# Comments on the article about Amphibian design



## Vaurien (Jun 9, 2008)

I've read this article into the article section of Russian Watches.

I don't know why, I'm not allowed to post comments into the "Articles" section :-s. 
I noticed I cannot comment also other "articles", and Seele confirmed it's not allowed.

However I think the feedbacks are useful not only for the author, but for other readers too. :-!

So everyone can use this thread for commenting the Seele's article. 
Here's what I think:



Vaurien said:


> The article of Seele about Amphibia design is a great design lesson, very understandable, well written, deeply investigating the "why" of design solutions.
> 
> Thank you, Seele!
> |>|>|>


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## Silversen (May 2, 2010)

Since I knew Sam I`ve never doubted Sam`s ability to reason clearly so that anybody can understand!

This article is a perfect example of this point!
Молодец! Well done!


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Thank you Vaurien and Silversen; it's actually a bit rough, according to my own standards, and there are some points that I have left out too, as I do not have sufficient first-hand experiences to fall back on. So it is far from the last word on the subject at all!


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## Silversen (May 2, 2010)

Sammy, don't be so modest! ;-)

While working on perspective Zlatoust watch design you were the most helpful person and for sure I know what I`m talking about! :-!


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks again Silversen for your appreciation. Having graduated from what I considered the second toughest design school in Europe, I do make a distinction between design and styling, and also have an interest in product planning too. You can probably figure out that on a personal level, I am a tough consumer but then I get the good stuff for my money


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## ebrandwein (Mar 10, 2006)

*What a terrific article *

I've been swimming many times with my Amphibias. Never a problem with water at all.


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## a_godumov (Jul 1, 2009)

Great article!


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

I double that - great article Seele!


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks again gentlemen!

Ed, our resident scuba diver Marc dives with it and never a problem. It is very odd that some fanboy of "Brand I" insisted that the Amphibia is not at all water resistant, because its bezel is not uni-directional...

Edit: I have yet again tweaked the article, hope that it is not getting boring!


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## Max... (Jan 5, 2011)

I've learnt so much from this forum lately - actually printed off Seele's article earlier today to read at leisure - just saw this topic and wanted to add my thanks. Well written, well argued and very informative.


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## constantin-o-politan (Dec 25, 2008)

Thank you Seele, it has been a wonderful and concise article for who wants to know about the Soviet amphibian technology, congratulations. I do appreciate...
Constantine


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks again gentlemen! I actually would greatly appreciate further suggestions, such as the various design approaches towards the stem mechanism, raised at the old thread - which went horribly off topic!

The Amphibia was originally designed as the Type 350, using the then-current 2209 hand-wind movement, first used in the elegant Mir dress watch. Obviously, its stem only required to have limited travel: in the "pushed in" position it is for winding, in the "pulled out" position it is for setting the hands. For the Amphibia, a third position was required by the crown relative to the rest of the watch, pushing further in as the crown is screwed over the threaded stem tube. Therefore, the clutch mechanism inside the crown serves that extra purpose of offering an extra millimetres of travel for the crown, in relation to the stem. The movement can thus be totally standard, the stem has two positions, but the crown has three.

Additionally, being a hand-wind movement, if the clutch is absent, after winding the watch fully, the crown cannot be turned any further, so it would also be impossible for it to be screwed over the threaded stem tube. Naturally, a special version of the movement with different keyless works could have been made only for the Amphibia, but it would cause havoc at the movement production department!

Not having the opportunity to examine enough dive watches of the same period, I cannot say for certain how the other manufacturers handled this problem, and that is why I left this issue out of the article.

It would be very interesting, and instructive, to see how the other dive watches solve this issue, and then compare their solutions against the Amphibia approach.


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

I have added further information on the choice of crystal material, and why a glass crystal could have been a terrible idea


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## peacemaker885 (Dec 25, 2009)

Just read this article and everything makes perfect sense. Thanks for the very nice and informative piece. One very interesting watch is the MKII LRRP Dive GMT. It appears to use the same caseback design as the Amphibia. As we all know, a lot of MKII's peices are tributes to vintage designs. I wonder which watch, if any this design came from....

** Correction ** It just appears, apparently, like a two piece design, but may be a single caseback like the usual diver. I can't confirm since I don't have one  But from the pictures, it looks like the Amphibia's.


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## OKEAH (May 13, 2006)

Comrade Seele, your article is extremely informative! One comment. Initially the type 350 with swing lugs had some kind of "glass" crystal, probably mineral, and not acrylic. I do not know when the switch occurred


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Peacemaker885,

I also noticed the caseback of the MKII models, and by the appearance of the watch with the case off, I cannot see an obvious key and keyway mechanism to keep the caseback from rotating, if it is indeed of two-piece construction. The picture of the caseback in situ on the site also shows the engravings on the caseback slightly askew. If it is indeed a two-piece caseback with key and keyway mechanism, the engