today and came as a lot. It was a Buy It Now for $40 and free shipping! The 3 Russian movements work, the Seiko does not.
> The Kirovskie made it a no brainer buy.
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The Seiko has a bit of a whiff of curry perchance? A lot of 7009's get moved on because people try and wind them and find they can't and just assume its broken when what it needs is some firm wrist action and these old Seiko's are super bulletproof with little drama with 'em but cannot be handwound  I was reading up on how the 7S26 and the 7009 are totally interchangeable.


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## Dodgydruid

Started the morning with a cheeky Sekonda De Luxe "autodate" not seen that one before but I am cool with it as I have the gold tint De Luxe but not a autodate and now a silver De Luxe which is a dateautothingy...


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## haha

Dodgydruid said:


> Started the morning with a cheeky Sekonda De Luxe "autodate" not seen that one before but I am cool with it as I have the gold tint De Luxe but not a autodate and now a silver De Luxe which is a dateautothingy...
> 
> View attachment 15655075


And most of all, it's a stainless steel case


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## OCSleeper

haha said:


> I'm not an expert on Seikos but the dial looks quite Indian to me.
> The dial of the Kirovskie is most probably a recent homemade print.


As far as I'm concerned the Seiko is garbage that just came with the lot. It was an obscure listing sold here in the States. The likelihood of that Kirovskie being a reprinted dial is as likely as me giving all my watches away for nothing later today. The dial matches the case condition including the crown, that of a watch that has seen very little wrist time.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## LVBakel

I am afraid haha is right. The color of the ring is to dark, the markers near the 3, 6, 9 and 12 hour are to big and the font 'Кировские' and 'сделано в ссср' slightly different.


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## OCSleeper

To the best of my knowledge early dials were all painted by hand. My local watchmaker who relocated to the US from Romania has shown me his exact work of hand painting dials. Which would explain the differences. 
This watch along with the other 3 was purchased for $40 total. That’s $10 ea. Who would go through that hassle? They were bought from a seller in the US who sells stuff, not watches specifically for a living.
As far as the darkness of the ring, maybe that’s because it’s not faded, again another reason all in all it’s in such beautiful condition. If you zoom in on the photos you can see the texture and gloss of the paint.
My thoughts are, If you have a case, crystal, and movement in excellent condition why in the hell would you throw a reprinted dial in there and sell it for $10??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> The Seiko has a bit of a whiff of curry perchance? A lot of 7009's get moved on because people try and wind them and find they can't and just assume its broken when what it needs is some firm wrist action and these old Seiko's are super bulletproof with little drama with 'em but cannot be handwound  I was reading up on how the 7S26 and the 7009 are totally interchangeable.


They are in most aspects except the fact the mainsprings on older 7002/7009/7019 have tendency to lose potency quite a bit. I have a wonderful 7019 that's been used on and off for quite a bit because the PR is around 10~12 hours when fully wound, even found a replacement NOS mineral crystal for it but i've been hesitant to get a mainspring as an original 7019 is 4 times the cost of a 7S26 and i'm not sure of compatability as i need the whole barrel not just the spring.


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## Odessa200

LVBakel said:


> I am afraid haha is right. The color of the ring is to dark, the markers near the 3, 6, 9 and 12 hour are to big and the font 'Кировские' and 'сделано в ссср' slightly different.


i am with Haha as well: re-print. Sorry Sleeper. Still a great buy.

as fas 'who would go via the trouble to fake a watch and sell for 10$?' I am sure this is not the case here cause it just a cheep random bargain (I got a solid gold like this for 100$) but just for perspective: my mother in law gets 20$ pension. So a 10$ is his 2 weeks income. Would you consider faking a watch to sell for a week income? I would. I am not discussing moral aspects of faking here. Pure economics


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## OCSleeper

I understand the economics completely. I see how hard my mother in law works in Russia and it makes me sick that the cost of living in relation to income is terrible. So she’s taken care of. 
My point is you could leave a garbage dial in there and sell it for much more. In the event you guys are correct how would I really know? 
Knowing how many variations there are throughout the Soviet watch industry within specific models how would one really tell with this specific dial? I believe this dial was hand painted but I could certainly be wrong.
As I was saying earlier, the local watchmaker who has been in the profession for 50+ years showed me how he use to write out Raketa in Cyrillic. It was amazing that it looked like so many vintage dials. But his style would be just slightly different than someone else’s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

After speaking with the seller, I concede. He said he purchased the watch along with the others several years ago. So as far as an economics standpoint he probably wouldn’t care if he took a loss. So now I have a good case, hands, crystal, and movement and need to source a “decent” dial. 
I always appreciate the knowledge of our members here. Of course I know where to turn before making a costly purchase.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OCSleeper

Found this NOS Slava and for $30 I couldn't resist. Haven't opened the back to see the condition of the gasket but don't really need to as this one will stay in its box. I have enough troubles finding time to wear my favorites due to the unforgiving nature of the field I work in. 4 days a week my daily is a $10 Casio.


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## Seikogi

arrived lightning fast from Belarus (no sarcasm  )
finally a 710 ministerskie. There are slight case changes compared to modern ones. Its hard to capture on all polished watches.


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## 979greenwich

Mine says hi


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## Ligavesh

Wasn't planned, but I came in contact with a guy who had the rare 31 jewels automatic Slava (marked here as Sekonda) in a very good conditiin, I couldn't say no:


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> Wasn't planned, but I came in contact with a guy who had the rare 31 jewels automatic Slava (marked here as Sekonda) in a very good conditiin, I couldn't say no:
> View attachment 15661033


this is a rare one... if inside it says 31


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> this is a rare one... if inside it says 31


yeah, I didn't open it, I'll have to check


----------



## Ligavesh

I often trust people too much, but this should be legit. It changes the date at 10 o'clock though so that needs to be fixed - what kind of a watchmaker would leave the watch changing the date at 10 o'clock? And it's exactly at 10 o'clock , almost as if someone did it on purpose.


----------



## 979greenwich

Beautiful BAM Amphibian sold like hot cakes for 430 $.








USSR watch Vostok amphibian railroad BAM | eBay


Case - stainless steel, case back has factory engraved " To winner of socialism competition ". The details are following very Good condition.



www.ebay.com




Just my cup of tea, but far far out of my comfortable price range.
Guess I'm not a true collector then


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> Found this NOS Slava and for $30 I couldn't resist. Haven't opened the back to see the condition of the gasket but don't really need to as this one will stay in its box. I have enough troubles finding time to wear my favorites due to the unforgiving nature of the field I work in. 4 days a week my daily is a $10 Casio.


Bit o' advice from someone whose innards of a big red star exploded into black goo... take the battery out when not in use and use a Renata battery because I did buy what I thought were good batteries but turned out into explododestructodissolvoeverythingo and just put me head in me hands over its loss and lost some faith in it all.

I'm having some issues with my current Slava tank quartz too, for the last week its run spot on time but I knocked it on a door handle, not hard but now its running slow again


----------



## Dodgydruid

One thing I despise are snipers, those who go in at the end sometimes their bid going through AFTER the auction ends but its done to prevent anyone coming back with a better bid and I really think its a snide attitude and only my heart warmed thinking of the insane fun the snidey sniper will have finding the correct Sekonda tank bracelet half and good luck finding the Sekonda embossed clasp...

But every cloud etc and of course I do have my NOS pristine Sekonda tank to console me in its original box...

And I found another Sekonda this being the plated "light" version of my type 93 "dark"...










and the silver linings didn't end there either...










Also my Cornavin "fridge" has left Russia thanks to carrier service up and running, can't wait for that one to arrive as already got me name on a Sekonda version via another seller.










The Sekonda de luxe well, it runs perfectly and my baby timegrapher gives a very nice reading with a +-10sd avg which is great... what is not great is the main hands don't turn so I am guessing keyless works issue? It sets time cleanly and freely and second hand is nice and sweeping but the main hands just stay stock still :S


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> One thing I despise are snipers, those who go in at the end sometimes their bid going through AFTER the auction ends but its done to prevent anyone coming back with a better bid and I really think its a snide attitude and only my heart warmed thinking of the insane fun the snidey sniper will have finding the correct Sekonda tank bracelet half and good luck finding the Sekonda embossed clasp...
> 
> But every cloud etc and of course I do have my NOS pristine Sekonda tank to console me in its original box...
> 
> And I found another Sekonda this being the plated "light" version of my type 93 "dark"...
> 
> View attachment 15665453
> 
> 
> and the silver linings didn't end there either...
> 
> View attachment 15665458
> 
> 
> Also my Cornavin "fridge" has left Russia thanks to carrier service up and running, can't wait for that one to arrive as already got me name on a Sekonda version via another seller.
> 
> View attachment 15665485
> 
> 
> The Sekonda de luxe well, it runs perfectly and my baby timegrapher gives a very nice reading with a +-10sd avg which is great... what is not great is the main hands don't turn so I am guessing keyless works issue? It sets time cleanly and freely and second hand is nice and sweeping but the main hands just stay stock still :S


That Ingersoll jump hour is lovely. My dad bought me something similar in the 70s. I'd kill to have them both back.


----------



## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> Beautiful BAM Amphibian sold like hot cakes for 430 $.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> USSR watch Vostok amphibian railroad BAM | eBay
> 
> 
> Case - stainless steel, case back has factory engraved " To winner of socialism competition ". The details are following very Good condition.
> 
> 
> 
> www.ebay.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just my cup of tea, but far far out of my comfortable price range.
> Guess I'm not a true collector then


the papers are wrong but the watch is nice. I have one of these NOS and love it!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> One thing I despise are snipers, those who go in at the end sometimes their bid going through AFTER the auction ends but its done to prevent anyone coming back with a better bid and I really think its a snide attitude and only my heart warmed thinking of the insane fun the snidey sniper will have finding the correct Sekonda tank bracelet half and good luck finding the Sekonda embossed clasp...
> 
> But every cloud etc and of course I do have my NOS pristine Sekonda tank to console me in its original box...
> 
> And I found another Sekonda this being the plated "light" version of my type 93 "dark"...
> 
> View attachment 15665453
> 
> 
> and the silver linings didn't end there either...
> 
> View attachment 15665458
> 
> 
> Also my Cornavin "fridge" has left Russia thanks to carrier service up and running, can't wait for that one to arrive as already got me name on a Sekonda version via another seller.
> 
> View attachment 15665485
> 
> 
> The Sekonda de luxe well, it runs perfectly and my baby timegrapher gives a very nice reading with a +-10sd avg which is great... what is not great is the main hands don't turn so I am guessing keyless works issue? It sets time cleanly and freely and second hand is nice and sweeping but the main hands just stay stock still :S


Probably I'm on your 'anti' list - as I'll sit watching the final countdown with my max bid sat ready and hit the 'confirm' button in the last 5 seconds 🤫   but then, I don't buy much, and have had a few attempts of leaving a bid on - not moved until right at the end, where someone has then gone in like I do now, so lesson learnt.


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> One thing I despise are snipers, those who go in at the end sometimes their bid going through AFTER the auction ends but its done to prevent anyone coming back with a better bid and I really think its a snide attitude and only my heart warmed thinking of the insane fun the snidey sniper will have finding the correct Sekonda tank bracelet half and good luck finding the Sekonda embossed clasp...


Sorry, but I'm one of those "snipers". I have no choice to be honest, as being in Australia means that most auctions end in the wee hours of the morning when I'm asleep. However I only ever use a snipe amount that would be my absolute maximum, and I've lost many many auctions to other snipers myself.


----------



## stadiou

Another ancient Raketa.....this time a scruffy 2610. Why? Beats me....


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Probably I'm on your 'anti' list - as I'll sit watching the final countdown with my max bid sat ready and hit the 'confirm' button in the last 5 seconds 🤫   but then, I don't buy much, and have had a few attempts of leaving a bid on - not moved until right at the end, where someone has then gone in like I do now, so lesson learnt.


Hehe its just me venting about it, I picked up those two on the "such and such is gone" email so ebay can't be faulted in finding me a worthy Sekonda and a very very nice jump hour and for less than what I would have paid for the tank too 

I'm a bit of a sucker for the tanks, just I don't want to wear my pristine one cos then it will end up marked and scratched etc and although I have some balance's here I am not happy with the pivots on the staff's so am waiting in for a pair of NOS ones to get here from Russia so I can get my forest green Slava tank up and running and my Sekonda with the carbon fibre like textured dial up and running too.

I've got my recently arrived Slava tank quartz looking like new thanks to my Peeks metal polish and my little pot of crystal polish gunge, waiting for some Deoxit to give the circuitry another bath as is still very dirty in there and it keeps going slow.


----------



## Bsw_sc

This guy arrived today ! Swapped the leather band that was on it for this one right away. Engraving looks nice


----------



## Rimmed762

I guess eBay would be better if auction would end five minutes after last offer (or given time). Better for sellers and buyers.


----------



## Odessa200

Rimmed762 said:


> I guess eBay would be better if auction would end five minutes after last offer (or given time). Better for sellers and buyers.


Are you trying to teach Ebay how to make money?  Quite the opposite imho. My desire to snap a lot on the last second keeps me engaged and excited. If they stop this I will lose half of my interest: it is no longer a 'hunting game' but rather a competition 'who has more money'.


----------



## OCSleeper

I’ve lost a handful when I’ve tried 3-5 seconds before the end, those are the ones I didn’t really care one way or the other. Now I almost never bid until the timer shows 1. If I miss it, oh well. Most of my best deals come from starting a dialogue with the seller on a Buy It Now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> I've lost a handful when I've tried 3-5 seconds before the end, those are the ones I didn't really care one way or the other. Now I almost never bid until the timer shows 1. If I miss it, oh well. Most of my best deals come from starting a dialogue with the seller on a Buy It Now.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


True. I am sure ebay evaluated all possible modes and picked the best (for ebay). I know Russian sites believe they must stop snipers. Hence I do not buy many there when I see 50 people watching... so these sites milk every $ from each sale but lose clients like me. I think ebay got it right.


----------



## Rimmed762

Odessa200 said:


> Are you trying to teach Ebay how to make money?  Quite the opposite imho. My desire to snap a lot on the last second keeps me engaged and excited. If they stop this I will lose half of my interest: it is no longer a 'hunting game' but rather a competition 'who has more money'.


They know how to make money. They don't need any help with that. ?

I guess this depends about the point of view. I think auctions shouldn't be a hunting game or a competition. I think these open auctions should end with best offer by the one who is willing to pay the highest price, not by one who makes the last click.

I also hate reserve prices. ?

But these are just opinions. I tend to skip auctions because I "tie my money" to it. And then I should wait for last seconds... But that is a selection made by eBay. They lose me but win some other.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Rimmed762 said:


> They know how to make money. They don't need any help with that. ?
> 
> I guess this depends about the point of view. I think auctions shouldn't be a hunting game or a competition. I think these open auctions should end with best offer by the one who is willing to pay the highest price, not by one who makes the last click.
> 
> I also hate reserve prices. ?
> 
> But these are just opinions. I tend to skip auctions because I "tie my money" to it. And then I should wait for last seconds... But that is a selection made by eBay. They lose me but win some other.


That's the thing with auctions - set the maximum amount that you will pay for an item, then bid as you wish - be it at the end or the start, but from experience, often better at the end.

I was brought up attending live auctions - often in those there were 'runners', whose purpose was to raise the price of a lot (sometimes friends of the seller, other times 'tyre kickers' and all supposedly without the knowledge of the auctioneer) the trick was noting who was in there for the item and who wasn't, and not being too competitive and going over the amount that you set at the start. How I tend to go, set my maximum amount in my bid, wait until the last few seconds, click confirm, then watch the 'automatic bids' work out until either I win or lose. A couple of 'tricks' at the auctions involved 'jumping' (raising the bidding by a larger amount than the auctioneer is asking) or waiting for the second 'call' (usually the other person has relaxed, & hopefully talking to their friends and have to re-set their mind back into the auction)

Reserves are there for a reason, it's the amount that the seller wants for the item, be it to turn a profit, or what the minimum is that they want for it, but with the chance of it making more, (but not less) and rather than start the auction at that amount, invite bidders to work up to it (often if the item doesn't make the price, it is re-offered with a lower reserve - or on eBay, you can make an offer).


----------



## DocTone

.. found it some day before adressed in local newsletter , today pickup


----------



## mariomart

You can never have enough Orange Vostok's in your life


----------



## Dodgydruid

Well I wasn't planning to buy anything more for a while but good ol' Seller Offer landed in the email bin this morning... less than a tenner for an automatic Poljot which OK is missing its fitted bracelet but I am fine with that, I could even mod a Slava tank bracelet to fit the "fang" if need be hehe


----------



## thulahn

Bought a nice Ruhla, first time buying an older watch.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wait until you get inside and see the ultimate in simplistic of movements, they are incredibly easy to service and despite lacking jewels on pivot ends are remarkedly accurate too. I read somewhere one chap who bathes the movement in a small pool of naptha, allows to dry and the carefully oils the pivot ends using grease as well as oil and has it back together in the watch without having to disassemble


----------



## Ligavesh

This arrived today (been kind of obsessed with 2209 Amphibias lately - I blame @Miguel Fazendas and @oldfox for this):










One question though: should this model come with a rounded crown or a flat one? On MrOatman's site I see this model with a flat crown...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Should be a cylinder crown by my own understanding, that looks suspiciously like a Komandirskie crown  Have to be the right flat type as well as my 119's have slightly rounder side knurlings than my standard 090's, which seem to be straight wall cylinders like the modern Amphibia's are. I think it was Mr Odessa who highlighted that tiny difference my tired old eyes would have missed lol

I'm not sure but I may have a spare 119 stem and crown from the recent big 12 and 6 partser I plundered for the paddle hands and correct crystal. I'm in the middle of sorting my collection out and its all a bit of a 2 and 8 round here finding out I may have a leetle bit of a problem with my hoarding lol If urgency isn't a problem, I'll find the little baggy its in with the surplus case that is if yours is a 119, it looks like one to me but expert eyes will know better


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Should be a cylinder crown by my own understanding, that looks suspiciously like a Komandirskie crown  Have to be the right flat type as well as my 119's have slightly rounder side knurlings than my standard 090's, which seem to be straight wall cylinders like the modern Amphibia's are. I think it was Mr Odessa who highlighted that tiny difference my tired old eyes would have missed lol
> 
> I'm not sure but I may have a spare 119 stem and crown from the recent big 12 and 6 partser I plundered for the paddle hands and correct crystal. I'm in the middle of sorting my collection out and its all a bit of a 2 and 8 round here finding out I may have a leetle bit of a problem with my hoarding lol If urgency isn't a problem, I'll find the little baggy its in with the surplus case that is if yours is a 119, it looks like one to me but expert eyes will know better


It's not a Komandirskie crown, Komandirskie's are much thicker:










You could maybe make a case that it was a crown from a Cadet, but I've always suspected that those are the same crowns - it would make sense for Vostok to use existing type of crowns and not make a totally new one, that's practically exactly like the old rounded one, just for the Cadet line:










Anyway, I have 119s whose crown I could sacrifice for this one, cause they're in a bad state -or just buy a new 119 in a bad state to canibalize for parts- there's a lot of them out there.


----------



## Avidfan

Ligavesh said:


> One question though: should this model come with a rounded crown or a flat one? On MrOatman's site I see this model with a flat crown...


Both are correct IMHO, earlier examples will have the domed plated crown and later examples have the steel crimped crown, I wouldn't touch your watch at all as it looks near NOS...


----------



## Ligavesh

Avidfan said:


> Both are correct IMHO, earlier examples will have the domed plated crown and later examples have the steel crimped crown, I wouldn't touch your watch at all as it looks near NOS...


Thanks 
I wouldn't describe it as NOS as it has a small "bald spot" on the tip of the crown where the plating has peeled off a bit, and the case on closer inspection has some marks, bezel too - but the dial and hands are perfect, so 'near NOS' is probably best put


----------



## Avidfan

Ligavesh said:


> Thanks
> I wouldn't describe it as NOS as it has a small "bald spot" on the tip of the crown where the plating has peeled off a bit, and the case on closer inspection has some marks - but the dial and hands are perfect, so 'near NOS' is probably best put


I wouldn't worry about that as it's quite common to see the plated 119 crowns eaten away to almost nothing


----------



## 979greenwich

The crown is correct and the watch condition is A+. Not many more out there like it. Here' mine:


----------



## Ligavesh

Avidfan said:


> I wouldn't worry about that as it's quite common to see the plated 119 crowns eaten away to almost nothing


That's why I'm always on the lookout for shot Cadets - with a good crown (I still think it's the same crown), there's one that I have that's in a bad condition that I would like to replace... Unfortunately, there aren't many Cadets in poor condition out there - probably no one wore them - and I don't like paying 30 euros just for a crown that maybe isn't even the adequate one (not to mention I've never done a crown change, I don't even know whether it's possible on these crowns). Also, I feel bad canibalizing a good watch for another, I'd feel sorry for the poor Cadet 😅


----------



## Ligavesh

mariomart said:


> You can never have enough Orange Vostok's in your life
> 
> View attachment 15672617


Oooh, a nice variation of the Icebreaker; I see they have a black one too... I. MUST. RESIST!


----------



## Avidfan

Ligavesh said:


> That's why I'm always on the lookout for shot Cadets - with a good crown (I still think it's the same crown), there's one that I have that's in a bad condition that I would like to replace... Unfortunately, there aren't many Cadets in poor condition out there - probably no one wore them - and I don't like paying 30 euros just for a crown that maybe isn't even the adequate one (not to mention I've never done a crown change, I don't even know whether it's possible on these crowns). Also, I feel bad canibalizing a good watch for another, I'd feel sorry for the poor Cadet 😅


Looking at my 119 crowns I've noted they all seem to have copper stems, that applies to both the plated and crimped types so being a little obsessive about originality any replacements I put on my watches would have to be the same...

And I know what you're saying about cannibalizing a watch for spares, I've bought too many watches with that intention only to take pity on them so end up restoring them instead...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Here's my two with the steel crowns, still haven't fitted the paddle hands to the blue one but I do enjoy wearing these in and around my constant weaving of watchness lol Only got two wrists and not really acceptable to be wearing a watch on the one bit left that could carry one hehe










Just finished coaxing a couple of quartz back into life using my magnetron red box of Alidoom after a clean, lube and a wild ride on the red box magic roundabout for half an hour each and added to the collection a Royal Oak looking Beltime and a Pulsar with a Seiko V532 quartz movement which is immaculate...

Now have my Raketa quartz diver in front of me in a movement holder as I want to get that one working and starting off with a libation of some deoxit circuit board and contact cleaner (insane price for a spray can but it is about the best you can get for electronic cleaning)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Not a Soviet Sekonda but a pretty unusual 4 register Sekonda and really silly cheap price too  Nearly as good as the £4 Pulsar VJ42 boxed, papers and new battery I bought a few minutes before


----------



## VH944

So I got a Big Zero a couple of days ago. It runs fine on the wrist (< -30spd), but loses 2"/day when off. My suspicion is that the gummed up lubricants need the warmth of a human to do a faint image of their actual job. Opinions?
The Amfibia that arrived yesterday is my first one, and it fulfills all my expectations: the cool retro vibe of the plastic dome, the flimsy bracelet, and the kitschy dial, and the 420 case is perfect for my rather thin wrist.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have brought back many stopped watches from the dead by gentle "whapping" the case part into my hand, changing the angle and doing it sometimes taking an hour to get more than a 1 sec squirt out of the balance but patience wins, if the balance is free there is a even chance unless something is broken or seized due to rust the movement may start to show life. When you get it to a fluttery continual tick putting it on does warm the oils etc a bit.

The downside on this, is more likely than not, the oil has crudded up, turned into dust or just stopped being slippery and you can do great harm without cleaning and fresh lube, not so much for jewelled pivot holes but things like the mainspring can suffer if not cleaned properly and lubed correctly.

And because sod's law is the way it is, Vostok's seem to suffer less from lack of servicing than other makes, I've been cleaning and polishing some of my Vostok's tonite and all three of my Commander's with a wind sprang into a healthy tick, left them to run for an hour and didn't miss a beat and this makes me scratch my head as not one of 'em has ever been tickled by the tweezers of a servicer which ain't too bad for a set of watches 40+ years old and quite well worn but they keep on going.


----------



## Odessa200

VH944 said:


> So I got a Big Zero a couple of days ago. It runs fine on the wrist (< -30spd), but loses 2"/day when off. My suspicion is that the gummed up lubricants need the warmth of a human to do a faint image of their actual job. Opinions?
> The Amfibia that arrived yesterday is my first one, and it fulfills all my expectations: the cool retro vibe of the plastic dome, the flimsy bracelet, and the kitschy dial, and the 420 case is perfect for my rather thin wrist.
> 
> View attachment 15677847
> View attachment 15677853


I bet If you put this watch on a timegrapher you will see a big positional error (different rate at different watch positions). This can be easily tested: leave the watch face down or on a side: does it loose same amount?


----------



## VH944

Odessa200 said:


> I bet If you put this watch on a timegrapher you will see a big positional error (different rate at different watch positions). This can be easily tested: leave the watch face down or on a side: does it loose same amount?


There is variation, yes, by minutes per day (-3' vs -2', for crown up/down for example - I don't have a time grapher, but I put it on a shelf for half a day and take notes). Storing the watch in the warmest room in the house shaves off one minute per day, too - I guess I will train myself to disassemble/clean/assemble 2609.NH movements...
I like the Big Zero quite a lot for what it is today, and it will serve its purpose as my occasional "not-a-tool-watch-nor-a-dress-watch" well, already now.



Dodgydruid said:


> [..] The downside on this, is more likely than not, the oil has crudded up, turned into dust or just stopped being slippery and you can do great harm without cleaning and fresh lube, not so much for jewelled pivot holes but things like the mainspring can suffer if not cleaned properly and lubed correctly.
> 
> And because sod's law is the way it is, Vostok's seem to suffer less from lack of servicing than other makes [...]


I'm looking forward to servicing the Big Zero, but now I have high expectations for my Vostok!


----------



## Odessa200

VH944 said:


> There is variation, yes, by minutes per day (-3' vs -2', for crown up/down for example - I don't have a time grapher, but I put it on a shelf for half a day and take notes). Storing the watch in the warmest room in the house shaves off one minute per day, too - I guess I will train myself to disassemble/clean/assemble 2609.NH movements...
> I like the Big Zero quite a lot for what it is today, and it will serve its purpose as my occasional "not-a-tool-watch-nor-a-dress-watch" well, already now.
> 
> I'm looking forward to servicing the Big Zero, but now I have high expectations for my Vostok!


So I would imagine the positional error plays a bigger role than the temperature. But both are possible. Service it!


----------



## Dodgydruid

Looking at my Raketa based Sekonda's, I find them actually well made movements but both my Sekonda bakers run slow with the golden NOS I got last year dreadfully slow and I am reluctant to wind it because it really is halting and sporadic. The chrome recent one, the loss is a couple mins a day but I might be able to knock that back into true on the trimmer just giving it a bit of advance and the chrome one has been serviced, well sometime last century but it has felt the tickle of the tweezers in its lifetime, the golden one has not sadly.

Raketa's seem to attract better prices for even bad ones and quite sought after by collectors esp the big zero's and the perpetual calendar's and I have noticed even in the bargain basement bins I usually lurk in, that the Raketa's always seem a little cleaner, less decay on the dials sort of thing than the other Soviet marques.

What is the deal with the big zero, I was half listening to something the other day and then lost where that was and heard it was something to do with Gorbachov or Breshnev or someone Politburo'ey and some sort of patriotic speech. I was only half paying attention as I sometimes just hook onto a Russian watch orientated video on youtube and let the thing play through as found so many decent people on youtube doing some amazing stuff.

Here's a intro to some Raketaness, think he still lurks within the forum, have no idea who Mr RTG is but I watch his vids a LOT and his Vostok 2209 vid saved me heaps of burning shame when I realised I had lost the soppy hour wheel from my 090 Amphibia hehe


----------



## OCSleeper

A 5 pack of straps arrived from Russia today. This is the 2nd delivery (other being hands from Favinov) from Russia this week that has arrived in 3 weeks or less to the US west coast.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

I bought the cheapest, nastiest Kirov's (Poljot) Signal with the right caseback (or better said caseback cover) I could find, to replace the caseback on my otherwise very nice Signal. I'll then try to sell the nasty Signal again for a few euros to at least reduce the loss a bit...

















This was definitely an impulse buy - I was enraged by my impulsivity that lead to me buying a Signal _without_ the original caseback, so that I now, out of rage, impulsively bought a watch just to replace the back cover. After I've changed the back cover, I'll try to sell it for 10 euros or so... I hope the case (without the cover), the dial, that minute hand and of course the movement (if it actually works) are worth something...


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh- Every vintage watch has character. It’ll sell. Speaking of impulse buys or a lack of self control on buying lately; quite the haul of vintage Vostok’s coming in. Your black dialed one inspired one of my purchases but mostly it was my wife telling me she didn’t want me buying another AR and a micro Draco in a package deal. So, those funds are now being diverted into my watch purchases.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Ligavesh- Every vintage watch has character. It'll sell. Speaking of impulse buys or a lack of self control on buying lately; quite the haul of vintage Vostok's coming in. Your black dialed one inspired one of my purchases but mostly it was my wife telling me she didn't want me buying another AR and a micro Draco in a package deal. So, those funds are now being diverted into my watch purchases.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the comforting words OC, it's good to know we're not alone 

Now that you've mentioned it, I did have luck with that Vostok, and not so much luck with the Signal - so it evens out ?


----------



## Grant J

Not so much what I bought today as what I bought (one of the parcels) in SEPTEMBER!! that arrived today.








Some of the others were October - December, so a big "phew" with the September one.
Looks like Christmas came late.

What was the anxiety about?
This 









I've been after an early striped Pobeda movement for ages. I finally buy one a a reasonable price was fantastic.
But oh, that wait... I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Here are a couple of the other items.









So a few new projects to start...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Looking at my Raketa based Sekonda's, I find them actually well made movements but both my Sekonda bakers run slow with the golden NOS I got last year dreadfully slow and I am reluctant to wind it because it really is halting and sporadic. The chrome recent one, the loss is a couple mins a day but I might be able to knock that back into true on the trimmer just giving it a bit of advance and the chrome one has been serviced, well sometime last century but it has felt the tickle of the tweezers in its lifetime, the golden one has not sadly.
> 
> Raketa's seem to attract better prices for even bad ones and quite sought after by collectors esp the big zero's and the perpetual calendar's and I have noticed even in the bargain basement bins I usually lurk in, that the Raketa's always seem a little cleaner, less decay on the dials sort of thing than the other Soviet marques.
> 
> What is the deal with the big zero, I was half listening to something the other day and then lost where that was and heard it was something to do with Gorbachov or Breshnev or someone Politburo'ey and some sort of patriotic speech. I was only half paying attention as I sometimes just hook onto a Russian watch orientated video on youtube and let the thing play through as found so many decent people on youtube doing some amazing stuff.
> 
> Here's a intro to some Raketaness, think he still lurks within the forum, have no idea who Mr RTG is but I watch his vids a LOT and his Vostok 2209 vid saved me heaps of burning shame when I realised I had lost the soppy hour wheel from my 090 Amphibia hehe


Think that my baker is running around a minute fast over a day - but most of my Raketa / Raketa based are spot on (though fair to say, they are pocket watches - the only one that was really bad, was running around 5 minutes a hour slow. It's the one watch I bought from Ukraine - which has put me off any sellers from there with his/her 'sharp practice' with the description of the watch).
I've also noticed that the cost of a Sekonda in the UK is lower than the 'original' branded watches, yet it's the other way round if buying from the old Soviet Bloc, where a Sekonda branded version can be up to half as much again.


----------



## Ligavesh

Just checked the post and I see this finally arrived, my second Panerai-style Vostok:



















Not sure if I want to change the bezel on this one, we'll see - maybe this would fit well: THE . SCANDI . MK.2 - BLACK - ALUMINIUM BEZEL INSERT FOR SEIKO SKX 007 / VOSTOK Z-04-B - One Second Closer -or the silver version, or something else...


----------



## OCSleeper

New arrival that I'm quite pleased with. I popped a new crystal in (the other was a misshapen atrocity cut from sheet plastic)and while at it I used a small piece of rawhide leather to clean up the dial.
There's a lot going on with this dial but the blued steel hands and copper tone indices are sharp. Good value for $22.

































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> I bought the cheapest, nastiest Kirov's (Poljot) Signal with the right caseback (or better said caseback cover) I could find, to replace the caseback on my otherwise very nice Signal. I'll then try to sell the nasty Signal again for a few euros to at least reduce the loss a bit...
> 
> View attachment 15680100
> View attachment 15680101
> 
> 
> This was definitely an impulse buy - I was enraged by my impulsivity that lead to me buying a Signal _without_ the original caseback, so that I now, out of rage, impulsively bought a watch just to replace the back cover. After I've changed the back cover, I'll try to sell it for 10 euros or so... I hope the case (without the cover), the dial, that minute hand and of course the movement (if it actually works) are worth something...


I'd give you 10 euros for one with the wrong caseback


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just scored a nice hit, UK seller too...










Today is maintainence day so it seems, chasing down all the weak and dead cells in my quartz, been going at some of my Soviet's with the Peak's polish and dremel and giving the crystals a bit of a clean and lustre with the brown crystal gunge so just sitting back and going to have a cup o' tea and a bit of a break.


----------



## yinzburgher

INCOMING: PAMphibia 170964 on the slow boat from Meranom


----------



## Ligavesh

yinzburgher said:


> INCOMING: PAMphibia 170964 on the slow boat from Meranom


Mine has arrived (see couple of posts back) and now it will go back, cause for the first time ever I've experienced problems with a new Vostok - it stopped working and won't move - doesn't matter if I shake it or wind it manually, it runs a couple of seconds when shaken and then stops. I was already a little worried when it wouldn't immediately start when I took it out of the box, but then it worked the whole night -till few hours ago. I hope you have more luck with yours.



Dodgydruid said:


> I'd give you 10 euros for one with the wrong caseback


Let's wait till it gets here first


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Two new comrades arrived this afternoon from Chistopol...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Another Sekonda for the pot, didn't even know they did a UFO, from the same chap I got the Slava "sports" and NOS Elektronika earlier... yup its been a cool Soviet day today 










My ultra rare Pulsar V601 "dancing hands" arrived from one of my Russian sellers, other than the gold finishing touches on the case being a bit worn out and a bit of a scratched crystal works flawlessly and I had great fun setting up a 4 register Sekonda Classique chrono on a delightful two tone jubilee and both lovely additions to my kinda crazy collection










And to see the day out, wearing my Raketa powered Sekonda TV which I spent part the day polishing out most the last of the case scratches and giving the crystal one good going over getting out the last niggling scratch.


----------



## starjay

I just received this beautiful sunburst golden Wostok with a textured case. As usual, the photo doesn't do it justice.


----------



## Dodgydruid

starjay said:


> I just received this beautiful sunburst golden Wostok with a textured case. As usual, the photo doesn't do it justice.
> View attachment 15685910


I adore that, wow and added to my "wants" list lol


----------



## starjay

Dodgydruid said:


> I adore that, wow and added to my "wants" list lol


This one was obscenously cheap. I really lucked out


----------



## GMTtwotone

958/1500


----------



## Dodgydruid

starjay said:


> This one was obscenously cheap. I really lucked out


I've got a Slava auto in that same sort of gold and copper theme but not seen a Vostok in that finish combo and its so clean on the sunray's around the upper case, someone really cared for your watch


----------



## Sekondtime

starjay said:


> I just received this beautiful sunburst golden Wostok with a textured case. As usual, the photo doesn't do it justice.
> View attachment 15685910


Also available in blue with chrome case:


----------



## Sekondtime

Some better photos:


----------



## Dodgydruid

As I plod-eth through the piles of watchery I got a nice joblot offer on a set of mixed bracelets as I have run out again on steel ones lol This should tide me over for a bit 










Been talking with the gods today, having a very nice email chat with some peeps at Seiko UK, I found and bought an insanely rare Pulsar V693 yacht timer and they had to speak with Seiko Japan and some to'ing and fro'ing when they nailed it down its the Pulsar variant of the uncommon Seiko 8M35 Yachtmaster and I am like "I am so not worthy" but really helpful ppl.

Bit peeved in the two square Sekonda's I recased and rebraceleted, both have now stopped working and I was so careful, puffering at each step with me little puffer bulb and on a clean lint free cloth and weird why both stopped 

Upping a new vid tonite with all my recent buys and stuff, sad news too about that old 'un Cap'n Tom, what an absolute giant of a chap and an inspiration RIP Colonel Tom Moore (he was promoted when he was knighted to full Colonel, nice gesture)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sekondtime said:


> Some better photos:
> 
> View attachment 15686845
> 
> 
> View attachment 15686847


Both on my "to buy" list, surprisingly not a big list now having covered quite a lot of the Soviet types, of course am nowhere in your league and do love your website


----------



## starjay

Sekondtime said:


> Some better photos:
> 
> View attachment 15686845
> 
> 
> View attachment 15686847


And just when I thought this was it you had to go and put more ideias in my head 😅


----------



## Dodgydruid

I just realised on both, the markers represent little rockets, how cool is that wow


----------



## Dodgydruid

BTW if you are stateside, not truly Soviet but a pair of Gruen Soviet's is up for grabs on ebay item number 193867524741 in both the black theme and the white.

I have toyed with the idea of picking up a Luch as I do have a spare canteen crown and fittings I got off some Italian abomination, that would confuse everyone with a Luch Canteen hehehehe


----------



## Rufras




----------



## GMTtwotone

Not bad for a Neptune SE


----------



## Kotsov

Rufras said:


> View attachment 15688742


Mine landed in LALA land today


----------



## Dodgydruid

Todays postbag.... so many goodies with both the Poljot and Sekonda holding good wind and time and the Poljot's rotor nice and energetic, haven't had a chance to look at the Slava and the Elektronika its still got its clingfilm on back and crystal and reluctant to open up as its never been used.










I do need to source a fitted bracelet for the Poljot but one of my sellers seems to think they got one somewhere so that one will shine again.

The Sekonda UFO is awesome, I love these disc shaped watches.

What surprised me was the very very early LCD National Semiconductor I actually had this watch as a young 'un and I remembered how to make the chronograph work like it was yesterday (you have to have a sleight of hand using the two top buttons to reset, quite fiddly) and of course a common and garden Casio illuminator in the mix I will prob give to a relation... maybe one I don't like much hehe


----------



## stevarad

I didn't buy single watch for months.... 

But, on the other hand, I did bought new house  

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## OCSleeper

stevarad said:


> I didn't buy single watch for months....
> 
> But, on the other hand, I did bought new house
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


Soon I will be in your same position. My wife will get her way and we'll buy another house. But she said I can have a whole room dedicated to my watches. Currently the collection has overtaken one of our guest rooms. The other positive outcome is I will build the repair bench I want and all those watches that I need to repair/service will finally happen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DocTone

..vintage trip ...
Nice spiderdial ...bakalit bezel .... 
removed the unholy bracelet by Dremel... Not possible to shorten those russian bracelets , designed for min. 20cm wrist of sibrian yetis


----------



## DocTone

stevarad said:


> I didn't buy single watch for months....
> 
> But, on the other hand, I did bought new house
> 
> Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


... since I built a house I'm converted to vostok ... expensive watches (from earlier days) transformed to useful household items... and useful „men-tools" ?.... and every day coming back from work...I know the house is staying on my Submariner (sold to pay the concrete) ?


----------



## stevarad

OCSleeper said:


> Soon I will be in your same position. My wife will get her way and we'll buy another house. But she said I can have a whole room dedicated to my watches. Currently the collection has overtaken one of our guest rooms. The other positive outcome is I will build the repair bench I want and all those watches that I need to repair/service will finally happen.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have same plan with one of the rooms 

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## stevarad

DocTone said:


> ... since I built a house I'm converted to vostok ... expensive watches (from earlier days) transformed to useful household items... and useful „men-tools" .... and every day coming back from work...I know the house is staying on my Submariner (sold to pay the concrete)


Good foundation ))))

Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## GMTtwotone

got a few in today.


----------



## OCSleeper

A couple more for the collection, and a dilemma in the process. The Komanderskie was bought for the strap and perfect bezel as I was going to swap a bezel from a vintage scuba dude in its place. I screwed up the scuba dude bezel slightly by cleaning it, it got wet and warped around the 30 minute mark.








It came with the Gagarin strap, changed it out and I'll use it on another watch at some point. The bezel doesn't have a bit of brass showing and the watch overall is in perfect condition. Don't think I can bring myself to swap the bezel.

Here's number 2, vintage Amphibia that was on my list when the right one came along. Wanted a clean dial with a bright red triangle at 12 and an amazing price.








This was a gift given to a "Veteran of The Great Patriotic War (wife couldn't make out the writing on the last name) Stephen Aleksandrovich in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Victory". This translation is probably not perfect, my wife was frustrated I asked her to look at one of my watches and begrudgingly gave me the start of it. The 40th anniversary perfectly places this watch in 1985.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

Well this is a double entry into the collection, my first "fridge" and first Cornavin too and got to give 2012putnik some kudos for holding it back for me due to there being no UK-Russia air mail service so do def recommend that ebay seller.



















You wait til I got at it with me brown crystal gunge and my Peek's metal polish... its going to gleam by time I finished 

My recent Slava tank quartz however is not so good, gleams like a brand new watch but sadly and despite using Deoxit which is frankly heinous expensive, gently reflowed the connections and gave a thorough clean on the electricals its now losing half its time in a day and I am suspecting the stepper as it has been kicking that pinion round maybe 40 plus years, really sad 

Reason I think its the stepper is I put on a known good board and it still loses time, the recently arrived Slava fitness quartz is also dead, falling victim to the black goo of evil and the coil and sensitive bits corroded so I don't think that one will be a goer any time soon


----------



## Rufras

New bezel


----------



## Rufras

When dark.


----------



## Grant J

Don't count you chickens before they have hatched.

Goodness only knows what did this!
Evidently wrecked before it reached here, as it was re-wrapped on arrival to my country.









It wasn't looking too hopeful.


















One lug is slightly bent. One bar is bent. The movement won't wind and the balance appears to be stuck.








Looks like it was dragged along a concrete floor.


----------



## dutchassasin

Oh man  , hopefully you can get a refund cause this cannot be fixed.


----------



## OCSleeper

Grant J said:


> Don't count you chickens before they have hatched.
> 
> Goodness only knows what did this!
> Evidently wrecked before it reached here, as it was re-wrapped on arrival to my country.
> View attachment 15700650
> 
> 
> It wasn't looking too hopeful.
> View attachment 15700651
> 
> 
> View attachment 15700652
> 
> 
> One lug is slightly bent. One bar is bent. The movement won't wind and the balance appears to be stuck.
> View attachment 15700653
> 
> Looks like it was dragged along a concrete floor.


Makes me rethink shipping requests on some purchases. Possible it was caught in a conveyor system or maybe under a tire of a forklift moving bins of packages. I'm thinking I may ask for small boxes to avoid the potential of the conveyor system possibility.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 979greenwich

Now imagine this happening to an Okean or Nvch-30. With item worth 700 $ and shipping 10, quite possible.


----------



## GMTtwotone

It's here!


----------



## Grant J

OCSleeper said:


> Makes me rethink shipping requests on some purchases. Possible it was caught in a conveyor system or maybe under a tire of a forklift moving bins of packages. I'm thinking I may ask for small boxes to avoid the potential of the conveyor system possibility.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes. I haven't had any issues with these. Sellers usually charge $10 or so.


----------



## Grant J

979greenwich said:


> Now imagine this happening to an Okean or Nvch-30. With item worth 700 $ and shipping 10, quite possible.


Yes, it does raise the question.
I was lucky (if that is the right word) that it was a cheaper watch.


----------



## Odessa200

Got this old Pobeda 119K


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## OCSleeper

I'll start with this one. Digging into some old threads it appears this case was made in France. I have yet to find the name Godfrey on another dial to this point.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> I'll start with this one. Digging into some old threads it appears this case was made in France. I have yet to find the name Godfrey on another dial to this point.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


you may not find  basically they put whatever random names they could think of!


----------



## Ligavesh

The seller gave a discount and I couldn't resist getting this rare old Vostok Neptun - one, I haven't seen it anywhere else on the internet; and two, the watch already had about 20 people watching it and I didn't want to risk someone else getting it:










It seems to be in a good condition, too -judging from the pictures at least.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Grabbed a few more of these (Vintage Stainless Steel Watch Bracelet with 18mm Straight Ends, Vintage Bracelet | eBay) and couple in the gold from same seller.

I polished up one of my "boilerplate" bracelets and put it on my recently arrived Indian special Seiko, looks not too bad imho


----------



## OCSleeper

Here's another one I received this week. Unbelievable condition in my opinion for its age. Popped the back and it still smelled like that dresser drawer of grandpa's that held his keepsakes.

Very interesting marks inside the case back along the outer edge.


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Dodgydruid

I like that, I have been eyeing a Soviet pocket watch with the view in buying for it a bespoke wrist strap holder as they look so steampunk and gawjus imho


----------



## mariomart

Vostok Amphibian SE 710AN1 from Soviet.Market

I've never used this seller before but when I saw this SE I couldn't resist.

There is also a Beige version available but I thought the graphics were more prominent on the Green.

I just love the hand set


----------



## Dodgydruid

Aw man I gotta get me one of them  Yep those hands are just super cool, a very sweet piece indeed


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> Aw man I gotta get me one of them  Yep those hands are just super cool, a very sweet piece indeed


Although there is every chance I will use my own strap/band it's a crime that there is no option (that I could see) to opt for one of the AN2 dial variant straps, those would look much better in my opinion.

And CONGRATULATIONS @Dodgydruid on the 2000 posts  🎂


----------



## thewatchadude

Great watch, congrats for the find!

I'm very tempted but the shipping costs are a bit discouraging.


----------



## Ligavesh

mariomart said:


> Vostok Amphibian SE 710AN1 from Soviet.Market
> 
> I've never used this seller before but when I saw this SE I couldn't resist.
> 
> There is also a Beige version available but I thought the graphics were more prominent on the Green.
> 
> I just love the hand set
> 
> View attachment 15710607


Damn, and I said to myself no more buying for the time being... How come meranom or komandirskie don't have this model? How's the lume on the indices and hands?


----------



## mariomart

Ligavesh said:


> Damn, and I said to myself no more buying for the time being... How come meranom or komandirskie don't have this model? How's the lume on the indices and hands?


I will let you know in 6 to 8 weeks when it arrives.

Apparently it was "produced at the Vostok factory on special order in cooperation with a foreign designer" according to the Soviet.Market listing.


----------



## mariomart

Ligavesh said:


> Damn, and I said to myself no more buying for the time being... How come meranom or komandirskie don't have this model? How's the lume on the indices and hands?


Just got an update on delivery, they are using UPS Express so it may be here by Friday


----------



## graypilgrimdc

Well this came in, two days early, and I couldn't be happier.

I've had my eye on this Classica for a while. I thought I was on the notification list at Meranom; different Classica. However, last week, someone on FB posted it was available. I looked and there were 10 in stock. I figured I had some time to think it over. (I try to avoid impulse purchases.) Six hours later, I came back, and it was down to 1...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Been focusing on evicting some of my projects out of the project box as nothing really has jumped out at me in the saved searches this last week except a very cheap Pulsar 5M62 kinetic so aiming to re-movement my green Slava tank first as have gotten one of my NOS Slava auto movements to go in there and doing the same with my textured dial Sekonda but using the manual NOS I got lined up for it and been polishing bracelets and cases like mad with my little dremel all in preparation for my work in progress video detailing my collection.

Have also split my Soviet quartz into what I want working and now in little sealed tubs going with the big bruiser Luch 3056, the Chaika big blue of course, the Raketa diver and my poor Slava tank quartz, I've got two 3050's that work from battery to motor but have broken pinions I am going to swap the electronics to the Chaika and tank and I think I have enough viable bits to put my Slava big red star back on the wrist so hope blooms eternal to get these old beasties running again. I am tempted to simply increase the potentiometer on the tank quartz as it works fine, just loses about 5 mins a day and wondering if I should just boost the juice until its no longer losing time as I have had that apart and together so many times now and everything checks out.

I know its expensive stuff but I used de-oxit on the tank and it brought the circuit board, the metalwork in there up like brand new so do recommend


----------



## starjay

Ligavesh said:


> The seller gave a discount and I couldn't resist getting this rare old Vostok Neptun - one, I haven't seen it anywhere else on the internet; and two, the watch already had about 20 people watching it and I didn't want to risk someone else getting it:
> 
> View attachment 15707642
> 
> 
> It seems to be in a good condition, too -judging from the pictures at least.


This was the model that started my URSS vintage addiction. Now to find the perfect bracelet.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Not a Russian but I was intrigued and for a few quid picked this 16gb camera fone up which apparently has video, audio and camera functions plus whatever the extra hands do...










The two left buttons are the function buttons, the left hand crown is the 3.5mm USB jack and charger input, the watch is like a Skymaster with two layers, the bottom layer is the driver for the quartz movement and this is NOS too so looking forward to getting this up and running 

Been mad at it doing 40 more watches with the metal polish and dremel turning dulled steel into mirror finish, not that many left to do now and I can lay them all out for foto's for my website  I've put the golds to one side as I am going to use some jeweller's rouge on them as I want a shine not take off the gold plating hehe


----------



## Odessa200

This one.









Kidding . Save it in your catalog backups!


----------



## OCSleeper

Odessa200 said:


> This one.
> View attachment 15717878
> 
> 
> Kidding . Save it in your catalog backups!


Perfect poster to put over the watchmaker bench. Nice find.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

This beautiful little piece in practically an NOS state just arrived:


----------



## OCSleeper

This one arrived last night in unworn condition with original fat shiny spring bars. Threw a spare strap on it. $15 bargain. Just need to polywatch the storage marks from the crystal.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

As I passed on my little trove of Slave auto tanks to someone else as part of a project deal which I will put on my youtube channel down the road, I wanted a working black dialled "beater" tank I could just get on and wear and not mess around, seller offered a quite nice discount offer and thought sod it... trigger pulled.










I know I could wear my NOS Sekonda one but wearing it would soon turn it from a NOS pristine version into a worn not pristine version and I only wear that when its shirt and trousers order not the sort of when I am elbow deep in engine oil times and this one I have had my eye on for ages and I have a couple spare bracelets so this one I am hoping will be the winner 

At mo, instead of engine oil elbow deep I am fingertip deep in the guts of my Pulsar 5M42 kinetic installing a lithium cell kit to replace the buggered capacitor, got to give Seiko their due I ordered it yesterday afternoon and it was here this morning, nice one Seiko UK again


----------



## Rimmed762

Not purchased today and finalized yesterday. Favinovs built-to-order Amphibia for me.

And the numbers in timegrapher...


----------



## Dodgydruid

So today instead of doing my Pulsar/Seiko 5M42's lithium cell upgrade, I decided to do some actual fixing and found the errant Poljot bracelet stuck on my Poljot Olympic tonneau which is now on a silver brick bracelet I have found are just awesome for Soviets and with some work managed to get the T pieces out.

I then had to drive the pins back in through the lugs which was actually quite fiddly using some red threadlock to keep them secure and done some repairs on one of the links pins which kept popping out due to a loose folded section which I tightened up with some mini vice grips.

So next stage is to polish and clean the bracelet and find out why the movement is very clacky and loose within the case, is there a movement ring or something supposed to be in there? Failing that I will find a way to pack the movement in, could even use some hot snot or balled rodico as a stopgap.

Another one put into use in the collection, like all my Poljots this keeps very good time indeed so I am quite happy 

(Found its missing a movement retainer and screw so going to sniff thru me bits for a donor, surprised me how good these Poljot automatics are inside)


----------



## starjay

Dodgydruid said:


> So today instead of doing my Pulsar/Seiko 5M42's lithium cell upgrade, I decided to do some actual fixing and found the errant Poljot bracelet stuck on my Poljot Olympic tonneau which is now on a silver brick bracelet I have found are just awesome for Soviets and with some work managed to get the T pieces out.
> 
> I then had to drive the pins back in through the lugs which was actually quite fiddly using some red threadlock to keep them secure and done some repairs on one of the links pins which kept popping out due to a loose folded section which I tightened up with some mini vice grips.
> 
> So next stage is to polish and clean the bracelet and find out why the movement is very clacky and loose within the case, is there a movement ring or something supposed to be in there? Failing that I will find a way to pack the movement in, could even use some hot snot or balled rodico as a stopgap.
> 
> Another one put into use in the collection, like all my Poljots this keeps very good time indeed so I am quite happy
> 
> (Found its missing a movement retainer and screw so going to sniff thru me bits for a donor, surprised me how good these Poljot automatics are inside)
> 
> View attachment 15726825
> 
> View attachment 15726826
> 
> View attachment 15726827


Oooh. I quite like this one. After the bakers I found myself graviting towards these metal bracelet beauties.


----------



## Dodgydruid

There is one of these Poljot auto's on ebay at the mo again without its fitted bracelet but in Italy and I can't read da lingo (item number 124575897524) not cheap so prob worth waiting for a better one lol, finding out that not all Soviet watches are made the same as not one of my donor's movement retainer lugs fit lol So out with the belt grinder... we shall make it fit 

Its interesting how Poljot did the bracelet with a removable T piece held in by a pin, I am eyeing the leftover T pieces and wondering if they could be made with some judicial dremel work to fit one of the heavy Slava tank bracelets which would be epic as I love them tank bracelets and I got one spare kicking its heels too


----------



## mariomart

Oops! I did it again ?

Soviet.Market supplied me with a 10% discount due to my video's and feedback, so now I am completing the set


----------



## starjay

Dodgydruid said:


> There is one of these Poljot auto's on ebay at the mo again without its fitted bracelet but in Italy and I can't read da lingo (item number 124575897524) not cheap so prob worth waiting for a better one lol, finding out that not all Soviet watches are made the same as not one of my donor's movement retainer lugs fit lol So out with the belt grinder... we shall make it fit
> 
> Its interesting how Poljot did the bracelet with a removable T piece held in by a pin, I am eyeing the leftover T pieces and wondering if they could be made with some judicial dremel work to fit one of the heavy Slava tank bracelets which would be epic as I love them tank bracelets and I got one spare kicking its heels too


Tank bracelets are a pain in the proverbial a$$. I have a tiny wrist and it is just fit at the smallest size. Trying to pry one open is hell!
I'll look into the Italian one and put up a search notification. Thanks 🙂


----------



## Dodgydruid

mariomart said:


> Oops! I did it again 🤣
> 
> Soviet.Market supplied me with a 10% discount due to my video's and feedback, so now I am completing the set
> 
> View attachment 15727267


I do love that one, altho I can imagine comments might be said about the black shape going on there on the dial... looks a little like what many of us using permanent markers put on passed out drunk mates foreheads a bit.


----------



## OCSleeper

2 winners and a dud. Some sellers are magicians with their pics but I still blame myself when I'm unhappy with what I receive. You have those sellers who go out of their way to show flaws that look awful but are hardly noticeable when the watch arrives.

Then you have those sellers who manipulate light to their advantage and when the watch shows up you can't believe you missed the flaws that are bad enough to almost keep you from wearing it.

The purchase of a black dialed 090 has been a struggle for some reason. Purchased a nice one only to have the seller later contact me to say it's been misplaced. He was very courteous and apologetic, even offering me other watches from his listings at HUGE markdowns or an immediate refund. I ended up taking the refund and bought this one below much cheaper. Parts wise it wasn't really a loss but now I need to keep searching.








The strap came from a Ukrainian antiques seller, $12. I cannot find another like it but it was listed as a Soviet watch strap. If anyone else has seen this style please educate me on its use or history. Want to use it with a Kirovskie but the straps are riveted so I'll have to work that out.









Two screw penetrations into the dial face and an extremely discolored center.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## mariomart

OCSleeper said:


> The strap came from a Ukrainian antiques seller, $12. I cannot find another like it but it was listed as a Soviet watch strap. If anyone else has seen this style please educate me on its use or history. Want to use it with a Kirovskie but the straps are riveted so I'll have to work that out.


I don't think that is a watch strap, I think that goes with a Gimp Suit ? ??


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> 2 winners and a dud. Some sellers are magicians with their pics but I still blame myself when I'm unhappy with what I receive. You have those sellers who go out of their way to show flaws that look awful but are hardly noticeable when the watch arrives.
> 
> Then you have those sellers who manipulate light to their advantage and when the watch shows up you can't believe you missed the flaws that are bad enough to almost keep you from wearing it.
> 
> The purchase of a black dialed 090 has been a struggle for some reason. Purchased a nice one only to have the seller later contact me to say it's been misplaced. He was very courteous and apologetic, even offering me other watches from his listings at HUGE markdowns or an immediate refund. I ended up taking the refund and bought this one below much cheaper. Parts wise it wasn't really a loss but now I need to keep searching.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The strap came from a Ukrainian antiques seller, $12. I cannot find another like it but it was listed as a Soviet watch strap. If anyone else has seen this style please educate me on its use or history. Want to use it with a Kirovskie but the straps are riveted so I'll have to work that out.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Two screw penetrations into the dial face and an extremely discolored center.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You can buy a cheap riveting set off ebay and redo the rivets, usually includes the snap and former and use a set of vice grips, a vice or water pump pliers to make the rivet. Check to make sure its not just a very stuck popper type 2 piece fastener as they were common on a lot of straps in the 70's.

Trimming down the watch holding part takes a good measure to get it right, when I trimmed down one of my cuff straps I simple marked the middle line on the underside then measured the amount I wanted to trim off and used a metal straight edge clamped to my workmate and got a good clean cut both sides reducing it from a 20 to an 18mm.

A scalpel sort of knife will cut very well and no jagged edges. You could even using some hide offcuts off ebay make your own set of different sizes for different watches or extra same sizes so you can simply swap out one watch head for another. I have seen Chinese "tropicalised" watches similar to this strap on Aliexpress but the one I got the leather was untreated and super stiff and horrible so I harvested the watch into bits and never wore the thing as it was just so harsh on the skin.

You can if you want something a bit nicer looking use flat slot screw rivet heads which means you can remove watch far easier for servicing or cleaning just by undoing the screw and lifting the watch holding strap off.


----------



## Marius_B




----------



## jimzilla

Got my first electronic Russian.


----------



## Dodgydruid

A heads up there is a very cheap Invicta Russian Diver up on ebay for £40 but not working, item number 353346791154. Would have snagged it myself but I won an old Seiko 6349 so had to let it go and a new movement for these are cheap as chips.


----------



## Dodgydruid

jimzilla said:


> Got my first electronic Russian.


If you have some capton tape it will pay to isolate the caseback and the top of the battery clamp itself from contacting the caseback, also grab from ebay some spares as some of these are in watch terms positively ancient and the stepper itself if its been used over the years pretty tired.

Give the jewels a dab of the slippery stuff, the pinion to motor as well not too much but they do like it say once a year and if you are laying it up for any length of time take the battery completely out and Renata do make AG13's which are very good quality and not expensive either and I found with mine one a year is fine, I lost my immaculate big red star Slava by not changing that one in time and the battery spewing wrecked the coil, board and copper in the stepper as well as reacting with the vitron caseback seal coating the insides with a nasty black mush 

Whilst stronger and more durable than their 3050 cousins, the 3056's still don't like large shocks or impacts as it shears the pivots you see going into the jewels, that really is a lovely looking piece and there is something about how Poljot do the deep black and the contrasting mint green lume that is my favourite colour scheme on any of my Soviet pieces (I got some Chaika and Poljots like this and my Sekonda alarm has the black and mint going on and lovely to wear)


----------



## Dodgydruid

Rare Slava tank here just popped up in me feeds, unusual for a light dial on these beasts (Rare Slava Tank USSR Soviet Wristwatch Wrist Watch 2427 Automatic SU | eBay)

Cursing winning the Seiko now lol


----------



## jimzilla

Dodgydruid said:


> If you have some capton tape it will pay to isolate the caseback and the top of the battery clamp itself from contacting the caseback, also grab from ebay some spares as some of these are in watch terms positively ancient and the stepper itself if its been used over the years pretty tired.
> 
> Give the jewels a dab of the slippery stuff, the pinion to motor as well not too much but they do like it say once a year and if you are laying it up for any length of time take the battery completely out and Renata do make AG13's which are very good quality and not expensive either and I found with mine one a year is fine, I lost my immaculate big red star Slava by not changing that one in time and the battery spewing wrecked the coil, board and copper in the stepper as well as reacting with the vitron caseback seal coating the insides with a nasty black mush
> 
> Whilst stronger and more durable than their 3050 cousins, the 3056's still don't like large shocks or impacts as it shears the pivots you see going into the jewels, that really is a lovely looking piece and there is something about how Poljot do the deep black and the contrasting mint green lume that is my favourite colour scheme on any of my Soviet pieces (I got some Chaika and Poljots like this and my Sekonda alarm has the black and mint going on and lovely to wear)


Thanks for the tips Dodgydruid, I mostly stick to the mechanical watches but I just liked the way this one looked and it is N.O.S. and was fairly cheap. It does have a wooden insulator inside the case back.
I have not had a chance to take a peek under the hood yet, at that point I will see if it needs some lube.
How can I tell if the battery is fresh is there a minimum voltage for replacement?
Thank you sir mega regards to you sir, James.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Yes I can see they put the wood vinyl in to stop the contacting of the caseback already, you certainly got an absolute treasure there and is a very good buy  Can't reiterate the thing about spewing batteries, I was so gutted when I opened the back of my big red star and it was horrific, the coil looked like a copper hedgehog coated in tar as it munched thru the copper, on the upper side of the circuit board there was little of the tracks left, had munched the legs on the IC and had a fair go at munching on the brass wheels too /cry


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just had a tidy offer come in on a four pack of Soviets, snapped up because the black rimmed UFO looks quite interesting, means I now have a Poljot base of the square to pair off against my two Sekonda squares and a clean Poljot quartz dial, hands and chapter ring for the one I have here which is pretty bashed up inside but has a clean crystal.










Both the top two seem to have clean crystals so for just over $10 I think I might have a bargain here


----------



## jimzilla

Dodgydruid said:


> Just had a tidy offer come in on a four pack of Soviets, snapped up because the black rimmed UFO looks quite interesting, means I now have a Poljot base of the square to pair off against my two Sekonda squares and a clean Poljot quartz dial, hands and chapter ring for the one I have here which is pretty bashed up inside but has a clean crystal.
> 
> View attachment 15728991
> 
> 
> Both the top two seem to have clean crystals so for just over $10 I think I might have a bargain here


Hello Dodgydruid I woke up this mornind and my watch took a dump, the seconds hand moves a little and then stops when I move the watch. Any idea on what I should look for when I take the back off? thanks, James.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I would check the battery firstly, even ones thought of as new could have sat on a storehouse shelf for years and just give up the ghost.

I would check then the battery clamp itself isn't loose or is allowing an airgap between battery and clamp as it is a terminal as much as a retaining strap. Check the visible wheels sticking out of under the bridge for missing teeth, use a toothpick to gently gently rotate them round. Sometimes the little prongs on the battery clamp flatten off allowing the battery to disconnect, its very thin brass and doesn't take a lot of pressure to flatten the prongs, with battery out put a little bend on the prongs with a toothpick as they act like a shock absorber spring.

If its not a battery fault I would be maybe reaching out to seller to put things right because the faults left are the stepper motor itself, or the board died. It may well be the stepper having sat for so long in one position has accrued a little patina over its surface or lost magnetism with age, I have had the case where one of mine has stopped and just a little nudge with a toothpick got it going again and seemed to settle down after that.

I would put my money on it being a battery fault as these are quite hungry little watches and must get that battery out to test asap because you have only a small window before the acid eats through the insulator in the battery which sprays a fine jet of acid everywhere and will consume your watch m8 The connection pad for the battery to board can lift or wear off, very weak so might pay to put a dab of conductive paint on the pad that is around the screwhole to really get a good connection. Check the negative terminal "tongue" that is underneath the battery too as they can break off with age, any poor connections create a resistance thus starving the mechanism of its true potential volts and current.

Really sorry to hear you had issues so quickly on and the watch looks pristine too. There is a chap in Russia called Sergei who is a Soviet quartz guru but I don't have his contact details if someone else can furnish that for you? He's apparently the Favinov of the Soviet quartz world but its a bit bad you would have to consider paying for a repair when I think seller should be sorting it


----------



## jimzilla

Dodgydruid said:


> I would check the battery firstly, even ones thought of as new could have sat on a storehouse shelf for years and just give up the ghost.
> 
> I would check then the battery clamp itself isn't loose or is allowing an airgap between battery and clamp as it is a terminal as much as a retaining strap. Check the visible wheels sticking out of under the bridge for missing teeth, use a toothpick to gently gently rotate them round. Sometimes the little prongs on the battery clamp flatten off allowing the battery to disconnect, its very thin brass and doesn't take a lot of pressure to flatten the prongs, with battery out put a little bend on the prongs with a toothpick as they act like a shock absorber spring.
> 
> If its not a battery fault I would be maybe reaching out to seller to put things right because the faults left are the stepper motor itself, or the board died. It may well be the stepper having sat for so long in one position has accrued a little patina over its surface or lost magnetism with age, I have had the case where one of mine has stopped and just a little nudge with a toothpick got it going again and seemed to settle down after that.
> 
> I would put my money on it being a battery fault as these are quite hungry little watches and must get that battery out to test asap because you have only a small window before the acid eats through the insulator in the battery which sprays a fine jet of acid everywhere and will consume your watch m8 The connection pad for the battery to board can lift or wear off, very weak so might pay to put a dab of conductive paint on the pad that is around the screwhole to really get a good connection. Check the negative terminal "tongue" that is underneath the battery too as they can break off with age, any poor connections create a resistance thus starving the mechanism of its true potential volts and current.
> 
> Really sorry to hear you had issues so quickly on and the watch looks pristine too. There is a chap in Russia called Sergei who is a Soviet quartz guru but I don't have his contact details if someone else can furnish that for you? He's apparently the Favinov of the Soviet quartz world but its a bit bad you would have to consider paying for a repair when I think seller should be sorting it


Thank you for the input I will give it a go later today, best regards, James.


----------



## jimzilla

jimzilla said:


> Thank you for the input I will give it a go later today, best regards, James.


I got a chance to open her up and did not find any damage per say. I found a few little green flecks here and there and on the + side of the battery as well so I removed the green particulate bent the tangs down on the battery retainer and popped in a new battery.The voltage reading on the old battery is 1.42 Volt, Voltage reading on new battery is 1.53 Volt. 
It seems to be running normally at the moment. I don't think a 10th of a volt Is enough to make it run sporadically. I guess I will have to wait and see.


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## Rimmed762

I am not sure what are proper voltages for those batteries. Car batteries run from 11,6V (10%, practically empty) to about 12,9V. So, operating range is quite narrow. Add up some green flakes (oxidation, I guess) and results might be not so good.

But these batteries and voltage requirements are something that I am certainly not aware of. I am better with cars/trucks/boats electricity. 😁


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## jimzilla

The Voltage reading on the old battery is 1.42 Volt, Voltage reading on new battery is 1.53 Volt.
I don't think roughly a 10th of a volt Is enough to make it run sporadically. Since I have changed the battery It has been running flawlessly, I set it with my Samsung Note before lunch today and my girlfriend, Mr 3056 and I went to Ybor City In Tampa, FL to get some Cuban food for lunch and Mr 3056 performed flawlessly, kept right to the second with my Samsung and It is roughly a total of 8 hrs later and it is still second for second. I do not think 1.42 Volt is low enough to consider the battery weak. If some one knows this to be untrue please let me know.
If the watch runs normally from this point on I would contribute it to something I did when I took the back off to change the battery out. I will have to wait and see if it runs normally, James.


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## Dodgydruid

jimzilla said:


> I got a chance to open her up and did not find any damage per say. I found a few little green flecks here and there and on the + side of the battery as well so I removed the green particulate bent the tangs down on the battery retainer and popped in a new battery.The voltage reading on the old battery is 1.42 Volt, Voltage reading on new battery is 1.53 Volt.
> It seems to be running normally at the moment. I don't think a 10th of a volt Is enough to make it run sporadically. I guess I will have to wait and see.


At least its up and running 

You would be surprised what a fraction of a volt does, there is a pair of cells that are both the same size, one is 1.55v the other 1.5v and I thought the watch was duff then caught a forum post on another site saying about this particular movement worked with 1.55v and the 1.5v made the watch run just a bit slow. Put a 1.55v one in and it perked up and ran true to time.

My Slava tank quartz, once I have got it sorted I am thinking of trying to find a way to stop any leaky batteries from causing so much damage like maybe a patch of vinyl or capton tape to stop any acid spray from escaping from the battery well and maybe some sort of conformal coating on the board, coil etc.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Found one of these a nice price, gives me an idea of what I am missing sort of thing from the main brands 










Woke up early so was in kitchen finishing off demagging the last offenders with 4 out of the 5 racers now keeping time and just a Poljot Olympic volcano being a bugger so prob caseback off job as that is a hefty ol' case, still have to find the missing green one from the colours as got a blue and a reddish brown and I kinda am a bit OCD like that hehe

Finally got my Luch with the faceted crystal and integral bracelet to tell the time properly, that seems to attract magnetism a lot and gave that an extra long old burst with the blue brick o' doom.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

jimzilla said:


> I got a chance to open her up and did not find any damage per say. I found a few little green flecks here and there and on the + side of the battery as well so I removed the green particulate bent the tangs down on the battery retainer and popped in a new battery.The voltage reading on the old battery is 1.42 Volt, Voltage reading on new battery is 1.53 Volt.
> It seems to be running normally at the moment. I don't think a 10th of a volt Is enough to make it run sporadically. I guess I will have to wait and see.


Hopefully you've sorted it - that point one of a volt might well make the difference!


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## jimzilla

I would be surprised but not shocked, still running well as of this morning.


----------



## Ligavesh

Wasn't planning to, but I had been monitoring this watch for a long time, waiting to buy it at a later date, but today I saw that another person had put it in their "shopping cart" on Etsy, so I panic-bought it, mainly because I haven't managed to find such an example elsewhere...










Now the wait for the watch to arrive - although, lately stuff from Ukraine has been coming in relatively quickly.


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## elsoldemayo

I like that a LOT!!


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## Kaiser4

Ligavesh said:


> Wasn't planning to, but I had been monitoring this watch for a long time, waiting to buy it at a later date, but today I saw that another person had put it in their "shopping cart" on Etsy, so I panic-bought it, mainly because I haven't managed to find such an example elsewhere...
> 
> View attachment 15731766
> 
> 
> Now the wait for the watch to arrive - although, lately stuff from Ukraine has been coming in relatively quickly.


I didn't know about Longines' russian inspiration 










I prefer your option and I don't want to offend anybody. It just came to my mind instantly. 
Great finding. Please, share some photos when it arrives.


----------



## OCSleeper

A couple arrivals. This beautiful Raketa and a bracelet for my OKEAH.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

Kaiser4 said:


> I didn't know about Longines' russian inspiration
> 
> View attachment 15732812
> 
> 
> I prefer your option and I don't want to offend anybody. It just came to my mind instantly.
> Great finding. Please, share some photos when it arrives.


I don't see the similarity tbh - but I do love that Longines, I have a soft spot for compressor (or supercompressor, haven't yet learned what's the difference) watches... I have an Orient Chronoace compressor and a supercompressor from some French microbrand which I think I vastly overpaid (long story, I was disappointed at the time that a Vostok Compressor got away on ebay), in the meantime I found a Vostok reissue Compressor for 400 Euro on the Spanish forum which I don't feel ready to pay up now tbh...

EDIT: Oh, those square marks beside the 3, 6, 9 and 12!


----------



## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Need to get me one of these...


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> A couple arrivals. This beautiful Raketa and a bracelet for my OKEAH.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Those bracelets I nicknamed "boilerplates" and I abs adore them, got 4 and all polished up beautifully too.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, seller knocked five pounds off the price, no one else seemed to want it so I hit on it meself, yes I know its not really Russian but I am a big fan of the canteen crown "biggies" and can't afford a Zlatoust so Invicta Russian Diver it is til I can...










I was wearing my TW Steels 1010 Chrono yesterday and this quite nice looking lady says to me "Oooh I do like your watch" so maybe size IS important hehehehe


----------



## Dodgydruid

Call me mad, call me a lot of things but when a seller offers a working Slava tank auto for $15... you just gotta hit that yes button and I did lol










So that means I have a green one, a plum one, a black one, a Sekonda one.

Got stuffed for £5 bloody VAT though, was not happy about that esp as it was under the threshold so might have a word with ebay on that one. Still, £20ish for a working tank is bloody sweet all day long as I love these old beasts.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Call me mad, call me a lot of things but when a seller offers a working Slava tank auto for $15... you just gotta hit that yes button and I did lol
> 
> View attachment 15739112
> 
> 
> So that means I have a green one, a plum one, a black one, a Sekonda one.
> 
> Got stuffed for £5 bloody VAT though, was not happy about that esp as it was under the threshold so might have a word with ebay on that one. Still, £20ish for a working tank is bloody sweet all day long as I love these old beasts.


Sounds like they've added the vat on the p&p as well - vat is 20%, so for a 15 purchase, should only be 3. See what they say.


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## Dodgydruid

Email has been sent, sent them the relevant links to the new rules so see if that shakes 'em down as it wouldn't surprise me HMRC and ebay are divvying it up between themselves for a bit of extra cash off our backs lol


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> Email has been sent, sent them the relevant links to the new rules so see if that shakes 'em down as it wouldn't surprise me HMRC and ebay are divvying it up between themselves for a bit of extra cash off our backs lol


Probably eBay being their usual greedy selves


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just been had a go at by daughter, nag muscles set to stun but I says "Its a blue one" and she doesn't understand...

The one I am looking out for is a curious looking one which has instead of the usual crystal has a kinda perspex screen on the tank held in by small tapper screws, seen a couple but they are always super pricey. Is that an actual model or just enterprising Russian watchsmiths lacking a crystal making things work?


----------



## Dodgydruid

It lives... da da da duuuuuuuuh!










Going to put another case on it as it seems this has been polished down to the brass knickers and looks OK but no way I am going to get the bracelet to match.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Wow the gods of ebay are being very cool to me at mo... just won a pair of Hornby OO engines for little over the price a pint of beer 










Not Russian watch related but I get a lot of wins by pitching low on stuff, if I get knocked off the perch I move onto the next one but sometimes these come up trumps and getting that $15 Slava tank in an offer direct to me just was the cherry on the cake this year as wearing my black dialled one at mo and man it feels good on my wrist.

I scored at weekend another dancing hands watch, a Accurist 6W50 which is a very sophisticated analogue watch with the dancing hands, I paid £6.50 on that one and means the broken one I got here will now become a parts donor. Accurist also make a much sexier one simply known as Accurist AS10 referring to its Miyota movement having a very interesting triple register with the most unusual split second function I have seen on any watch.


----------



## Fergfour

Bought a few days ago


----------



## graypilgrimdc

I got a Komandirskie 811783, and I promptly recased the dial and movement in an Amphibia 420.










Other than the fact that it's so chunky and I might have to wait forever for a slim caseback to end up in stock, I'm quite satisfied.


----------



## graypilgrimdc

Second package arrived, and this was from WatchGecko. It was a bunch of straps, including one for my new Classica.


----------



## Ligavesh

Arrived today, very pleased with it:










Hands are dry from constantly using desinficient


----------



## GMTtwotone

Ligavesh said:


> Arrived today, very pleased with it:
> 
> View attachment 15743206
> 
> 
> Hands are dry from constantly using desinficient


Very cool. I really like the USSR era Amphibias with the hexagon? /Octagon? Case and metal bezel insert.


----------



## Kaiser4

Arrived today. It's my first second hand piece. The rest of my russians were new or NOS. Special thanks to Odessa200 for his advice.


----------



## 979greenwich

This should keep me busy for a while.


----------



## Ligavesh

I bought a pretty unique piece (again, because it had so many watchers and I was afraid that someone would snatch it - even though I shouldn't buy at the time, especially as I'm waiting for the big payment for the Agats... But anyway, I'll keep you a bit in suspense, I'll post a picture when the watch arrives


----------



## graypilgrimdc

Ligavesh said:


> I bought a pretty unique piece (again, because it had so many watchers and I was afraid that someone would snatch it - even though I shouldn't buy at the time, especially as I'm waiting for the big payment for the Agats... But anyway, I'll keep you a bit in suspense, I'll post a picture when the watch arrives


Oh, i bet I know what it is


----------



## Ligavesh

graypilgrimdc said:


> Oh, i bet I know what it is


haha, maybe but I doubt it... let's wait till it comes

btw, it wasn't something terribly expensive or anything (although not cheap for a Soviet watch either), but let's say I haven't seen one around like that


----------



## Dodgydruid

979greenwich said:


> This should keep me busy for a while.


I hit up on the bulk stuff a while back, just so useful for dials, mainsprings, balance assy's and you can get some lovely and unusual dials sometimes.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> haha, maybe but I doubt it... let's wait till it comes
> 
> btw, it wasn't something terribly expensive or anything (although not cheap for a Soviet watch either), but let's say I haven't seen one around like that


Vympel Kapitan? Ladies dual coppertone Sekonda? Rare Chinese Komandirskie powered by the cold black heart of President Xi???


----------



## Dodgydruid

So an update on Slava tanks, so I get the other one last week and the $15 dollar one arrived friday, the 15 dollar one is running beautifully, abs solid performer despite a little crinklage on the dial but after a bit of a polish session its come up beautiful.









Now the other one was working perfect but where the seller polished the case, the chrome had been polished off leaving the strike coat that sits between the brass and chrome and it looked awful on the bracelet I sorted out for it so I sorted out a lovely case not too bashed up with a very good crystal, popped the stem out, being very gentle eased the movement out onto the cushion, got the new case and lowered it on and popped the stem in nice and smooth, went to set the time up and nothing, stem doesn't wind OR set time. I measured both cases, the exterior of the case to inside of the stem tube is exactly the same and whilst my Chinese calipers might be questionable my Brown and Sharp calipers measure in the thou's and both exactly the same.










So what's gone wrong? The stem clicks in nice and firm but thinking maybe the stem got damaged I put another stem in and still it just twirled or moved the hands but nothing else. If it weren't for the blue one I would have been seriously mivved but now I got the beater piece I wanted but the dark Slava has actually a very clean dial and hands and did want to have this for a nice wearer rather than a sloppy joe.


----------



## shaunpski

Vostok Amphibia 120658. Meranom. Got here in about three weeks. Good quality, good timekeeping, nice price. First one for me (I bought my son a Komandirskie for Christmas).


----------



## Dodgydruid

I imagine that is quite a bright and clean looking Amphibia with the silver dial and all that polished stainless steel going on there. Me and my daughter were discussing which watches I would consider selling to reduce my "footprint" so to speak and she picked up my 160 Amphibia and I was like "no no no" to any of the Russians hehe I haven't got a 120 yet and now seeing this all silver theme going on I might well go for this particular model.


----------



## shaunpski

Dodgydruid said:


> I imagine that is quite a bright and clean looking Amphibia with the silver dial and all that polished stainless steel going on there. Me and my daughter were discussing which watches I would consider selling to reduce my "footprint" so to speak and she picked up my 160 Amphibia and I was like "no no no" to any of the Russians hehe I haven't got a 120 yet and now seeing this all silver theme going on I might well go for this particular model.


----------



## mrpackerguy

My First Russian watch purchased right here in the for sale forum. Very pleased. A fun, nice looking, easy watch to wear and surprisingly very comfortable too. Vostok Komanderskie 1965


----------



## Ligavesh

Ordered a while ago, arrived today:




























Unusual case and bezel, quite happy with this (relatively) cheap find.


----------



## Bsw_sc

This one arrived in the mailbox today... full lume dial


----------



## Ligavesh

Lucidor said:


> ...But this watch turned out not only to feature a screw down crown, but it unscrews clockwise! It took me a while to figure out.....


Whew, thank God, I already thought about sending it back... 😐


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Whew, thank God, I already thought about sending it back... 😐
> 
> View attachment 15763158
> 
> 
> View attachment 15763159


Is that the watch we are waiting for?


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> Is that the watch we are waiting for?


Actually no... I now see I've been buying way too much lately  - to my defense, it was always watches who had a lot of people watching them, or having them in their 'shopping basket' or whatever - for example, this Poljot I didn't plan to buy anytime soon, but as soon as the seller gave a slight discount and I saw another person have it in their cart - and having already 'lost' many watches like that, I panic bought it.

The watch I was talking about has left Minsk on the 10th, will probably arrive this week.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I would love a Poljot Amphibian like yours, trouble is prices seem to be rising across the board Soviet wise, I saw a Chaika big blue resonator in not the best condition offered at well over £200 and went to look at it and saw listing had ended early. Luch Hybrid's are fetching top dollar too and a good rise in prices on Poljots and Vostok's in general so I am glad I grabbed what I have done so far at the prices I paid.


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## Dodgydruid

Hehe still got the skillzor... £14 incl delivery... means I will have a big red star on me wrist again to replace the black gooified one I have which gutted me... this time round Renata batteries all the way and setting a battery change day so battery isn't in for more than a year.










I have already a day set aside for doing the more quality Japanese models batteries finding Outlook calendar quite useful for setting anniversary's like battery changes as I know my Seiko's 3 years is a good cycle with Renata cells and my destroyed big red star if I had reminded myself to change the battery on the 1 year mark would not be ruined now.

Means I got spares too.

I keep trying to find a Chelyabinsk cockpit clock which is the same white and red theme as this watch and even the hands on the Chelyabinsk are the same pattern as the hour hand on the Slava.


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## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Ooo I would love a Poljot Amphibian like yours, trouble is prices seem to be rising across the board Soviet wise, I saw a Chaika big blue resonator in not the best condition offered at well over £200 and went to look at it and saw listing had ended early. Luch Hybrid's are fetching top dollar too and a good rise in prices on Poljots and Vostok's in general so I am glad I grabbed what I have done so far at the prices I paid.


True, I had to pay out of my behind for this one, even with the discount, but I hadn't found another version online recently - not in such good condition, so I thought what the hell, I can drive my old Mondeo a while longer, the watch is more important


----------



## Dodgydruid

Mondeo's are spot on motors, OK not quite as cool as the old Sierra but cheap as chips to keep running. I am a fan of the big sister of the Mondeo, the Cougar and I do admit to liking the strange Ford Scorpio Ultima with that special 2.9 Cosworth tuned engine and gearbox package... shame no one else liked em hehe


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> True, I had to pay out of my behind for this one, even with the discount, but I hadn't found another version online recently - not in such good condition, so I thought what the hell, I can drive my old Mondeo a while longer, the watch is more important


Both my sons had mondeos as 'first' cars - seemed to have annoyed all their schoolmates, as they went for things like corsas, 1l max and got stung on insurance - the boys were shelling out less than them for insurance, although driving 'bigger' cars which would leave the corsas etc in the dust (having worked in insurance, the trick was noting that policy pricing was on past records i.e. not many 18 to 20 year olds had insurance claims driving 1.8 & 3 litre mondeos compared to 1 litre corsas!  ) did the boys several years!


----------



## Dodgydruid

I wanted my daughter to buy an MG Express, group 5 insurance compared to the group 15 the MG normal cars were attracting and a few hours work to turn it from van to car hehe

My favourite Sierra was my white XR4i, I dunno why they never caught on having the big MK2 Granada injection V6 and the interior from the RS500 and those things could shift, proper boy racer car. I quite liked the extra pillar and 2 dr coupe thing going on there but the Brits didn't like it and the Americans who got a turbo version abs hated it which was weird for a car that with some light work could do 140.

Germany got way cooler cars than us Brits, the coupe Taunus, the first Transit again Taunus which was dead on to ripping off a VW bus, the Opel Monze 3.0 GTe with the huge digital dash, even the humble MK2 Fiesta got a 1.4 injection build by Tickfords as a running prototype which was able to eat its bigger brother the XR3i for breakfast 

And then there was South Africa who shoved Essex 3 litres into the humble Cortina and the Sierra XR8 was just about as beastie you could get in that era, 5 litre Windsor V8 and there was even 4x4 and 4x4 estate versions which Connolly did the leather interiors for


----------



## mariomart

I won this on an eBay auction today (I was the only bidder lol).

The dial references the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School, and I believe the helicopter on the dial is a Mil Mi-1 "Hare" which entered service in 1950 and was the first Soviet helicopter to enter serial production. It looks like a very happy helicopter.


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## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> I won this on an eBay auction today (I was the only bidder lol).
> 
> The dial references the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School, and I believe the helicopter on the dial is a Mil Mi-1 "Hare" which entered service in 1950 and was the first Soviet helicopter to enter serial production. It looks like a very happy helicopter.
> 
> View attachment 15766786
> 
> 
> View attachment 15766787


Wondered where 'Budgie' the helicopter came from


----------



## Dodgydruid

mariomart said:


> I won this on an eBay auction today (I was the only bidder lol).
> 
> The dial references the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School, and I believe the helicopter on the dial is a Mil Mi-1 "Hare" which entered service in 1950 and was the first Soviet helicopter to enter serial production. It looks like a very happy helicopter.
> 
> View attachment 15766786
> 
> 
> View attachment 15766787


Love the cheesegrater bracelet, an absolute pain to get them closed up again to become non grating bracelets but they do suit the Vostok's so well  I'm having a Vostok'y day myself with my 160 on me wrist doing its Amphibia thing, if one good thing came out of the plandemic was Komandirskie.com dropping their prices so low last year and happy with the three I snagged at about £36 each


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Mondeo's are spot on motors, OK not quite as cool as the old Sierra but cheap as chips to keep running. I am a fan of the big sister of the Mondeo, the Cougar and I do admit to liking the strange Ford Scorpio Ultima with that special 2.9 Cosworth tuned engine and gearbox package... shame no one else liked em hehe





SuffolkGerryW said:


> Both my sons had mondeos as 'first' cars - seemed to have annoyed all their schoolmates, as they went for things like corsas, 1l max and got stung on insurance - the boys were shelling out less than them for insurance, although driving 'bigger' cars which would leave the corsas etc in the dust (having worked in insurance, the trick was noting that policy pricing was on past records i.e. not many 18 to 20 year olds had insurance claims driving 1.8 & 3 litre mondeos compared to 1 litre corsas!  ) did the boys several years!


I love how my 2004 2.5 V6 drives, the suspension and handling, love the sound it makes, love the Ghia leather interior - it more than makes up for the few quirks it has (mainly electric stuff). I only regret not getting a 220 ST.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I am a fan of the ST220 in the cobalt blue looks the business too. The Cougar is basically a 2 dr coupe Mondeo which surprised me it remained so little loved but then the ppl who would have wanted it would have been young 'uns who prob would have fainted at the insurance quotes for such a beast. I have toyed with the idea of putting up most my whole collection and buying something classic or fancy with the money, I also have an eye for a BMW 750iL because with a leetle Alpina hardware becomes a close to 200mph motor and because the V12 is basically 2 520e six cylinders jammed together into a V, parts for the engine are surprisingly modest compared to almost everything else BMW wise lol Another fugly I would consider is a diesel PT Cruiser, with merc diesels and a cabin space that can be a car, a van, an impromptu camper and that funky old look has always appealed to me but the diesels aren't common.


----------



## OCSleeper

Yesterday's arrival, a new in the package Soviet produced Poljot bracelet and this NIB with papers 1983 Poljot 3133. I've been looking to add this POLJOT font dial to my 3133 collection and never did I imagine to find it in this condition.


















































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> Yesterday's arrival, a new in the package Soviet produced Poljot bracelet and this NIB with papers 1983 Poljot 3133. I've been looking to add this POLJOT font dial to my 3133 collection and never did I imagine to find it in this condition.
> 
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Congrats on the watch, but the bracelet -as original as it is- I would throw out the window. The watch deserves much better.

I found a pretty nice vintage Poljot Automatic for about 40 € with shipping - the sticker says 95, so that was probably the original price in some pawn shop/antiques store:



















Likely never, or very little, worn.


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> Congrats on the watch, but the bracelet -as original as it is- I would throw out the window. The watch deserves much better.
> 
> I found a pretty nice vintage Poljot Automatic for about 40 € with shipping - the sticker says 95, so that was probably the original price in some pawn shop:
> 
> View attachment 15770008
> 
> 
> View attachment 15770010
> 
> 
> Likely never, or very little, worn.


The bracelet was a separate purchase just to have for whichever 3133. I actually don't mind those bracelets. I have a few leather straps for my chrono graphs but I'm not a big fan of them on the Poljots. My preference is NOS stainless steel straps from the 60's and 70's.
I did buy a lot of 10 vintage black leather rally straps that I'm going to test out on my 3017's.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Fergfour

2014 Raketa Seaman W-50-11-30-N036










Cool video on the various functions:


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## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> The bracelet was a separate purchase just to have for whichever 3133. I actually don't mind those bracelets. I have a few leather straps for my chrono graphs but I'm not a big fan of them on the Poljots. My preference is NOS stainless steel straps from the 60's and 70's.
> I did buy a lot of 10 vintage black leather rally straps that I'm going to test out on my 3017's.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I like old style Soviet bracelets a lot (for their looks mainly - some are even comfortable  ), but those Poljot ones that come with the Chronograph I can't stand them - either they unbuckle easily on the wrist, or they don't flex right betwen the links (links get stuck to eachoter every now and then)... I actually found myself avoiding to wear my 3133s because of those bracelets (the ones that have them). I haven't gotten around to it because I have a million watches and they all want attention, but I plan to replace every one of those bracelets with either some other type of bracelet, or simply with straps that would look good on the watch.


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> I like old style Soviet bracelets a lot (for their looks mainly - some are even comfortable  ), but those Poljot ones that come with the Chronograph I can't stand them - either they unbuckle easily on the wrist, or they don't flex right betwen the links (links get stuck to eachoter every now and then)... I actually found myself avoiding to wear my 3133s because of those bracelets (the ones that have them). I haven't gotten around to it because I have a million watches and they all want attention, but I plan to replace every one of those bracelets with either some other type of bracelet, or simply with straps that would look good on the watch.


When you do, keep me in mind, maybe I can help you recoup some of your costs. That's if I don't have an original for all of my 3133's by then. Don't know why but I especially like the bracelets the Vostok antimagnetic watches from the early 90's are photographed with in the catalogs. My wrist size has required me to learn how to remove links from the most stubborn Soviet bracelets.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 979greenwich

Negotiated this out of the dark corners of ebay 



This just LOOKS like radium, right?


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## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> ... This just LOOKS like radium, right?


Nope, it's Caramel, you can lick it


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## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> Negotiated this out of the dark corners of ebay
> 
> 
> 
> This just LOOKS like radium, right?


I do not think so. These are produced after 1965. I would doubt these are radium. Will check mine tomorrow if I remember.


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## falika

Bought this today on Ebay as I've wanted the pink Slava, though the pink seems a bit light to me in the pics, like it's been siting in a window growing pale. Not sure if that's the case, or if it's just the seller's lighting. I was a bit concerned by the faded look, but pulled the trigger.


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## 979greenwich

Odessa200 said:


> I do not think so. These are produced after 1965. I would doubt these are radium. Will check mine tomorrow if I remember.


Thanks, I appreciate it. Every decent Ukrainian has a Geiger counter


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## Odessa200

falika said:


> Bought this today on Ebay as I've wanted the pink Slava, though the pink seems a bit light to me in the pics, like it's been siting in a window growing pale. Not sure if that's the case, or if it's just the seller's lighting. I was a bit concerned by the faded look, but pulled the trigger.
> View attachment 15774856


it is just a bit faded. Not a big issue. A bigger issue with this watch it is back. It has a wrong back cover and a strange plastic contraption inside so this cover can be installed. It will not have a water resistance. Sorry to bring these news to you. I hope you knew this before buying


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## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> Thanks, I appreciate it. Every decent Ukrainian has a Geiger counter


i had tested 3 of mine early komandirskie: all are non radium. I think use of radium stopped in late 50s or very early 60s. These watches started from 1965...


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## falika

Odessa200 said:


> it is just a bit faded. Not a big issue. A bigger issue with this watch it is back. It has a wrong back cover and a strange plastic contraption inside so this cover can be installed. It will not have a water resistance. Sorry to bring these news to you. I hope you knew this before buying


I did notice the back cover was not proper, but not the rest. I'm less concerned with the authenticity of the back than the water resistance. Any suggestions? Would a local watchmaker (do you suspect) have access to a better back?

Thanks for the info., by the way.


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## Odessa200

falika said:


> I did notice the back cover was not proper, but not the rest. I'm less concerned with the authenticity of the back than the water resistance. Any suggestions? Would a local watchmaker (do you suspect) have access to a better back?
> 
> Thanks for the info., by the way.


Here is how the back of this watch looks and what it should be (with the star). Finding correct back is problematic but finding a standard Slava back is super easy. Once you have the back with the rind you can install it easily. Or any watchmaker can swap in 1 min. What is puzzling here is WHY your watch got this back. You can see the plastic insert with the tabs and I am guessing the back cover is attached to the tabs somehow. Or the back is attached to the case outer opening lip? But back to the questions: WHY such complication? The case should have the threats. Are they ripped and this is why this was done? I would examine the watch 1st before deciding how to proceed.
Maybe someone else can opine as well.

Edit: I just noticed it is a different case! Maybe this is all authentic and just a variation.... lets see

edit2: i think this is just a case for this cover so the water proofing is OK. It is just from a different model but you said you are fine with this.


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## 979greenwich

Thank you very much for reassuring. I was aware of the radium timeframe, but the dark brown lume raised my eyebrows a bit...


Odessa200 said:


> i had tested 3 of mine early komandirskie: all are non radium. I think use of radium stopped in late 50s or very early 60s. These watches started from 1965...


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## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> Thank you very much for reassuring. I was aware of the radium timeframe, but the dark brown lume raised my eyebrows a bit...


all is possible. I agree that this dark brown looks suspicious...


----------



## Ligavesh

Found it for 20€ plus shipping, had to get it.










Needs a little polishing, but otherwise it looks almost like new.


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## falika

Odessa200 said:


> Here is how the back of this watch looks and what it should be (with the star). Finding correct back is problematic but finding a standard Slava back is super easy. Once you have the back with the rind you can install it easily. Or any watchmaker can swap in 1 min. What is puzzling here is WHY your watch got this back. You can see the plastic insert with the tabs and I am guessing the back cover is attached to the tabs somehow. Or the back is attached to the case outer opening lip? But back to the questions: WHY such complication? The case should have the threats. Are they ripped and this is why this was done? I would examine the watch 1st before deciding how to proceed.
> Maybe someone else can opine as well.
> 
> Edit: I just noticed it is a different case! Maybe this is all authentic and just a variation.... lets see
> 
> edit2: i think this is just a case for this cover so the water proofing is OK. It is just from a different model but you said you are fine with this.
> 
> View attachment 15775871
> View attachment 15775872
> View attachment 15775873


I appreciate your insights. Will bring to watch shop upon arrival, and will update.


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## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Found it for 20€ plus shipping, had to get it.
> 
> View attachment 15776182
> 
> 
> Needs a little polishing, but otherwise it looks almost like new.


That is very very nice.


----------



## dutchassasin

Ok im cheating a little but this year has been quite fruitful so far!


----------



## miroman

Another 3017 model arrived:


















Now waiting for a new crown (ordered), and will wait for a minute-recorder small hand.

Unfortunately some other examples from my 3017 collection are gone, but here they appear another to replace them 

Regards, Miro.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> The bracelet was a separate purchase just to have for whichever 3133. I actually don't mind those bracelets. I have a few leather straps for my chrono graphs but I'm not a big fan of them on the Poljots. My preference is NOS stainless steel straps from the 60's and 70's.
> I did buy a lot of 10 vintage black leather rally straps that I'm going to test out on my 3017's.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Those bracelets are designed you can take the end 18mm pieces out so the bracelet can be fitted to say the Poljot square automatics which have the "fang" sticking out the case sides. There is a thin pin that holds the T pieces into the bracelet itself, means you can convert something like the Slava tank heavy bracelet which the T piece fits into lovely.

I think the original bracelets for these were the "boilerplate" Okean bracelets made out of large solid plates of steel, strapswise I would recommend a Geckota Zuludiver or something like a 2 piece Zulu in canvas or leather which will set off the watch head lovely imho, or a handmade 5 ringer perhaps? I only buy generally from ebay seller Lawr389 as his handmade straps are superb quality and very nice price too considering it is apart from the metalwork all hand cut, shaped and stitched.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK, not a Russian but kinda based on the ol' Zlatoust and for the few pounds I paid for it, I think this sandwich board Peterwerth just had to be done hehe Not sure if its got still its spare bezel and glasses as these came in a kit of two bezels with crystal filters and a grille bezel. I don't care its another canteen crown in the collection ftw 










Also for those in the UK, Lidl's this week have had a set of digital calipers for £7.99 in their tools section, surprisingly good quality and means I can chuck out the nasty Chinese ones I was using which were awful, also a digital protractor or angle finder in the same area for same price if angles is your thing, digital calipers though are immensely useful in measuring watch stuff and unlike my Chinese ones these go down two points of measurement and also have a handy square measurement setting plus a spare AG13 battery too.


----------



## Ligavesh

WHICH ONE OF YOU BOUGHT THIS ONE:








???

GONNA KILL MYSELF FOR MISSING OUT ON THIS ONE


----------



## Dodgydruid

I missed that one totally, looks sweet indeed but don't worry the gods of ebay will repay your faith with something just as good


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## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I missed that one totally, looks sweet indeed but don't worry the gods of ebay will repay your faith with something just as good


The worst thing is, I saw it among the first I guess, and instead of buying it immediately for 45 €, I send an offer 35€ like the dumbest idiot there is

and of course someone got it right away for 45

I'm really out of myself with rage tbh, for being so dumb to miss out such a nice and rare watch for such a price, in such a dumb way


----------



## Ligavesh

It made me sick of watches I'm so out of myself, gotta take a break now


----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> It made me sick of watches I'm so out of myself, gotta take a break now


so much for the break, I went on and bought this ****ty Raketa from the same seller










Don't even know why I bought it, it seems to have a nasty scratch on the bottom lug (actually probably just a shadow from the notch on the lug)... maybe I'll find a donor case


----------



## Fergfour

2014 Raketa Polar NOS on the way


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> so much for the break, I went on and bought this ****ty Raketa from the same seller
> 
> View attachment 15780623
> 
> 
> Don't even know why I bought it, it seems to have a nasty scratch on the bottom lug (actually probably just a shadow from the notch on the lug)... maybe I'll find a donor case


Ebay can be so frustrating when you look at the bidding history and find someone has shilled 5 secs past the end time and ebay always find for the one who wins the higher bid because it means more commission to them 

I just hit on a seller for a Southern Railway enamelled pocket watch at a ludicrously cheap price and I don't care if its got a movement made out of cheese as long as the outside is good, a very rare Pulsar VD53 rectangular chrono case, dial and hands in the piano black incl bracelet and a Pulsar very rare sandwich board VJ45, have my eyes on some Soviet stuff but I will always will hit on a Pulsar if nothing Soviet to be had.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> WHICH ONE OF YOU BOUGHT THIS ONE:
> 
> View attachment 15780473
> ???
> 
> GONNA KILL MYSELF FOR MISSING OUT ON THIS ONE


Not guilty (but would have been if I'd have seen it!)


----------



## 979greenwich

This came in a lot of broken watches, I managed to do a full service and bring it back to life. Strangely, it's a brass case Komandirskie with a 2416b automatic. Does anyone know when it was made? I suppose the '90s?


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## Kotsov

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Not guilty (but would have been if I'd have seen it!)


I bought it for parts.

Only kidding


----------



## PhillySteve

Picked up a unimatic U2-F ....

Kept putting it off, I like the watch looks, but nh35 at that price point was a hard pill to swallow....but style over substance pushed me over the edge ...


----------



## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> This came in a lot of broken watches, I managed to do a full service and bring it back to life. Strangely, it's a brass case Komandirskie with a 2416b automatic. Does anyone know when it was made? I suppose the '90s?


I think what you have is a 921944.

The case is a Komandirskie Type 92x with chrome plating, the dial is code 944. The dial shows up in published catalogs in 1998 and 2001, but not in a Type 92x case.

The case back should have 1 locating tab.

I'm not sure if this case/dial combo was a factory item, there is every chance it may have been but it's not documented.


----------



## 979greenwich

Thanks Mario, you have become quite a Vostok encyclopedia. So I do have a strange beast, after a thousand ebay listings, finally something RARE


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## Dodgydruid

Someone scored a Kiev 1500 Slava tank on a shill bid for £14.50 done so auto bidding wasn't able to bid on my behalf grr grr Just sent a whining email to ebay pointing out my max bid should have won the day but hey ho, the gods of ebay said nyetski for me on this one and having to have bought a nvme HDD for £81 funds are now tight again, just irritates me the ebay system is so rotten people can play it nastily 

It can't be a good win every time and the gods tend to be kind in offering me a better deal next time round, I have faith...


----------



## Dodgydruid

It lives....! Surprisingly easy movement change, new movement from Cousins £13 and now I got a meaty beaty big and bouncy Invicta Russian Diver with just about the best lume I have ever seen being Tritnite.



















Needs of course wiping off of the fingerprints but keeping good time, the hands were easier than usual having little dishes to locate them into the pinions, little push with the pusher set and buttoned it up and the only thing to do is to trim the stem I had to build up using my Chinese stem extender set to get the stem long enough. Crazily, after I took the old one out, a tiny screw fell out of it and the bloody thing started working again argh.


----------



## haha

Just received this old advertising. Got to find a frame and a place where to hang it


----------



## OCSleeper

Added this one today and made quick use of one of my recently acquired Soviet bracelets. A nice addition to the case holding some of my Amphibians.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## thewatchadude

With the markings still red! Fantastic catch!
I see your 12 orange also still has an orange 12...


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## OCSleeper

thewatchadude said:


> With the markings still red! Fantastic catch!
> I see your 12 orange also still has an orange 12...


Thank you! Originally I thought the markings were a slightly faded red but the catalog refers to them as orange bows.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Grant J

Upcoming project


----------



## codyf

Not only my first "expensive" watch, also my first mechanical chronograph.

3133 with closed date field.


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## falika

codyf said:


> Not only my first "expensive" watch, also my first mechanical chronograph.
> 
> 3133 with closed date field.


Congrats! Beautiful watch.


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## Dodgydruid

codyf said:


> Not only my first "expensive" watch, also my first mechanical chronograph.
> 
> 3133 with closed date field.


I still yet have to source a decent mechanical chrono, I am torn between whether Phylida on Aliexpress brings back their Venus 175 powered "tin tin" homage or to save up for a Sekonda branded one.


979greenwich said:


> This came in a lot of broken watches, I managed to do a full service and bring it back to life. Strangely, it's a brass case Komandirskie with a 2416b automatic. Does anyone know when it was made? I suppose the '90s?


Now that is an ornate and lovely tank commander variation, what a cracking find and auto as well


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## 979greenwich

Isn't it nice to come from work and find something like this in the mailbox? It's in near NOS condition, didn't even want to try the usual best offer routine when I saw it for sale for under 30 $. Best looking Komandirskie ever if you ask me.


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## Micindev

This just came in...









Sent from my XQ-AS52 using Tapatalk


----------



## Grant J

Welcome to the world of collecting Russian watches where you research and look for a particular watch for 5 months, then get 2 said watches in a week. 








I'm starting to think I should write a buyer's guide.


----------



## Ligavesh

If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Ligavesh said:


> If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you
> 
> View attachment 15793230


Not guilty comrade.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you
> 
> View attachment 15793230


Not guilty - that type's safe from me


----------



## pechamuha

Ordered this today from meranom


----------



## 979greenwich

Ligavesh said:


> If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you
> 
> View attachment 15793230


Also NTGLTY. Don't beat yourself up, it has a wrong second hand, so almost franken...


----------



## Grant J

Ligavesh said:


> If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you
> 
> View attachment 15793230


Not me either.
Don't worry - "Good things come to those who wait."


----------



## odd_and_vintage_fan

Ordered from soviet.market, slapped on a Bonetto Cinturini 285, and shipped it off to my cousin's son, who loves _The Life Aquatic_. For privacy reasons, I cropped down to a wristie, but there's the biggest smile you'll ever see on a kid's face in the original. Blue shirt and red hat were included, naturally.


----------



## Marius_B

Just ordered an Amphibia 710 sailboat for my wife and could not miss the occasion to order a 170 PAMphibia for myself. Just to save some Shopping cost 😉


----------



## Grant J

I went online to look for a Raketa watch in the style of their "Baltika" and found a nice 1958 Vostok Volna in the process (listed amongst the Raketa's!).
I ended up buying both!
Can the Ukrainian sellers please stop listing such nice watches at good prices please.


----------



## mariomart

Picked up my first Vostok-Europe watch today off an eBay bid of US$50 

Bezel needs a repaint which is too easy.


----------



## 979greenwich

mariomart said:


> Picked up my first Vostok-Europe watch today off an eBay bid of US$50
> 
> Bezel needs a repaint which is too easy.


That would be a steal. But beware, further complications of the primary vostokosis condition might develop.


----------



## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> That would be a steal. But beware, further complications of the primary vostokosis condition might develop.


I think your warning may be a little too late ..... ?


----------



## 979greenwich

I see some bulovosis too...


----------



## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> I see some bulovosis too...


Yep, 4 Lunar Pilots, a Marine Star, a Curv and a 1965 Spaceview


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> If any of you sniped this away from me in the last second, you better not show it here, I'll find you
> 
> View attachment 15793230


Here you go m8, I was gonna snipe this off you but thought nah, let him have that deal and steal of the year 









Russian Military Diver Mechanical Diving Watch 100m ORIGINAL "ZLATOUST" 192chs | eBay


Russian Zlatoust Vodolaz- 192CHS 60mm Arnold Schwarzenegger Watch. Model: 192CHS, 2002. Video will open in a new window. Paste link into a browser window:[isdntekvideo].



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## Dodgydruid

BTW its been a bit quiet and my arm has become all Invicta Russian Diver'd but I am thinking its time for some Slava tank-ness this weekend


----------



## 979greenwich

So, who got the Noaet xpohorpap?


----------



## jp1999

These two beauties


----------



## OCSleeper

Found some pretty good deals over the last week. These 3 arrived so far this week.








The Antarctic was a special find, perfect watch with papers but no box $52. The others were significantly cheaper, all in beautiful condition. The perpetual years run from 1992 to 2012 if memory serves me right. Movement is stamped SU.

Here's another look and some info on the Antarctic:

The seller, who was here stateside, has a fascination with the Antarctic. He has been on 5 Soviet icebreakers as a passenger during his lifetime and it was during one of those voyages that he purchased this watch from the ship store. Now in his 80's, he has decided it's time to part with his possessions and that is how I became the lucky owner.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

Well wasn't planning to, but when an SE you've been waiting for suddenly shows up 'in stock' on meranom, you've gotta get it!


----------



## Fergfour

I used to own one but sold it. Decided I wanted it again. Round and round we go:


----------



## SinanjuStein

Kinda gave up on the Luch 2209 for now (found 2 good examples) and found this little guy for a surprisingly good price.










There is a few specks of dirt on the dial that i'll clean up later (that aren't well seen in this picture). Any particular substance that is recommended to clean it with? I was thinking of just a cotton swap dipped in a very small amount of alcohol to not remove the dial finish.


----------



## starjay

Water and soap. 🙂


----------



## 979greenwich

Rodico


----------



## Dodgydruid

I tried isopropyl alcohol and watched in horror as it sterilised the paints and markings on a 090 Amphibia so tried a mild soap and found it left a kinda residue that gave silver dials a shadow, now I use rodico and gentle applications of water wicking away the moisture with the cotton buds which gradually and gently lifts the dirt out.

Rodico though is king at dial cleaning but you do have to be gentle not to drag it over paint markers as it will grip the paint so I use a rolling action rather than a smudging action, takes longer but does little damage.


----------



## SinanjuStein

I see, thanks everybody. So rodico and a slightly moist cotton swap for best results, and as i don't have too much to do with said alcohol i'll check the underside of the hands in case there's hard residue there.

I tried cleaning with 98% alcohol a few years ago on really hard dirt and it did fine on an old Raketa dial without damage with careful application/usage. (The dial wasn't in the best of shape anyhow)


----------



## mariomart

SinanjuStein said:


> I see, thanks everybody. So rodico and a slightly moist cotton swap for best results, and as i don't have too much to do with said alcohol i'll check the underside of the hands in case there's hard residue there.
> 
> I tried cleaning with 98% alcohol a few years ago on really hard dirt and it did fine on an old Raketa dial without damage with careful application/usage. (The dial wasn't in the best of shape anyhow)


I remember a conversation I once had with the Great @mroatman about dial restoring techniques and he said that he regularly used the saliva and cotton bud technique. Soak the bud in your mouth and then gently dab at the part you want to clean, apparently the enzymes in the saliva help break down any organic matter sticking to the dial. I've since used this technique to help clean up a few dial with success.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Some paints may be resistant, a 1985 Vostok sadly wasn't but it did produce a very very glossy sterile dial as it got rid of the matte shellac coating some dials seem to have.


----------



## LBPolarBear

Ligavesh said:


> Well wasn't planning to, but when an SE you've been waiting for suddenly shows up 'in stock' on meranom, you've gotta get it!


NICE- Congrats!!!!! Now if only they'd release a few yellow 020's we'd be all set!

It's way better looking in person so you're going to be stoked when you get it


----------



## Ligavesh

mariomart said:


> I remember a conversation I once had with the Great @mroatman about dial restoring techniques and he said that he regularly used the saliva and cotton bud technique. Soak the bud in your mouth and then gently dab at the part you want to clean, apparently the enzymes in the saliva help break down any organic matter sticking to the dial. I've since used this technique to help clean up a few dial with success.


Wasn't there a poster from Bulgaria (was it @miroman ? or someone else?) who used a rust-removing solution for dial restoration? I think I saved that post, but it's hard to look for it on the phone right now.


----------



## yekaterinburg

Picked up a couple of interesting watches over the last few weeks, which I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of! I've been after a Prim for ages, and after a brief flirtation with one in January that unfortunately had to be sent back as it was losing time I'm hoping this one passes muster! The second watch was something I stumbled across and found interesting. A Neva radar style design, gold seemingly printed onto metal. A bit unusual, not sure if anyone has any insight to share, but looking forward to seeing how it looks in person. Finally a classic Raketa design (thanks again to the forum members who helped me conclude that the hands are authentic!)























Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## OCSleeper

A couple more Vostok's showed up today. I cleaned up the Amphibian with the movement out and upon re-casing it I had the same problem I always seem to have with those dang 2409's, a struggle seating the crown. I've read to put pressure on the movement toward the crown while pressing the crown in and also pressing the stem release button. Something also about using tweezers to grip the stem and work it that way back into the movement? Still didn't get it in there correctly. I'll have another go at it tomorrow.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Millones

Just arrived. Vostok Neptune.


----------



## thewatchadude

Ordered a Zissou today...

meranom's specific caseback is already waiting for it, I'll need a rubber band--and a red beanie!


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Ligavesh said:


> Well wasn't planning to, but when an SE you've been waiting for suddenly shows up 'in stock' on meranom, you've gotta get it!


Indeed! Mine was delivered this morning:










This 420867 GRU kept it company (I guess it couldn't be trusted to travel alone...)









I was going to change the bezel to a plain one until I realised the one I have is the wrong size for this case. Oh well; gives me an excuse to put another order in 

Since I didn't ask for a bracelet change I guess this is the new stock bracelet (*) and it's a heck of an improvement over the old hollow link models:























Except that being a butterfly clasp there are NO micro-adjusters 

This one arrived last week but I only got around to sizing its bracelet today to:









It too has a decent bracelet:
















I've now removed the protective strip off the display back









Again a butterfly clasp so no micro-adjusters and no push buttons to help unlock the clasp. You don't want to size this too small as you need to get a finger under the clasp to push it to release...

...I'm a little behind @mariomart with the vostokosis but I now have 31 

(*) Actually I had a couple of other models arrive last month on which I requested Meranom exchange the stock bracelet for a solid link one and I was surprised that these had butterfly clasp bracelets in the box which I now realise must have been the stock ones so I've been able to upgrade a couple of my other Vostoks to better bracelets too.


----------



## GMTtwotone




----------



## GMTtwotone

Oh, and these today


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## dutchassasin

chunky tank !


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## LBPolarBear

A few weeks ago I ordered the 170962 (blue) and 170963 (brown) from vostokinc for under $100 each! Unfortunately they contacted me because there was a problem with the blue dials coming from the plant... and everyone has been out of stock ever since. Pissed. I knew I wanted the blue but had hesitated, deciding between the black and brown for the second watch before placing the order. They did do the right thing and offered me a 170548 on a bracelet at the same price and they're en route.

At around the same time I found my holy grail! A bright orange dialed scuba dude on Soviet Market and spent a few days deciding how I wanted to custom order it. After I placed that order they contacted me because they had sold out just prior to my placing the order. Reallly pissed. But, i sucked it up and added a few dollars to buy a 710AN1 which is also en route.

Well after reading how @Ligavesh got lucky and picked up a SE 420B34 that popped up on Meranom I've been checking every vendor, morning and night for the 170962 and this morning one popped up on Meranom and I pulled the trigger ON THE SPOT! and I was so excited I paid extra for DHL Express delivery and I'll probably have it before the others arrive...

Keep checking those sites if there's something you want- you never know when one or two are back in stock!


----------



## Kotsov

GMTtwotone said:


>


Looks great. A metal movement holder to replace the red plastic one would look a treat.


----------



## Kaiser4

Absolutely love the grooves and the guilloche dial. Loosing 2mins/day. I suppose it's acceptable (for me it's fair enough but want to have some technical opinion)


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## Grant J

No, not the watches. I bought the correct 19mm bands. Just cheap ones from China. One in each colour (color) to see how they looked in the flesh.
The "tan" is more like orange. I think I prefer the brown. It gives the gold a vintage look.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> GMTtwotone said:
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> Looks great. A metal movement holder to replace the red plastic one would look a treat.
Click to expand...

Very true - that red movement holder really stands out, and not in a good way!


----------



## Dondo

Dear Comrades, I wish you all n nice Thursday! My today's new arrival! Best regards Dondo.


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## GMTtwotone

Kotsov said:


> Looks great. A metal movement holder to replace the red plastic one would look a treat.


Eye of the beholder I guess. I like the red.


----------



## Dodgydruid

OCSleeper said:


> A couple more Vostok's showed up today. I cleaned up the Amphibian with the movement out and upon re-casing it I had the same problem I always seem to have with those dang 2409's, a struggle seating the crown. I've read to put pressure on the movement toward the crown while pressing the crown in and also pressing the stem release button. Something also about using tweezers to grip the stem and work it that way back into the movement? Still didn't get it in there correctly. I'll have another go at it tomorrow.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I always undo the movement holding ring screws which give me a bit of wiggle room to help seat the stem then when its clicked in place I can then check its all lined up, do the two screws up and job done.

Plastic rings I have sometimes encountered sprue tags which can change the geometry inside the cavity by half a millimetre but enough to hinder stem engagement, I've converted all my plastic ones to metal ones as I don't like those plastic rings one bit.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheeky Sekonda pocket watch, just to fill in the gaps so to speak...


----------



## Ligavesh

I just bought the Zissou Amphibia in a 710 case from meranom; I already have a 420 case from my very first Vostok watch (RIP), so I'll transfer it in that case when it arrives (that much modding I'm capable of), and I already have a strap, I just need the Zissou caseback - hopefully it comes back in stock soon.










I could've gotten it in a 420 case from Komandirskie, but this way I'll get an extra 710 case for modding (which probably will never happen, but it's good to have dreams). Oh, and I need a beanie.

This would be my second 'movie watch', after my paid-out-of-my-ass Brad Pitt's Citizen 8110A from _Once Upon a Time in Hollywood_.


----------



## yekaterinburg

Just won this lovely Raketa on eBay. Still finding it shocking how much the extra 20% VAT eBay is now adding feels when I get to paying :/!
















Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

yekaterinburg said:


> Just won this lovely Raketa on eBay. Still finding it shocking how much the extra 20% VAT eBay is now adding feels when I get to paying :/!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


Looks good, though the 20% (1/5th) is a nasty little sting in the tail.


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> I just bought the Zissou Amphibia in a 710 case from meranom; I already have a 420 case from my very first Vostok watch (RIP), so I'll transfer it in that case when it arrives (that much modding I'm capable of), and I already have a strap, I just need the Zissou caseback - hopefully it comes back in stock soon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I could've gotten it in a 420 case from Komandirskie, but this way I'll get an extra 710 case for modding (which probably will never happen, but it's good to have dreams). Oh, and I need a beanie.
> 
> This would be my second 'movie watch', after my paid-out-of-my-ass Brad Pitt's Citizen 8110A from _Once Upon a Time in Hollywood_.


You paid out of your small donkey for a citizen?


----------



## LBPolarBear

Is it just me or does anyone else have shipments with tracking that hasn't been updated since last Friday, when it shows they left Russia and were forwarded to the carrier? I have two that have been moving together apparently...


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> You paid out of your small donkey for a citizen?


I paid a lot of money for it, likely way too much, just because it's 'Brad Pitt's watch from OUTH' - let's put it like that.

On the other hand, movie Vostoks cost the same as regular Vostoks...


----------



## lyi

Got my hands on the real one (not re-issue)


----------



## LBPolarBear

LBPolarBear said:


> Is it just me or does anyone else have shipments with tracking that hasn't been updated since last Friday, when it shows they left Russia and were forwarded to the carrier? I have two that have been moving together apparently...


Update: apparently both shipments were routed through Poland...

17track says "Poland, WAW, Carrier processing, Uplifted"

Has anyone else had this happen or have any idea how long it may take to get to me from there?


----------



## LBPolarBear

FYI- the watch in my avatar is in stock on Meranom again! Don't know how many....

Vostok Watch Amphibian SE 720B34


----------



## jimzilla

I had a Vintage "Swiss Made" Vigor Crystal Lift come in, Origonal owner, says it is from the 1960'S I can't be leave how nice it is ..... $35.00 US


----------



## GMTtwotone

Straight Outta Russia  just arrived from Meranom.

Man.... they really leveled up with their bracelets!


----------



## jimzilla

Had a little 2214 come in today, this thing was dirt cheap, and of course I wasnt able to leave it alone so I put a clear back on it, James.


----------



## yekaterinburg

jimzilla said:


> Had a little 2214 come in today, this thing was dirt cheap, and of course I wasnt able to leave it alone so I put a clear back on it, James.


Ooh my goodness I love that clear back! Where do you get them?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## Victorv

jimzilla said:


> Had a little 2214 come in today, this thing was dirt cheap, and of course I wasnt able to leave it alone so I put a clear back on it, James.


Yeaaah, so nice mod, please can you explain how do you do it? It's a plexi? Awsome work comrade


----------



## SinanjuStein

Well the Poljot De Luxe finally arrived but doesn't seem to be the best of purchases. Gave it a good cleanup and a bit of polywatch for the crystal but it isn't looking well.

















Dial scratch is a lot nastier in person, and even more problematic is that there is a _definite_ issue with the autowind mechanism. Not a "rotor scratching on bare metal" but whenever the rotor is engaged it has a 50/50 chance of the powertrain not working and the watch stopping entirely and not starting without some effort.

The funny thing is that it runs fine with the rotor removed and handwinding. I even checked accuracy via timegrapher for the fun of it and it averaged -7 secs per day on 3 positions so it's an interesting choice if i don't get a chance to return it.

Or if not i guess it's time to look up some 2415/2416 service manuals.


----------



## georgepletsas

mariomart said:


> Picked up my first Vostok-Europe watch today off an eBay bid of US$50
> 
> Bezel needs a repaint which is too easy.
> 
> View attachment 15798004


I had before years the rose gold version of this(mriya) with brown strap , i lost it somewhere,but i had problems with the movement two times the rotor got out...i hope that yours is ok.

Στάλθηκε από το 5061U_EEA μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

jimzilla said:


> I had a Vintage "Swiss Made" Vigor Crystal Lift come in, Origonal owner, says it is from the 1960'S I can't be leave how nice it is ..... $35.00 US


I have this! And OMG how much better this grips than 15$ made in China thing...


----------



## shaunpski

I let my son try on my new silver dial scuba dude (Meranom) back in early March on his 21st birthday. He liked it so he got to keep it. I wanted a replacement. Zenitar had the 120380 in stock so I hit the buy it now button. I wanted an orange to complement my Samurai. I would prefer the no date, so please excuse my laziness there.


----------



## jimzilla

*Hello yakaterinburg and Victorv. It is a plastic replacement crystal from Sternkreuz.
This trick is complements of fellow comrade mariomart.

Purchase these at CousinsUK Wholesale.

The crystal is ...... 
Sternkreuz 302/278

The Cousin Part# Is ...... U302278

Here is the link ...... *
Domed Underlayed, Sternkreuz U

How's that for service! 

Best regards, James.


----------



## jimzilla

Odessa200 said:


> I have this! And OMG how much better this grips than 15$ made in China thing...


Hi Odessa, I chose the older Swiss made one over the newer India model, I am glad I did, it is so smooth and precision and whats not to like about Swiss made.
I really love it and I like the fact I have a antique tool that works perfectly!.


----------



## Victorv

jimzilla said:


> *Hello yakaterinburg and Victorv. It is a plastic replacement crystal from Sternkreuz.
> This trick is complements of fellow comrade mariomart.
> 
> Purchase these at CousinsUK Wholesale.
> 
> The crystal is ......
> Sternkreuz 302/278
> 
> The Cousin Part# Is ...... U302278
> 
> Here is the link ...... *
> Domed Underlayed, Sternkreuz U
> 
> How's that for service!
> 
> Best regards, James.
> 
> View attachment 15823148


Many thanks Jim,

Super interesting. Have you only attached the crystal and closed with the ring?


----------



## mariomart

jimzilla said:


> *Hello yakaterinburg and Victorv. It is a plastic replacement crystal from Sternkreuz.
> This trick is complements of fellow comrade mariomart.*


I can't take credit for the concept, it was first bought to my attention in a post by Comrade @schnurrp back in 2013 here In which a display back is made....


----------



## Alcatch

I've been looking at the 720 cases for a while, and have received delivery of this from Meranom.

Was going to change the bezel but after putting in on a tan NATO, I've decided to leave it as is. My second Vostok, I've become fascinated with the story - likely going to look at a scuba dude next!


----------



## GMTtwotone

Straight Outta Meranom today


----------



## thewatchadude

Nice two-tone bezel, GMTtwotone


----------



## Kotsov

GMTtwotone said:


> Straight Outta Meranom today


What model is that please?


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> What model is that please?


This one:









Vostok Watch Komandirskie 030935


Mechanical Watch Vostok Komandirskie 030935. Vostok 2431.01 automatic movement. This watch has both a manual winding as well as an automatic winding. Screw-down crown (steel). Water resistance 20 atm (200 meters) - i.e. can be used for diving. In a set: watch, passport for a product,




meranom.com


----------



## Ligavesh

Checking the classifieds in Germany can be very good for finding old watches in NOS condition (though bad for your wallet), as Germans love to collect all kinds of stuff, and often they don't even use it -they just keep it for show. Most of the time they tend to overprice things (compared to ebay prices), but I've just found this Amphibia (the owner misnamed it as Komandirskie) relatively cheap for it's state (48€ with shipping) - it looked too good, didn't want to pass on it.


----------



## GMTtwotone

Ligavesh said:


> Checking the classifieds in Germany can be very good for finding old watches in NOS condition (though bad for your wallet), as Germans love to collect all kinds of stuff, and often they don't even use it -they just keep it for show. Most of the time they tend to overprice things (compared to ebay prices), but I've just found this Amphibia (the owner misnamed it as Komandirskie), relatively cheap for it's state (48€ with shipping) - it looked too good, didn't want to pass on it.
> 
> View attachment 15827487


What classifieds do you use?


----------



## Ligavesh

GMTtwotone said:


> What classifieds do you use?


eBay Kleinanzeigen (www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de)


----------



## GMTtwotone

Ligavesh said:


> eBay Kleinanzeigen (www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de)


Oh, I thought you meant classifieds like Bookoo or Craigslist or something


----------



## Ligavesh

GMTtwotone said:


> Oh, I thought you meant classifieds like Bookoo or Craigslist or something


Well these are _the _classifieds in Germany - Kleinanzeigen means 'Classifieds', just they are part of eBay. There's Craigslist here, too, and other sorts of classifieds - like in newspapers or such, but ebay Kleinanzeigen is by far the most popular and most used. Not sure if it would be possible for someone outside of Germany to use it - maybe, I don't see why not? - but you'd need to speak German in most cases.


----------



## GMTtwotone

Fun with paddles!  Check out the 12 & 6 blue dial.


----------



## OCSleeper

Grabbed two separate lots of 4 each. Total came out to about $15/watch. One lot of 4 was sold as non-working, but upon arrival they all work. 









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SinanjuStein

I'm not sure it's entirely correct but it's pretty nice looking, mostly as the dial color and case combination isn't something you find in catalogs.

















Movement seems a bit dodgy but that's indicative to a lot of Raketa movements because of their interchangeability and for the price i can't complain. Plus, i have a spare 26XXHA parts bin movement (that doesn't have a balance but otherwise pretty good) left over from a few years back that i can scavenge for parts.

Should probably get to stocking on oils and grease to get back to servicing these as i'm already slowly accumulating back the tools i've sold years ago...


----------



## thewatchadude

Waiting for a new Vostok (Kom 65). I just checked the tracking, and the watch is reportedly in Poland... First time I see that, from Russia to France via Poland. Usually they go straight away from Sharapovo to Charles-de-Gaulle airports (with sometimes back and forth, but that doesn't count). Could this be a pandemic effect (though the watches I bought over the past year all came in directly), or linked to sanctions (which I believe the European haven't yet stepped up)? Or just "with Russian watches you never know"?


----------



## yekaterinburg

Saw this Zim the other night and totally fell for the design! It's really of an era, very much looking forward to wearing it


----------



## OCSleeper

(L) Seller pics, pre-clean up.(R) Post clean-up.
Picked up some quality vintage hand removers. Used Evapo-rust and a brass wire brush. The Evapo-rust was a recommendation by Odessa200 in a different thread.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## yekaterinburg

jimzilla said:


> *Hello yakaterinburg and Victorv. It is a plastic replacement crystal from Sternkreuz.
> This trick is complements of fellow comrade mariomart.
> 
> Purchase these at CousinsUK Wholesale.
> 
> The crystal is ......
> Sternkreuz 302/278
> 
> The Cousin Part# Is ...... U302278
> 
> Here is the link ...... *
> Domed Underlayed, Sternkreuz U
> 
> How's that for service!
> 
> Best regards, James.
> 
> View attachment 15823148


I was inspired to try this at home! I was aiming to modify my new Neva watch but I found that the plastic was too thick and I couldn't screw down the fitting, so I went for my Soyuz watch. Not the nicest example of this movement but it's a real novelty being able to see it ! My only concern is whether this will allow any moisture into the watch, especially with it being in contact with my skin all day!


----------



## SinanjuStein

yekaterinburg said:


> I was inspired to try this at home! I was aiming to modify my new Neva watch but I found that the plastic was too thick and I couldn't screw down the fitting, so I went for my Soyuz watch. Not the nicest example of this movement but it's a real novelty being able to see it ! My only concern is whether this will allow any moisture into the watch, especially with it being in contact with my skin all day!
> View attachment 15838719
> View attachment 15838720


I'm assuming that's the crystal with the lip so the screwdown ring holds it place (?). So if you put a good greased rubber seal it helps a lot, also depends on how tight the seal is between it all.

Also consider it a small tip for vintage watch collectors; bulk rubber seals in various sizes for crystals, stems, and casebacks aren't that expensive and help a lot when trying to accomplish improvised mods.


----------



## yekaterinburg

SinanjuStein said:


> I'm assuming that's the crystal with the lip so the screwdown ring holds it place (?). So if you put a good greased rubber seal it helps a lot, also depends on how tight the seal is between it all.
> 
> Also consider it a small tip for vintage watch collectors; bulk rubber seals in various sizes for crystals, stems, and casebacks aren't that expensive and help a lot when trying to accomplish improvised mods.


Hey, yep it's the crystal with the lip, although the lip isn't that big. There's probably about 0.7mm under the ring. I have the rubber seal which I imagine will seal it at the base, my concern is mostly about the seal between the screwdown ring and the crystal and how small the contact is.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## thewatchadude

Do the test: movement out, replaced with absorbing stuff such as toilet paper, and straight into water for some time. When reopening, check whether the paper is humid. You should get some indication about how hermetic your build is.


----------



## yekaterinburg

thewatchadude said:


> Do the test: movement out, replaced with absorbing stuff such as toilet paper, and straight into water for some time. When reopening, check whether the paper is humid. You should get some indication about how hermetic your build is.


That's a really interesting test! I haven't heard of that before. Slightly scared to have a go at removing the movement but might give it a go!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## thewatchadude

yekaterinburg said:


> That's a really interesting test! I haven't heard of that before. Slightly scared to have a go at removing the movement but might give it a go!
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


Mmmh... Reading your post again, I realized that your watch is not a diver. So perhaps this test would be a bit agressive. Maybe try with just a thin layer of water in which the watch would lie, rather than put the whole watch into water.


----------



## jimzilla

Picked up this little feller for $16.00 and free shipping. Movement Holder/ Vise
Just barely holds a 24XX movement.
I like it.


----------



## GMTtwotone

Here's a unique dial with applied numerals.


----------



## outsidesmoke07

I just ordered one of these, the Komandiskie 350607. I love the dial, and even like the Zulu (unusual for me). I paid the fast shipping fee because, hey, when the watch itself is only $76, who cares about a few bucks extra for shipping?


----------



## Fergfour

Another one I let go only to buy back. Missed it too much.


----------



## jimzilla

I had a little lot I purchased off ebay come in today and got some nice stuff dirt cheap.


----------



## miroman

My new lecturer's 'Stolichnie':









Between it's brothers:










Regards, Miro.


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just picked up the mesh bracelet


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

These two arrived today:

420268 'Blue Numbers' and 420526 Zissou










Both bracelets have now been sized and the 420268 is now sporting bezel T1-4:








The low afternoon sun really shows the dial pattern


----------



## Ligavesh

Already have this model, but this one is in a significantly better state, so I had to get it 










Now to sell the old one...


----------



## Fergfour

Sold one of these a while back. Decided I wanted the full 1967 collection back together. This completes the 6 piece set. Lesson learned: don't sell my Vostoks anymore.


----------



## OCSleeper

After a few years collecting I finally bought a Soviet era Radio Room. Reasonably priced for its condition, although it runs it will require a service after all these years.
Still waiting on a couple more special pieces coming out of Russia.

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## outsidesmoke07

My first Russian watch has landed! First 24 hour dial too. Meranom impressed with their speed. Total 5 days from order to delivery (I paid extra for the UPS shipping).

This is by far my cheapest watch, but I love it already. The weird wobbly stem, the strangely loose bidirectional bezel, the fact that it stops for a couple seconds whenever I turn my wrist a bit too aggressively, the lack of hacking (and the second hand bouncing around when setting the minute hand), the almost-useless lume... all combine to give it an awesome character. I even love the chunky Zulu strap, and I usually don't care for nylon. The dial is a bit smaller than I expected, so the extra strap give it a bit more wrist presence. It's a really good summer watch.

The seconds hand is different from the picture, but doesn't bother me. The accuracy seems good- I think it's within +-20 s/day. I love that I don't worry about taking care of it, unlike even my other affordables. I may want to sell my Steinhart some day, gotta avoid scratches! No concerns about that here. I assume Vostok will still be selling a white 24 hour dial two or ten years from now.

I can't believe it took me this long to give Vostok a try, but I'm sold. You guys have really been onto something here.











outsidesmoke07 said:


> I just ordered one of these, the Komandiskie 350607. I love the dial, and even like the Zulu (unusual for me). I paid the fast shipping fee because, hey, when the watch itself is only $76, who cares about a few bucks extra for shipping?
> 
> View attachment 15845314


----------



## philippeF




----------



## jimzilla

This came in the other day, run very well.


----------



## Fergfour

SE 710AN1


----------



## mariomart

Won this quirky Slava on eBay this morning for a lovely $6.03 , I just loved the look of that bracelet, so many textures. Now the wait begins ...


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

mariomart said:


> Won this quirky Slava on eBay this morning for a lovely $6.03 , I just loved the look of that bracelet, so many textures. Now the wait begins ...
> 
> View attachment 15864688
> 
> 
> View attachment 15864690


That is nice, unusual effect on the bracelet!


----------



## Fergfour

Really trying to restrain myself these days and not buy every single Vostok I see. The plan is to choose items that are different than what I've had in the past. I felt the 170894 was a good option based on it's various distinctive attributes. I like the bracelet, signed crown, caseback and handset. Hope I can get a good fit with the bracelet though.


----------



## Kotsov

Fergfour said:


> Really trying to restrain myself these days and not buy every single Vostok I see. The plan is to choose items that are different than what I've had in the past. I felt the 170894 was a good option based on it's various distinctive attributes. I like the bracelet, signed crown, caseback and handset. Hope I can get a good fit with the bracelet though.
> 
> View attachment 15866171


I'm trying the same. Its a brave strategy, let's see if it pays off....


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Fergfour said:


> Really trying to restrain myself these days and not buy every single Vostok I see. The plan is to choose items that are different than what I've had in the past.





Kotsov said:


> I'm trying the same. Its a brave strategy, let's see if it pays off....


I wish you gentlemen the best of luck with this approach. I suppose I'm trying to do the same but not sure I'm that successful with it!


----------



## Fergfour

I know, I know, easier said than done. Honestly, not much else catches my eye right now except maybe an Icebreaker.


----------



## EndeavourDK

For a project I picked up a rather cheap & good looking Molnija but instead of the "standard" 3602" it has the shock protected 3603, even with a SU stamp;



















A few years back I had another 3603 (sold it): Molnija 3603 (3602 + anti-shock), Rolex 1940's


----------



## yekaterinburg

Won this Ruhla yesterday evening for what I thought was a very reasonable price. It's the first watch I've bought with lume. I followed the advice of this forum that if it doesn't look burned it's unlikely to be radioactive! (Fingers crossed!!🤞)


----------



## Ligavesh

Another great local classifieds find, another 50 € gone


----------



## Ligavesh

Here it is @Kotsov , finally arrived after several months - the Raketa Jasper!



















To be quite honest, I thought it would be bigger, not sure whether or not it's a ladies' watch...


----------



## EndeavourDK

Stumbled today over this 1993 Tsar Nicholas "Romanov" II and for the price of what these days just a bare 2nd hand 3133 movement demands, I couldn't resist. Since it's a 1993, it has a Poljot 3133, which I consider to be of superior in quality than the later MakTime 3133. Here is what Polmax3133 had to say; http://polmax3133.com/gallery9305.html


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Here it is @Kotsov , finally arrived after several months - the Raketa Jasper!
> 
> View attachment 15874129
> 
> 
> View attachment 15874131
> 
> 
> To be quite honest, I thought it would be bigger, not sure whether or not it's a ladies' watch...


Why do you mention me?


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> Why do you mention me?


Because you were particularly interested back then (too lazy right now to look for the posts), what kind of a Raketa I was getting


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Because you were particularly interested back then (too lazy right now to look for the posts), what kind of a Raketa I was getting


   

It must have been a while ago. Nice watch.

Bit teeny though


----------



## Ligavesh

Kotsov said:


> It must have been a while ago. Nice watch.
> 
> Bit teeny though


Yeah, I might get a Big Zero Jasper if I find a nice one, those are bigger. This one is smaller than expected - then again, I guess it is a 'precious stone' or what would one call it - those tdnd to come in small packages


----------



## OCSleeper

Wasn't searching for one of these but when this came across my eBay home screen I saved it. The seller then sent me a good offer so naturally I countered even further and here we are.

My Strela knowledge is minimal but my understanding is that this watch checks all the boxes for originality, potentially minus the crystal. Sloped outside edge of the lugs, vertical brush marks on the case back (not circular like later models), blued chrono sweep, diamond 1MWF stamp(no 3017 stamped on the movement, again, on the later models). She's even more beautiful in person.

EARLY 1960's STRELA CLASS 1


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SeizeTheMeans

Ordered my first brand new Russian watch _ever. _I've owned a few but they've always been well worn. My first experience with Meranom. Let's see how it goes!


----------



## chesterworks

Nick from NotARolex finally got this guy to me a week or two ago. Totally smitten.


----------



## OCSleeper

1976 OKEAH, the jewel of my collection.

This one arrived last week but the bracelet arrived yesterday. The bracelet was in a very used condition but since I wanted to pair it with this watch it needed a facelift. I'll gladly pay $15 for the bracelet and spend a couple hours restoring it by hand.


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## OCSleeper

One more for the collection arrived today....









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dutchassasin

OCSleeper said:


> One more for the collection arrived today....


Now i know who beat me to it, congratulations on the buy!


----------



## OCSleeper

dutchassasin said:


> Now i know who beat me to it, congratulations on the buy!


One of those that you can't hit Pay Now fast enough. And to think, it was only a 2416b parts movement I was searching for in the first place.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Its been a while but tbh I have focused on some non Russian stuff like a couple Seiko mechaquartz and restarted my OO model rail hobby the first time since the early eighties so been a bit sidetracked and nothing on ebay has kinda reached out to me so am on a mission to start emptying my project box and get to work on some of the 3050 quartz pieces.

But saying that, this Sekonda UFO spoke to me and a very reasonable price making it my 4th of this type two of being Zim/Pobeda and a mirror dialled Sekonda so I grabbed that for a veritable song...










Thing is, after fixing up my Invicta Russian Diver I have been reluctant to wear anything else, it all feels quite timid on my wrist compared to the 60mm with giant canteen crown width Invicta. But this Sekonda will join my ranks of other Sekonda and appears to be on its original bracelet too yay


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> Its been a while but tbh I have focused on some non Russian stuff like a couple Seiko mechaquartz and restarted my OO model rail hobby the first time since the early eighties so been a bit sidetracked and nothing on ebay has kinda reached out to me so am on a mission to start emptying my project box and get to work on some of the 3050 quartz pieces.
> 
> But saying that, this Sekonda UFO spoke to me and a very reasonable price making it my 4th of this type two of being Zim/Pobeda and a mirror dialled Sekonda so I grabbed that for a veritable song...
> 
> Thing is, after fixing up my Invicta Russian Diver I have been reluctant to wear anything else, it all feels quite timid on my wrist compared to the 60mm with giant canteen crown width Invicta. But this Sekonda will join my ranks of other Sekonda and appears to be on its original bracelet too yay


Hah i've been looking at the exact same style of Cheburashka for a while (but Raketa branded). I'm waiting for a refund over the Poljot that was giving me bad vibes and a bit of haggling to see what i'm going to do.

That was one idea, the other is getting a bunch of part watches to practice or getting both and a few Vostoks for modding.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have tubs full of part and whole pieces I intended to practice on but never get round to hehe I do like the "puck" shaped ones and was umming and ahhing on the Sekonda and a Poljot Mockba 80 automatic but the Sekonda won and the Poljot if money is good I might sneak in at some point down the road.

Sat here today and have worked out I have enough for 14 Soviet quartz watches with loads of spares, things have been made better in getting a much stronger set of glasses I can now see stuff again so am hoping to do some repair work but I am sitting down with my Seiko VK63's transferring a set of ridiculously hard to find pushers from one case to another before I dig again into the world of Soviet watchery with my first victims to get the serviced Slava tank to accept the stem and regulate another Slava tank which I knocked the two arms on putting it out of time


----------



## SinanjuStein

@Dodgydruid I used to have about 15~20 movements as spares but sold it off a few years ago along with a bunch of cheapish~ tooling.

What i am interested in is a few specific kind of spares a.e Raketa 3056A's as a i have a beautiful watch with a completely dead movement (Circuit and or motor) and have a few lots i've been eyeing on for a bit.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I have mostly 3050's, got one 3055 and I may have some '56s but not sure if they are A's or not A's as I am sure there is a difference with the A suffix, think the gear bridge is different. I'll have a tinker about and see what I can find as I have several tubs of quartz stuff spread about and I had intended to bring it into separate movement classifications. Trouble is most mine don't respond to battery and some are victims of black gooification.


----------



## Kotsov

OCSleeper said:


> 1976 OKEAH, the jewel of my collection.
> 
> This one arrived last week but the bracelet arrived yesterday. The bracelet was in a very used condition but since I wanted to pair it with this watch it needed a facelift. I'll gladly pay $15 for the bracelet and spend a couple hours restoring it by hand.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That watch deserves a much better bracelet.


----------



## Kotsov

Dodgydruid said:


> I have tubs full of part and whole pieces I intended to practice on but never get round to hehe I do like the "puck" shaped ones and was umming and ahhing on the Sekonda and a Poljot Mockba 80 automatic but the Sekonda won and the Poljot if money is good I might sneak in at some point down the road.
> 
> Sat here today and have worked out I have enough for 14 Soviet quartz watches with loads of spares, things have been made better in getting a much stronger set of glasses I can now see stuff again so am hoping to do some repair work but I am sitting down with my Seiko VK63's transferring a set of ridiculously hard to find pushers from one case to another before I dig again into the world of Soviet watchery with my first victims to get the serviced Slava tank to accept the stem and regulate another Slava tank which I knocked the two arms on putting it out of time


You're back! Where have you been?


----------



## OCSleeper

Kotsov said:


> That watch deserves a much better bracelet.


But then this unique watch will have anything but a unique bracelet. What do you suggest, a NATO?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> But then this unique watch will have anything but a unique bracelet. What do you suggest, a NATO?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


When I got my Okean I thought 'what is this junk attached to it?' Removed bracelet and almost threw it out. Luckily for me I kept it and re-united with the watch eventually. Keep it as is!!! Great watch!


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Kotsov said:


> You're back! Where have you been?


Think that he's been busy with other small stuff


----------



## Dodgydruid

Kotsov said:


> You're back! Where have you been?


Messing 'round in Seikoland mainly, also the prices of the Soviet stuff has skyrocketed so not been able to pick up the usual tasty bargains I did but I do every day read the saved searches on ebay looking for that next bargain basement winner hehe

I currently have a rare Pulsar WRC mechaquartz taking up my time, I bought another one for spares and then found out that one is even rarer so now trying to find a third so I can keep both, got some bits in the post to a chap in Russia who promises to give them a fair service so will do a big up post for the chap if they come back as promised in fine working order.

Waiting on a Seiko 7T92 movement from Cousin's to sort my "blingorama" Pulsar Swarovski as the prices have dropped from eye watering to £14, doing a vid on a 60's/70's Rexa which curiously has a Soviet style of caseback so going to get in there to see what is hiding, going to try and sort my Soviet quartz stuff out today.

I managed to win a Vibrograf machine for £20 listed as not working, its got the ticker tape type reading and a very high quality microphone assy so that will be on the fix list's priority, the machine itself seems to work but doesn't print out and OK a Weishi would be more convenient but this is old school which I love fixing up... it even has valves 

Its nice in this forum, I am hoping an E German chap I gave a Ruhla too will show his face in here after telling him all about this forum, he owns an ancient MZ motorbike and I spotted him and after scaring the bejasus out of him going at him all enthusiastic like, I popped into his garage and asked the lady in there to give him my NOS gold plated Ruhla to wear with his GDR bike he rode to Britain when the wall came down and he was well stoked up so another happy bunny who looked a lot confused when me, all big beard and tattoo's driving a three wheeler van like a maniac gives him a pristine watch from his own country and he kept trying to offer me money and I am like nyetski m8, take the gift as intended and enjoy it.

I do chuck up the occasional Youtube vid each week or so, have spread my wings to cover everything mechanical or electrical not just watches but Soviet watches is my "thing" and just setting up my Cornavin fridge for a good wear or might put a Vostok on for a change as I do love my 160.

Hope this finds you all well


----------



## Dodgydruid

Odessa200 said:


> When I got my Okean I thought 'what is this junk attached to it?' Removed bracelet and almost threw it out. Luckily for me I kept it and re-united with the watch eventually. Keep it as is!!! Great watch!


I keep my eye on ebay for the Okean "boilerplate" bracelets, I think they are awesome and very industrial no nonsense sort of looking bracelet. A while back a Swiss alarm watch arrived on a pristine boilerplate so that was whipped off double quick onto a Poljot and looks tres nice too


----------



## Ligavesh

Second time I'm losing an NOS watch on a bidding in one week, this is not good for my sanity. First time I cursed at the seller, he banned me from his biddings.










Anyway, **** the guy who won it.


----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> Second time I'm losing an NOS watch on a bidding in one week, this is not good for my sanity. First time I cursed at the seller, he banned me from his biddings.
> 
> View attachment 15884143
> 
> 
> Anyway, **** the guy who won it.


To add to this, I've just had a sale of a rare Komandirskie I'd won on a bidding canceled, because the seller "dropped it from the table and now the seconds hand doesn't move, so he doesn't want to send me the watch in that condition" - yeah right, sure it was that, not that he'd gotten less money than he'd hoped for.... ***** ebay bidding...


----------



## SinanjuStein

I threw the minimum bid and surprisingly enough it stuck to the wall.










Honestly a good price for spare 2414 movements for practice, some decent handsets, and a few usable cases. Probably going to get some drawer time until i stock up on oils, grease and a good crystal lift.

Need to see about crystals, IIRC both the Soviet era and current production Komandirskies use the same crystals?


----------



## OCSleeper

SinanjuStein said:


> I threw the minimum bid and surprisingly enough it stuck to the wall.
> 
> View attachment 15885884
> 
> 
> Honestly a good price for spare 2414 movements for practice, some decent handsets, and a few usable cases. Probably going to get some drawer time until i stock up on oils, grease and a good crystal lift.
> 
> Need to see about crystals, IIRC both the Soviet era and current production Komandirskies use the same crystals?


I'm far from being knowledgeable on the subject but the reading I've done tells me the crystal size is the same but the vintage komandirskies have the steel ring that hides the edge of the movement where as the modern ones do not and the modern crystal will not accommodate the vintage steel ring.

If this is the case then does that mean modern dials are slightly larger to cover the gap between the dial and case?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dodgydruid

Sekonda UFO/Puck arrived today and I abs lucked out again (thank you gods of ebay) as it is flawless, not a scratch, dink or ding on either the head or bracelet and it fits my wrist perfectly... It is also holding excellent time and has a lovely sound to its tick and very pleasant to wear 










Colour me totally happy on this one, I seem to have some good results with the old mechanical Sekonda's and the silver and navy colour scheme is always my favourite


----------



## jimzilla

I found this very nice specimen and had to have it, this watch is solid and runs very well. I do not know much about it, It could be franken for all I know, I was told by the seller that is all original, then again isn't that what they all say ...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Seems to be the start of a UFO invasion hehe


----------



## jimzilla

Had another arrive, runs decent as well, I am wearing this one to lunch ...


----------



## Fergfour

Yes I bought that Pripyat that was in the sales forum for the past 12 days. Guess the hype is over on these? Luckily I was able to negotiate the price down a bit.


----------



## Ligavesh

Wohoo, look what just arrived - for only 26€:




























I'm trying to find what's wrong with it, can't find anything, it looks NOS. Maybe it's franken? I dunno. One drawback - this movement appears to not have a quick date set - I guess I'll have to wear it on the 15th then


----------



## larand

God only knows when it'll get here, but after an extended hiatus from buying Vostoks I just ordered the last one of these in Zenitar's stock because I always kinda wanted one.










Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## watch22

Ligavesh said:


> Wohoo, look what just arrived - for only 26€:
> 
> View attachment 15896977
> 
> 
> View attachment 15896978
> 
> 
> View attachment 15896994
> 
> 
> I'm trying to find what's wrong with it, can't find anything, it looks NOS. Maybe it's franken? I dunno. One drawback - this movement appears to not have a quick date set - I guess I'll have to wear it on the 15th then


This is very cool.

A Boctok with a "Pobeda type" movement - sub-second. Before Boctok started to create its own well-known movements.

Really nice condition - looks all original to me.

I have one - not nearly as nice as yours.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just snagged an offer on this unusual looking Slava auto, $25 is a damned good score I am thinking


----------



## Dodgydruid

Here's an unusual Komandirskie I just saw popped up in my ebay feed, I am broke so not for me but look at the copper coloured textured and embossed dial but what drew my eye was the bezel with the little stars as I have not seen that bezel type before.

Ebay Kom's


----------



## Dodgydruid

Cheeky offer on a Sekonda De Luxe and now its winging its way to me


----------



## starjay

Assimetric Automatic Slava in dire need of a new bracelet. Beautiful quirky piece.


----------



## jimzilla

I bought this watch for the dial face but when it arrived it was so nice I decided to put a band on it and wear it. Runs very well I think it was actually serviced at some point.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Vostok's can defy the normal convention of servicing, with some being able to go many long years without any apparent loss of performance in timekeeping and not seeing a hint of the service chaps tweezers in that time.

I think in the development phases of the 22xx and 24xx movements Vostok were given a remit of making the worlds most reliable movements or dare the wrath of them funny blokes in the large house next to the Kremlin sort of thing and Vostok whether by design or accident hit on a winning formula that just keeps on going.

Do like that double layer of numbers dial there, reminds me of an artilleryman's piece although NATO uses MIL's for measurement, gun captain's often had very busy watch dials because of the precision needed creating a rolling curtain of fire which if out by a couple seconds could have landed your shells into the laps of your own folks, nothing like giving you a bad day than dropping your iron on your own folks and not bouncing them off the enemy


----------



## Fergfour

My first Komandirskie, figured I should have at least one in the collection.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I keep making eyes at 24hr pieces, I do like that dark blue there  I am torn whether to go with a Vossie 24 hour 3 hand or something like a Luch single hand.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Dodgydruid said:


> I keep making eyes at 24hr pieces, I do like that dark blue there  I am torn whether to go with a Vossie 24 hour 3 hand or something like a Luch single hand.


Personally, think that a Luch single hand would be a bit 'minimal' - I've looked at them, but still prefer a more conventional style dial, like having a second hand (my TiN Luch hardly gets any wrist time because of that)


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Here's an unusual Komandirskie I just saw popped up in my ebay feed, I am broke so not for me but look at the copper coloured textured and embossed dial but what drew my eye was the bezel with the little stars as I have not seen that bezel type before.
> 
> Ebay Kom's


Goddamit I overslept and I missed it  It went for measly 22 € too

I really hate ebay bidding lately.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Personally, think that a Luch single hand would be a bit 'minimal' - I've looked at them, but still prefer a more conventional style dial, like having a second hand (my TiN Luch hardly gets any wrist time because of that)


One of the reasons why I have held back on either is simply as I am so set in stone used to a 12 hour dial that I might well not get on with a 2 hander or 1 hander, I am also keeping an eye out for a perpetual calendar that speaks to me but whether a Raketa or an Orient one either will do and I believe the Orient perps are automatic too.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Goddamit I overslept and I missed it  It went for measly 22 € too
> 
> I really hate ebay bidding lately.


I am plagued a lot with "ended early" e.g. someone has done a private deal behind the scenes which irritates me. Used to be ebay watched emails internally for ppl doing it, nowadays they encourage it and you have just waited six days to about an hour before auction ends and "Seller ended listing early because item is no longer available" really grinds my gears that does lol


----------



## SinanjuStein

Originally i went looking for bezels to order, but i jumped on the opportunity when i saw it.










I have too many white dialed non-diver watches so it's a welcome development.


----------



## watch22

Electronica 55 - received today.


----------



## Zener

My new addition to the collection


----------



## larand

Got notified by Meranom that these are back in stock, so I ordered one:










As luck would have it, these are also in stock, so I'm having them swap the bezel:










Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## GMTtwotone

larand said:


> Got notified by Meranom that these are back in stock, so I ordered one:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As luck would have it, these are also in stock, so I'm having them swap the bezel:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Instagram: @vta_watch


Nice. I've had one listed for cheap in the sales area for awhile


----------



## Fergfour

From the Relojes Especiales forum. There's a red one available too if anyone's into it.


----------



## davxls

Just got this 470302 home with a cool aged dial.


----------



## rahulg

It's not much but it's mine. Very first Russian watch and very first dive watch.


----------



## davxls

New bezel for my 350 bought months ago, but finally arrived today.


----------



## philippeF

3 pieces this week ...


----------



## GMTtwotone




----------



## SinanjuStein

I honestly expected the lot i bought to be slightly worse and be a source for dials and a few spare hands, but there's a single good running movement (case has an engraving), a couple of runners that need the keyless works from the rest of the pile but work and another that needs a mainspring barrle from the pile. One of the latter 3 had a badly seated balance that worked fine after i re-seated it.

The ones that work are the ones with good balances (4 total), another 2 that just don't have a balance assembly but the rest of the movement looks fine, rest are parts watches. Will upload a few more pics as i separated dials most of the watches into dials, movements, and cases.

For now, a bit of watch gore, what you're seeing is half of a broken stem and there was another full stem that somebody decided to push in.



















What i do need is to slowly start stocking on up (again) on some of the bigger stuff like oils, grease, ultrasonic cleaner, and timegrapher.


----------



## Dodgydruid

rahulg said:


> It's not much but it's mine. Very first Russian watch and very first dive watch.
> 
> View attachment 15914915


Yep I got that one, I think it looks way more funky than the KGB version, just a shame it didn't have the blacked out batwings like the Komandirskie version has. I did start to harvest mine for the movement but stopped at the crucial point and put it all back together as its not a bad watch.


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> I honestly expected the lot i bought to be slightly worse and be a source for dials and a few spare hands, but there's a single good running movement (case has an engraving), a couple of runners that need the keyless works from the rest of the pile but work and another that needs a mainspring barrle from the pile. One of the latter 3 had a badly seated balance that worked fine after i re-seated it.
> 
> The ones that work are the ones with good balances (4 total), another 2 that just don't have a balance assembly but the rest of the movement looks fine, rest are parts watches. Will upload a few more pics as i separated dials most of the watches into dials, movements, and cases.
> 
> For now, a bit of watch gore, what you're seeing is half of a broken stem and there was another full stem that somebody decided to push in.
> 
> View attachment 15917738
> 
> 
> View attachment 15917739
> 
> 
> What i do need is to slowly start stocking on up (again) on some of the bigger stuff like oils, grease, ultrasonic cleaner, and timegrapher.


I think the best ultrasonics are the various heated "tin can" ones from China which can get the fluids nice and hot and have a drain tap if you need to change the fluids often or use different cleaning mediums as what you would want to clean stainless steel is perhaps not the stuff you would clean fine brass with. They are fairly serviceable too I believe with ultrasonic modules available on Aliexpress as well as heating elements etc.


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> I think the best ultrasonics are the various heated "tin can" ones from China which can get the fluids nice and hot and have a drain tap if you need to change the fluids often or use different cleaning mediums as what you would want to clean stainless steel is perhaps not the stuff you would clean fine brass with. They are fairly serviceable too I believe with ultrasonic modules available on Aliexpress as well as heating elements etc.


That was my idea. Defenitly better than using lighter fluid.

Only thing i'm unsure is what kind/model of oilers to get.


----------



## mariomart

Managed to snag another Titanium Admiralskie off eBay today for a very good offer price  

A little faded but otherwise in good condition.


----------



## SinanjuStein

SinanjuStein said:


> That was my idea. Defenitly better than using lighter fluid.
> 
> Only thing i'm unsure is what kind/model of oilers to get.


And as said about a few extra pictures.

Really liking this blue dial and while i know it's more of a modern one but i have an idea what to do with it. Along with a couple more of the kitsch dials from the less fortune movements.
















This one surprised me the most of being a good runner when i was able to fit a stem in, i could see that the amplitude was good just from a glance. Along with a cute "Happy birthday" case inscription.


----------



## EndeavourDK

This one just popped up while I was searching the German eBay, from a collector thinning out his collection. The price was nearly a steal 😁
It's my 4th Buran. I do have the same with a white dial and two Burans with "cathedral"-hands. These 39mm Burans wear extremely comfortable. Next to giving it a full service, I will change out the mineral glass crystal for a sapphire, re-lume the hands and compliment it with a self-made vegetable-tanned leather strap.


----------



## EndeavourDK

SinanjuStein said:


> Only thing i'm unsure is what kind/model of oilers to get.


You need only one; Oilers (3 in 1) Bergeon
It will do every watch. You can regulated the amount of oil on the tip by the speed with which you pull the oiler out of the oil. Perhaps contrary to what you think; pull slow gives you the minimum, pull fast gives you the most.


----------



## Ligavesh

EndeavourDK said:


> This one just popped up while I was searching the German eBay, from a collector thinning out his collection. The price was nearly a steal 😁
> It's my 4th Buran. I do have the same with a white dial and two Burans with "cathedral"-hands. These 39mm Burans wear extremely comfortable. Next to giving it a full service, I will change out the mineral glass crystal for a sapphire, re-lume the hands and compliment it with a self-made vegetable-tanned leather strap.
> 
> View attachment 15919369
> 
> 
> View attachment 15919370


I have the watch, I wish I had your skills, though.


----------



## SinanjuStein

EndeavourDK said:


> You need only one; Oilers (3 in 1) Bergeon
> It will do every watch. You can regulated the amount of oil on the tip by the speed with which you pull the oiler out of the oil. Perhaps contrary to what you think; pull slow gives you the minimum, pull fast gives you the most.


Unfortunately a bit late as i already bought pic related along with a stand/oil basins combo before i saw your post. Still need to make sure which oils i need to get.










Dave Murphy's guide is wonderful for service, but a few of the oils seem a bit pricey when i remember there are a few excellent modern alternatives especially so for greases.


----------



## 979greenwich

Moebius 8000 and D5 are enough for a start. Can be found on ebay recombined in smaller bottles.


----------



## EndeavourDK

Ligavesh said:


> I have the watch, I wish I had your skills, though.


We aren't that far apart .....


----------



## Ligavesh

So anyway, I got overexcited again at the sight of rare watches, that I failed (or was too blind from excitement) to see that they are frankens. One I already showed in the Q&A thread (a very rare case in excellent condition -but everything else wrong unfortunately):










The other one:










The "Neptune" doesn't have the right dial - that is, it's missing the protruding metal indeces (probably a case of the Scuba Dude original 960, but with a Neptune dial); also that's clearly not the original bezel but a modern reproduction one - one that I have on one of my new Amphibias...

Anyway, the seller has a 30 day return option, so I'll try to return them - will just have to pay the shipping to Ukraine -if all goes well and I actually can return them... I'm actually thinking of not returning the first one, cause it's such a rare case, but we'll see. Anyway, be careful out there and don't be a fool like me...

PS. I also got this Raketa from Etsy relatively cheap - hopefully this is not a franken too:


----------



## 979greenwich

Pity about the Neptune, it's nr. 1 on my shopping list. That is, if I come across a double hundred; 100 % original and around 100 $. There's more chance of hell freezing over.


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> Pity about the Neptune, it's nr. 1 on my shopping list. That is, if I come across a double hundred; 100 % original and around 100 $. There's more chance of hell freezing over.


No way for 100$, probably 3 times that for a good one at least. I thought mine was a very good deal, but then I saw why it was a good deal 😅


----------



## borgil

EndeavourDK said:


> This one just popped up while I was searching the German eBay, from a collector thinning out his collection. The price was nearly a steal
> It's my 4th Buran. I do have the same with a white dial and two Burans with "cathedral"-hands. These 39mm Burans wear extremely comfortable. Next to giving it a full service, I will change out the mineral glass crystal for a sapphire, re-lume the hands and compliment it with a self-made vegetable-tanned leather strap.
> 
> View attachment 15919369
> 
> 
> View attachment 15919370


Great purchase!

Do you have pointers on where to source the crystal from?
I have the same exact Buran with a broken crystal and was looking at how to replace it.


----------



## yekaterinburg

Got this Raketa at a really good price considering the condition. Interested to see how the light catches the face with its different textures!









Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


----------



## 979greenwich

Ligavesh said:


> No way for 100$, probably 3 times that for a good one at least. I thought mine was a very good deal, but then I saw why it was a good deal


I did manage a soviet Sturmanskie for 150 $ and an eared 350 Amphibian for 70, so there's always hope. I'd rather go vegan then pay premium.Treasure hunting is what keeps me interested as much as watch tinkering.


----------



## Ligavesh

yekaterinburg said:


> Got this Raketa at a really good price considering the condition. Interested to see how the light catches the face with its different textures!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk


nice 👌


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> I did manage a soviet Sturmanskie for 150 $ and an eared 350 Amphibian for 70, so there's always hope. I'd rather go vegan then pay premium.Treasure hunting is what keeps me interested as much as watch tinkering.


yeah, guess so

best way is to get them at auctions, no one bids that much there ( except for the ****ing Glashütte that I wanted that went for over 600 € 😡)


----------



## 979greenwich

I'm more of a act fast, buy it now type. At least 2 out of 20 bidders at worthy auctions are willing to pay premium, so I'm usually outbid. Ask Odessa, he has a 350 Amphibian that was meant for me


----------



## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> I'm more of a act fast, buy it now type. At least 2 out of 20 bidders at worthy auctions are willing to pay premium, so I'm usually outbid. Ask Odessa, he has a 350 Amphibian that was meant for me


what Amphibian? Lol. I am almost retired from high stake bidding. I think most of us will go via different state of 'purchasing'. I started years ago buying cheap what I liked. Then slowly I started buying more and more (cause I could justify it by saying to myself: I am big and serious collector now). Then it becomes just a $ game: you can buy anything for a given premium. I do not think I actually NEED any watches so I am not going to spend much. Do not want to pay a market price. Do not want to complete with other bedders. Maybe I will occasionally engage in a bidding war. Maybe. But my focus now is random 'lucky wins'. Just a few days ago I spotted a few watches from sale seller and grab them all. I probably paid 20% of the market price. Deals like this is what I am after. Not because I am cheep but because this if fun. There is a chase. The is a risk that you get junk. And there is a reward


----------



## 979greenwich

Odessa200 said:


> what Amphibian? Lol.


Brown one with painted numbers and sword hands, with a strange description, remember?


----------



## thewatchadude

I bought a bronze buckle from meranom to go with this 1967:










It doesn't show on the picture but patinas are very different (actually none on the buckle). So wondering whether I will wait for one to appear there also, or apply the lemon treat to the case to make sure both case and buckle get patina at the same pace.


----------



## Ligavesh

thewatchadude said:


> I bought a bronze buckle from meranom to go with this 1967:
> 
> View attachment 15928433
> 
> 
> It doesn't show on the picture but patinas are very different (actually none on the buckle). So wondering whether I will wait for one to appear there also, or apply the lemon treat to the case to make sure both case and buckle get patina at the same pace.


No protective film on the glass???


----------



## thewatchadude

They put a very large one on this model and even I can't dare keep it when wearing the watch.


----------



## 979greenwich

The one on the left arrived today. Almost mint, like its sibling. Same seller too.


----------



## Ligavesh

Very happy with this purchase - for a couple of reasons:

the watch seems to be in NOS condition
it seems to have been serviced -as the seller said - I can tell cause it came with the wrong ring for the caseback and the whole caseback wobbled - luckily I have several Raketas that I had purchased for parts/practice, so I replaced the ring and now it sits tight
it's "Made in USSR", not "Made in Russia"
last but not least - I bought it from my home country of Macedonia! (or North Macedonia since about a year or so ago) -I mean from a seller on ebay from Macedonia










Engraved is ОД ЗЛАТАРА "РУБИН" - which means 'From Jewelry Store "Rubin" (the biggest state owned jewelry store in Macedonia in socialist times, don't know whether they exist anymore -probably not). I think it was probably a gift to some person from the store for whatever reason. Scratches are from me changing the ring, btw.


----------



## Fergfour

Trying to finalize things on a Baikal:










as well as an Icebreaker that I passed on when they first came out:


----------



## Bsw_sc

I ordered this today from Vostok-watches24.com

I have not ordered from them before but couldn't find this one available anywhere else I searched. Anyone have any experience ordering from them?

I am very excited about this one, that green dial &#8230;


----------



## Ligavesh

Bsw_sc said:


> I ordered this today from Vostok-watches24.com
> 
> I have not ordered from them before but couldn't find this one available anywhere else I searched. Anyone have any experience ordering from them?
> 
> I am very excited about this one, that green dial &#8230;
> 
> View attachment 15935490


They're legit, if somewhat expensive compared to the other sellers.


----------



## Atlantia

Bsw_sc said:


> I ordered this today from Vostok-watches24.com
> 
> I have not ordered from them before but couldn't find this one available anywhere else I searched. Anyone have any experience ordering from them?
> 
> I am very excited about this one, that green dial &#8230;
> 
> View attachment 15935490


I was going to order some stuff from them, but I wanted to ask a simple qestion and apparently they can't be bothered to answer an email, even if it's in English and German!
Makes me wonder what it would be like trying to fix a problem with them?
Anyway, I spent elsewhere.


----------



## Fergfour

Atlantia said:


> I was going to order some stuff from them, but I wanted to ask a simple qestion and apparently they can't be bothered to answer an email, even if it's in English and German!
> Makes me wonder what it would be like trying to fix a problem with them?
> Anyway, I spent elsewhere.


 I did order one of their 1967 models once and didn't have any problems. In my experience they do not respond to emails though.


----------



## stadiou

Well, finally gave in after a decade of studiously avoiding any 24xx powered Slava and bought a 2414 hexagon- hopefully this one will not be like its predecessors and last only a few seconds. Not had any luck with the Slava's 24xx so far...... maybe this time. Time will tell.


----------



## Atlantia

Fergfour said:


> I did order one of their 1967 models once and didn't have any problems. In my experience they do not respond to emails though.


It's not a good sign Fergfour. I'm a bit old school and I expect at least basic customer service.
Meranom and Komanderskie have been good to deal with (for me). I've bought from both and I think I've emailed both and got prompt replies.
If a company can't bother to answer basic enquiries, then how can you have any confidence that they'd deal with a problem professionally?
Hopefully Bsw_sc won't have any issues and that lovely green amphibia will arrive very soon.


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just arrived from private collector in Moscow. A NOS first run Amphibia Desert Shield with box and papers, and a CCCP era early Sniper Octagon case.


----------



## Ligavesh

Atlantia said:


> It's not a good sign Fergfour. I'm a bit old school and I expect at least basic customer service.
> Meranom and Komanderskie have been good to deal with (for me). I've bought from both and I think I've emailed both and got prompt replies.
> If a company can't bother to answer basic enquiries, then how can you have any confidence that they'd deal with a problem professionally?
> Hopefully Bsw_sc won't have any issues and that lovely green amphibia will arrive very soon.


They're better for customers in Europe as they ship from Holland (I think). As to the emails thing - no idea - never had the need to write to them.


----------



## yekaterinburg

So I had a few drinks with a friend last night. Woke up this morning with a notification from eBay saying they had my order... Hmm... Don't remember buying anything... Turns out I bought a spoon commemorating the 50th anniversary of the revolution (which I'd been searching to find a watch!)







!


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> Unfortunately a bit late as i already bought pic related along with a stand/oil basins combo before i saw your post. Still need to make sure which oils i need to get.
> 
> View attachment 15919901
> 
> 
> Dave Murphy's guide is wonderful for service, but a few of the oils seem a bit pricey when i remember there are a few excellent modern alternatives especially so for greases.


You will use the black oiler the most, it delivers the smallest amount and is excellent for dropping a dab into jewel wells etc.

Red and Green are larger spoons so you would use them for things like pocket watches or reluming as both are decent sizes for hand and marker reluming.

Thing to remember with a wristwatch, less is more, a little dab will do you otherwise you run risk of flooding the movement which can get onto dial or onto balance spring and its worth looking into the properties of certain oil lightnesses, you don't want the super light grade in certain places and you wouldn't want the heavier grades in certain places.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Well this nice offer popped up today in my ebay feeds... 'tis the chap I bought my first Amphibia from and quite a few of my early Komandirskie's too if memory serves me right.










Needless to say, the review offer and pay now was like lightning... boom boom and its now winging its way to me, think that's worth £25 of anyones money and now I have joined the perp calendar club


----------



## SinanjuStein

Dodgydruid said:


> You will use the black oiler the most, it delivers the smallest amount and is excellent for dropping a dab into jewel wells etc.
> 
> Red and Green are larger spoons so you would use them for things like pocket watches or reluming as both are decent sizes for hand and marker reluming.
> 
> Thing to remember with a wristwatch, less is more, a little dab will do you otherwise you run risk of flooding the movement which can get onto dial or onto balance spring and its worth looking into the properties of certain oil lightnesses, you don't want the super light grade in certain places and you wouldn't want the heavier grades in certain places.


Will do, thanks for the tip.

One of the watch dials in the lot has this exact symptoms of somewhat solid chunk of oil on the back and a bit on the front which i will get to cleaning at some point.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just snagged two NOS Slava tank bracelets from a UK seller... £13 each does me


----------



## Dodgydruid

SinanjuStein said:


> Will do, thanks for the tip.
> 
> One of the watch dials in the lot has this exact symptoms of somewhat solid chunk of oil on the back and a bit on the front which i will get to cleaning at some point.


Warm water and a cotton bud frequently changed is a very good means of getting the worst muck off dials I found. I go at it with the rodico first to get the low hanging fruit then squeegee the dial with a dampened cotton bud and will lift off the more ingrimed dirt and oils etc then dry with a dry cotton bud. First attempt I made at a Vostok dial I did it with isopropyl alcohol which removed the dirt wonderfully, it also lifted off the paint markings and everything else leaving one sterile but very glossy dial


----------



## Atlantia

Ligavesh said:


> They're better for customers in Europe as they ship from Holland (I think). As to the emails thing - no idea - never had the need to write to them.


That's what I was hoping, they seem to have a good inventory. Oh well, it feels more special when the package comes from Russia!


----------



## Ligavesh

Won an ebay bidding for a change (I was the only bidder).










The glass seems scratched between 5 and 6, but other than that it seems ok.


----------



## Atlantia

Ligavesh said:


> Won an ebay bidding for a change (I was the only bidder).
> 
> View attachment 15938495
> 
> 
> The glass seems scratched between 5 and 6, but other than that it seems ok.


Wow, that's really nice! Love the dial.


----------



## larand

Ordered an Amphibia 110650s from Meranom, and a Vostok mesh bracelet to go with it. After a couple of years away from the world of Vostoks, I seem to be getting back into it. Much more affordable and fun.









Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Won an ebay bidding for a change (I was the only bidder).
> 
> View attachment 15938495
> 
> 
> The glass seems scratched between 5 and 6, but other than that it seems ok.


Bit o' Polywatch get rid of scratches or any mild non destructive abrasive, even toothpaste like the baking soda types are apparently good for scratches. New crystal is only a few quid online, def a nice Amphibia m8


----------



## Dodgydruid

larand said:


> Ordered an Amphibia 110650s from Meranom, and a Vostok mesh bracelet to go with it. After a couple of years away from the world of Vostoks, I seem to be getting back into it. Much more affordable and fun.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Instagram: @vta_watch


I love the radio rooms esp the dateless ones making them a bit more retro


----------



## Dodgydruid

First Vossie for a while, the unusual dial attracted my attention and a very sweet price too


----------



## Ligavesh

I'm just gonna say this - it's good there's no more the Soviet Union, so maybe one day _I will _collect all of the models (at least the ones I like), like Mr. Oatman. I just need to getting Zlatousts and forum projects on a low level... Imagine if we were collecting Chinese watches - who could keep up with that, there's no end


----------



## benton629

Just got this bezel from Vk-ru on Amazon.


----------



## Atlantia

Dodgydruid said:


> Bit o' Polywatch get rid of scratches or any mild non destructive abrasive, even toothpaste like the baking soda types are apparently good for scratches. New crystal is only a few quid online, def a nice Amphibia m8


Or just classic autosol, which also works brilliantly on stainless steel cases!


----------



## SinanjuStein

Ligavesh said:


> Won an ebay bidding for a change (I was the only bidder).
> 
> The glass seems scratched between 5 and 6, but other than that it seems ok.


That's an unusual dial inscription for a Vostok with selfwinding. Usually it's автоподзавод or autowinding, while this one is automatic.

As far as the crystal, if polywatch doesn't do the trick the regular Amphibia crystals aren't that pricey.


----------



## Ligavesh

SinanjuStein said:


> That's an unusual dial inscription for a Vostok with selfwinding. Usually it's автоподзавод or autowinding, while this one is automatic.
> 
> As far as the crystal, if polywatch doesn't do the trick the regular Amphibia crystals aren't that pricey.


There's a Komandirskie version on ebay that I'm not gonna link cause I'm thinking of maybe getting it too some day 

Anyway, that one has almost the same dial, but with komandirskie style hands, the same designation for automatic and "Made in USSR" (in Russian of course), a komandirskie case and a weird bezel. It's also currently about 3 times of what I paid for this one.


----------



## Ligavesh

Bsw_sc said:


> I ordered this today from Vostok-watches24.com
> 
> I have not ordered from them before but couldn't find this one available anywhere else I searched. Anyone have any experience ordering from them?
> 
> I am very excited about this one, that green dial &#8230;
> 
> View attachment 15935490


I wasn't planning on getting more Pamhibias, but this one's growing on me, I might get it and put this bezel on it:










But not in the near future! I've bought enough (and then some more)!

Btw, why is it only on Vostok Watches 24 and not on meranom, komandirskie etc? Weird.


----------



## Odessa200

Spotted this 30J Poljot and somehow new it is better than the horrible photo the seller took. Judge for yourself.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> Spotted this 30J Poljot and somehow new it is better than the horrible photo the seller took. Judge for yourself.
> View attachment 15939386
> View attachment 15939388


No rust on hands/indeces is definitely a must-buy (aside from the case with no brass showing, just some spots that would easily wipe off, of course).

Btw, you selling that bracelet? 😁


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> No rust on hands/indeces is definitely a must-buy (aside from the case with no brass showing, just some spots that would easily wipe off, of course).
> 
> Btw, you selling that bracelet? ?


true. That bracelet is a typical China bracelet. Nothing special. I took it off because it is a universal 16-24 mm with spring loaded protruding 'things'. They destroy the gilding on the lugs if used repeatedly. I would not recommend it.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> That bracelet is a typical China bracelet. Nothing special. I took it off because it is a universal 16-24 mm with spring loaded protruding 'things'. They destroy the gilding on the lugs if used repeatedly. I would not recommend it.


You're probably right, though I like to wear a "golden" bracelet with a gilded watch (btw, I noticed a real golden Poljot in the local classifieds for 750€ - I've got time, that won't sell for a long time - but that's another story), it's so out of character und untypical for me, I like to think to myself I look like some gangster, or some exciting eccentric - although I probably look more like a German pensioner with it  Maybe I'll post pictures when I get home for you guys to judge


----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> So anyway, I got overexcited again at the sight of rare watches, that I failed (or was too blind from excitement) to see that they are frankens. One I already showed in the Q&A thread (a very rare case in excellent condition -but everything else wrong unfortunately):
> 
> View attachment 15927089
> 
> 
> The other one:
> 
> View attachment 15927091
> 
> 
> The "Neptune" doesn't have the right dial - that is, it's missing the protruding metal indeces (probably a case of the Scuba Dude original 960, but with a Neptune dial); also that's clearly not the original bezel but a modern reproduction one - one that I have on one of my new Amphibias...
> 
> Anyway, the seller has a 30 day return option, so I'll try to return them - will just have to pay the shipping to Ukraine -if all goes well and I actually can return them... I'm actually thinking of not returning the first one, cause it's such a rare case, but we'll see. Anyway, be careful out there and don't be a fool like me...
> 
> PS. I also got this Raketa from Etsy relatively cheap - hopefully this is not a franken too:
> 
> View attachment 15927146


Of course the seller is now claiming these were 'variants' and not frankens.










We'll see what ebay has to say about it. By the way, the bezel on the "Neptune" is not even the original 80's one - I suppose it's also a 'variant'  If he keeps up with his story I'm gonna ask him to show me catalog pictures with these 'variants'. But anyway, I'm the dumbass here for even ordering these.

On the other hand, I'm seriously impressed how fast these arrived.


----------



## thewatchadude

Ligavesh said:


> Of course the seller is now claiming these were 'variants' and not frankens.
> 
> View attachment 15940375
> 
> 
> We'll see what ebay has to say about it. By the way, the bezel on the "Neptune" is not even the original 80's one - I suppose it's also a 'variant'  If he keeps up with his story I'm gonna ask him to show me catalog pictures with these 'variants'. But anyway, I'm the dumbass here for even ordering these.
> 
> On the other hand, I'm seriously impressed how fast these arrived.


What's wrong with the Neptune, except the bezel?


----------



## Ligavesh

thewatchadude said:


> What's wrong with the Neptune, except the bezel?


These are missing:










and I don't think it's just a variant (an 'early variant', as the seller says). As I've said, it's in my opinion the case from a Scuba Dude 960 with a Neptune dial. Tbh, if it were cheaper I might have kept it with hope of getting missing parts and matching them together from other watches eventually (were I to found them) but not at the price I've paid. I was also thinking this about the other watch, waiting for a right dial to come in some cheaper, damaged case, but I'm not in the mood for it tbh. I'll just buy the originals from @mariomart some day 

Btw, the seller says he'll accept the return, so fair play to him.


----------



## dutchassasin

Ligavesh said:


> These are missing:
> 
> View attachment 15940650
> 
> 
> and I don't think it's just a variant (an 'early variant', as the seller says). As I've said, it's in my opinion the case from a Scuba Dude 960 with a Neptune dial. Tbh, if it were cheaper I might have kept it with hope of getting missing parts and matching them together from other watches eventually (were I to found them) but not at the price I've paid. I was also thinking this about the other watch, waiting for a right dial to come in some cheaper, damaged case, but I'm not in the mood for it tbh. I'll just buy the originals from @mariomart some day
> 
> Btw, the seller says he'll accept the return, so fair play to him.


ok, hear me out. There is no catalogue evidence for such neptune dials but we can clearly see the outer minute track is at the edge of the dial. While on a neptune dial with such a inner ring its more towards the centre to accommodate the 5 minute markers.

Ive seen a few of these dials and it might as well be off hours production by staff/ left over stock usage or in between.


----------



## Ligavesh

dutchassasin said:


> ok, hear me out. There is no catalogue evidence for such neptune dials but we can clearly see the outer minute track is at the edge of the dial. While on a neptune dial with such a inner ring its more towards the centre to accommodate the 5 minute markers.
> 
> Ive seen a few of these dials and it might as well be off hours production by staff/ left over stock usage or in between.


interesting, I tend to jump to conclusions too much I guess... defibitely the minite markers are more to the outside - and the Neptune 'guy' is of a different color... hm, I migjt call off the return after all - but I will ask him to find me an old style bezel - I used to have a watch with one, but like the dumbass that I am I sold it....


----------



## thewatchadude

I agree. I do have one like this and clearly it is not designed to be associated with an inner ring as you show.
I like to think it's an earlier version of Neptune, or--still good--a latter version. Maybe it's a grey model, maybe a vintage counterfeit. What is sure is that it's a different model from the more widely recognized 80s' Neptune.

Re the case, I think the 9370 is appropriate to the 'regular' Neptune. I reckon I'm too lazy to go and check the catalogue though.


----------



## Ligavesh

I might keep it, bit I'm gonna ask him to find me an original bezel - for a price of course.


----------



## thewatchadude

Well, actually I couldn't have been more wrong than in my post above! Not even 50 and memory already fades away...

Looking at this old thread I ses that the vintage Neptune apparently comes in a polished case. I also see that mine should have an inner ring but actually doesn't (irony is that a couple of years ago I passed on a Neptune case with an inner ring but a non-Neptune dial as I was convinced I would never find a Neptune dial at an affordable price).


----------



## Odessa200

thewatchadude said:


> Well, actually I couldn't have been more wrong than in my post above! Not even 50 and memory already fades away...
> 
> Looking at this old thread I ses that the vintage Neptune apparently comes in a polished case. I also see that mine should have an inner ring but actually doesn't (irony is that a couple of years ago I passed on a Neptune case with an inner ring but a non-Neptune dial as I was convinced I would never find a Neptune dial at an affordable price).


agree. Here is mine that probably should have the insert (given how the dial indexes do not go to the edge). What happened to these inserts we can only guess&#8230; Given we see all these different variations it is possible all these variants were made this way. Who knows.


----------



## benton629

Vostok Cadet 461342 ( without strap) arrived today after a 14 day transit from Ukraine.


----------



## Firecrafter

Ordered the blacked-out Berkut from Poljot24 today! I've always had a fascination with the Su-47s design so this watch had been on my buy list for a while now.


----------



## mariomart

So, it seems I now own a Vostok Mars Dude









1 of only 10 produced for Aramar Watches by the Vostok factory.


----------



## 979greenwich

mariomart said:


> So, it seems I now own a Vostok Mars Dude
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1 of only 10 produced for Aramar Watches by the Vostok factory.


I saw it yesterday and immediately thought, Mario is going to buy this


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just arrived from Meranom. 670920B.


----------



## mariomart

979greenwich said:


> I saw it yesterday and immediately thought, Mario is going to buy this


It seems people know me too well 🤪 🤣

I simply just can't refuse obscure limited releases that are within my budget


----------



## thewatchadude

GMTtwotone said:


> Just arrived from Meranom. 670920B.


The one I bought as basis for my very first mod!
I still have the dial that I definitely want to use in another mod.


----------



## Ligavesh

****ing customs confiscated my watch from Thailand because it had "lizard skin strap from an endangered species". I don't give two craps about the bloody strap 

edit: the bloody lizard (or something like that):










Hope they go extinct, the little ****ers.


----------



## 979greenwich

Fresh from Odessa (city, not forum member):


----------



## mariomart

You don't come across one of these very often


----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> Won an ebay bidding for a change (I was the only bidder).
> 
> View attachment 15938495
> 
> 
> The glass seems scratched between 5 and 6, but other than that it seems ok.


Well, spoke too soon, DHL Germany managed to loose/steal the package on the way.


----------



## Odessa200

This one!


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in a few days ago, got it cleaned up so here it is..... It was recently serviced as well and runs very nicely.


----------



## Dodgydruid

My first "perp" arrived today, straight onto a freed up silver 70's rally bracelet and pow what a watch, abs loving this although not sure how to set date and day on it. Only niggle is the year windows are a leetle difficult to see under the shoulder of the crystal but heck, its holding super time, lively amplitude and low beat error... I'm happy even if the last year is 2000 lol


----------



## Odessa200

Dodgydruid said:


> My first "perp" arrived today, straight onto a freed up silver 70's rally bracelet and pow what a watch, abs loving this although not sure how to set date and day on it. Only niggle is the year windows are a leetle difficult to see under the shoulder of the crystal but heck, its holding super time, lively amplitude and low beat error... I'm happy even if the last year is 2000 lol
> 
> View attachment 15949773
> 
> 
> View attachment 15949774


day of the week is set by just rotating the hands forward as many days as needed. The day of the month: pull the crown out past the time setting. Each pull moves the calendar by 1 day. 
then using 2nd crown, set 1993 against the June (1993 aligns with the 2021) and then use the top scale to see what days of the week are the dates in June.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Odessa200 said:


> day of the week is set by just rotating the hands forward as many days as needed. The day of the month: pull the crown out past the time setting. Each pull moves the calendar by 1 day.
> then using 2nd crown, set 1993 against the June (1993 aligns with the 2021) and then use the top scale to see what days of the week are the dates in June.


Cheers for that, quite weird pulling out to set date as opposed to pushing in on a Seiko 7009.

Well it ran fine for 2 hours, well pleased... then it stopped... ran fine for another hour and stopped again so am thinking this got rather tussled in the transit. Just passed a compass over and just a hair of magnetism so going to let it wind down full on its own steam and then demag, rodico the somewhat grubby interior and dab some oil onto the jewels and pinions see if that makes it a little more lively.


----------



## SinanjuStein

I was originally looking for a classic tank dial to build it from my scapheap of parts, but for the price of two dials i can't complain. (shipping included of course)










At least i'm not lacking in spare parts for transitional era Vostoks, and it saves me from looking for a handset.


----------



## Ligavesh

Aftwr the advice in the Q&A I went ahead and bought this 2234 komandirskie - but let's see it first arrive safe and sound, after the DHL episode witht the previous Vostok...


----------



## Ligavesh

Heh, told the guy with the 'fake' Neptune to find me an old style bakelite dial, he found me this for 20$ (with shipping):










It's gonna look nice on the old Neptune -plus I'll have an extra 'new old' bezel 🙂


----------



## thewatchadude

Just learnt the bad news that EU will introduce custom duties on all non-EU Internet purchases and that my domestc postal office will charge additional costs for custom handling starting July 1st. So my watch purchases will decrease somewhat, while having to be refocussed on the core of my collection.
Anyway the green bronze has consumed my budget for the next couple of month so will have to deal with this after summer vacation.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just found this unusual Slava and here in the UK too so no danger of coming back with 7 magnitudes of magnetism my Raketa PerpCal did lol










Apparently working spot on too and I do like that textured dial a lot


----------



## Dodgydruid

thewatchadude said:


> Just learnt the bad news that EU will introduce custom duties on all non-EU Internet purchases and that my domestc postal office will charge additional costs for custom handling starting July 1st. So my watch purchases will decrease somewhat, while having to be refocussed on the core of my collection.
> Anyway the green bronze has consumed my budget for the next couple of month so will have to deal with this after summer vacation.


We're all getting it m8, seems the EU spotting the UK getting loads of dough for doing sod all decided to follow suit


----------



## elsoldemayo

Dodgydruid said:


> We're all getting it m8, seems the EU spotting the UK getting loads of dough for doing sod all decided to follow suit


As I recall it was decided ages ago for both EU & UK to do this at the start of the year but the EU postponed for 6 months due to Brexit/pandemic


----------



## Dodgydruid

It is a ripoff especially as old and used stuff isn't supposed to attract anything under a certain limit but its a blanket "at final cost". Another thing with Brexit is sellers I used to buy from over in Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany and France I can't afford to anymore where postage has gone up from a few pounds to £25-30 and that too attracts 20% vat on as well grr

All its going to do is force people to buy from China as the sellers there absorb the 20% and give free postage.

I have long long had my eye on a Gruen Soviet in the US, the price itself is very nice... £50 postage and customs duties... for a few grams of used watch and this is why us Brits tend not to buy from the US due to the insane postage costs then slapped with heinous customs on top.


----------



## thewatchadude

elsoldemayo said:


> As I recall it was decided ages ago for both EU & UK to do this at the start of the year but the EU postponed for 6 months due to Brexit/pandemic


Yep I can imagine it's not something decided and implemented overnight (which the EU is genetically unable to do), but I didn't pay any attention given the very small amounts involved for me. I didn't get the post office will charge EUR2 if you pay on Internet in advance, or EUR8 if you pay the postman at delivery, regardless of the value of your package. This plus VAT on total I think... Happy to be corrected if I didn't get it right.


----------



## elsoldemayo

My main problem with ebays Global Shipping Program and couriers etc. automatically charging imports fees etc. is it takes away my legitimate (but illegal) right to try and defraud Irish customs of the duties and taxes owed.


----------



## Dirthitter

To bring an ongoing project finally to an end, I bought these fine items (actually yesterday already, but did not have the time to post it then):









A bezel in orange










as well an orange dial








and a new movement.

What I already have is this:










Do not know when or where I stumbled over the idea of an orange dial Amphibia. At first it did not stuck. Orange is far away from my comfort zone with colors. I like my watches blue or green , then and when black too. But the more I turned it around in my head the more I began to actually embrace the idea of a watch with an orange dial especially if it sports a scuba dude. Combined with a teal bezel it would look awesome IMHO.
But wait...a teal-blue bezel? I just ordered an orange one you might say.
You are right. So my project is not about one new watch but about a second one I already have, too. While there is a close connection between these two watches my project involves both.
But enough about the actual rebuild/modding phase. That´s a topic for the modding thread. There I will post the ongoings of the project(s). Promise;-)
So have a good one!


----------



## Ligavesh

This Raketa arrived. Hope I could polish that hour hand some day:


----------



## Millones

Vostok RE SE III Baikal


----------



## Ligavesh

To the guy who bought the 3133 in the sales forum because my insurance was ****ing with my money - choke on it.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Picked up a strange one here... have no idea what it is other than it came up in my Soviet watch saved search and it wasn't cheap either and I was scratching my head until I spotted the 16 Kamher on the movement so now I have my first 24 hour watch


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> To the guy who bought the 3133 in the sales forum because my insurance was ****ing with my money - choke on it.


Sorry to hear that m8, I would look at it that the 3133 was not the one for you and just wait for the next right one to turn up and you will prob find the next one will be loads better as karma is funny like that


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Sorry to hear that m8, I would look at it that the 3133 was not the one for you and just wait for the next right one to turn up and you will prob find the next one will be loads better as karma is funny like that


nah, this one was perfect as it had a small defect (that I could send to get fixed in Russia) and was therefore rel. cheap, I'd already bought a replacement case (which I now have to resale again)


----------



## Dodgydruid

If you got the case, why not gather up the rest of the parts as and when you can then get the watch master to put it all together or you could.

I'm currently building up a parts set mainly from Ali to build around a very nice Unitas 6497 pocket watch movement, found a decent replica Panerai sandwich board dial with the correct hands and bought a suitable case with display caseback and the proper Luminor crown mechanism guard/crown and I will have a full on, almost identical, correctly powered Panerai-ish which will suit me 

Is the 3133 comparable in size to the Venus 150? You can buy new Venus 175 movements off Aliexpress for around £50 which is bloody good for a full blown mechanical chronograph movement.

Also fans of the Phylida "tintin" that sold out almost immediately will be glad to hear that sister company Bliger has produced apparently its own version of the black with red and white checker dial in day date format and some have said there is the chrono using a Venus 175 coming out too.

I want a 3133 myself but then I keep looking at these Triumph Russian diver watches and its a difficult choice as I quite like them too. Any info on the Russian company Triumph? I heard it was a recent startup and seen some good reviews on their gear and around 250 dollars for what is identical to a Zlatoust I am mightily interested in


----------



## davxls

A Pobeda red 12 and a classic Komandirskie 341201.








_







_


----------



## elsoldemayo

Just arrived...


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just arrived from Moscow. Big Zero export, large case.


----------



## Dodgydruid

This arrived today from Proops... I've clipped them to my extra strong glasses, bit fed up with the visor and scope and this gives me a 3.3x3 option and was able to with ease fix my Pulsar VK63 mechaquartz's chrono button circlips so maybe movement work isn't beyond my ability just yet 

Triple Loupe


----------



## Dodgydruid

I am also quite excited as one of my Youtube subscribers in the US sent me the proper silicone and aluminium billet 26mm strap for my Invicta Russian Diver 1959 and its just left customs without attracting any dues yay


----------



## Dodgydruid

Just won a tidy joblot which had this lovely Sekonda in... I like joblots as its like Xmas every time and also has in it a very unusual Seiko Kinetic case in gold tone divers style so that will keep me happy for a bit


----------



## Dodgydruid

OK not a Russian per se but a canteen crown which is a Russian thing and this is I believe the only canteen crown diver Seiko group produced and under the name of Alba its sub brand.









Its actually been in my watched lists for over a year and spotted the price went down a fair bit this time round, until I can actually afford a Zlatoust or Triumph then these pretenders is all I am gonna get...


----------



## idunno




----------



## davxls

After hours of info searching and asking here about the old Kirovskie type 1 I instead went a more safer way and bought a different Kirovskie model.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Snagged one of these for my "home built" white radio room 090









Vostok Bezel to Amphibia Amphibian Komandirskie Cage Vodolaz Style Diver Watch | eBay


A new custom stainless steel bezel for your beloved Vostok Amphibian or Komandirskie, with. also can fit Vostok Komandirskie watches. Designed to fit all Vostok Amphibian cases such as round, oval, hexagonal etc.



www.ebay.co.uk


----------



## Dodgydruid

These turned up today... 99p for the lot plus a tenner postage, solid plastic with felt underlay on bottom, now just got to acquire some clear acrylic watch stands to show off my favourites on


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> If you got the case, why not gather up the rest of the parts as and when you can then get the watch master to put it all together or you could.
> 
> I'm currently building up a parts set mainly from Ali to build around a very nice Unitas 6497 pocket watch movement, found a decent replica Panerai sandwich board dial with the correct hands and bought a suitable case with display caseback and the proper Luminor crown mechanism guard/crown and I will have a full on, almost identical, correctly powered Panerai-ish which will suit me
> 
> Is the 3133 comparable in size to the Venus 150? You can buy new Venus 175 movements off Aliexpress for around £50 which is bloody good for a full blown mechanical chronograph movement.
> 
> Also fans of the Phylida "tintin" that sold out almost immediately will be glad to hear that sister company Bliger has produced apparently its own version of the black with red and white checker dial in day date format and some have said there is the chrono using a Venus 175 coming out too.
> 
> I want a 3133 myself but then I keep looking at these Triumph Russian diver watches and its a difficult choice as I quite like them too. Any info on the Russian company Triumph? I heard it was a recent startup and seen some good reviews on their gear and around 250 dollars for what is identical to a Zlatoust I am mightily interested in


Don't know about Triumph, but I do actually have a spare 3133 movement which I don't know what to do with atm... maybe that movement could come together with that case, I dunno...


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> Don't know about Triumph, but I do actually have a spare 3133 movement which I don't know what to do with atm... maybe that movement could come together with that case, I dunno...


Triumph apparently made some Zlatoust type divers watches, a lot cheaper than a Zlatoust but also have a 100m max depth unlike the Zlaty's much deeper depth capability.


----------



## mariomart

Added another curiosity today.

This one appears in Juri Levenberg's "Russian Wristwatches" book, which was published in 1995, so I at least know it isn't a recent thing (perhaps an older "mod", or maybe even a factory project) however the case shown in the book is different.

Who knows 🤪


----------



## Dodgydruid

Thats an unusual Zakas you got there m8, tank is much lower down than usual.

I do love that book, I have all mine pencil ticked off hehe


----------



## mariomart

Dodgydruid said:


> Thats an unusual Zakas you got there m8, tank is much lower down than usual.
> 
> I do love that book, I have all mine pencil ticked off hehe


I think the intention was to copy an actual early prototype dial.

Unfortunately the only photo I have of the real dial is very low quality, I will ask the seller if he has better photo's so that I can add them.


----------



## Dodgydruid

My grille arrived today... on my 710 and it looks awesome...










Going to grab another for my home built 090, very nice build quality


----------



## Ligavesh

I have no ****ing idea why I bought this watch. I need help.



















This one made more sense:


----------



## GMTtwotone

Just arrived from a Moscow collector. Amphibia with bakelight bezel and octagon case. Large case Raketa Big Zero with CCCP dial.


----------



## Rimmed762

Ligavesh said:


> I have no ****ing idea why I bought this watch. I need help.
> 
> View attachment 15969020
> 
> 
> View attachment 15969021


I think that Poljot is actually very nice watch. And looks like it is in good shape too.

You don't need help, you just need couple more. 😁


----------



## SinanjuStein

Ligavesh said:


> I have no ****ing idea why I bought this watch. I need help.
> 
> View attachment 15969020
> 
> 
> View attachment 15969021
> 
> 
> This one made more sense:
> 
> View attachment 15969096


While i know that Poljot was probably very cheap, i think it should have a different kind of hands. Notice how the metal surfaces of the dial and hands have a slightly different finish.










But a 2614 is bulletproof and cheap, and as far as i recall rather easy to learn how to work on.

Also that Vostok looks stellar.


----------



## SuffolkGerryW

Ligavesh said:


> I have no ****ing idea why I bought this watch. I need help.
> 
> View attachment 15969020
> 
> 
> View attachment 15969021
> 
> 
> This one made more sense:
> 
> View attachment 15969096


Is that Poljot dial pale blue or grey? Looks great anyway.


----------



## mariomart

The Vostok Mars Dude has landed









I changed out the rather boring standard Komandirskie dash-dot bezel for a vintage Bakelite bezel to give it a little bit of retro feel to go with the graphic on the dial. I'll be putting it on a khaki seat belt nylon strap when it arrives.

This watch was a very limited release of only 10 watches, commissioned by Aramar Watches in the Netherlands.

The Vostok passport gives the model number as 420Щ01-22 (420SH01-22)


----------



## Ligavesh

SuffolkGerryW said:


> Is that Poljot dial pale blue or grey? Looks great anyway.


I think it's bluish grey; I think I bought it mainly for the color, can't see another reason for it...



SinanjuStein said:


> While i know that Poljot was probably very cheap, i think it should have a different kind of hands. Notice how the metal surfaces of the dial and hands have a slightly different finish.
> 
> View attachment 15971088
> 
> 
> But a 2614 is bulletproof and cheap, and as far as i recall rather easy to learn how to work on.
> 
> Also that Vostok looks stellar.


Yeah, I think you're right about the hands.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ooo I likes that bezel on the mars one...


----------



## davxls

Another Kirovskie "spider crab" . Not super condition, but it's hard to find really nice ones.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh dear, another Raketa based Sekonda... Oh I do like these "bakers" and at £12... I just couldn't resist...










Also added another Pulsar YM92 chrono into the collection just needing a marker glued back into place.


----------



## 979greenwich

My favourite kind, very cheap and in desperate need of attention


----------



## Mediocre




----------



## Ligavesh

This little guy arrived today:


----------



## davxls

Todays purchase was this Slava fridge. I had one before but sold it. Glad I found another one in good condition. The second hand is not original I guess. Never found a good catalogue pic of it. 
Sellers photo.


----------



## Dodgydruid

davxls said:


> Todays purchase was this Slava fridge. I had one before but sold it. Glad I found another one in good condition. The second hand is not original I guess. Never found a good catalogue pic of it.
> Sellers photo.
> View attachment 15981481


I must admit if I want to pick a Soviet to wear with plenty of presence I pick my Cornavin fridge as it is just such a lovely piece, I have a silver brick 70's rally bracelet on many of mine and the Cornavin looks abs awesome on it.


----------



## davxls

Dodgydruid said:


> I must admit if I want to pick a Soviet to wear with plenty of presence I pick my Cornavin fridge as it is just such a lovely piece, I have a silver brick 70's rally bracelet on many of mine and the Cornavin looks abs awesome on it.


Yeah, I thought it was too much with the first one, that's why I sold it. It's a pretty big piece and with gold plated bracelet it's a real eye-catcher. 
Now I've turned around and can't wait to have it on my wrist.


----------



## Dodgydruid

davxls said:


> Yeah, I thought it was too much with the first one, that's why I sold it. It's a pretty big piece and with gold plated bracelet it's a real eye-catcher.
> Now I've turned around and can't wait to have it on my wrist.


Here's my one, keeps very good time too


----------



## fransiscus

mariomart said:


> Oops! I did it again
> 
> Soviet.Market supplied me with a 10% discount due to my video's and feedback, so now I am completing the set
> 
> View attachment 15727267


Nice find! I love this watch too.

Sent from my SM-G980F using Tapatalk


----------



## Fergfour

Getting a deal lined up for tomorrow, four project watches from the Relojes Especiales forum. I have the last 2 already and and tried to exclude them from the deal but it was all or nothing. I'll have to decide if I want spares or not. 
All are currently on straps but bracelets are included.

Been looking for the first one, the "Banana" as they call it for 5 years. It's like the white whale for me:










I had the Baikonur, the 2nd project, before but sold it in a past purge, so I'm glad to be getting it back. It commemorates the first spacewalk, 12 minutes 9 seconds:










#3 is the Baikal, which I already own:









#4 is the Pripyat, tribute to the workers at Chernobyl. Will need to make another spare/no spare decision.


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> Getting a deal lined up for tomorrow, four project watches from the Relojes Especiales forum. I have the last 2 already and and tried to exclude them from the deal but it was all or nothing. I'll have to decide if I want spares or not.
> All are currently on straps but bracelets are included.
> 
> Been looking for the first one, the "Banana" as they call it for 5 years. It's like the white whale for me:
> 
> View attachment 15982084
> 
> 
> I had the Baikonur, the 2nd project, before but sold it in a past purge, so I'm glad to be getting it back. It commemorates the first spacewalk, 12 minutes 9 seconds:
> 
> View attachment 15982173
> 
> 
> #3 is the Baikal, which I already own:
> View attachment 15982174
> 
> 
> #4 is the Pripyat, tribute to the workers at Chernobyl. Will need to make another spare/no spare decision.
> View attachment 15982175


Oh man, the "Banana" alone is worth it let alone the others, White Wale is spot on description -especially in that state... can't describe how jealous I am 



davxls said:


> Todays purchase was this Slava fridge. I had one before but sold it. Glad I found another one in good condition. The second hand is not original I guess. Never found a good catalogue pic of it.
> Sellers photo.
> View attachment 15981481


Second hand is correct, I have this watch in near mint cosmetic condition, but it doesn't work, I'm trying to get it serviced (without being ripped off).


----------



## davxls

Ligavesh said:


> Oh man, the "Banana" alone is worth it let alone the others, White Wale is spot on description -especially in that state... can't describe how jealous I am
> 
> Second hand is correct, I have this watch in near mint cosmetic condition, but it doesn't work, I'm trying to get it serviced (without being ripped off).


Good to hear. It looks in good condition overall. I hope you get yours fixed soon then ?


----------



## Kotsov

Fergfour said:


> Getting a deal lined up for tomorrow, four project watches from the Relojes Especiales forum. I have the last 2 already and and tried to exclude them from the deal but it was all or nothing. I'll have to decide if I want spares or not.
> All are currently on straps but bracelets are included.
> 
> Been looking for the first one, the "Banana" as they call it for 5 years. It's like the white whale for me:
> 
> View attachment 15982084
> 
> 
> I had the Baikonur, the 2nd project, before but sold it in a past purge, so I'm glad to be getting it back. It commemorates the first spacewalk, 12 minutes 9 seconds:
> 
> View attachment 15982173
> 
> 
> #3 is the Baikal, which I already own:
> View attachment 15982174
> 
> 
> #4 is the Pripyat, tribute to the workers at Chernobyl. Will need to make another spare/no spare decision.
> View attachment 15982175


I'll take the Baikal off you. Still fizzing about missing out on that one


----------



## Fergfour

The deal has been finalized. The 1st and 2nd are keepers, to be determined if the 3rd and 4th will be. I'm not in the habit of having spares in the collection but they are hard to come by.


----------



## davxls

Been looking for a Raketa wind rose in good condition for a while.


----------



## Ligavesh

Almost forgot - arrrived today:



















I wanted to buy this watch for a long time, I had found a used one on eBay - luckily I didn't buy that one as I recently found this NOS one- a bit pricey, but worth it IMO. It also works excellent.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I've not seen that type of Vostok before, any info as that looks awesome


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> I've not seen that type of Vostok before, any info as that looks awesome


From MrOatman's site:


----------



## Dodgydruid

Gods of eBay saying I have had too much good stuff so sat there today fixing up my Pulsar flagship YM62 chrono and its on me wrist too... will be on me channel tonite in a battle of the Seiko chrono's hehe plus a bit about demagging my hand built Amphibia as its picked up some zzz's from somewhere and took ages to get the point where it wasn't spinning the compass and just got to regulate it again.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Was supposed to be on a hiatus as went a bit barmy last month and ran out of money but spotted this very unusual Cornavin baker and I just had to have it lol


----------



## Dodgydruid

Oh and snagged these yesterday, 4 18mm straps for £7.50, 2 will go to replace the straps on two of my "dancing hands" watches as they are the same design but knackered and I am thinking one will look nice on the above Cornavin and the other will look nice on my gold Sekonda Alarm.


----------



## Rista

Is it just me or is there no more free shipping option on Meranom? No matter what I put in cart, it doesn't show up anymore. This really sucks, especially now with new EU VAT rules too.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Damn I was thinking of buying some bits and bobs off Meranom, bit sucky if they are hitting us over head with extra charges on top of extra charges 

Is Komandirskie.com still offering free Russia Post shipping?


----------



## Atlantia

Dodgydruid said:


> Damn I was thinking of buying some bits and bobs off Meranom, bit sucky if they are hitting us over head with extra charges on top of extra charges
> 
> Is Komandirskie.com still offering free Russia Post shipping?


Only inside Russia, the 'free shipping inside Russia for orders over 2500R' (or whatever). was still on screen.
But the postage for a watch to the UK was only: 400 Rubles by Russia-post.


----------



## Dodgydruid

I always got free postage when I bought the three £38 Amphibia's last year from Komandirskie, never thought about it at the time but had to admit £38 Amphibia's was an absolute result and hope they do that markdown again


----------



## sci

I have bought my last Vostok 12 years ago. Now I gave it a chance to see how the new production looks and feels. This Commander came today. Have to admit that those new all stainless 200M WR Командирские are quite cool.


----------



## Ligavesh

My precious! God bless the German collectors, thanks to them I've got a Radio Room in NOS condition for at least half (or even a third) of the price the Ukranian sellers wanted for one


----------



## mech3133

Quoted from what ,I left on Elektronika project earlier

"Holy smoke. You couldn't make it up. Misses phoned pacage from Russian Mail arrived so Elektronicas turned up earlier today. Wowzers just can't wait to open the package but still at work. Ring the misses later on, she wants to know what on Earth is going on, another package has turned up with the name Nikolai on it from Christopol, oh no the Reef looks like it's turned up on the same day! I have no idea how this is going to go down but it's going to take some explaining"

Wowzers got the packages open now and totally in love with the watches. Had a f







airbit of abuse from her indoors about having a "bit of a problem" when it comes to spending our joint savings on Russian watches, I just pointed out she has similar issues with handbags, heck it's worth it..............


----------



## Marius_B

Just ordered today:
Komandirskie 811171 for brass mod project 

Big glass caseback for my 170 PAM (I checked that there is no red plastic ring inside before I ordered) 

Crown with B Logo for my 420.

This will be my start to modding watches more than just exchanging bezel and strap.


----------



## Ligavesh

mech3133 said:


> Ring the misses later on, she wants to know what on Earth is going on, another package has turned up with the name Nikolai on it from Christopol


🤣


----------



## Dodgydruid

Super swift delivery from the Ukraine... just over a week wow 

Oh its gawjus, my second Cornavin and god knows how many "bakers" it is but that lovely red sunburst with the Zim subdial, its just so clean and its got a recent service mark too. Not bad for £12 I say!!!










Case needs some love and not liking the expander I put it on so going to do some moving around so I can free up one of my silver brick rally straps.


----------



## Ligavesh

It also comes with an (as far as I can tell) authentic passport.


----------



## mariomart

Oops! I really didn't want to spend what I did on this auction, however I've been looking for my first Vostok Signal to add to my collection for quite a while, but nothing took my eye, until this one.

Hopefully be with me in a month or so from Moldova.


----------



## Ligavesh

I'm really obsessed and always doubt the authenticity of some of my watches, so again (  ), I bought a couple that seem more authentic than the ones I had:










This one I have in a silver case that always seemed a bit wrong to me (adding to that, it doesn't work well, it needs a service), so hopefully more luck with this one. Might end up selling the old one, I dunno. (Btw, haven't found this model in a catalogue).










This one I bought cause my Big zero has a somewhat 'darker' dial (sunburnt?), not as shiny white as the ones I've seen on internet. This one _looks_ ok, all the right parts, it has the correct movement, and it comes from the same seller who sold me the 'small' Big Zero - which is stellar and I'm very happy with - so hopefully this one will be just as good.

Paypal payment in monthly rates is to blame for this, IMO, otherwise I wouldn't have bought them.


----------



## davxls

My latest Kirovskie added up to this triple. Now I'm in search for a red one.


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

davxls said:


> My latest Kirovskie added up to this triple. Now I'm in search for a red one.
> View attachment 16007776


That's a great looking collection; good hunting!


----------



## LBPolarBear

Today I found one I've been trying to find for a VERY long time!


----------



## Ligavesh

I bought this one today:










I've tried to be more restrained in my shopping, but what's often happened is I would wait for a certain period to buy something so that 'I wouldn't buy too much' in a short time. What that resulted in was all the watches I'd been following one day would disappear from the list, or were 'not available any more' (i.e. someone else bought them). So when I see an example in such a good condition like the one above for a decent price I just buy them, I can sell some of my other Amphibias later to make the purchase ' less painfull'.

I beleive the watch above to be authentic, maybe the lume on dial and hands hasn't aged enough, but it doesn't look new either.


----------



## jimzilla

Just have fun Ligavesh, so long as the bills are paid...... buy watches, 
you only live once, enjoy it.....


----------



## broazay

First ever post so please forgive me for any formatting errors.

I just ordered a vintage Vostok Amphibia Desert Shield from Redditor cccpwatch:























I only just got into watches a couple months ago. This is my second pickup since falling down the rabbit-hole. I grew up in Russia, so was naturally drawn to the Soviet and Russian-made watches. Also ordered a grey NATO for this bad boy. Very excited all around!


----------



## Odessa200

broazay said:


> First ever post so please forgive me for any formatting errors.
> 
> I just ordered a vintage Vostok Amphibia Desert Shield from Redditor cccpwatch:
> View attachment 16014776
> View attachment 16014777
> View attachment 16014778
> 
> 
> I only just got into watches a couple months ago. This is my second pickup since falling down the rabbit-hole. I grew up in Russia, so was naturally drawn to the Soviet and Russian-made watches. Also ordered a grey NATO for this bad boy. Very excited all around!


Welcome. Great choice!


----------



## larand

broazay said:


> First ever post so please forgive me for any formatting errors.
> 
> I just ordered a vintage Vostok Amphibia Desert Shield from Redditor cccpwatch:
> View attachment 16014776
> View attachment 16014777
> View attachment 16014778
> 
> 
> I only just got into watches a couple months ago. This is my second pickup since falling down the rabbit-hole. I grew up in Russia, so was naturally drawn to the Soviet and Russian-made watches. Also ordered a grey NATO for this bad boy. Very excited all around!


Добро пожаловать!

Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## Kirill Sergueev

broazay said:


> First ever post so please forgive me for any formatting errors.
> 
> I just ordered a vintage Vostok Amphibia Desert Shield from Redditor cccpwatch:
> View attachment 16014776
> View attachment 16014777
> View attachment 16014778
> 
> 
> I only just got into watches a couple months ago. This is my second pickup since falling down the rabbit-hole. I grew up in Russia, so was naturally drawn to the Soviet and Russian-made watches. Also ordered a grey NATO for this bad boy. Very excited all around!


Prokhanov's article on the background is intentional or just a coincidental choice?


----------



## broazay

Kirill Sergueev said:


> Prokhanov's article on the background is intentional or just a coincidental choice?


Pretty sure it was intentional on the seller's part. They sell a lot of great vintage pieces on Reddit.


----------



## Avidfan

broazay said:


> First ever post so please forgive me for any formatting errors.
> 
> I just ordered a vintage Vostok Amphibia Desert Shield from Redditor cccpwatch:
> View attachment 16014776
> View attachment 16014777
> View attachment 16014778
> 
> 
> I only just got into watches a couple months ago. This is my second pickup since falling down the rabbit-hole. I grew up in Russia, so was naturally drawn to the Soviet and Russian-made watches. Also ordered a grey NATO for this bad boy. Very excited all around!


Nice Desert Shield! This is the 2414A version of the watch...


----------



## Grant J

Ligavesh said:


> I bought this one today:
> 
> View attachment 16012807
> 
> 
> I've tried to be more restrained in my shopping, but what's often happened is I would wait for a certain period to buy something so that 'I wouldn't buy too much' in a short time. What that resulted in was all the watches I'd been following one day would disappear from the list, or were 'not available any more' (i.e. someone else bought them). So when I see an example in such a good condition like the one above for a decent price I just buy them, I can sell some of my other Amphibias later to make the purchase ' less painfull'.
> 
> I beleive the watch above to be authentic, maybe the lume on dial and hands hasn't aged enough, but it doesn't look new either.


That happens to me a bit too. See a good watch at a fair price. "Should I... Shouldn't I..." - Gone! Someone else got it.
On the bright side it means I must have good taste, if someone else liked it as much (or more) than me. 

Recently the opposite has happened. Watches I've had "bookmarked" for months (some back to last year!) still sit there.
Maybe they are too expensive for what they are? Finally I gave in and bought 2. I must have some bad taste


----------



## Dondo

Happy weekend Comrades,

this morning, a widow who knows that I am collecting Russian watches handed me over those four Vostoks. No scratches, I think her beloved husband has never worn one of them!!

Now I am asking myself, should they stay or should they go!?

The Scuba is fine, but those other three? I was never fighting in Irak and the wolf and those tanks are even not my style.

What price should I estimate for a private sale in the Internet?

I have never sold a watch out of my collection, so it will be probably my first time!

Thanks for your feedback and Cheers!

Dondo


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Dondo said:


> Happy weekend Comrades,
> 
> this morning, a widow who knows that I am collecting Russian watches handed me over those four Vostoks. No scratches, I think her beloved husband has never worn one of them!!
> 
> Now I am asking myself, should they stay or should they go!?
> 
> The Scuba is fine, but those other three? I was never fighting in Irak and the wolf and those tanks are even not my style.
> 
> What price should I estimate for a private sale in the Internet?
> 
> I have never sold a watch out of my collection, so it will be probably my first time!
> 
> Thanks for your feedback and Cheers!
> 
> Dondo
> 
> View attachment 16015976


I'd keep them but that's just my opinion! I bought KGB and GRU dialled Aphibia just because I thought they would be good in my collection; never thought I'd wear either but I do wear them just as much as the others!

That wolf is great!


----------



## Odessa200

Dondo said:


> Happy weekend Comrades,
> 
> this morning, a widow who knows that I am collecting Russian watches handed me over those four Vostoks. No scratches, I think her beloved husband has never worn one of them!!
> 
> Now I am asking myself, should they stay or should they go!?
> 
> The Scuba is fine, but those other three? I was never fighting in Irak and the wolf and those tanks are even not my style.
> 
> What price should I estimate for a private sale in the Internet?
> 
> I have never sold a watch out of my collection, so it will be probably my first time!
> 
> Thanks for your feedback and Cheers!
> 
> Dondo
> 
> View attachment 16015976


about 50$ each.


----------



## Sergei T.

Hi All,
First post in Russian/USSR forum 
Just bought this Vostok 341180, NOS, +30years in the box from someone who have bought them right before moving to Israel at early '90.
On the first hands move to set the time/date the lume falls on dial so perhaps will need to service/oil (that was my initial thoughts anyway) then either re-lume or leave as-is... 
What would be the suggestions about hands re-lume? if I'll go that path I would do this to hands only, would like to keep the dial in original condition.


----------



## Sergei T.

Dondo said:


> What price should I estimate for a private sale in the Internet?


I've bought mine Vostok 341180 NOS for 330ILS (~105$).


----------



## jaliya48

Just couldn't say no to this-








A good condition Albatross without its movement and hands but with everything else! The case looks good with the radial lines still present. 









Dial is good with a small mark near the center-








Luckily I have some hands from my earlier projects so all I have to do is track down a correct "SU" marked 2409A movement.


----------



## Roman Ukraine

ZIM
cute


----------



## Ligavesh

I know @Odessa200 is gonna like this 










not sure what I can do witht the crystal, though


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Ligavesh said:


> I know @Odessa200 is gonna like this
> 
> View attachment 16017606
> 
> 
> not sure what I can do witht the crystal, though
> 
> View attachment 16017607


 I don't think polishing with toothpaste is going to fix that!

But if it was mine I'd give it try. Perhaps Brasso?


----------



## Ligavesh

AardnoldArrdvark said:


> I don't think polishing with toothpaste is going to fix that!
> 
> But if it was mine I'd give it try. Perhaps Brasso?


I really don't have any experience in polishing, might send it to a guy I know.


----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Ligavesh said:


> I really don't have any experience in polishing, might send it to a guy I know.


Assuming the crystal is plastic it's quite simple; dab a small amount of toothpaste on the crystal and gently polish in a circular fashion using a microfibre cloth (I use the basic ones from the supermarket household cleaning section). Only takes a few minutes to polish out small scratches. I suggested Brasso but have never tried it myself but it's been recomended on WUS by a few people for deeper scratches.


----------



## Roman Ukraine

I do not think that polishing the glass will help in any way, since these cracks take up almost the entire thickness of the glass


----------



## Odessa200

Roman Ukraine said:


> I do not think that polishing the glass will help in any way, since these cracks take up almost the entire thickness of the glass


i agree. These are NOT scratches that can be polished. These are cracks due to the age of the crystal. You wear it as is (carefully) or you replace the crystal. No other choice.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> i agree. These are NOT scratches that can be polished. These are cracks due to the age of the crystal. You wear it as is (carefully) or you replace the crystal. No other choice.


I think replacing the crystal for this model would be nigh impossible, since I can't even find a replacement crystal for the much more common Raketa 24 hours models. Of course, one could try to find a non-original, but as similar as possible crystal -though the question is how good would that look...


----------



## Ligavesh

I'm really not a fan of the Scuba Dude (I know, I know), so I got this one purely for collector's value:


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> I'm really not a fan of the Scuba Dude (I know, I know), so I got this one purely for collector's value:
> 
> View attachment 16028293


Is this a Titan case? Good value.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> Is this a Titan case? Good value.


Tbh I don't know, it wasn't in the description. I'll check it when it arrives in a few days.


----------



## Dondo

Good morning Comrades,

I bought a new rubber strap for my 1967, but I am too silly to fix it to my watch! I am trying about 30 minutes to fix it, no chance! Is there a certain trick to respect, my old leather strap isnt't that "fat"!!

Thnaks in advance for your feedback, anyway I wish yo all a nice weekend!

Best regards

Dondo


----------



## Dondo

I am getting better, first half is in position!


----------



## Dondo

I finally reached it, now is the weekend save!


----------



## Kotsov

From Fergfour


----------



## LBPolarBear

Kotsov said:


> From Fergfour
> 
> View attachment 16029117


Whoa- I LOVE that dial! Who makes that or what dial number is it? I've never seen that one before and I WANT ONE!


----------



## Ligavesh

LBPolarBear said:


> Whoa- I LOVE that dial! Who makes that or what dial number is it? I've never seen that one before and I WANT ONE!


It's a project watch from the Spanish forum, not a standard dial. Probably someone in China makes it


----------



## Roman Ukraine

just a little humor


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> Tbh I don't know, it wasn't in the description. I'll check it when it arrives in a few days.


I think you got super lucky. You will see the case is a bit bigger than the regular and hence more visible under the bezel.


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> I think you got super lucky. You will see the case is a bit bigger than the regular and hence more visible under the bezel.


Well I hope you're right  It's still travelling, but here are some pics from the add, maybe you can tell from these pictures what model it is:




























It also says it weighs 54 grams for some reason


----------



## Odessa200

Ligavesh said:


> Well I hope you're right  It's still travelling, but here are some pics from the add, maybe you can tell from these pictures what model it is:
> 
> View attachment 16030191
> 
> 
> View attachment 16030193
> 
> 
> View attachment 16030194
> 
> 
> It also says it weighs 54 grams for some reason


It will be lighter than steel but I have no clue how many grams. The photo you want is the straight down (face shot). Pay attention how much of the case is visible from under the bezel. Bezels are same size but the Ti case is bigger (and lighter).


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> It will be lighter than steel but I have no clue how many grams. The photo you want is the straight down (face shot). Pay attention how much of the case is visible from under the bezel. Bezels are same size but the Ti case is bigger (and lighter).


Will make a pic when it arrives, hopefully tomorrow.


----------



## Grant J

Finally upgrading to a watch storage box.








Except it isn't a watch storage box.
















But I'm thinking with a bit of conversion work...








...I might end up with something I can use.


----------



## Sekondtime

I know Ruhlas have increased in price but what do you think of this?


----------



## Ligavesh

Sekondtime said:


> I know Ruhlas have increased in price but what do you think of this?
> 
> View attachment 16031005


I predict.... no one buying it. Anyway, I ordered a while ago a 710526 - since the 'normal' 420 Zissou was sold out, and thinking I could transplant the insides into my old 420 case from a water-damaged 420280... That didn't go so well, as the case was dirty, and when trying to clean it, I managed to push the crystal out... long story... Anyway, the 280 innards went into the 710 case - which didn't look bad - but I wanted my old 420280 dammit! It was my first Vostok ever! So I decided to look for a 420 with an interesting dial (and on a rubber strap - as a spare, just in case something happens to the Zissou strap) that would go into the 710 case (I figured why buy just a 420 case and then have an 'empty' 710 case, when the case is about half the price of a complete watch anyway? So I looked at a few watches, was close to getting the 331, 469, 448 or the 394 dials, but ended up with this 'stylized' Radio Room dial:










Before the 'transplant':










After the 'transplant' (which is super easy on an Amphibia, even a doofus like me can do it with no problems) - I have my 420280 back! It will also get it's old Nato strap back, the rubber strap goes into reserves for the Zissou. I also think the 'new' 710 doesn't look too bad, either:










Couple of notes: it seems the 'new' 420s (from Soviet Market) come with a new, slightly different crown with a slightly 'rounded' edge - which I don't mind. Also, when I finally learn how to change hands on a watch, I might replace the hands on the 710 - I think paddle hands like on the new Pamphibias would look much cooler (or I'll get the hands and pay someone to do it for me - which is more likely, tbh).


----------



## jimzilla

Grant J said:


> Finally upgrading to a watch storage box.
> View attachment 16030896
> 
> Except it isn't a watch storage box.
> View attachment 16030898
> 
> View attachment 16030899
> 
> But I'm thinking with a bit of conversion work...
> View attachment 16030900
> 
> ...I might end up with something I can use.
> View attachment 16030902


Is that storage box made of steel? You may want to see if it is magnetic. If the storage box is magnetic your watches will pick up the magnetism. I used to store my watches in a gun safe but had to switch them to a wooden chest because they all got magnetized. Sorry to say but you may want to check it out.


----------



## Grant J

jimzilla said:


> Is that storage box made of steel? You may want to see if it is magnetic. If the storage box is magnetic your watches will pick up the magnetism. I used to store my watches in a gun safe but had to switch them to a wooden chest because they all got magnetized. Sorry to say but you may want to check it out.


Yes. It is steel. About 31 kgs (approx 68 lbs) of steel!
Thank you very much for this advise. I was so silly not to think about magnetism.
It is indeed magnetic, but not enough to hold shavings from a drill.
I will buy a watch demagnetizer...
Painting continues.









Before, ready to paint, and after.


----------



## jimzilla

I must say it looks very nice comrade!


----------



## Grant J

jimzilla said:


> I must say it looks very nice comrade!


Finished now. An example of old storage on the left.


















It will take a while to fill this one...


----------



## jimzilla

Very Nice indeed but trust me I do not think it will take as long as you think to fill it 
Nice job!


----------



## Odessa200

Wow. What a fantastic storage!!!! What is the capacity?


----------



## Grant J

Odessa200 said:


> Wow. What a fantastic storage!!!! What is the capacity?


Storage varies as to how you arrange the watches.
Each drawer is about 21.5cm (8.5") x 54cm (21"). If it was a bit wider I'd be able to have the watch bands spread out flat, but it is just too narrow.
So with the watches arranged as above - 14 per drawer.
Just movements by themselves could be about 5 wide by 11 deep (55).
There are 6 drawers.
Doing the maths...
14 x 6 = 84
55 x 6 = 330
I guess the answer depends on how many you can pack in there.

Now that I have just worked out I can have 330, I think I'll have to post on the "Confessions" thread.


----------



## mariomart

I'm a sucker for anything Space Forces, and this one is rather hard to find


----------



## Fergfour

I told myself the only other Vostok I'd buy for the remainder of the year would be another 1967 titanium but I convinced myself I needed a 24hr Amphibian (even though I have a 24hr Komandirskie). Looks like it's sold out again, but there are still black dial versions as of this morning. I'll be changing the case to something a little larger.


----------



## Rista

Fergfour said:


> I'll be changing the case to something a little larger.


I like this one in 710 case:


----------



## Fergfour

Rista said:


> I like this one in 710 case:
> View attachment 16038274


Perfect! I just happen to have a spare 710 case and PVD bezel waiting to be used. Sounds like a plan


----------



## Ligavesh

Odessa200 said:


> It will be lighter than steel but I have no clue how many grams. The photo you want is the straight down (face shot). Pay attention how much of the case is visible from under the bezel. Bezels are same size but the Ti case is bigger (and lighter).


Yeah, I think it's the titanium version, the case is clearly much wider than the bezel:


----------



## VicAjax

my first, ordered hours ago:


----------



## Ligavesh

VicAjax said:


> my first, ordered hours ago:
> 
> View attachment 16039735


Welcome to the club! Now you can't leave.


----------



## OCSleeper

Received one of my grails a couple days ago, 2nd Generation NVCh-30 with its storage container.

Needs to be cleaned and I'll have to decide what I want to do with that minute hand, maybe professional restoration. Missing lume drives me crazy.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Fergfour

VicAjax said:


> my first, ordered hours ago:
> 
> View attachment 16039735


Ordered from where? I don't see it on the usual websites?


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> Ordered from where? I don't see it on the usual websites?


It's from Vostok Watches 24, they let you order a 'customized' watch, you just pick what you want.


----------



## Ligavesh

Wasn't planning on buying anything, but this came up on the local classifieds, didn't want to miss the chance, Neptun is one of my favorites:










What the hell, I'm selling a lot of watches in the next couple of weeks anyway (or at least I'm planning to if I find the time)... The watch seems pretty good except for a light scratch on the bezel between 17 and 18 minutes.


----------



## Fergfour

Ligavesh said:


> It's from Vostok Watches 24, they let you order a 'customized' watch, you just pick what you want.


Ahh that's it. I know they have some pre-made ones that's what I was assuming was bought.


----------



## LBPolarBear

One of my long sought-after grails has arrived- and I think this bezel swap really makes it shine!


----------



## Bsw_sc

This one has been on my want list for quite a while but at $399 I kept getting others on my list that were much cheaper. Finally pulled the trigger and glad I did, really enjoying this one


----------



## Ligavesh

Found this one cheap in the local classifieds, couldn't resist:



















It's even prettier than in the pictures from the add.


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Found this one cheap in the local classifieds, couldn't resist:
> 
> View attachment 16048476
> 
> 
> View attachment 16048515
> 
> 
> It's even prettier than in the pictures from the add.


That's a nice looking thing..


----------



## Rodentman

This just arrived an hour ago!


----------



## UDIVER

Another one of these.......sold this one a while back and found a clean one on the bay so I pulled the trigger.


----------



## jimzilla

I had this come in yesterday..... a genuine Russian case back opener!


----------



## mariomart

jimzilla said:


> I had this come in yesterday..... a genuine Russian case back opener!


Wonderful, any chance of a link to purchase? Cheers


----------



## Grant J

Another 2809.








This one is from the second quarter of 1960. The last year they dated these movements.


----------



## jimzilla

mariomart said:


> Wonderful, any chance of a link to purchase? Cheers


No Sorry mariomart I have only found the one.


----------



## Alex022

VicAjax said:


> my first, ordered hours ago:
> 
> View attachment 16039735


Nice watch and contrast.


----------



## Dodgydruid

Ligavesh said:


> I bought this one today:
> 
> View attachment 16012807
> 
> 
> I've tried to be more restrained in my shopping, but what's often happened is I would wait for a certain period to buy something so that 'I wouldn't buy too much' in a short time. What that resulted in was all the watches I'd been following one day would disappear from the list, or were 'not available any more' (i.e. someone else bought them). So when I see an example in such a good condition like the one above for a decent price I just buy them, I can sell some of my other Amphibias later to make the purchase ' less painfull'.
> 
> I beleive the watch above to be authentic, maybe the lume on dial and hands hasn't aged enough, but it doesn't look new either.


Is that a 119 or a 090?


----------



## Atlantia

Ligavesh said:


> Found this one cheap in the local classifieds, couldn't resist:
> 
> View attachment 16048476
> 
> 
> View attachment 16048515
> 
> 
> It's even prettier than in the pictures from the add.


Love the happy 12 o'clock indice!
*=>*


----------



## jimzilla

Ligavesh said:


> Found this one cheap in the local classifieds, couldn't resist:
> 
> View attachment 16048476
> 
> 
> View attachment 16048515
> 
> 
> It's even prettier than in the pictures from the add.


 Handsome looking watch.


----------



## Ligavesh

Dodgydruid said:


> Is that a 119 or a 090?


119


----------



## larand

Somehow managed to accumulate about 15 Vostoks without getting the classic Scuba Dude. So I fixed that.









Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## Dirthitter

Not today actually but did not get yet:

































Already got:








My goal is to get something like this:








Or like this?








Or this?








Or this?








So many choices...I will try all😉


----------



## rmeron




----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## mariomart

A horsy  🤪


----------



## thewatchadude

Nice one! Another one to chase for my 90s' Amphibias collection!
I can't remember having seen it in a catalogue, is there a reference?


----------



## mariomart

thewatchadude said:


> Nice one! Another one to chase for my 90s' Amphibias collection!
> I can't remember having seen it in a catalogue, is there a reference?


I haven't seen it on an official catalog, however it's on page 41 of Juri Levenberg's "Russian Wristwatches" Book 1 from 1995.


----------



## Grant J

Let the fun (or destruction  ) begin.


----------



## 979greenwich

What, no grease?


----------



## Grant J

One thing at a time.


----------



## MasterOfGears

New Zulu strap for Shturmanskie Gagarin. Finally got the one I really like.


----------



## jimzilla

I had this come in today


----------



## OCSleeper

This arrived a couple days ago, $37 shipped to my door. Today was the first time in a couple months I've had an opportunity to tinker with any watches so I cleaned this one up along with some other projects.

I think I found my daily beater and because I got it so affordable I figured I could buy a strap for it from Igor @SherpLeatherwork.


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

Most likely a franken/re-dial pobeda like the many others but I liked the look


----------



## sci

randocheapwatchperson said:


> Most likely a franken/re-dial pobeda like the many others but I liked the look
> 
> View attachment 16073859
> View attachment 16073860
> View attachment 16073861


The case it very cool. Would be good to have such today in stainless steel.


----------



## Ligavesh

A goddamn franken Signal - how do I click buy immediately when I know the Alarm hand is wrong??? It's like I'm not paying any attention.










It doesn't even have the case back with the holes in it.... Ah well, I think I have one Signal that actually has the wrong alarm hand but the correct one for this watch (and vice versa), maybe I can get someone to change it for me, or I'll just resell it cheaply, it was cheap to beginn with - and no wonder.


----------



## Rocco

Just ordered this 420059, my first Vostok. No "made in" on the dial, no serial on the back, crazing on the dial, and hand applied lume plots point to this being a transitional model (if it hasn't been franken'd). For $70 shipped what's the harm?


----------



## DartzIRL

Ordered one of These yokes as a potential gift for someone. Or just a general gift.

They travel to the continent regularly enough that the GMT feature might be useful, and the last watch I bought them came with a 24 hour dial -- but a 12 hour movement (Thanks eBay). This'll be new enough and know how to fiddle with these now.

If you want watches to gift people --- I find it hard to beat Vostoks for the price. Not fancy - but useful and interesting.


----------



## Atlantia

DartzIRL said:


> Ordered one of These yokes as a potential gift for someone. Or just a general gift.
> 
> They travel to the continent regularly enough that the GMT feature might be useful, and the last watch I bought them came with a 24 hour dial -- but a 12 hour movement (Thanks eBay). This'll be new enough and know how to fiddle with these now.
> 
> If you want watches to gift people --- I find it hard to beat Vostoks for the price. Not fancy - but useful and interesting.


Please feel free to add me to your Christmas list!


----------



## stevarad

Oh, I ordered this today 

And now, waiting....









Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## rikala

Bought a long time go, came about one week ago. Yep, it's a blue Vostok


----------



## mariomart

rikala said:


> View attachment 16084886
> 
> 
> Bought a long time go, came about one week ago. Yep, it's a blue Vostok
> 
> View attachment 16084887


That's a super hard case variant to find in good condition, well done. 
However the dial has been replaced as they were released with an Admiralskie dial originally, with black hands and a red second hand.


----------



## stevarad

New purchase and new 3133 in gang.


































































Послато са SM-N985F помоћу Тапатока


----------



## rikala

mariomart said:


> That's a super hard case variant to find in good condition, well done.
> However the dial has been replaced as they were released with an Admiralskie dial originally, with black hands and a red second hand.


Thanks! I know it is rare, but not much more than that.

I also seen this picture of another with the same dial but another becel. I havent seen the one in the video before, cool!


----------



## jimzilla

rikala said:


> Thanks! I know it is rare, but not much more than that.
> 
> I also seen this picture of another with the same dial but another becel. I havent seen the one in the video before, cool!
> 
> View attachment 16085206


WOW.... I got a chubby!!!


----------



## Fergfour

One of the new 720's


----------



## Ligavesh

I checked the papers, they're fine.










Even on this one ....










But otherwise really nice.


----------



## Grant J

After 3 years of searching...


----------



## jimzilla

Ligavesh said:


> I checked the papers, they're fine.
> 
> View attachment 16086302
> 
> 
> Even on this one ....
> 
> View attachment 16086304
> 
> 
> But otherwise really nice.


 Truly a rare find comrade and the dial is in excellent shape and with papers!!!...... congrats
I have one but no papers.


----------



## jimzilla

Fergfour said:


> One of the new 720's
> 
> View attachment 16086197
> View attachment 16086199


I wasn't able to find this watch on their site, Is it out yet?


----------



## rikala

Grant J said:


> After 3 years of searching...
> View attachment 16086376


Front? Nice movement!

What's so special with this, educate me! Rare?


----------



## Fergfour

jimzilla said:


> I wasn't able to find this watch on their site, Is it out yet?


It was there, for a brief time anyway.


----------



## Ligavesh

jimzilla said:


> I wasn't able to find this watch on their site, Is it out yet?


Just got it from Komandirskie. Pure impulse buy, already regretting it. But the watch looks sooo nice (and different - from other Vostoks)....










Edit: I think this one will be a keeper (duh, like ALL of my Amphibias). Maybe one day I'll learn modding and replace the automatic with a 2409 to make it a bit flatter... but let's wait for it to arrive first.

Edit2: I think this one could look good in a bigger case as well - maybe put it in a 090, why not?


----------



## Utva_56

Arrived today after 94 days , from Vostokinc.
Manual movement 2424.


----------



## Fergfour

Ligavesh said:


> Edit2: I think this one could look good in a bigger case as well - maybe put it in a 090, why not?


That was my plan exactly, putting it in a different case. I like the looks of the 24hr black dial one also but I haven't seen that one for sale anywhere.


----------



## Fergfour

Utva_56 said:


> Arrived today after 94 days , from Vostokinc.
> Manual movement 2424.


94 days wow. That's why I hesitated to buy from vostokinc. So far mine was processed through Chistopol, then Kazansky, hoping it continues to go smoothly.


----------



## Victorv

Fergfour said:


> That was my plan exactly, putting it in a different case. I like the looks of the 24hr black dial one also but I haven't seen that one for sale anywhere.


I like the black 24h too, if you see on sale, please let me know. Im with two eyes here too


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> That was my plan exactly, putting it in a different case. I like the looks of the 24hr black dial one also but I haven't seen that one for sale anywhere.


I think I saw that one on meranom shortly (or was that with a white dial? can't remember really).


----------



## Fergfour

Ligavesh said:


> I think I saw that one on meranom shortly (or was that with a white dial? can't remember really).


I was referring to the new 24hr 720:


----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> I was referring to the new 24hr 720:
> View attachment 16091115


Ah, sorry, I've missed that.


----------



## Grant J

rikala said:


> Front? Nice movement!
> 
> What's so special with this, educate me! Rare?


Possibly an authentic Vostok Precision movement, not a Volna.
To quote Storyteller from here "The A in "_22 кАмня_" in VP is sharp angled, compared to the more rotund "_22 камня_" in Volna. This important observation belongs to Egern from watch.ru ".


----------



## steros

jimzilla said:


> Truly a rare find comrade and the dial is in excellent shape and with papers!!!...... congrats
> I have one but no papers.


A nice one for sale right now, but too expensive for me:








Rare Vostok Watches Commanding Submarine 3D Symbols of the USSR | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Rare Vostok Watches Commanding Submarine 3D Symbols of the USSR at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



www.ebay.com


----------



## Millones

RE SE II Baikonur


----------



## mariomart

Recent acquisitions.


----------



## greengoddess

My first Soviet watch purchase arrived today. The beautiful Chaika Stadium. Complete with what I assume is the original bracelet.


----------



## Odessa200

greengoddess said:


> My first Soviet watch purchase arrived today. The beautiful Chaika Stadium. Complete with what I assume is the original bracelet.
> 
> View attachment 16098763
> View attachment 16098764


Welcome to the team! Great watch. But it is not a Chaika Stadium. It is Poljot. Although some people do call it also Stadium I think the other name 'Poljot Fisheye' is more correct. Stadium is called so because it is green and hence resembles the stadium. These Poljots are never green&#8230;


----------



## greengoddess

Odessa200 said:


> Welcome to the team! Great watch. But it is not a Chaika Stadium. It is Poljot. Although some people do call it also Stadium I think the other name 'Poljot Fisheye' is more correct. Stadium is called so because it is green and hence resembles the stadium. These Poljots are never green&#8230;


Ooops. I don't know why I wrote Chaika, I know its a Poljot (my mind must be going) 
I had no idea it was called a Fisheye but I can see why. Thank you, that makes sense.


----------



## Chascomm

Testing out a new ChN-01 which arrived with a replacement 55 module for another watch.


----------



## jimzilla

Had this SE 710557-22 come in a few days ago, it is mint!!!


----------



## Rista

Arrived today. Took this pic with a smile on my face and a few seconds later realized the watch is completely dead.

My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.


----------



## mariomart

Been looking for this "Boctok" variant in good condition for some time, finally


----------



## Millones

I received it yesterday. New model 720890.


----------



## Fergfour

Millones said:


> I received it yesterday. New model 720890.
> 
> View attachment 16108275
> 
> 
> View attachment 16108276


Looks great! Expecting mine to arrive in a few days. It's numbered, did they say how many they planned on making?


----------



## Millones

Fergfour said:


> Looks great! Expecting mine to arrive in a few days. It's numbered, did they say how many they planned on making?


No idea. But I don't trust in Russian numbered editions. I have a numbered classica and a Neptune and vostok make more and more...


----------



## jimzilla

I had some all metal 2 pin case back openers come in today. They were hard to find. The plastic ones can flex when you really have to crank on them. Here is a Link Below, best regards, James.

Adjustable Rectangle Watch Back Case Cover Opener Remover Wrench Repair Kit Tool | eBay


----------



## steros

mariomart said:


> Been looking for this "Boctok" variant in good condition for some time, finally
> 
> View attachment 16108009


I am waiting for one that looks like this but is branded both Komandirskie and Antimagnetic/Amphibia. But this is a rare variant, an automatic Amphibia?


----------



## Bsw_sc

Safe arrival in her cardboard box watch case straight from Russia 🇷🇺 🙏🎈


----------



## mariomart

steros said:


> I am waiting for one that looks like this but is branded both Komandirskie and Antimagnetic/Amphibia. But this is a rare variant, an automatic Amphibia?


You mean something like this?


----------



## OCSleeper

Received my two straps from Igor at SherpLeatherwork. What do you think of these combinations?









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Grant J

I'm almost a member of the Type-1 club...








A few more teeth on this gear would have been nice.


----------



## steros

mariomart said:


> You mean something like this?
> 
> View attachment 16109522


Yes, like the two to the right, amphibia with stainless case and not automatic (and with bezel with lume dot). They are more common, right? 
The one second from the left says Generalskie?
I am also looking for a nice one of the blue/white type furthest to the left, i like the color shading of that one and I also think it is interesting that the dial actually says Amphibia. 
Submarines look good on Amphibias I think.


----------



## Ligavesh

Gods of the local classifieds have been kind to me again:


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Gods of the local classifieds have been kind to me again:
> 
> View attachment 16118738


That is nice.


----------



## steros

Didn't know where to post this, so let's say I bought all these today&#8230;
Planning to let go of some "collateral damage". Maybe a lot to ask, but from external photos only, does anyone see something here that I shouldn't let go for $10-$20? They all work.
Black Zim, elegant and nice but not for me.
Gold Vostok, export model, not sure that all parts go together originally.
Blue Zim, nice condition, but not sure about the blued/black case.
Small Seconda, I feel that something about the hands is off.


----------



## steros

mariomart said:


> You mean something like this?
> 
> View attachment 16109522


A Generalskie in Amphibia's clothing? No date/automatic movement? Sooo many variations&#8230;


----------



## steros

steros said:


> Didn't know where to post this, so let's say I bought all these today&#8230;
> Planning to let go of some "collateral damage". Maybe a lot to ask, but from external photos only, does anyone see something here that I shouldn't let go for $10-$20? They all work.
> Black Zim, elegant and nice but not for me.
> Gold Vostok, export model, not sure that all parts go together originally.
> Blue Zim, nice condition, but not sure about the blued/black case.
> Small Seconda, I feel that something about the hands is off.
> View attachment 16120594
> View attachment 16120596


Found another one of that Sekonda model, but with black dial and nice hands that are probably the original type of hands for the watch. The seller have even added an sales/catalogue ad wich clearly says this watch is for "boys". Wich explanes why it is peculiarly small&#8230;








Sekonda/Vostok Military 12h/24h Military Soviet watch | eBay


Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sekonda/Vostok Military 12h/24h Military Soviet watch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



www.ebay.com


----------



## mariomart




----------



## steros

Ok, this one wasn't bought TODAY but a while ago. But I haven't worn it, maybe I will look for a more pristine one. Most of these START I have seen have more white dials, but this one is more like brushed metal in a yellowish nickel-like color. Anyone know if they were made with very different material/finishes in different times? If the dial is brushed metal rather than painted/printed, is it then easier to clean it?


----------



## mariomart

My first stopwatch


----------



## steros

I pulled the trigger on a "zakaz mo cccp" komandirskie variant from the 1980's. I have seen a few with this exakt dial, with 12/24h markings and "chistopol" mark so I guess it is not super rare. BUT it seems to be more unusual than the type that is very similar but lacks the 24h-feature and the "chistopol" marking. That other one, ref.nr. 341180, is easy to find, even in NOS condition. Is that variant later than mine? Is it likely that mine has a specific ref.nr., or is it also ref.nr. 180?

There are other/older "zakaz mo" komandirskie types (without bezel) with 12/24h dials, but those dials are slightly different so it doesn't appear to be a case of reused parts.

The website https://vostokamphibiacccp.altervista.org
lists my model as probably being a transitional model between the older chistopol komandirskies and the later ones with bezel. Any thoughts?
This bezel type is generally a little earlier?
It has some wear but I got it for a good price. Dial seems to be in decent shape I think.


----------



## steros

And what’s with the arrow shaped seconds hand? Replaced later, or could that also be ”transitional” from other komandirskie types? A couple of the other ones I’ve seen with this 12/24h dial also have that second hand, so maybe it is original to the watch?


----------



## Ligavesh

Just bought this from ebay, cute little Vostok:










Edit: wait, just realized you see the stem, so probably not original case? Nevermind, it was cheap, and I actually have the same dial but damaged in a good case, I'll just swap them.


----------



## Avidfan

steros said:


> And what's with the arrow shaped seconds hand? Replaced later, or could that also be "transitional" from other komandirskie types? A couple of the other ones I've seen with this 12/24h dial also have that second hand, so maybe it is original to the watch?


I believe your watch is 100% original, the first of the new Type 34's introduced in 1985 and the only dial from the new range of Type 34 Komandirskies to be marked "Chistopol", the seconds hand is of the type most often seen with this dial....


----------



## Avidfan

Ligavesh said:


> Just bought this from ebay, cute little Vostok:
> 
> View attachment 16142903
> 
> 
> Edit: wait, just realized you see the stem, so probably not original case? Nevermind, it was cheap, and I actually have the same dial but damaged in a good case, I'll just swap them.


Case is correct (a Type 17) looks like the crystal tension ring is missing...


----------



## do_checkdate

One of these was in stock yesterday and I'm extremely weak so I pulled the trigger.


----------



## Ligavesh

Avidfan said:


> Case is correct (a Type 17) looks like the crystal tension ring is missing...


Thanks - I think the other case (with the damaged dial) is the same, just can't find where I put it right now 😡


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> Thanks - I think the other case (with the damaged dial) is the same, just can't find where I put it right now 😡


Check your wrist


----------



## steros

mariomart said:


> Been looking for this "Boctok" variant in good condition for some time, finally
> 
> View attachment 16108009


When you made me aware of this variant I had just purchased, but not yet recieved, one of the more common variant, a no-date Komandirskie Amphibia with this white submarine dial. But now I found another like yours and bought that one too (actually from the same seller, I recognized the photo you shared from the sales ad). I immediately regretted my decision, I don’t want two almost the same… But now I have recieved them both and I am happy because I like the look of the second one much better. The dial of the first one is toned/shaded around the edge wich I think obscures the numerals and markings. Thank you for the tip mariomart!


----------



## Fergfour

A bezel and crown for my Pripyat although "Roentgen" will be in Cyrillic:









A bezel for my Baikonur. Hope the blue is a close enough match for the 24hr hand:


----------



## steros

steros said:


> When you made me aware of this variant I had just purchased, but not yet recieved, one of the more common variant, a no-date Komandirskie Amphibia with this white submarine dial. But now I found another like yours and bought that one too (actually from the same seller, I recognized the photo you shared from the sales ad). I immediately regretted my decision, I don’t want two almost the same… But now I have recieved them both and I am happy because I like the look of the second one much better. The dial of the first one is toned/shaded around the edge wich I think obscures the numerals and markings. Thank you for the tip mariomart!
> View attachment 16146698


Wait, this case is a 020, not a 420 right? I think it is a 2414 movement (date), not a 2416 (date, automatic). The case seems to have the same thickness and the same case back as my other non automatic 020’s.
Amphibia Cassa 420 rotonda | Vostok Amphibia CCCP lists this model as a 420 with 2416 movement, but maybe both variants exist. Soo many variants…


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today it is really gorgeous.


----------



## Zany4

My crimson 720 “Tank” just arrived today. Switched it from the unique deployant bracelet to a matching ballistic nylon two-piece strap.


----------



## jimzilla

I really like those casebacks!!!


----------



## Ligavesh

Mine appears to be lost by the German post - 4 Packages this year, so much for German efficiency


----------



## Ligavesh

Got (what I think is) a nice deal on this very nice Raketa, now let's see if the Post actually manages to deliver it to me.


----------



## steros

steros said:


> I pulled the trigger on a "zakaz mo cccp" komandirskie variant from the 1980's. I have seen a few with this exakt dial, with 12/24h markings and "chistopol" mark so I guess it is not super rare. BUT it seems to be more unusual than the type that is very similar but lacks the 24h-feature and the "chistopol" marking. That other one, ref.nr. 341180, is easy to find, even in NOS condition. Is that variant later than mine? Is it likely that mine has a specific ref.nr., or is it also ref.nr. 180?
> 
> There are other/older "zakaz mo" komandirskie types (without bezel) with 12/24h dials, but those dials are slightly different so it doesn't appear to be a case of reused parts.
> 
> The website https://vostokamphibiacccp.altervista.org
> lists my model as probably being a transitional model between the older chistopol komandirskies and the later ones with bezel. Any thoughts?
> This bezel type is generally a little earlier?
> It has some wear but I got it for a good price. Dial seems to be in decent shape I think.
> View attachment 16142868
> View attachment 16142869
> View attachment 16142870


And here it is on my wrist. Thank you Avidfan for interesting info on the history of this model.


----------



## Avidfan

steros said:


> And here it is on my wrist. Thank you Avidfan for interesting info on the history of this model.
> View attachment 16157024


I'd better mention that the style of calendar font has changed since your first photo, someone has changed the movement for a post-Soviet one...


----------



## steros

Avidfan said:


> I'd better mention that the style of calendar font has changed since your first photo, someone has changed the movement for a post-Soviet one...


Thank you. Very bad. I’m on it.


----------



## steros

Avidfan said:


> I'd better mention that the style of calendar font has changed since your first photo, someone has changed the movement for a post-Soviet one...


Seller is going to send me an original SU movement. The greenish color of some parts in this one, is that corrosion? A bad sign?


----------



## Avidfan

steros said:


> Seller is going to send me an original SU movement. The greenish color of some parts in this one, is that corrosion? A bad sign?
> View attachment 16158235


The green is verdigris and will clean off with a little lighter fuel etc., the balance cock isn't the original of course (no bevelled edge) and the small ratchet wheel screw should be flush with the top of the ratchet wheel, maybe the ratchet wheel has been replaced...


----------



## steros

Avidfan said:


> The green is verdigris and will clean off with a little lighter fuel etc., the balance cock isn't the original of course (no bevelled edge) and the small ratchet wheel screw should be flush with the top of the ratchet wheel, maybe the ratchet wheel has been replaced...


Thank you!


----------



## Odessa200

Black dial Kirovskie Sputnik! Yep, it was me who got it. Sorry guys. I know you are happy for me 
It is in testing now after repair so photos will be later.

it was broken, as advertised. One of the best recent purchases cause the price was super good (because many people do not or cannot buy broken watches). The palette fork had a broken pivot. I know that some super skilled watchmaker will make a new one but I went an easy way: took one from one of the donors.


----------



## 979greenwich

I'll call this one "Joker".


----------



## jimzilla

That's funny 979greenwich I call my 2414 franken diver..... Vlad.....🤣


----------



## OCSleeper

Haven’t posted in awhile but thought I’d share this purchase. After doing a very general watch parts lot search on eBay a photo of parts caught my eye so I clicked on the listing and what do I find? A load of vintage Soviet era parts. No mention of the manufacturer of any of the parts in the title or description. But the photo of the parts lists for Chaika, Poljot, and Vostok certainly helped.

Located right here in the US, 76 bags with at least 5 of the same parts in each bag, $35 shipped, couldn’t resist. Not all of these are Chaika 1601, Poljot 2409, and Vostok 2214 but the majority are. I do see some Chaika 1301 parts too. It’ll certainly take some time to organize all of these.


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## 979greenwich

Seems that Vlad has had a face transplant


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Not bought today but received today  - advertised as New Old Stock, from 1992, titanium case, 2428 movement - all of which appear to be true but I have much much yet to learn but I’m over the moon with her. A quick Google of the Russian days of the week so I could set her, a wind & off she went like clockwork ;-)


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Spirit’dWatcher said:


> Not bought today but received today  - advertised as New Old Stock, from 1992, titanium case, 2428 movement - all of which appear to be true but I have much much yet to learn but I’m over the moon with her. A quick Google of the Russian days of the week so I could set her, a wind & off she went like clockwork ;-)
> View attachment 16164398
> View attachment 16164398
> View attachment 16164399
> View attachment 16164399
> View attachment 16164400
> View attachment 16164398
> View attachment 16164399
> View attachment 16164400


Ooooops sorry about the doubling up of pics - I was genuinely trying to only have thumbnails showing but fat fingers here failed :-(


----------



## jimzilla

OCSleeper said:


> Haven’t posted in awhile but thought I’d share this purchase. After doing a very general watch parts lot search on eBay a photo of parts caught my eye so I clicked on the listing and what do I find? A load of vintage Soviet era parts. No mention of the manufacturer of any of the parts in the title or description. But the photo of the parts lists for Chaika, Poljot, and Vostok certainly helped.
> 
> Located right here in the US, 76 bags with at least 5 of the same parts in each bag, $35 shipped, couldn’t resist. Not all of these are Chaika 1601, Poljot 2409, and Vostok 2214 but the majority are. I do see some Chaika 1301 parts too. It’ll certainly take some time to organize all of these.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It is always fun organizing the parts!...... Pain in the a**


----------



## Ligavesh

So in my perpetual quest to catch them all 470/320 Amphibias, I bought this from the local classifieds:










It was a tough decision cause I wasn't sure whether it was a franken or not, but I beleive it's model 470302 shown here:










...although I can't be sure, cause a) you can't see anything on that photo, and b) it's a model that I couldn't find through google. So either I bought a rare 470, or I bought a franken 470.


----------



## haha

Ligavesh said:


> So in my perpetual quest to catch them all 470/320 Amphibias, I bought this from the local classifieds:
> 
> View attachment 16169111
> 
> 
> It was a tough decision cause I wasn't sure whether it was a franken or not, but I beleive it's model 470302 shown here:
> 
> View attachment 16169114
> 
> 
> ...although I can't be sure, cause a) you can't see anything on that photo, and b) it's a model that I couldn't find through google. So either I bought a rare 470, or I bought a franken 470.


There seems to have been a typo between catalogs, reversing the 300 and the 302.


----------



## Ligavesh

haha said:


> There seems to have been a typo between catalogs, reversing the 300 and the 302.


Actually I saw some more pictures, the 302 could be the variant with brownish color I think I have at home, what I've got might be the 300:


----------



## haha

Ligavesh said:


> Actually I saw some more pictures, the 302 could be the cariant with brownish color I think I have at home, what I've got might be the 300:
> 
> View attachment 16169131


Exactly... or the opposite, depending on which catalog you decide to be right 😁


----------



## Ligavesh

haha said:


> Exactly... or the opposite, depending on which catalog you decide to be right 😁


This might be the 470302, with black to brownish gradient, instead of black to grayish.










PS. Wait, I just realized that in the first catalogue picture the 470300 is the one with the 'roulette' like dial -which I also have... Confusing to say the least... Well in any case, I've got another variant, I'm still missing 3 or 4 very rare and very expensive ones I think (the banana and a couple others).


----------



## jimzilla

I had this little Sekonda come in today. I normally don't collect Quartz watches but I thought this one was pretty cool.


----------



## Sekondtime

jimzilla said:


> I had this little Sekonda come in today. I normally don't collect Quartz watches but I thought this one was pretty cool.
> View attachment 16169775
> View attachment 16169777


I was just thinking about this modern Sekonda re-issue recently. I was thinking how you do not see these for sale used. They were issued by Sekonda about 10 years ago. You could buy the gold version or blue. I bought several of each as I liked them so much.

Here is a comparison I made on the forum some years ago.

Golden Sekondas

Sekondtime


----------



## Ligavesh

So an interesting story courtesy of German post/DHL: several months ago a package 'dissapeared' from the package station, called DHL, they can't do anything. Today I get an email that I have a package in the package station. Now I do buy too much, but I was pretty sure I hadn't bought anything the last few weeks -not through DHL anyway. So I find a package, open it, and there it is, the Vostok I'd bought 4 months ago 😆


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Ligavesh said:


> So an interesting story courtesy of German post/DHL: several months ago a package 'dissapeared' from the package station, called DHL, they can't do anything. Today I get an email that I have a package in the package station. Now I do buy too much, but I was pretty sure I hadn't bought anything the last few weeks -not through DHL anyway. So I find a package, open it, and there it is, the Vostok I'd bought 4 months ago 😆
> 
> View attachment 16172666


Sometimes the postal service has a mind of it’s own - I once had an item arrive here after many months - apparently it had decided to do a side trip to Papua New Guinea of all places! ;-)


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Seeing you’re on the Vostok topic ;-) Couldn‘t resist purchasing this one as it combines a few passions - 50th anniversary of the legendary Vaz 4WD - sadly I don’t have one but at a quick glance it looks like a Suzuki Jimny ;-)


----------



## jimzilla

Sekondtime said:


> I was just thinking about this modern Sekonda re-issue recently. I was thinking how you do not see these for sale used. They were issued by Sekonda about 10 years ago. You could buy the gold version or blue. I bought several of each as I liked them so much.
> 
> Here is a comparison I made on the forum some years ago.
> 
> Golden Sekondas
> 
> Sekondtime


I know what you mean, mine was $48.00 shipped from UK and it is brand spanken new!, not a flaw.
I had to remove some sort of "mung" that was on the caseback but other than that it is perfect.
It wears nicely as it is a little bigger than it's mechanical brother.


----------



## Sekondtime

jimzilla said:


> I know what you mean, mine was $48.00 shipped from UK and it is brand spanken new!, not a flaw.
> I had to remove some sort of "mung" that was on the caseback but other than that it is perfect.
> It wears nicely as it is a little bigger than it's mechanical brother.


It's good that you were able to find a new one. Here are some photos of the blue and gold together.


----------



## VicAjax

I just found out that I won an eBay auction for a used 710059 that I had totally forgotten I bid on. It’ll probably be here next week. I wonder how scratched up it’s gonna be. That’s ok.. built in character, amirite?

Definitely gonna throw a new bracelet on it. Probably a new bezel too.


----------



## jimzilla

I had this air plane come in today and it runs very well.


----------



## jimzilla

Sekondtime said:


> It's good that you were able to find a new one. Here are some photos of the blue and gold together.
> 
> View attachment 16173585
> 
> View attachment 16173586


 That blue one is sharp looken as well....


----------



## mariomart

Picked up a couple of gold plated Vostok 2433 open heart movements after haggling the price  

Not sure what I'll use them in yet, but I think I might bastardize a dial to let the "pretty" shine out 🤣


----------



## 979greenwich

This came in.
Just a few left to complete the picture.


----------



## steros

Ligavesh said:


> So in my perpetual quest to catch them all 470/320 Amphibias, I bought this from the local classifieds:
> 
> View attachment 16169111
> 
> 
> It was a tough decision cause I wasn't sure whether it was a franken or not, but I beleive it's model 470302 shown here:
> 
> View attachment 16169114
> 
> 
> ...although I can't be sure, cause a) you can't see anything on that photo, and b) it's a model that I couldn't find through google. So either I bought a rare 470, or I bought a franken 470.


Here they say it’s a 300:








Amphibia Cassa 470 ottagonale | Vostok Amphibia CCCP


vostok amphibia




vostokamphibiacccp.altervista.org


----------



## Ligavesh

steros said:


> Here they say it’s a 300:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Amphibia Cassa 470 ottagonale | Vostok Amphibia CCCP
> 
> 
> vostok amphibia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> vostokamphibiacccp.altervista.org


Yeah, I saw that. It was probably a typo here:










The 'roulette' model above is probably the 302, and the other one is 300. Now I have two 300s cause I thought this one was different than the other one I already had but it isn't, so I'm going to have to sell one of the two 470300 I have... or am I? 👹 I haven't parted with an Amphibia ever...


----------



## jimzilla

I had this Reteka come in today, I must set the 2609'S run well


----------



## Ligavesh

Your old forum project, before my time here:










They should've made the dial a little lighter , or maybe brown, you can barely see the hands as is. Any suggestions for a nicer strap?


----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> Your old forum project, before my time here:
> 
> View attachment 16180849
> 
> 
> They should've made the dial a little lighter , or maybe brown, you can barely see the hands as is. Any suggestions for a nicer strap?


I'm actually thinking about painting the tips of the hands white or light brown, matching the lume and the numbers - just wait a few years till I developed the skillset...

Anyway, good news from the German Post today - I went on an unrelated business and they told me, oh by the way, here's your package we couldn't find two months ago - so here it is:




























It's definitely getting another strap, a leather one, already ordered from Ali, and maaaybe a differrent case and dial we'll see.


----------



## Utva_56

"It's definitely getting another strap "
Hi Ligavesh,
what is a quality of the original bracelet ?. Is it made from solid links?.
Thanks for info.


----------



## Ligavesh

Utva_56 said:


> "It's definitely getting another strap "
> Hi Ligavesh,
> what is a quality of the original bracelet ?. Is it made from solid links?.
> Thanks for info.


Quality is fine, I don't think it looks so good on the watch. Solid links .


----------



## RobNJ

Just arrived yesterday - did I buy these from someone here?

The Stolichnie is running well; the Kama is not, but it was sold as a non-runner and is cosmetically very good. I may find a band and put the first on later.


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Well theoretically this Slava Quartz is supposed to fall in the door today - supposedly NOS and whether the paperwork actually matches the watch is beyond my incredibly lacking skills. Not particularly a fan of quartz but seduced by the beauty & supposed completeness 
At this rate, with another 100 years of learning, I might just start to be able to read Cyrillic ;-)
As a wee aside you lot are an amazing source of edjimication - I‘m totally awed by how much you know, and are willing to share, of the finer intricacies - so much for a gentle learning curve :-(!


----------



## jimzilla

Had this one come in today. I must say it rides nice on the wrist being the monolithic beast that it is.
The pictures don't do it justice as the blue is very rich looking.


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

jimzilla said:


> Had this one come in today. I must say it rides nice on the wrist being the monolithic beast that it is.
> The pictures don't do it justice as the blue is very rich looking.


What an absolute stunner!!! What size is it?


----------



## jimzilla

I don't know exactly? I would guess 46MM-48MM ? it is on the larger side, 
I have 7 1/4" wrist it goes the full width of my wrist. You can still find nice ones our there.
Welcome to the F-10 comrade Spirit'dWatcher it is nice to have you with us, best regards, James.


----------



## mech3133

Took an ebay gamble on a second hand Sekonda on the chance it's made in Russia


----------



## Chascomm

mech3133 said:


> View attachment 16187240
> Took an ebay gamble on a second hand Sekonda on the chance it's made in Russia


Even from that tiny picture I'd say it was made not so much in "Russia" as the USSR, almost certainly in Petrodvorets.


----------



## mech3133

Chascomm said:


> Even from that tiny picture I'd say it was made not so much in "Russia" as the USSR, almost certainly in Petrodvorets.


Thanks for the advice Chascomm. Be awesome if it is Russian. When intital bid went on I thought it was one of the Slava tank style watches but looking at the pic afterwards it does seem a little different. Should arrive today or tomow and can check it then, hope it's a runner too


----------



## steros

mech3133 said:


> Thanks for the advice Chascomm. Be awesome if it is Russian. When intital bid went on I thought it was one of the Slava tank style watches but looking at the pic afterwards it does seem a little different. Should arrive today or tomow and can check it then, hope it's a runner too


Are not all Sekonda watches made in Russia/USSR?


----------



## elsoldemayo

steros said:


> Are not all Sekonda watches made in Russia/USSR?


They were until the early 90's. After the fall of the USSR, Sekonda started sourcing watches from Japan and subsequently, China.


----------



## Avidfan

steros said:


> Are not all Sekonda watches made in Russia/USSR?


Some quartz Sekonda made in the 1980's were made in Hong Kong, they are often made by a company called Remex, for whatever reason it seems Sekonda UK couldn't source enough quartz watches from the USSR at this time...


----------



## mech3133

Hey guys and gals, it arrived today, just got back from work opened it and its a runner. Thing is there is a date plus also an additional day of the week indication. I can figure out how to adjust the date but not the day of the week, anyone know how that is adjusted? Many thanks.


----------



## Chascomm

mech3133 said:


> Hey guys and gals, it arrived today, just got back from work opened it and its a runner. Thing is there is a date plus also an additional day of the week indication. I can figure out how to adjust the date but not the day of the week, anyone know how that is adjusted? Many thanks.


I’m expecting this to be a Raketa 2628 so the date will quick-set by pulling the crown to a spring-loaded third position but the day of the week can only be advanced by turning the hands forward.


----------



## mech3133

Chascomm said:


> I’m expecting this to be a Raketa 2628 so the date will quick-set by pulling the crown to a spring-loaded third position but the day of the week can only be advanced by turning the hands forward.


Cheers Chascomm. Your excellent advice as usual is most helpful


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today, put a little spitshine on it and here it is.


----------



## Ligavesh

Just stumbled upon this NOS Poljot for 39€ (plus shipping, good thing seller is in Germany):


----------



## jimzilla

Very nice Ligavesh,


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Spirit’dWatcher said:


> Seeing you’re on the Vostok topic ;-) Couldn‘t resist purchasing this one as it combines a few passions - 50th anniversary of the legendary Vaz 4WD - sadly I don’t have one but at a quick glance it looks like a Suzuki Jimny ;-)
> View attachment 16173360


Errrr ummmmm embarrassed face - still waiting on this to arrive but whilst cataloguing & doing a little further research on this one (from a very friendly seller) I figured I would check out what year the “Vaz” 50th Ann was to vaguely date the watch - turns out VAZ is the company we know out here as Lada (the Niva’s are much loved here for their legendary off road capabilities even if they do drive like a tractor ;-)) and the anniversary was in 2020. That got me really worried as looking at the seller pics of the case-back it had way more than 2 years use! And then I really freaked when I had another look at the movement - completely unmarked. Contacted seller who said ooooops should have read YAZ (a.k.a. UAZ) - 50th Ann 1991 - & that early 90s Komandirskie’s had unmarked movements - love learning something new each day. Did a quickish search in here on the unmarked movements & can’t seem to find specifics on the years they were done - any help please?


----------



## Ligavesh

I didn't buy anything cause these unbeleivable guillible dumbasses apparently sold this:










and this:










for 250€ each (when I say each I mean the whole collection on the picture) ☹🤬

had to rub a little salt in their wounds, told them they could've gotten at least 3-4x more IF the watches weren't working properly, even more if they were


----------



## 979greenwich

At least there wasn't a NOS Neptune or a NVCH-30 among them. It would be too painful.


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> At least there wasn't a NOS Neptune or a NVCH-30 among them. It would be too painful.


They said the watches weren't working - I bet they thought the batteries needed to be replaced 😅


----------



## 979greenwich

Which Einstein sold this anyway? And where?

I quickly counted around 2500 $ in those two pictures. Mkay.


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> Which Einstein sold this anyway? And where?


Some guy on the German classifieds - the watches were gone _instantly. _I wrote him to ask for the price for a couple of pieceses I don't have.


----------



## Ligavesh

I'm gonna mark all of my watches with a price tag just in case something happens to me and my son wants to sell them.


----------



## 979greenwich

New addition from Ilya (banqq), as purchased, and after a little makeup:




That sums up my 1190 collection. I don't think I'll ever find the BAMphibia, or these (at least not for 40 $):








my show


PLEASE SOMEBODY BUY THIS FOR ME!! I'll pay you back!! I can't read RUSSIAN!!! Aaaaarrrgghhh!!! :-) EDIT : No joke, I can't get this site to translate. Paul if u get one I'll cover the yellow one and it's shipping--- plus whatever extortion money you want!! :-)




www.watchuseek.com


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> New addition from Ilya (banqq), as purchased, and after a little makeup:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That sums up my 1190 collection. I don't think I'll ever find the BAMphibia, or these (at least not for 40 $):
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> my show
> 
> 
> PLEASE SOMEBODY BUY THIS FOR ME!! I'll pay you back!! I can't read RUSSIAN!!! Aaaaarrrgghhh!!! :-) EDIT : No joke, I can't get this site to translate. Paul if u get one I'll cover the yellow one and it's shipping--- plus whatever extortion money you want!! :-)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.watchuseek.com


I envy your restoration skills - I'll have to learn that, cause it's the one thing that has kept me from getting a lot of these great watches - fallen off lume mostly. Still my 1190 collection isn't poor - I'll show a photo of the collection in the 'Show your Amphibias' thread, as I am reorganizing my watches 

One question though - what do you use to restore the paint on the bezel? That's probably something I could do without too much trouble.


----------



## 979greenwich

Ligavesh said:


> I envy your restoration skills - I'll have to learn that, cause it's the one thing that has kept me from getting a lot of these great watches - fallen off lume mostly. Still my 1190 collection isn't poor - I'll show a photo of the collection in the 'Show your Amphibias' thread, as I am reorganizing my watches
> 
> One question though - what do you use to restore the paint on the bezel? That's probably sonething I could do without too much trouble.


If you can take off and install hands, try reluming, it's not that hard. I use the product that Mario recommended:








Luminous mass F Pointer Luminous paste Luminous Powder Watch LUME WATCH HANDS DIAL NEW | eBay


Leuchtkraft und Leuchtdauer dem Preis entsprechend! Leuchtmasse(Leuchtpulver). Leuchtmasse für Zeiger und Zifferblätter im SET - nicht radioaktiv -. Käufer ist verantwortlich für Rücksendekosten. Darf nicht in die Hände von Kindern gelangen !



www.ebay.com




, and add as much brown or yellow paint in the mix as needed. The results are sometimes better, sometimes worse, but you can always scrape the lume off and start again if you're not satisfied.
About the bezel painting:








Vostok bezel painting DIY


I got a couple of 119s of ebay with the red paint on bezel almost gone, so i decided to try to paint it. I used Revell enamel model paint (Silk matt 330) as i couldn't find Testors flat red that someone earlier recommended, and it came out pretty good IMHO. First i scraped the rest of the...




www.watchuseek.com


----------



## mariomart

*Vostok Komandirskie Chronograph K-34 Quartz 340035 with Miyota OS60








*


----------



## Utva_56

Recently arrived.

Two Slavas. Green is for restoration and cleaning project. The other one has complete Slava bracelet.









And few Zim Pobedas.


----------



## OogieBoogie

Got this last week. Currently running +6/-8 s/day, with actual 44 hrs reserve. The dial blue is richer than it appears in the photo.


----------



## Fergfour




----------



## Ligavesh

Fergfour said:


> View attachment 16209487


Will Meranom or Komandirskie manage to get a hold of some of these brushed 090 - that is 900 cases?


----------



## Fergfour

Ligavesh said:


> Will Meranom or Komandirskie manage to get a hold of some of these brushed 090 - that is 900 cases?


I have no idea. The way things are going these days with the factory I’d say no. I can see them getting the whole watch though.


----------



## mariomart




----------



## RITinker

mariomart said:


> View attachment 16210112


Nice choice. I received mine on Saturday:
















Two views; in the sun and shade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## RobNJ

This Zaria, previewed earlier and greenlit on the legit/franken thread, arrived about an hour ago.










Aesthetically, it is very good. Clean. The red is even deeper maroon, running toward brown, than I expected. The vertical texture is quite nice.

Mechanically, it runs, though the timegrapher results are, shall we say, interesting. Perhaps the positional results of plus/minus a hundred plus seconds per day will average out to acceptable accuracy. (Acceptable for me, that is.) At first I thought I detected a slipping cannon pinion as well, but it seems to have caught now and the minute hand has joined the party. So, perhaps one that will be able to be coaxed along. Or it could join the service queue.

Meh, me and my laissez faire attitude.


----------



## Grant J

"You bought what?!"
















At least it has hands.


----------



## djubre2

Komandirskie 350749


----------



## mariomart

I couldn't resist, I know it's not a true Vostok but it's my first Buyalov purchase.


----------



## jimzilla

Very nice Mario....


----------



## dutchassasin

this oddball arrived yesterday , seems like a 90's product from after the fall or some after hours fun at the workshop .


----------



## Atlantia

dutchassasin said:


> this oddball arrived yesterday , seems like a 90's product from after the fall or some after hours fun at the workshop .
> 
> View attachment 16251348


I like it! No fading, raised indicies, and its a "Komandirskie Scuba dude"?
It's a first for me.
Still saying CCCP though, perhaps just pre-fall?


----------



## nezaDK

bought my first 3133 today, hoping it arrives soon (new in box with cert)


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Raketa 2614.H manual winding. Will be Christmas gift for my daughter.


----------



## mariomart

Just managed to secure a NOS Vostok Amfibia Scuba 070460, it's sat in someone's drawer for 10 years unworn 🤪 

I'm very happy.


----------



## joecool

mariomart said:


> Just managed to secure a NOS Vostok Amfibia Scuba 070460, it's sat in someone's drawer for 10 years unworn 🤪
> 
> I'm very happy.
> 
> View attachment 16262917


It'll provide an alternative to the White and Orange one you managed to find a couple of years ago mate... Much nicer than any of the mk2 scuba's... I think anyway!


----------



## Ligavesh

mariomart said:


> Just managed to secure a NOS Vostok Amfibia Scuba 070460, it's sat in someone's drawer for 10 years unworn 🤪
> 
> I'm very happy.
> 
> View attachment 16262917


Goddamn you people find the best things... Anyway, another color to the red I already have:


----------



## EngineerHack

Ligavesh said:


> Goddamn you people find the best things... Anyway, another color to the red I already have:
> 
> View attachment 16264732
> 
> 
> View attachment 16264733
> 
> 
> View attachment 16264734


Seems like some kind of fashion jewelry but it is awesome 

Sent from my Redmi Note 8T using Tapatalk


----------



## Dave_Hedgehog

OK, so I had a bit of an impulsive splurge…


----------



## Ligavesh

EngineerHack said:


> Seems like some kind of fashion jewelry but it is awesome
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 8T using Tapatalk


yeah it's a fashion piece, but it does have a very thin movement and it runs great


----------



## RobNJ

Just arrived; I showed this in the legit/franken thread some weeks ago. Currently sitting on my desk having a time trial. Blame the Slava thread!


----------



## UDIVER

Series 1 Radio Room came in this week.


----------



## RobNJ

A pig in a poke. Seller's images:

















The seller made a nice offer. What arrived:


















All bridges are beveled, though it is a bit tough to see:










There are a few minor cosmetic issues (hands, a crystal chip, and a light dial ring from the hour hand dragging), but pretty good for $10, I'd say. And it runs.


----------



## Ligavesh

Managed to get one of the 'grails' for a relatively decent price:


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Ligavesh said:


> Managed to get one of the 'grails' for a relatively decent price:
> 
> View attachment 16278020
> 
> 
> View attachment 16278021


Hi mate,

Beautiful looking watch, especially since I bought mine a few weeks ago










Could you post a wrist shot with that strap? I wonder if yours maybe looks better ....


----------



## mariomart

I've been looking for one of these VKS Pobeda's for years. So happy to find a NOS one 🤪


----------



## jimzilla

I haven't ever seen anything like that Mario, very cool, and papers too!....


----------



## Ligavesh

EnjoyWatches said:


> Hi mate,
> 
> Beautiful looking watch, especially since I bought mine a few weeks ago
> 
> View attachment 16278350
> 
> 
> Could you post a wrist shot with that strap? I wonder if yours maybe looks better ....


Congrats to you and me then! I haven't done anything with the strap, it came like that from the guy I bought it from... Tbh I wouldn't put this watch on a bund, but I might be wrong:


----------



## UDIVER

Got 4 special divers coming in today VIA Europe, pretty pumped about it! 😎


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Ligavesh said:


> Congrats to you and me then! I haven't done anything with the strap, it came like that from the guy I bought it from... Tbh I wouldn't put this watch on a bund, but I might be wrong:
> 
> View attachment 16279066
> 
> 
> View attachment 16279068


I must admit it looks pretty good on that strap ... Only thing is I am a little concerned, health wise, about the chromed case on my skin ...


----------



## Chascomm

EnjoyWatches said:


> I must admit it looks pretty good on that strap ... Only thing is I am a little concerned, health wise, about the chromed case on my skin ...


I thought the Polyarnie is all steel?


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Chascomm said:


> I thought the Polyarnie is all steel?


Oh, is it?
I bought the watch from Julian from www.poljot24.de He described it as chromed and I am only a collector since a year and don't know how to tell the difference by myself.
Any suggestions?


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

👍


----------



## RobNJ

While waiting for _Orologi Russi_, I also ordered this from Russia:









Based on the sample pages provided, it's a catalog/price guide, with front and back shots of vintage models and suggested prices. (To absolutely zero surprise, it appears that watches bought abroad from Ebay cost somewhat more than what they trade for within Russia itself. But the relative prices given for different watches might be interesting to know.) I have no idea how catalog accurate the book will be, i.e. whether some of the models shown will be frankens or redials. But more sources is always good.

When I made my purchase, there were a couple more copies available, and it is cheap.


----------



## nezaDK

this just arrived today, all more or less broken, bought to tinker with, and hopefully get a couple of them to run again










And this one. I really need to stop buying 3133 just cause the look cool 😆


----------



## UDIVER

This months acquisitions, slowly building towards a select collection, don't mind the clear acrylic Raketa, they're just super fun.


----------



## RobNJ

I had this nice white/blue ombre Slava arrive, and it came with a neat bracelet with the seal of Ukraine on the clasp. Unfortunately, the spring bar on the clasp fine adjustment is a bit reluctant, so I may have to resort to more extreme measures for sizing. I'll put on something else in the meantime.


----------



## jimzilla

Had this silver 3133 come in today, I must say it is rather nice and runs well.


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

RobNJ said:


> I had this nice white/blue ombre Slava arrive, and it came with a neat bracelet with the seal of Ukraine on the clasp. Unfortunately, the spring bar on the clasp fine adjustment is a bit reluctant, so I may have to resort to more extreme measures for sizing. I'll put on something else in the meantime.
> 
> View attachment 16295995


Well cool to get the interesting bracelet as well! Hopes you get it repaired & can wear it proud!


----------



## Frack

On its way.


----------



## UDIVER

Another funky one today, something about these acrylic cased Raketa's that I just love, so much cooler than a swatch from the same era IMO.

Not a Cyrillic dial like most of my stuff but I couldn't pass it up.


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

UDIVER said:


> Another funky one today, something about these acrylic cased Raketa's that I just love, so much cooler than a swatch from the same era IMO.
> 
> Not a Cyrillic dial like most of my stuff but I couldn't pass it up.


Well done - you would have had competition for that if had seen it ;-)


----------



## UDIVER

Spirit’dWatcher said:


> Well done - you would have had competition for that if had seen it ;-)


hah, I thought this one was a bit unique, I don't usually seem them in this variation.


----------



## 979greenwich

After debating about this model in the franken thread, I had to get a good one for myself too.



Also, can I have some help with the inscription? I'm terrible with cursive cyrillic.


----------



## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> After debating about this model in the franken thread, I had to get a good one for myself too.
> 
> 
> 
> Also, can I have some help with the inscription? I'm terrible with cursive cyrillic.


please add a better photo. Hard to read. ‘For the memory of ….’ Potentially ‘…Volgograd’ (that is a city).


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Normally I am not realy a dive watch man, but I thought I should have at least one. So I bought this Vostok a few months ago with smirs but didn't like the metal bracelet (although it is of a good quality). Now after replacing the strap with this rubber Panerai-style one I am happy. A solid high quality and also cheap watch I can use with water activities. And I don't even have to be carefull with it . So one diver amongst the dress watches: check.


----------



## OCSleeper

While I greatly appreciate a well packaged purchase, I’d say this appears to be a little too much.
Whose to say, since it did arrive to the US from Romania in excellent condition. Now to find a donor movement and case for this beautiful dial.


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jimzilla

Yes nearly bulletproof packaging!...... congrats.


----------



## Dcreed

vostok amfibia 090510


----------



## andrewflavin

Huge thanks to @Wrangler_Man ;for my new 710 (he even generously included extra bezels and straps)! 

I definitely needed this 4th Amphibia 











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

Got a big discount, couldn't help myself even though I have three versions of the original - I need help


----------



## jimzilla

Very nice Ligavesh ...... trust me we all need help comrade! ....


----------



## jimzilla

Finally after 2 1/2 months I FINALLY got my shipment from Sergey (Favinov) I had him do some relume work and a few custom dial faces as well, god does he do some nice work!
I also has some straps and a polished brass bezel come in as well...... all in the same day....


----------



## stevoe

jimzilla said:


> .... all in the same day....


Must feel like Christmas... 😀


----------



## rikala

Vostok 2428










Ordered some time ago, arrived yesterday. Working condition, however missing seconds axle.


----------



## MattBrace

rikala said:


> Vostok 2428
> 
> View attachment 16341329
> 
> 
> Ordered some time ago, arrived yesterday. Working condition, however missing seconds axle.


From memory the 2428 seconds pinion is much longer than standard, not an easy part to locate. Perhaps one from a 2416b auto movement maybe long enough?

Cheers...


----------



## Fergfour

Ordered a couple bezels off Meranom the other day and the only Russian I'm planning to purchase is one of those 1967's mods in the 119 case. Other than that I'm hoping to hold off on anymore purchases at least until I sell half a dozen or so.


----------



## Kotsov

Fergfour said:


> Ordered a couple bezels off Meranom the other day and the only Russian I'm planning to purchase is one of those 1967's mods in the 119 case. Other than that I'm hoping to hold off on anymore purchases at least until I sell half a dozen or so.


I'll take the REs


----------



## isthar

I just picked up a Black Bay 58 on the fabric strap - the strap is awesome looking! Soft, you can tighten it without feeling it... suits the watch amazingly. I have other watches for bracelets, loving it this way. I see a lot of "must get the bracelet" , but I'm staying stubborn!


----------



## Fergfour

Kotsov said:


> I'll take the REs


I knew I should have clarified, I'm thinking of selling some non-Vostoks.


----------



## Fergfour

isthar said:


> I just picked up a Black Bay 58 on the fabric strap - the strap is awesome looking! Soft, you can tighten it without feeling it... suits the watch amazingly. I have other watches for bracelets, loving it this way. I see a lot of "must get the bracelet" , but I'm staying stubborn!


Did you mean to post in the Russian forum?


----------



## isthar

Fergfour said:


> Did you mean to post in the Russian forum?


oops! No - not really! I mean, I could go fetch my Sturmanskie Gagarin quickly ...


----------



## Fergfour

I said I had no _plans _for further purchases... I sold this Megapolis a couple years ago and the buyer reached out and said he was selling it so what the heck I bought it back. I'm thinking of using the dial for a mod, it would fit good in a 420/720 case which I have a few of lying about.

An old pic of mine:









random internet pic:


----------



## jimzilla

I haven't ever seen anything like that, what year and movement?
Cool ......


----------



## Fergfour

jimzilla said:


> I haven't ever seen anything like that, what year and movement?
> Cool ......


This is when I bought it the first time Vostok Megapolis

I think it's from 10-12 years ago. Model is 970047. It has the 2432 movement.


----------



## jimzilla

It is really mint as well Fergfour, nice find and thanks for sharing comrade.


----------



## Ligavesh

I often buy trash and stupid stuff, but sometimes some nice things too


----------



## Kotsov

Fergfour said:


> I said I had no _plans _for further purchases... I sold this Megapolis a couple years ago and the buyer reached out and said he was selling it so what the heck I bought it back. I'm thinking of using the dial for a mod, it would fit good in a 420/720 case which I have a few of lying about.
> 
> An old pic of mine:
> View attachment 16344292
> 
> 
> random internet pic:
> View attachment 16344297


I don't think I'd recase that. It's right as is.


----------



## Fergfour

Kotsov said:


> I don't think I'd recase that. It's right as is.


We'll see. I was never totaly happy with the bracelet hack I came up with. Have some ideas.


----------



## OCSleeper

New arrival for my 3133 collection! Never thought I’d find the black dial sans serif Cyrillic version. Quickly replaced the strap with one of my favorite Soviet era bracelets. In the near future I’ll have the orange chrono sweep replaced with red as I believe that’s the correct combination rather than the chrono sweep and minute counter hand being orange as was the case for the older Gorbatko model.


























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jimzilla

OCSleeper said:


> New arrival for my 3133 collection! Never thought I’d find the black dial sans serif Cyrillic version. Quickly replaced the strap with one of my favorite Soviet era bracelets. In the near future I’ll have the orange chrono sweep replaced with red as I believe that’s the correct combination rather than the chrono sweep and minute counter hand being orange as was the case for the older Gorbatko model.
> 
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Wow you got lucky with the packaging Comrade!
Every time I get something it takes me 20 minutes to open it....... 
Very nice watch sir!......


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> Wow you got lucky with the packaging Comrade!
> Every time I get something it takes me 20 minutes to open it.......
> Very nice watch sir!......


It takes me half an hour.

But 25 minutes of that is hiding from the rest of my family.


----------



## haha

Kotsov said:


> It takes me half an hour.
> 
> But 25 minutes of that is hiding from the rest of my family.


Haha, same here !


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today.


----------



## OCSleeper

Some new arrivals today. All NOS condition with NOS bracelets too. Really don’t know WTH I’ll end up doing with them as I’m looking to thin my collection but these are all models that didn’t age well so I couldn’t resist jumping on these examples that came from the same seller.


























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jimzilla

That's a pretty nice haul!!! congrats OCSleeper.


----------



## Kotsov

OCSleeper said:


> Some new arrivals today. All NOS condition with NOS bracelets too. Really don’t know WTH I’ll end up doing with them as I’m looking to thin my collection but these are all models that didn’t age well so I couldn’t resist jumping on these examples that came from the same seller.
> 
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Scubadude is lovely


----------



## cgrad

Straight from Chistopol...

Ordered on vostokinc.com December 27, arrival in Germany 18 days later. Not bad! 😎


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today, N.O.S. 24HR dial


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

I was bamboozled. Apparently miyota quartz movements now are 17 jewel mechanicals now. Will wait for a reply before I try for a ebay refund.


----------



## jimzilla

randocheapwatchperson said:


> I was bamboozled. Apparently miyota quartz movements now are 17 jewel mechanicals now. Will wait for a reply before I try for a ebay refund.
> 
> View attachment 16373338
> View attachment 16373339


 Still a beautiful watch.......


----------



## jimzilla

Do you know how many times I was bamboozled! It is just part of the game. I would keep the watch and be thankful you got a nice watch instead of junk that does not work. I think it is very nice.


----------



## PiotrS

OCSleeper said:


> New arrival for my 3133 collection! Never thought I’d find the black dial sans serif Cyrillic version. Quickly replaced the strap with one of my favorite Soviet era bracelets. In the near future I’ll have the orange chrono sweep replaced with red as I believe that’s the correct combination rather than the chrono sweep and minute counter hand being orange as was the case for the older Gorbatko model.
> 
> 
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> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm sorry for my opinion.
On this POLET/ П О Л Е Т watch, the orange hand is perfectly OK. The only thing I don't like is the sekond smal blue hand (only blck).
And you have a bad date ring or maybe even the mechanism is from 1987+.


----------



## OCSleeper

PiotrS said:


> I'm sorry for my opinion.
> On this POLET/ П О Л Е Т watch, the orange hand is perfectly OK. The only thing I don't like is the sekond smal blue hand (only blck).
> And you have a bad date ring or maybe even the mechanism is from 1987+.


Yes PiotrS, I also noticed the date ring is a later version. The rest of the movement dates to 84-85.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

jimzilla said:


> Do you know how many times I was bamboozled! It is just part of the game. I would keep the watch and be thankful you got a nice watch instead of junk that does not work. I think it is very nice.


I guess the reply got a laugh out of me at least. Now, this is coming from a seller with a listing for a vintage Omega Seamaster at over two grand.


----------



## Thrillhouse2k22

Sorry bros!


----------



## Chascomm

Thrillhouse2k22 said:


> View attachment 16375348


I guess you missed the context. Welcome to the Russian watches forum.


----------



## Thrillhouse2k22

Chascomm said:


> I guess you missed the context. Welcome to the Russian watches forum.


I’m an idiot - sorry!


----------



## jimzilla

randocheapwatchperson said:


> I guess the reply got a laugh out of me at least. Now, this is coming from a seller with a listing for a vintage Omega Seamaster at over two grand.
> View attachment 16375324


Wow!


----------



## Thrillhouse2k22

I bought a can of beans to feed me for the month


----------



## Odessa200

Thrillhouse2k22 said:


> I bought a can of beans to feed me for the month


how big is the can or how small are you?


----------



## jimzilla

I bought a watch from Komanderskie.com and used the UPS shipping option and got it in
the US 5 days later...... wow
I am stoked!!!


----------



## Bsw_sc

Ordered a nice rubber strap for her. She hasn't been getting much wrist time, hoping the soft rubber will entice me more. The Vostok bracelet just wasn't doing it for me, maybe it was too much stainless ?


----------



## jimzilla

I bought this today but have to wait until it arrives. Haven't ever seen anything like this.


----------



## Chascomm

jimzilla said:


> I bought this today but have to wait until it arrives. Haven't ever seen anything like this.
> 
> View attachment 16379706
> View attachment 16379707
> View attachment 16379708
> View attachment 16379709


The Junior case doesn't have so many bezel options as the full-size Komandirskie, so it's cool to see something different.


----------



## jimzilla

Chascomm said:


> The Junior case doesn't have so many bezel options as the full-size Komandirskie, so it's cool to see something different.


Does it take a standard bezel?
I saw a picture of it next to a cadet and it looked bigger, I did not know it wasn't as big as a standard
vostok or komanderskie. It does have a mineral crystal though.
Is there anything else you know about these? the seller said these are Prototype cases?


----------



## Chascomm

jimzilla said:


> Does it take a standard bezel?
> I saw a picture of it next to a cadet and it looked bigger, I did not know it wasn't as big as a standard
> vostok or komanderskie. It does have a mineral crystal though.
> Is there anything else you know about these? the seller said these are Prototype cases?


Mineral crystal? I thought it was the cadet but this is something new to me.


----------



## EnjoyWatches

Buran Chronograph










With its 38mm normally to small for me (I prefer 42-44) but I could not resist this classical beauty. So as with everything in life there should be exeptions to the rule ánd this is one .


----------



## arktika1148

EnjoyWatches said:


> Buran Chronograph
> 
> View attachment 16380817
> 
> 
> With its 38mm normally to small for me (I prefer 42-44) but I could not resist this classical beauty. So as with everything in life there should be exeptions to the rule ánd this is one .


Still one of my faves.
Great looker , very good lume btw. Congrats. mate.


----------



## dutchassasin

jimzilla said:


> I bought this today but have to wait until it arrives. Haven't ever seen anything like this.
> 
> View attachment 16379706
> View attachment 16379707
> View attachment 16379708
> View attachment 16379709


i saw the auction as well. notice how it has two styles of lugs. oddball for sure!


----------



## jimzilla

Chascomm said:


> Mineral crystal? I thought it was the cadet but this is something new to me.


I think it is a little bigger or so it looks. seller said it was a prototype.


----------



## jimzilla

dutchassasin said:


> i saw the auction as well. notice how it has two styles of lugs. oddball for sure!


Yes I noticed that too, I just hope they are the same width....


----------



## jimzilla

I had a 3133 from Julian come in today
I have to admit I got a bit of a chub when I saw it laying on the stoop!.......


----------



## stevoe

Bought these one today. I think it is a real frankenwatch... 










Regards,
Stephan


----------



## jimzilla

stevoe said:


> Bought these one today. I think it is a real frankenwatch...
> 
> View attachment 16400679
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Stephan


Very cool, about 6 months ago I had a chance to but one of those dial faces but I was late to the party.


----------



## haha




----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

Just arrived from Meranom...

























Surprisingly nice strap... ...but it does have a butterfly clasp so no micro-adjusters


----------



## SennaGTS

Won this after forgetting I even bid!


----------



## Odessa200

This Soviet movement holder for 9$ plus shipping. I like it. More for sale on ebay if you are interested.
«Watchmakers Wrist Watch Movement Holder Tool Soviet union.»


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

Here I was getting my mystery russian shoe polish product hopes up  
(no complaints, better condition than most watches I get)


----------



## mariomart




----------



## haha

mariomart said:


> View attachment 16438749


👍You didn't even give me enough time to think about buying this one 😭


----------



## mariomart

haha said:


> 👍You didn't even give me enough time to think about buying this one 😭


I thought about it for an hour, then mashed the BUY button. You had your chance  lol


----------



## jimzilla

I had these come in today


----------



## jimzilla

I had a couple of prototype cases come in today, it will be fun to clean them up and mod.
Mineral glass crystal and Komenderskie style back. they are reminiscent of a Corps Troika case. May be that is what the factory was going for but never made it into production?.
what is also strange is the lugs are shaped differently as well.


----------



## jimzilla

Here is a pic of the Corps Troika.


----------



## Ligavesh

A Luch with an interesting dial:


----------



## haha

Ligavesh said:


> A Luch with an interesting dial:
> 
> View attachment 16444388


2209 inside ?


----------



## Ligavesh

haha said:


> 2209 inside ?


I hate opening these snap-on casebacks, I need to find my small screwdriver for that, but it says 23 jewels, so I'm guessing it's standard Luch.


----------



## Victorv

haha said:


> 2209 inside ?





Ligavesh said:


> I hate opening these snap-on casebacks, I need to find my small screwdriver for that, but it says 23 jewels, so I'm guessing it's standard Luch.
> 
> View attachment 16444667
> 
> 
> View attachment 16444668


Yes if i remember well it have the 2209


----------



## Kotsov

Ligavesh said:


> I hate opening these snap-on casebacks, I need to find my small screwdriver for that, but it says 23 jewels, so I'm guessing it's standard Luch.
> 
> View attachment 16444667
> 
> 
> View attachment 16444668


Don't do it please. I'll be able to hear and feel it from here😱


----------



## Thrillhouse2k22

rice and beans so I can buy another watch to fuel my consumeristic addiction/“hobby”


----------



## jimzilla

I was sitting down at my computer desk when I realized I was getting a HUGE CHUBBY!
I thought it a little strange as my girlfriend was at work. The only other reason that happens is when I receive a watch in the mail. So I walk downstairs and open the front door look down and low and behold a DHL delivery was sitting on my stoop. So now fully chubbed and salivating I almost knocked over the lamp sitting on the table with the chub, recovering from that I ran upstairs to open my treasure. The rest is self explanatory comrades..


----------



## OogieBoogie

Odessa200 said:


> This Soviet movement holder for 9$ plus shipping. I like it. More for sale on ebay if you are interested.
> «Watchmakers Wrist Watch Movement Holder Tool Soviet union.»
> 
> View attachment 16423719
> 
> 
> View attachment 16423718


I like the look of this, but does the dial rest against the metal stand?


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> I was sitting down at my computer desk when I realized I was getting a HUGE CHUBBY!
> I thought it a little strange as my girlfriend was at work. The only other reason that happens is when I receive a watch in the mail. So I walk downstairs and open the front door look down and low and behold a DHL delivery was sitting on my stoop. So now fully chubbed and salivating I almost knocked over the lamp sitting on the table with the chub, recovering from that I ran upstairs to open my treasure. The rest is self explanatory comrades..
> 
> View attachment 16454066



The poor DHL driver...


----------



## jimzilla

No, I waited until he left, I wouldn't want to hit him in the chin ......


----------



## Odessa200

OogieBoogie said:


> I like the look of this, but does the dial rest against the metal stand?


this is the movement holder for when the dial is not installed. This is to assemble the movement.


----------



## katokel

jimzilla said:


> I was sitting down at my computer desk when I realized I was getting a HUGE CHUBBY!
> I thought it a little strange as my girlfriend was at work. The only other reason that happens is when I receive a watch in the mail. So I walk downstairs and open the front door look down and low and behold a DHL delivery was sitting on my stoop. So now fully chubbed and salivating I almost knocked over the lamp sitting on the table with the chub, recovering from that I ran upstairs to open my treasure. The rest is self explanatory comrades..
> 
> View attachment 16454066


Looks very nice sir, love these strela, Julian is very good to deal with, I have number 259 of 400 may be an earlier 42mm production run about 5 yr ago


----------



## jimzilla

katokel said:


> Looks very nice sir, love these strela, Julian is very good to deal with, I have number 259 of 400 may be an earlier 42mm production run about 5 yr ago


I honestly don't know, my production run was 300 pieces total and youre's Is 400 so I am guessing yes two different runs.
I whole heartily agree that Julian is excellent to deal with. Very attentive and usually has some of the best prices for a brick and mortar operation and mine runs very well for right out of the box!, best regards, James.


----------



## Ligavesh

Russians accidentally invaded my house as well:










Gonna put it in a different case and a different bezel when I find them...


----------



## katokel

Waiting patiently..😁 currently being processed in Munich Airport


----------



## 979greenwich

Last shipment from before the war. Should keep me busy for a while.


----------



## jimzilla

Had a pair of 020 cased Komanderskies come in yesterday.
Have to admit the 020 case wears well.


----------



## Avidfan

jimzilla said:


> Had a pair of 120 cased Komanderskies come in yesterday.
> Have to admit the 120 case wears well.


But they're 020 cases Jim, both Amphibia 020697, the other numbers on the passport are the date they were made 120793 or 12th July 1993


----------



## jimzilla

Avidfan said:


> But they're 020 cases Jim, both Amphibia 020697, the other numbers on the passport are the date they were made 120793 or 12th July 1993


Between being unfamiliar with this case and my poor eyesight...... Sorry about that.......


----------



## RedFroggy

Privet Tovarichy…

This Vostok arrived this week . The last watch I bought & that came through.










I have been looking for this model in decent condition for very very very long time … After perusing for years at poor condition or too expensive (to me) specimens, I was truly ecstatic when, early february, I finally found it, ie : the perfect Vostock October 1967 twin sister to my other Aurora model .


















The watch‘s condition is fantastic, it arrived beautifully packed & protected. It is now sitting in front of me and what should have been my joy of finally having found this much coveted piece as been replaced by utter sadness & thoughts about the seller based is Kharkov. I never meet or bought from that man before, yet I cant help thinking about him, his family, his friends in the city which had already suffered to much in the past.










I keep looking at that dove on the dial and the utter irony of it stares at me in the face of the fratricide horror on the current events. I will not pass judgement nor make statements as I am sure both sides are convinced they are “right” but I will just pray with all my heart that the man who sent me this watch will be safe.


----------



## Odessa200

RedFroggy said:


> Privet Tovarichy…
> 
> This Vostok arrived this week . The last watch I bought & that came through.
> 
> View attachment 16478444
> 
> 
> I have been looking for this model in decent condition for very very very long time … After perusing for years at poor condition or too expensive (to me) specimens, I was truly ecstatic when, early february, I finally found it, ie : the perfect Vostock October 1967 twin sister to my other Aurora model .
> 
> View attachment 16478454
> 
> View attachment 16478453
> 
> 
> The watch‘s condition is fantastic, it arrived beautifully packed & protected. It is now sitting in front of me and what should have been my joy of finally having found this much coveted piece as been replaced by utter sadness & thoughts about the seller based is Kharkov. I never meet or bought from that man before, yet I cant help thinking about him, his family, his friends in the city which had already suffered to much in the past.
> 
> View attachment 16478466
> 
> 
> I keep looking at that dove on the dial and the utter irony of it stares at me in the face of the fratricide horror on the current events. I will not pass judgement nor make statements as I am sure both sides are convinced they are “right” but I will just pray with all my heart that the man who sent me this watch will be safe.


fantastic condition. Congrats.


----------



## Utva_56

Was bought in October 2021 from Vostokinc.. , shipped on the 20/10/2021 arrived on 28th of February 2022.


----------



## Spirit’dWatcher

Utva_56 said:


> Was bought in October 2021 from Vostokinc.. , shipped on the 20/10/2021 arrived on 28th of February 2022.
> View attachment 16479850


Well done Utva  - I don’t feel so bad when you too get 4 months shipping times ;-)


----------



## maxhav

katokel said:


> View attachment 16461377
> View attachment 16461378
> 
> 
> Waiting patiently..😁 currently being processed in Munich Airport


This is stunning! What's the name?


----------



## katokel

maxhav said:


> This is stunning! What's the name?


From poljot24 it's the Sturmanskie limited edition Gargarin. This is 40 mm black, 1000 pieces in total split between 33 mm and 40 mm black or white ( 4 x 250 ) mine is 02/250 
Here: Sturmanskie Gagarin Vintage Retro Classic 40mm


----------



## katokel

katokel said:


> From poljot24 it's the Sturmanskie limited edition Gargarin. This is 40 mm black, 1000 pieces in total split between 33 mm and 40 mm black or white ( 4 x 250 ) mine is 02/250
> Here: Sturmanskie Gagarin Vintage Retro Classic 40mm


Maxhav in the flesh the black dial has a blue colour in certain light, comfortable on the wrist and mechanical movt is smooth to wind. Advantage of buying from Julian is his store is in Germany.


----------



## sonics

Gagarin vostok. But the Balance has to be repaired









Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk


----------



## skuripanda

I ordered this recently and I hope it gets delivered safely. With the ruble going down, even if it never arrives, I lost next to nothing... We shall see.


----------



## randocheapwatchperson

A small assorted box of replacement acrylic crystals off taobao










the franken-mayak from before:










still-somewhat-franken-but-more-coherent-looking-mayak after:









I cracked a 30mm one trying to force it into the bezel ring thing with a cheap crystal press and ended up gluing a 29.7mm one in because it wouldn't friction fit. Not the cleanest job but eh functional enough.


----------



## Fergfour

sonics said:


> Gagarin vostok. But the Balance has to be repaired
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk


Why is that "Gagarin" vostok? Isn't that a woman on the dial?


----------



## Odessa200

Fergfour said:


> Why is that "Gagarin" vostok? Isn't that a woman on the dial?


of course this is Valentina Tereshkova Vostok. I only wish a Chaika factory would make such a watch


----------



## katokel

Odessa200 said:


> of course this is Valentina Tereshkova Vostok. I only wish a Chaika factory would make such a watch


So not a factory genuine 'gagarin'


----------



## Odessa200

katokel said:


> So not a factory genuine 'gagarin'


No, this is a factory genuine watch.


----------



## katokel

Odessa200 said:


> No, this is a factory genuine watch.


Ah, didn't realise Vostok made a Gagarin also, any links about this watch?


----------



## larand

Have been wanting one of these, which are now scarcer than hens' teeth even if it weren't impossible to get anything out of Russia at the moment. Found that Julian had one at poljot24.de, so I grabbed it.









Instagram: @vta_watch


----------



## Fergfour

katokel said:


> Ah, didn't realise Vostok made a Gagarin also, any links about this watch?


I was commenting on the watch that forum member sonics posted, which has nothing to do with Gagarin. I guess people see a cosmonaut and assume that. 
Not to mention watch companies use "Gagarin" on just about any watch these days regardless of if he ever wore anything similar to it or not.


----------



## Kotsov

katokel said:


> So not a factory genuine 'gagarin'


There could have been something going between them that we aren't party to. One of Gagarins laydees?


----------



## Odessa200

katokel said:


> Ah, didn't realise Vostok made a Gagarin also, any links about this watch?


there are several similar watches. Here is my set.
Gagarins are made around 1992 
Tereshkova around 1993

all to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their space flights. For Tereshkova there were several dial versions (re issues) with slight differences in the picture.


----------



## katokel

Odessa200 said:


> there are several similar watches. Here is my set.
> Gagarins are made around 1992
> Tereshkova around 1993
> 
> all to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their space flights. For Tereshkova there were several dial versions (re issues) with slight differences in the picture.
> 
> 
> View attachment 16482866
> 
> View attachment 16482867
> 
> View attachment 16482868


Very nice watches sir


----------



## sonics

Some say Gagarin others say it's Tereshkova. I think only the guys on the factory know the truth.
I would like to know if it is originally Amphibia or Komandirskie. I have seen the dial in both versions. The hands look like Komandirskie.


Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk


----------



## jimzilla

Hello all I had a watch come in today It was originally purchased as a surprise gift from my girlfriend.
When it arrived I put it on a timegrapher and It was running very poorly It had even stopped a few times.
The Etsy seller "Corner Hoarder" Is a dishonest seller and refused to take back the watch and even changed his return policy as well. Etsy did nothing as well as PayPal to get a refund. so I sent it to Matt brace for repair and a service. The watch was in poor condition, Matt had to source a donor watch to get the parts to fix it but now it is back and running reliably again.
The Cosmos has been redialed, has the wrong caseback and crown but you know what...... It means the world to me as the love of my life bought it for me and I will always treasure this watch.
Thank you Matt for bringing this watch back to life, We really appreciate it sir.


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> Hello all I had a watch come in today It was originally purchased as a surprise gift from my girlfriend.
> When it arrived I put it on a timegrapher and It was running very poorly It had even stopped a few times.
> The Etsy seller "Corner Hoarder" Is a dishonest seller and refused to take back the watch and even changed his return policy as well. Etsy did nothing as well as PayPal to get a refund. so I sent it to Matt brace for repair and a service. The watch was in poor condition, Matt had to source a donor watch to get the parts to fix it but now it is back and running reliably again.
> The Cosmos has been redialed, has the wrong caseback and crown but you know what...... It means the world to me as the love of my life bought it for me and I will always treasure this watch.
> Thank you Matt for bringing this watch back to life, We really appreciate it sir.
> 
> View attachment 16485672
> View attachment 16485674



Give it to your girlfriend then...


----------



## jimzilla

are you talking about the watch Kotsov?


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> View attachment 16485804
> 
> 
> are you talking about the watch Kotsov?


Yes.

Although I reread the post and now realise its a present from, not for, the girlfriend. If I said it was senility rather than stupidity would anyone believe me...?


----------



## katokel

jimzilla said:


> Hello all I had a watch come in today It was originally purchased as a surprise gift from my girlfriend.
> When it arrived I put it on a timegrapher and It was running very poorly It had even stopped a few times.
> The Etsy seller "Corner Hoarder" Is a dishonest seller and refused to take back the watch and even changed his return policy as well. Etsy did nothing as well as PayPal to get a refund. so I sent it to Matt brace for repair and a service. The watch was in poor condition, Matt had to source a donor watch to get the parts to fix it but now it is back and running reliably again.
> The Cosmos has been redialed, has the wrong caseback and crown but you know what...... It means the world to me as the love of my life bought it for me and I will always treasure this watch.
> Thank you Matt for bringing this watch back to life, We really appreciate it sir.
> 
> View attachment 16485672
> View attachment 16485674


What back did he put on this watch mate?


----------



## jimzilla

katokel said:


> What back did he put on this watch mate?


The export back


----------



## jimzilla

Kotsov said:


> Yes.
> 
> Although I reread the post and now realise its a present from, not for, the girlfriend. If I said it was senility rather than stupidity would anyone believe me...?


I would be leave you Kotsov my friend .....


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## mariomart

Ligavesh said:


> View attachment 16494280
> 
> 
> View attachment 16494281


Excellent, very hard to find in good condition with the right dial and hand set. Well done  

Mine says "Hello!"


----------



## Ligavesh

mariomart said:


> Excellent, very hard to find in good condition with the right dial and hand set. Well done
> 
> Mine says "Hello!"


Thanks, I've got lucky. The seller actually replaced the hands as I wanted, they were wrong at first, but then I showed him as many pictures of the watch I could find (many from this forum, one of them yours), so he agreed to change them (they were all black at first).


----------



## Poekhali

Not bought today but the strap just came in which I think really helps this one pop a bit better.


----------



## gr8adv

Pizza.

With all of the delivery issues i keep reading about here, i picked it up myself.


----------



## 979greenwich

How to spend a Sunday when the Kremlin bastard messed up your hobby, along with thousands of innocent lives? Visit a local fleemarket, spend 5 $, and your afternoon on a service.


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today, I think this may be my last hoorah from Russia. It Is in great shape and runs well.


----------



## Kotsov

Seems really strange not to have anything incoming...


----------



## mariomart

Kotsov said:


> Seems really strange not to have anything incoming...


I've started buying hats to fill in the time


----------



## 979greenwich

That seller is so good that he could sell an ushanka to an Australian.


----------



## jerauf

My latest arrival.


----------



## jimzilla

I had this come in today, my last order before the sh*t hit the fan.
I am lucky I got everything I ordered.


----------



## RedFroggy

Not bought today, but it has arrived…


----------



## thewatchadude

Bought two Vostok Amphibia second hand in my home country and a dozen straps from CNS. Much lower volumes but still possibility to play around avoiding Russia.


----------



## stevarad

Just arrived.


----------



## skuripanda

It's beating at between +6 and +33 s/d, so it won't pass COSC certification, but damn it's a pretty watch for 65 euros total (shipping and import included).


----------



## jerauf

Finally arrived after a month! And this Sputnik is out of this world!


----------



## buyvostok

Great watches, everyone.

For those in USA - check out - https://buyvostok.com - USA Based Partner of 'Vostok' Watch Factory , USA Partner of Vostok. Over 115 styles in stock and climbing. Shipping from Florida's warehouse. More styles on the way. Rest of the world shipping is whatever USPS is charging. Calculated on the fly.

For this group, there is a very limited 15% off sale which ends this Sunday at 11:59PM. Please use the coupon code "watchuseek15" upon checkout.

Let me know if you have any questions and I will be glad to answer them!


----------



## jimzilla

.


----------



## jimzilla

mariomart said:


> I've started buying hats to fill in the time
> 
> View attachment 16511786


I know that look Mario.........
Have you been eating peanut butter and Radium sandwiches again comrade?


----------



## giucap

buyvostok said:


> watchuseek15


I have tried these coupon on a 1965 komandirskie but it's not working ):
UPDATE: it work if you use it at the last stage


----------



## fresh eddie fresh

buyvostok said:


> Great watches, everyone.
> 
> For those in USA - check out - https://buyvostok.com - USA Based Partner of 'Vostok' Watch Factory , USA Partner of Vostok. Over 115 styles in stock and climbing. Shipping from Florida's warehouse. More styles on the way. Rest of the world shipping is whatever USPS is charging. Calculated on the fly.
> 
> For this group, there is a very limited 15% off sale which ends this Sunday at 11:59PM. Please use the coupon code "watchuseek15" upon checkout.
> 
> Let me know if you have any questions and I will be glad to answer them!


Thank you for the offer, I tried the code on a Komandirskie 650539 and couldn’t get it to work either.


----------



## buyvostok

fresh eddie fresh said:


> Thank you for the offer, I tried the code on a Komandirskie 650539 and couldn’t get it to work either.


It should be working just fine. The coupon is valid and has been used today.


----------



## fresh eddie fresh

buyvostok said:


> It should be working just fine. The coupon is valid and has been used today.


I just tried it again using PayPal and it didn’t work for me. Still comes up full price during checkout.

Not a huge deal since I already have two 24hr Komandirskie’s en route, the GMT just seemed kinda cool.


----------



## buyvostok

That's so weird. Works fine for others and myself. I just tested it again. I think that you are clicking on PayPal link before applying the discount. It needs to be applied first.


----------



## Fergfour

Picked up this 40th anniversary 67 today. I have the same model already but with a needle seconds hand as opposed to the lollipop.


----------



## OCSleeper

Had quite the haul come in today. Was a little worried when the postman handed me the package. Maybe the picture of it’s condition was a little exaggeration, but not by much.



















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jimzilla

You know when you see this show up at your door you're having Brot for desert.
Julian threw in a extra strap for me, that was cool. I have always liked this model
so since the normal channels of collecting went a rye I went to are old buddy Julian.
Very nice 3133 and runs well.


----------



## jimzilla

I was also fortunate enough to receive another shipment of NOS watches.


----------



## Odessa200

jimzilla said:


> I was also fortunate enough to receive another shipment of NOS watches.
> View attachment 16544029
> View attachment 16544030
> View attachment 16544032
> View attachment 16544034


Interesting thing: this new watch has no number on the back (and I am pretty sure no number on the movement). So they were making watches w/o any serial number at all? I know passport has * (meaning any) but I always assumed that the watch at least should have a number…


----------



## Avidfan

Odessa200 said:


> Interesting thing: this new watch has no number on the back (and I am pretty sure no number on the movement). So they were making watches w/o any serial number at all? I know passport has * (meaning any) but I always assumed that the watch at least should have a number…


From NOS examples I've seen over the years this is correct, no serial numbers on Amphibia starting from January 1993...


----------



## RedFroggy

I was told by a Polish friend about that watch sold by an Ukrainian guy who lives in Poland. Minor issue, he did not want to send it abroad.
So, my friend acted as go between, got the info I needed, photos etc and managed to meet with the seller during one of his visit in Warsaw and bought it on my behalf. He then trusted it to a third party acquaintance who was travelling via London …
Pffff… Not a simple transaction but eventually down the line… I got the expected call, sneaked outa work… meet in a crowded place and finally took delivery ….










Not optimum condition, but I simply could not resist 🤷‍♂️










I am a happy frog


----------



## jimzilla

RedFroggy said:


> I was told by a Polish friend about that this watch sold by an Ukrainian guy who lives in Poland. Minor issue, he did not want to send it abroad.
> So, my friend acted as go between, got the info I needed, photos etc and managed to meet with the seller during one of his visit in Warsaw and bought it on my behalf. He then trusted it to a third party acquaintance who was travelling via London …
> Pffff… Not a simple transaction but eventually down the line… I got the expected call, sneaked outa work… meet in a crowded place and finally took delivery ….
> 
> View attachment 16546147
> 
> 
> Not optimum condition, but I simply could not resist 🤷‍♂️
> 
> View attachment 16546192
> 
> 
> I am a happy frog


 You will be glad you have that as a spare some of those parts are hard to get.


----------



## Rista

This mint condition Sniper just arrived.


----------



## jimzilla

I had bought a couple of watches from fellow member miroman and they arrived today.
miroman was selling a bunch of watches I do not know how many he has left but they are quality watches at a reasonable price. Check them out.


----------



## hyunsuk

Purchased this Vostok Amphibia for parts from a seller in U.S. I'm only interested in the case, bezel and movement, and plan to throw away the dial, but my watchmaker commented that the ship on the dial looked like the recently sunk Russian warship. Here is the watch in question:















And this is Moskva, Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship, that sank last week.


----------



## steros

hyunsuk said:


> Purhased this Vostok Amphibia for parts from a seller in U.S. I'm only interested in the case, bezel and movement, and plan to throw away the dial, but my watchmaker commented that the ship on the dial looked like the recently sunk Russian warship. Here is the watch in question:
> View attachment 16579625
> View attachment 16579627
> 
> And this is Moskva, Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship, that sank last week.


The Moskva was a cruiser. The ship pictured on the watch is the ”Albatros” class of corvettes (Nato designation ”Grisha”). At least that is the explanation I have heard for the ”Albatros” stamped on some Amphibia models. But yes, the two ships, although of different sizes, have the same kind of angle at the front end.


----------



## RedFroggy

An internet purchase from my home town in France . 









Looks to me that someone bought it and left it to sleep at the botton of draw…


























I ain't gonna complain. Sadly, this will be posted to Bretagne, so probably wont play with it for a while …


----------



## Ligavesh

Finally found this dial in a good condition, but unfortunately there's a black stain at 3 o'clock - anyone has any ideas if that could be cleaned?


----------



## Michael-DK

Got these two Elektronikas in the mail yesterday. Curiously, I think, the newer Belarussian one didn't work yesterday. However, when I got home from work today it functioned just perfectly. Was able to set the clock, date and everything.

I did never use a digital watch before, but I find it very convenient that you can turn the screen off when not in use.


----------



## blackdog1101

I just received this Sugess Chronograph yesterday. I think it’s a super fun watch!


----------



## Kotsov

blackdog1101 said:


> I just received this Sugess Chronograph yesterday. I think it’s a super fun watch!
> View attachment 16596865
> 
> View attachment 16596864


Wow that is lovely. Where did you get that? Presuming it's Russian and still in production.


----------



## blackdog1101

Kotsov said:


> Wow that is lovely. Where did you get that? Presuming it's Russian and still in production.


It’s a Sugess, a sister company to Seestern. It’s Chinese, but I see now I posted in a Russian watch forum. My mistake, sorry!!


----------



## Kotsov

I've just googled


----------



## Kotsov

blackdog1101 said:


> It’s a Sugess, a sister company to Seestern. It’s Chinese, but I see now I posted in a Russian watch forum. My mistake, sorry!!


Don't apologise. It's an easy thing to do. Means we get to see a very nice watch


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in today....


----------



## Odessa200

jimzilla said:


> Had this come in today....
> 
> View attachment 16599677
> View attachment 16599678
> View attachment 16599679
> View attachment 16599680


simply wow. I am speechless


----------



## RedFroggy

Stunning piece Jimzilla - Congrats


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> Had this come in today....
> 
> View attachment 16599677
> View attachment 16599678
> View attachment 16599679
> View attachment 16599680


Lovely.

I think the caseback has fallen off though.


----------



## jimzilla

With out the case back it makes the watch a little lighter and easyier to regulate.


----------



## jimzilla

Odessa200 said:


> simply wow. I am speechless


Hello Odessa, from what you can see with the caseback off does the movement look original?


----------



## Odessa200

jimzilla said:


> Hello Odessa, from what you can see with the caseback off does the movement look original?


yes, I see no issues.


----------



## steros

What do I have here? In a 2013 post by bultacolobito this Vostok wristwatch is said to be a military model that was also used in gun cameras with the help of a special adapter. Is that what it is? Was it an exclusively military model? Is it uncommon? Is it likely that mine is original? When were these made? I understand it should have the 2234 movement with hacking feature. I am no expert on movements but it does stop when I pull the crown.
































Gun cameras clocks.


This is my small contribution in return of what I have learned in this forum, sorry initial incovenience with pics and language, hope it is already solved. There is a lot of written documentation or reports about coveted Russian pilots wrist watches known by Sturmanskies and also about of the...




www.watchuseek.com


----------



## jimzilla

Very nice and a handsome watch as well.


----------



## mariomart

She doesn't have a very pretty face, but she's still a catch for me 

Very early Komandirskie from 1965.


----------



## RedFroggy

mariomart said:


> She doesn't have a very pretty face,


Pretty sexy to me ... great catch


----------



## Jamie360

steros said:


> What do I have here? In a 2013 post by bultacolobito this Vostok wristwatch is said to be a military model that was also used in gun cameras with the help of a special adapter. Is that what it is? Was it an exclusively military model? Is it uncommon? Is it likely that mine is original? When were these made? I understand it should have the 2234 movement with hacking feature. I am no expert on movements but it does stop when I pull the crown.
> View attachment 16609184
> View attachment 16609185
> View attachment 16609187
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gun cameras clocks.
> 
> 
> This is my small contribution in return of what I have learned in this forum, sorry initial incovenience with pics and language, hope it is already solved. There is a lot of written documentation or reports about coveted Russian pilots wrist watches known by Sturmanskies and also about of the...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.watchuseek.com


Lovely watch and a nice example!

Not seen much info on those particular gun camera watches other than that post previously linked. I'll attach some pictures of my own which I bought last year with it's cradle.


----------



## Jamie360

This Poljot De luxe Automatic arrived yesterday. The intermediate wheel between mainspring barrel and the motion works the was out of it's seating and preventing it from running. Got it going last night and found a new crystal for it this evening. Overall very happy with it.


----------



## steros

Jamie360 said:


> Lovely watch and a nice example!
> 
> Not seen much info on those particular gun camera watches other than that post previously linked. I'll attach some pictures of my own which I bought last year with it's cradle.
> View attachment 16611683
> View attachment 16611684


White seconds hand, and white filling instead of lume in the other hands, I guess it is for max contrast in the black and white photos from the gun cameras.


----------



## hyunsuk

Here's what I bought. You can read the full story here.


----------



## mariomart

Technically not a Russia watch anymore (sold by a German distributor and installed with a Sea-Gull ST19) but it was available locally here in Oz.


----------



## Ligavesh

Not today but close enough, one of Vostok-Watches 24's 'Frankensteins':


----------



## Kotsov

mariomart said:


> Technically not a Russia watch anymore (sold by a German distributor and installed with a Sea-Gull ST19) but it was available locally here in Oz.
> 
> View attachment 16614854


Hmm....


----------



## OogieBoogie

I haven't bought anything new for a while but I'm very pleased to see that a Ukrainian eBay seller I've used a couple of times is back online. He's been offline since the beginning of March, and now appears to be located in the US.

Weird how something quite removed from my daily life can have an emotional affect. I looked up his town and anxiously watched the maps show Russians moving through and then retreating back, and then felt quite relieved/ elated when his shop reopened.


----------



## jimzilla

mariomart said:


> Technically not a Russia watch anymore (sold by a German distributor and installed with a Sea-Gull ST19) but it was available locally here in Oz.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 16614854


I have one of those but the tribute model. Got mine from Julian.
I have to admit it does not have a 3017 or a 3133 but that ST19 works flawlessly, the pushers and crown are silky smooth with a decorated movement and display back, I rather like it.....


----------



## Michael-DK

Just received this one with the mail today from Ukraine


----------



## gp20

A new one which arrived last week...

.


----------



## Kotsov

Michael-DK said:


> Just received this one with the mail today from Ukraine
> 
> View attachment 16619293


Why can't Raketa do a reissue of this?


----------



## Ligavesh

Michael-DK said:


> Just received this one with the mail today from Ukraine
> 
> View attachment 16619293


good to know that post from Ukraine is arriving; I have a few packages that according to 17tracking have been 'stuck' in Ukraine after clearing their customs for a month now


----------



## Michael-DK

Ligavesh said:


> good to know that post from Ukraine is arriving; I have a few packages that according to 17tracking have been 'stuck' in Ukraine after clearing their customs for a month now


Yes. It took about 5 weeks. And I still have a couple others I'm waiting for. But I am impressed how their postal service functions given the fact that I bought it in the middle of a war.


----------



## Ligavesh

Michael-DK said:


> Yes. It took about 5 weeks. And I still have a couple others I'm waiting for. But I am impressed how their postal service functions given the fact that I bought it in the middle of a war.


well hopefully mine arrive as well, postal service seems pretty resilient

anyway, found something in local classifieds:


----------



## Michael-DK

Hope so too. This hobby is expensive enough without the added cost of shipping etc...  

Very nice acquisition there.


----------



## Jamie360

This black dial Kirovskie Sputnik arrived yesterday, all the hands needed changing as they were all very wrong. Think it now looks acceptable?

Also is a group picture with my two other Sputniks (Still waiting on the hands for the Chistopol one).


----------



## Odessa200

Jamie360 said:


> This black dial Kirovskie Sputnik arrived yesterday, all the hands needed changing as they were all very wrong. Think it now looks acceptable?
> 
> Also is a group picture with my two other Sputniks (Still waiting on the hands for the Chistopol one).
> View attachment 16624360
> View attachment 16624362


Well done! Getting nickel hands is super hard. Congrats! You may want to swap the crown on the white one


----------



## Jamie360

Odessa200 said:


> Well done! Getting nickel hands is super hard. Congrats! You may want to swap the crown on the white one


When I find another original crown Ill swap it in. 
Also, don't laugh but I used gold hands from a parts Sputnik and painted them chrome. It seems to look about right...


----------



## Avidfan

This arrived from Ukraine today, nothing special just a Type 74 bezel to go on one of my old Komandirskies, the stamps are interesting and feature the now well known image of a Ukrainian soldier saying "hello" to the Moskva.

A sad piece of history from a war zone...


----------



## cfcfan81

Michael-DK said:


> Yes. It took about 5 weeks. And I still have a couple others I'm waiting for. But I am impressed how their postal service functions given the fact that I bought it in the middle of a war.


I agree they do well. I have gone a little overboard lately trying to support the watchmakers that do great work maintaining vintage watches. It’s run 3-5 weeks on avg, but sometimes the packages were sent from Poland. For me it is a nice surprise when the mail has that manilla bundle with the stale smell of European cigarettes. I let the sellers know that if stuff comes up don’t stress about getting the orders out right away. But the sellers have always gotten it in the next day. 

Once i get more in, i will post some pics.


----------



## Michael-DK

Just a little story I want to share with you.

When I got my Raketa the other day I got this Stolichnie as well from the same seller on Ebay - a Ukrainian fellow, Yevgeniy. The minute hand on the Stolichnie was loose and could not be set correctly. I contacted him about the issue. So he offered to cover the repair if I could find a local watchmaker. I went to my local one who fixed in a couple of minutes. Yevgeniy was quick to reply and refunded the cost as promised. Moreover, he was very pleasant to talk to, and seems quite passionate about his business. A great experience all in all. And now I have another watch to help me keep time! 

As cfcfan81 said the sellers seems to be going out of their way to accomodate their customers even in these times.

Talking about delivery and all that it really is a fantastic time we are living in. To be able to sit at home and order historical relics from a country that dosen't exist anymore, arriving from a country in war, on your doorstep, and fixing problems online, is quite beyond me. 

Anyways, here is a pic:


----------



## jimzilla

Had this one come in a bit ago.


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## GlasIsGreen

I bought a Zarya children's watch, which I plan to customise and gift to my daughter on her 3rd birthday (there is a back story to this!). The watch should take up to a month to arrive, so I am trying to be patient and not too excited... but am in fact very excited and can't wait to get my hands on it!


----------



## RedFroggy

Well worth your patience Jimzilla 



jimzilla said:


> Had this one come in a bit ago.
> 
> View attachment 16635705
> View attachment 16635706
> View attachment 16635707


----------



## 979greenwich

Finally bought something after a long time. Before/after pictures to follow some day.


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## jimzilla

I had this come in today, It took so long to get here I have forgotten I had even purchased this watch 
and who I purchased it from.  I always try and snap these up when I find one.


----------



## Kotsov

jimzilla said:


> I had this come in today, It took so long to get here I have forgotten I had even purchased this watch
> and who I purchased it from.  I always try and snap these up when I find one.
> 
> View attachment 16686770
> View attachment 16686775


I sent it to you on loan.


----------



## jimzilla

I haven't talked to you in a while Kotsov I wish you all the best my friend, best regards, James....


----------



## 979greenwich

I can testify if needed 👌


----------



## lyi

Good catch   😇


----------



## jimzilla

I had my compressor in green come in yesterday. I immediately snatched it up off the porch
and began the ritual of getting the parcel opened, I attacked the
plastic shipping bag, it opened up easy and upon doing so came out a strong smell of fish?
(don't know what to make of that?) after my eyes stopped watering it was now on to the box
to attempt to break free the pearl from the shell with packaging fit for a ballistics test.
like a snarling rabid wolverine I freed the pearl from the shell and behold.........
A black pearl!










First impressions of the watch, Tall, heavy, fits a little funny, hard to take a good picture of and
heaven help you if you break that crystal, also a bit of a bic*h to change straps on.
Lume is nice and I like the spring loaded crowns. although the watch sits a little funny on my wrist it is comfortable to wear, I do not like how the band flares out from the watch case to wrap around the wrist but as I said it is comfy to wear. The dial face .... what can you say about that dial face......
classic design and has a nice acute pop.
The 2416 movement runs tight and stable right out of the box on the timegrapher
It does run fast but after break in I will adjust.
Overall I am pleased with my purchase, please see the additional pics.


----------



## Poekhali

Thanks for the review! It looks nice. Sorry to hear it wasn’t more comfortable.


----------



## jimzilla

Poekhali said:


> Thanks for the review! It looks nice. Sorry to hear it wasn’t more comfortable.


Good evening Poekhali, No It Is comfortable to wear I just dont like how the watch sits a top of the wrist
The case seems to barely touch my wrist, and I wear my watches tight. 
Please see the Pic. 
Best regards, James.


----------



## Ligavesh

The crystal shows signs of aging, otherwise it seems to be in perfect condition:


----------



## Ligavesh

A nice find in the local classifieds:










A mint civilian 3133 (nevermind the silly armband) and a weird rare Slava.


----------



## jimzilla

Had this come in the other day.
Dial face, hand set and 24XX decorative screws.


----------



## LargeCrab

Been wanting one of these Zim Moscow Olympic watches with the cute bear since I started collecting, couldn't pass it up for $35


----------



## RaymondVDK

Bought three new watches and got one as a present (the Raketa Copernic). The Sekonda seems to have a new crown, but overall fun buys.


----------



## Verfolger82




----------



## jerauf




----------



## Roman Ukraine

Chaica 1200


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## Ligavesh

Ligavesh said:


> View attachment 16757407


aaand immediately there's a problem with it - the crown to move the inner bezel doesn't 'de-couple' properly, so when you screw it down the inner bezel moves a minute or so to the back

will be asking Dmitry about this

edit: contacted Dmitry, it's going back


----------



## 979greenwich

They could perform some kind of quality control at least on their higher end line. Not like they sell them in thousands.


----------



## Ligavesh

979greenwich said:


> They could perform some kind of quality control at least on their higher end line. Not like they sell them in thousands.


he said they did


----------



## Ligavesh

Well so much for taking the watch to the beach with me, it will have to wait till next year, some other Amphibia will be the 'lucky' one.


----------



## Ligavesh

found this for a good price in the classifieds, I was missing thus model - aside from a few dechromed spots on the pusher and case it looks cosmetically pretty good, also keeps very good time. plan to send it to get serviced, hopefully they'll align the chrono hand better:


----------



## MCHB

Have this one coming.


----------



## Verfolger82

MCHB said:


> Have this one coming.
> 
> 
> View attachment 16768127


Great! 
Can't wait for some good macro shots


----------



## jerauf

A painted ZIM. Perfect arrival for a day so hot it feels like I've taken up residence in the armpit of hell.


----------



## jimzilla

jerauf said:


> A painted ZIM. Perfect arrival for a day so hot it feels like I've taken up residence in the armpit of hell.
> 
> View attachment 16772159


I know what you are talking about jerauf, I live in Florida and I am a mechanical contractor (H.V.A.C.)
It Is so hot here the lizards are hiding In the shade I feel like I am working in the devils as*hole!
It Is like 110 - 120 degrees with the heat index!. then I go into the attic and It Is 135 - 145 degrees!.
Good times .........


----------



## jimzilla

I had some miscellaneous parts come in to day.


----------



## LargeCrab

Just got this nice Signal Alarm, all original except for crowns, which I got a good discount for.


----------



## jerauf

I've made up the guest room for her so she will be able to sleep comfortably tonight. She's too much of a diva to sleep with the other watches.


----------



## Jamie360

Went to an antique shop earlier today and found a huge lot of watch and pocket watch parts for £80. The seller was apparently wanting to get rid of all of their unsellable parts by bunching them up. Some good stuff there like a few Omega and Tissot parts and cases but the star of the show was what looked to be an original 24 hour Raketa 2623. Bought the lot for that watch alone which runs though has no crown or case back (Sure I can find something in a parts Raketa). So far I've removed the dial to find quite a lot of rust around the keyless works but none around the hour wheel luckily.


----------



## Roman Ukraine

Russian Empire, Sergei Roginsky, Moscow
............
Sergei Roginsky in 1852, merchant of the 2nd guild. In 1900 he became the founder of a trading house in Moscow on Nikolskaya Street. The trading house was engaged in the sale of jewelry, watches, silverware, Orthodox religious items. Special attention has been paid to watches, and watches from various manufacturers from Switzerland, Germany, and even the USA are presented.

The company did not have its own production factory, the inscriptions on the watches were ordered from the respective manufacturers. The maximum that could be was an assembly of imported components (ready-made mechanisms, dials, hands, cases).

The sons of S. Roginsky continued the work in Moscow:

Vasily Sergeevich Roginsky (head of affairs)
Alexander Sergeevich Roginsky
Yakov Sergeevich Roginsky
Konstantin Roginsky opened a store in Kyiv.


----------



## jimzilla

Had a Cleaning Machine come in yesterday from India. It needs some tweaking before I can use it.


----------



## MattBrace

jimzilla said:


> Had a Cleaning Machine come in yesterday from India. It needs some tweaking before I can use it.
> 
> View attachment 16835484


Great machines, a copy of the Elma super elite, which I use.

Cheers...


----------



## jimzilla

I wish I could afford a Elma but for my use I think this will do. I am currently going thru the process of getting it ready to use.
The unit is poorly assembled and dirty but is not so bad it can't be used reliably, it just needs some tweaking. 
I will do a post on it when I am done. Thanks for chiming in matt I hope you do well my friend, best regards.


----------



## Ligavesh

I prefer to buy Soviet stuff, but I just love this model:










One day I'll force myself to sell a bunch of my watches and buy the new Avantgarde.


----------



## palletwheel

This is from this month's (Aug 22) issue of Naval History. It's a great magazine if you have an interest in the subject and it's a publication of the US Naval Institute. It was nice to see it there given the tenor of the times. Please enjoy.


----------



## Bojan Stankovic

Got a nice Vostok, but I am not sure what model is this (it looks a lot like a Vostok komandirskie antimagnetic model, but there are small differences).


----------



## lyi

I bought this couple of months ago, but I do not think I posted it here yet


----------



## jimzilla

Bojan Stankovic said:


> Got a nice Vostok, but I am not sure what model is this (it looks a lot like a Vostok komandirskie antimagnetic model, but there are small differences).


As our resident expert Avidfan had informed me these are Komanderskies attempt at building a amphibia.


----------



## jimzilla

Kotsov, I sent you a PM, please respond.


----------



## Bojan Stankovic

jimzilla said:


> As our resident expert Avidfan had informed me these are Komanderskies attempt at building a amphibia.
> View attachment 16850619
> View attachment 16850620
> View attachment 16850621


Hi jimzilla, thank you very much for your reply. Does it mean that this model that I have bought is a hybrid? Is it original? 

Thanks!


----------



## jimzilla

I think it is original, not too sure about the case back, ask avidfan he can fill you in on all the details.


----------



## Avidfan

Bojan Stankovic said:


> Does it mean that this model that I have bought is a hybrid? Is it original?
> Thanks!





jimzilla said:


> I think it is original, not too sure about the case back, ask avidfan he can fill you in on all the details.


Yes I agree with you James, but we really need to see the movement which should be a SU marked 2416b if the caseback is anything to go by, and of course as the dial is marked "anti-magnetic" there must be a soft iron shield inside.

The Vremir caseback is interesting showing that it was made for TimePeace Russian Watches Inc. USA...


----------



## 979greenwich

Soviet-check, measuring instrument-check...









Edit: even has a hairspring.


----------



## steros

Bojan Stankovic said:


> Hi jimzilla, thank you very much for your reply. Does it mean that this model that I have bought is a hybrid? Is it original?
> 
> Thanks!


I think it’s a perfectly original Vostok Amphibia from around 1990. The Amphibia with this white submarine dial exists in several versions, with or without the Komandirskie designation. It is one of a few models that say Komandirskie although they are Amphibias, wich of course is confusing. Some even have a date window and the 2414 movement normally found in Komandirskies. They were discussed here:








Komandirskie / Amphibian variants?


The hunt is on! So many to look at. So much fun! And so many questions... Is this dial with pink rim, and no "cross hairs" a real vintage variant of the so called "sniper" model? Or a new/fake? Rare Vintage Mechanical Men's Watch Vostok Sniper Amphibia anti-magnetic USSR | eBay When someone...




www.watchuseek.com


----------



## MCHB

It's here! It's finally here!! ^_^


----------



## andwatson2

MCHB said:


> It's here! It's finally here!! ^_^
> 
> View attachment 16868105


Wow! What is that beautiful watch? Make and model please?! It’s fantastic!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Chascomm

andwatson2 said:


> Wow! What is that beautiful watch? Make and model please?! It’s fantastic!


That logo is for Buyalov and the word on the dial is Dirigible (i.e. Airship). Buyalov is the brand of Dmitry Buyalov, the owner of Meranom online shop.









Buyalov Airship C3 Designer Watches


The Airship is coming back. New case made of polished stainless steel. Blue and black dial with a rocky surface effect. Plus, a Novelty - the dial is completely covered with Swiss Super-LumiNova C3. Sapphire glasses with anti-glare. Movement with manual winding ST3620 and a power




meranom.com


----------



## Bojan Stankovic

Avidfan said:


> Yes I agree with you James, but we really need to see the movement which should be a SU marked 2416b if the caseback is anything to go by, and of course as the dial is marked "anti-magnetic" there must be a soft iron shield inside.
> 
> The Vremir caseback is interesting showing that it was made for TimePeace Russian Watches Inc. USA...


Hi guys,

Here is the photo


----------



## Avidfan

Bojan Stankovic said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Here is the photo
> 
> View attachment 16868721


The movement is good, a SU marked 2416b, but the crown wheel screw has fallen out and is on the rotor, you need to get this back in place straight away!!! (remember it's got a left-hand thread)

Is there an anti-magnetic shield inside the caseback?


----------



## steros

I am planning some work for dark winter nights on this Raketa Amphibia that just arrived. I have better original hands on the way, and also an extra dial that probably will look a little better. I have some questions.
The movement is good, serviced and keeps time, but it sits very loosly in the case (especially after I removed some paper strips wich had been shoved in to make it tight). is there supposed to be a separat metal ring or something between movement and case?
The crystal needs replacing, but I don’t have one and I don’t trust myself to do that job. Is it likely that my local watchmaker (specialized in vintage mechanical watches) can do this, with a new crystal? Or is it possible to find NOS original crystals? I understand that fixing a crystal on this watch is a little delicate, and that it involves a special metal ring. The current crystal is glued and there is no ring, but I have a thin metal ring attached to an extra bezel shown in the photos (from an Amphibia inspired quartz Raketa). Is that the ring for the crystal assemply, or is it another part, for the bezel? Is it likely that a watchmaker can use the original method, or should I accept a new glued crystal?
The crown is not original I guess (?), but it does its job and will work until I find an original. I have to pull it out to set the time, but I can wind the watch without pulling the crown out first (ike you have to do with a Vostok). Is this how it should be?
Is the orange bezel more original than a white bezel for the Amphibia? I have an orange one from a quartz version, and I understand that they are interchangeable, so I will probably use the orange one because it looks goid. Both bezels have a very wavy and short spring, and are not secured very well to the watches. Is there a special type of spring that is better? The bezels are not supposed to have any metal parts other than the spring?


----------



## dutchassasin

Getting parts for these is hard, nos glasses dont exist anymore. There are some after market parts available for example stainless crowns and glasses but they are different to the original. Your missing the crystal retention ring that holds the crystal and provides the groove for the bezel wire. Quartz retention rings dont work on mechanical cases. 

If you want to know more about the amphibians let me know. Been trying to restore one as well without much luck.


----------



## MCHB

Chascomm said:


> That logo is for Buyalov and the word on the dial is Dirigible (i.e. Airship). Buyalov is the brand of Dmitry Buyalov, the owner of Meranom online shop.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Buyalov Airship C3 Designer Watches
> 
> 
> The Airship is coming back. New case made of polished stainless steel. Blue and black dial with a rocky surface effect. Plus, a Novelty - the dial is completely covered with Swiss Super-LumiNova C3. Sapphire glasses with anti-glare. Movement with manual winding ST3620 and a power
> 
> 
> 
> 
> meranom.com


Yup! #454/1000. 

I'll try to get some better pictures in a few days.


----------



## andwatson2

Chascomm said:


> That logo is for Buyalov and the word on the dial is Dirigible (i.e. Airship). Buyalov is the brand of Dmitry Buyalov, the owner of Meranom online shop.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Buyalov Airship C3 Designer Watches
> 
> 
> The Airship is coming back. New case made of polished stainless steel. Blue and black dial with a rocky surface effect. Plus, a Novelty - the dial is completely covered with Swiss Super-LumiNova C3. Sapphire glasses with anti-glare. Movement with manual winding ST3620 and a power
> 
> 
> 
> 
> meranom.com


Thank you, Chascomm—I know nothing about these (or Russian watches) but felt compelled to order the Airship c3 today! Looking forward to this unique piece and must research now! 

Thanks again—-why did you pick this yourself? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Chascomm

andwatson2 said:


> Thank you, Chascomm—I know nothing about these (or Russian watches) but felt compelled to order the Airship c3 today! Looking forward to this unique piece and must research now!
> 
> Thanks again—-why did you pick this yourself?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I didn’t. MCHB bought it.


----------



## Ligavesh

What do you think about the hands of this watch? You think they should be golden?


----------



## andwatson2

Chascomm said:


> I didn’t. MCHB bought it.


I’m an idiot.
MCHB! Thoughts?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## steros

steros said:


> I am planning some work for dark winter nights on this Raketa Amphibia that just arrived. I have better original hands on the way, and also an extra dial that probably will look a little better. I have some questions.
> The movement is good, serviced and keeps time, but it sits very loosly in the case (especially after I removed some paper strips wich had been shoved in to make it tight). is there supposed to be a separat metal ring or something between movement and case?
> The crystal needs replacing, but I don’t have one and I don’t trust myself to do that job. Is it likely that my local watchmaker (specialized in vintage mechanical watches) can do this, with a new crystal? Or is it possible to find NOS original crystals? I understand that fixing a crystal on this watch is a little delicate, and that it involves a special metal ring. The current crystal is glued and there is no ring, but I have a thin metal ring attached to an extra bezel shown in the photos (from an Amphibia inspired quartz Raketa). Is that the ring for the crystal assemply, or is it another part, for the bezel? Is it likely that a watchmaker can use the original method, or should I accept a new glued crystal?
> The crown is not original I guess (?), but it does its job and will work until I find an original. I have to pull it out to set the time, but I can wind the watch without pulling the crown out first (ike you have to do with a Vostok). Is this how it should be?
> Is the orange bezel more original than a white bezel for the Amphibia? I have an orange one from a quartz version, and I understand that they are interchangeable, so I will probably use the orange one because it looks goid. Both bezels have a very wavy and short spring, and are not secured very well to the watches. Is there a special type of spring that is better? The bezels are not supposed to have any metal parts other than the spring?


The edge/ring that can be seen in these pics (borrowed pics), that is a part of the case and NOT the separate retainer ring that should hold the crystal and the bezel, right?


----------



## dutchassasin

steros said:


> The edge/ring that can be seen in these pics (borrowed pics), that is a part of the case and NOT the separate retainer ring that should hold the crystal and the bezel, right?


correct the crystal gets sandwiched between that lip and the retaining ring.
Borrowed a pic as well:


----------



## steros

dutchassasin said:


> correct the crystal gets sandwiched between that lip and the retaining ring.
> Borrowed a pic as well:
> View attachment 16882569


Very informative pic, thank you!


----------



## Ligavesh




----------



## AardnoldArrdvark

ordered today


----------



## DJW GB

Ligavesh said:


> What do you think about the hands of this watch? You think they should be golden?
> 
> View attachment 16874131
> 
> 
> View attachment 16874140


I've had these two for a couple of years and have seen others . Unless someone is making them I think it's correct and does make them easier to read.



















Billy super duper


----------



## Screwdriver

Wanted a No-Date Amphibia, so I grabbed this one....Received it yesterday.


----------



## Ligavesh

and this weird Chinese 'Komandirskie':


----------



## Ligavesh

Well, I doubt I'll be getting all the watchesI I've ordered from Ukraine anytime soon.


----------



## OCSleeper

Anyone else spot the “jewel” in this junk? Sometimes it’s pure luck finding something (potentially) special. We’ll see when it arrives.




















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> Anyone else spot the “jewel” in this junk? Sometimes it’s pure luck finding something (potentially) special. We’ll see when it arrives.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nice catch. For this price you cannot go wrong.


----------



## OCSleeper

Here’s a little update to my purchase from above. The watch arrived yesterday and I couldn’t wait to see the condition of the movement and to see what the watch looked like in person. So, here it is.
























































Overall, not too bad. The case has certainly lost some chrome, but the details around the edges are still fairly crisp. That movement though, WOW!!! I was surprised at the finish and completeness of it. It does have a broken balance staff which I’ll be able to sort out. Definitely a candidate for an overhaul.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

Wow. Nice one!!! Congrats


----------



## Roman Ukraine

*Kolos







*


----------



## Ligavesh

This is supposed to be a very rare Amphibia - or the seller just made a fool of me:


----------



## Avidfan

Ligavesh said:


> This is supposed to be a very rare Amphibia - or the seller just made a fool of me:
> 
> View attachment 16943219


@dutchassasin bought a watch with this dial last year and it can be found on page 100 of this thread, now I've seen two


----------



## Ligavesh

Avidfan said:


> @dutchassasin bought a watch with this dial last year and it can be found on page 100 of this thread, now I've seen two


funny thing, the seller told me that 'some Dutch guy' had one like that, but he hadn't seen any others


----------



## Ligavesh

Arrived today from tge good ol' USA - becer thought I'd find a red (or over the years, a brownish) one especially not in such a good condition:


----------



## 979greenwich

I kept an eye on the auction. I'm glad it ended up with a F10 member.


----------



## Odessa200

979greenwich said:


> I kept an eye on the auction. I'm glad it ended up with a F10 member.


 Me too


----------



## OCSleeper

Ligavesh said:


> Arrived today from tge good ol' USA - becer thought I'd find a red (or over the years, a brownish) one especially not in such a good condition:
> 
> View attachment 16949718
> 
> View attachment 16949719
> 
> View attachment 16949717


My apologies for making you pay as much as you did Ligavesh . I wanted it, but not bad enough. My vintage Seiko collection is becoming a much more expensive hobby than the Soviet watches. Glad to see you with it! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ligavesh

OCSleeper said:


> My apologies for making you pay as much as you did Ligavesh . I wanted it, but not bad enough. My vintage Seiko collection is becoming a much more expensive hobby than the Soviet watches. Glad to see you with it!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


No worries, for old Amphiias in a good condition I bite like a Pitbull  Now ust to save mone for a NVCh-30....


----------



## LZG

This Pobeda came today. Hopefully it's not to Franken.


----------



## Odessa200

LZG said:


> This Pobeda came today. Hopefully it's not to Franken.
> 
> View attachment 16959007


Looking great and authentic. This is ‘model 27’ as far as I see it. Please share the movement photos if you have them.


----------



## jimzilla

Had a few watches I purchased from Odessa arrive today......... VERY NICE! the Slava I have been looking for a year or two.
I would suggest if you are looking for a certain watch PM him to see if he has it. I am very pleased and the prices are reasonable as well. He even threw in a couple of vintage straps and a coin.
Thanks so much Odessa .


----------



## RedFroggy

Congrats on that pair of Raketa


----------



## LZG

Odessa200 said:


> Looking great and authentic. This is ‘model 27’ as far as I see it. Please share the movement photos if you have them.


Here's that Pobeda movement. Looks legit, but missing some screws top and bottom.


----------



## Odessa200

LZG said:


> Here's that Pobeda movement. Looks legit, but missing some screws top and bottom.
> View attachment 16960850


👍👍👍


----------



## Chascomm

LZG said:


> Here's that Pobeda movement. Looks legit, but missing some screws top and bottom.
> View attachment 16960850


Whether or not case screws should be fitted depends on whether the dial fits through the front or the back of the case.


----------



## 979greenwich

This one swallow landed after a month and a half trip from Ukraine.


----------



## philippeF

I have the same, with the hands and indexes turning to a similar orange color


----------



## 979greenwich

philippeF said:


> I have the same, with the hands and indexes turning to a similar orange color


Picture?


----------



## LZG

Chascomm said:


> Whether or not case screws should be fitted depends on whether the dial fits through the front or the back of the case.


I'm kind of starting to think the screws should be there. It seems the movement is only being held it place by the stem, and if the shake my wrist like you would with an automatic watch it rattles around in the case. To really know I should try and remove the movement from the back?


----------



## OCSleeper

Still buying when I find something eye catching and at a low price. Both of these were quite inexpensive. A NOS Poljot 2414 and a loved Raketa “Plane” 2609B.


































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Odessa200

LZG said:


> I'm kind of starting to think the screws should be there. It seems the movement is only being held it place by the stem, and if the shake my wrist like you would with an automatic watch it rattles around in the case. To really know I should try and remove the movement from the back?


No, no screws in this case. Plus there is nothing to attach these screws. The movement is held in place by the back cover that has deep side border. Do you have the back fully inserted all the way?


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## Odessa200

OCSleeper said:


> Still buying when I find something eye catching and at a low price. Both of these were quite inexpensive. A NOS Poljot 2414 and a loved Raketa “Plane” 2609B.
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Poljot is my favorite in this couple  although Raketa is nice as well.


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## Chascomm

LZG said:


> I'm kind of starting to think the screws should be there. It seems the movement is only being held it place by the stem, and if the shake my wrist like you would with an automatic watch it rattles around in the case. To really know I should try and remove the movement from the back?


There seems to be a slight gap around the movement as if missing a spacer ring. Such a spacer might have tabs to brace against the case back.


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## gp20




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## philippeF

979greenwich said:


> Picture?


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## philippeF

OCSleeper said:


> Still buying when I find something eye catching and at a low price. Both of these were quite inexpensive. A NOS Poljot 2414 and a loved Raketa “Plane” 2609B.
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the Poljot is stunning !


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## 979greenwich

philippeF said:


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Different model but very very nice.


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## philippeF

979greenwich said:


> Different model but very very nice.


Is yours a white dial model or gold "faded" dial ?


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## 979greenwich

philippeF said:


> Is yours a white dial model or gold "faded" dial ?


It looks silver. I haven't seen other like it.


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## jimzilla

I had this come in a couple of days ago
It runs very well must have been serviced.


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## nezaDK

I've been looking for a 24h watch for a while now and finally found one at a decent price. Even though is came with 2020 papers it really needs a clean and some new oil.


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## OCSleeper

This set came in yesterday.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RedFroggy

OCSleeper said:


> Still buying … NOS Poljot 2414
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 Are you 100% sure it was not made yesterday ? 
waoooo…. Just waoooo….


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## Roman Ukraine

bright color of red propaganda


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## Roman Ukraine

ZIM
there is an interesting story associated with it.
despite the good condition, the mechanism was simply destroyed
balance and 3 gears are broken, the central wheel is broken into 2 parts
the legs of the dial are torn off
I have no idea how it was possible to cause such damage, but not damage the watch externally


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## OogieBoogie

.


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## LargeCrab

Been wanting a nice Zvezda tank for ages, but man they're kind of expensive. Not bad for $85. Think I will put it on a brown leather strap instead of the bund.


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## Chascomm

LargeCrab said:


> Been wanting a nice Zvezda tank for ages, but man they're kind of expensive. Not bad for $85. Think I will put it on a brown leather strap instead of the bund.
> View attachment 17020377


+1 on the brown. Brown will tone in nicely with the patina on the dial. Black would be better on a pristine dial.





  








Zvezda from State Watch Factory Uglich, 1954




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Chascomm


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Aug 27, 2017


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## Utva_56

Few weeks ago I bought CCCPTime watch. It has Seiko Nh35A movement.


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## Ligavesh

A stellar find from the German classifieds:


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## jimzilla

I had some modding parts come in today by way of Kazahstan, 2 1/2 months in shipping!.
I had some dials and hands relumed by Sergey and I cannot say enough of his talents.
Absolutely spot on work he is an artist when it comes to this and is one of best in the business. 
I recommend if you are considering a relume or custom work he is your guy 
and he is one of the nicest people you will ever talk to.

Favinov watch manufactory | Our Products


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## Chascomm

jimzilla said:


> I had some modding parts come in today by way of Kazahstan, 2 1/2 months in shipping!.
> I had some dials and hands relumed by Sergey and I cannot say enough of his talents.
> Absolutely spot on work he is an artist when it comes to this and is one of best in the business.
> I recommend if you are considering a relume or custom work he is your guy
> and he is one of the nicest people you will ever talk to.
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> View attachment 17056076
> View attachment 17056077
> View attachment 17056078
> View attachment 17056079


Nu pogodi!


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## EnjoyWatches

Super happy with my first pocketwatch: a Molnija, and what a beauty she is!


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## haha

Chascomm said:


> Nu pogodi!


Or Jen počkej, zajíce !


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## gp20

From Dnipro two days ago







:


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## RaymondVDK

Bought this beauty 
Runs amazingly smooth


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## RaymondVDK

And this smooth Poljot 3133 in very good condition


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## 979greenwich

1956 Kirova arrived, 16 mm perlon on the way. Does anyone have one like this, with lettering above the bottom numbers?


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## 979greenwich

979greenwich said:


> 1956 Kirova arrived, 16 mm perlon on the way.


That's better.


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## Odessa200

My choice for today.


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## RedFroggy

979greenwich said:


> 1956 Kirova arrived, 16 mm perlon on the way. Does anyone have one like this, with lettering above the bottom numbers?


Congrats … a beautiful « Classic » . Looks great on that perlon

I have those 4 variations, one like yours . That extra writing makes it little bit more interesting


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## Ligavesh

Ordered from Ukraine, hope it arrives. Could be a wrong case though. Whatever.


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## 979greenwich

Also ordered from Ukraine:



to replace this, for obvious reasons.



Can anyone help with the engraving?


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## Odessa200

To major Kuzmin A.I.
For participating in military training 
From commander of … military district 
1975


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## 979greenwich

Odessa200 said:


> To major Kuzmin A.I.
> For participating in military training
> From commander of … military district
> 1975


Thanks!


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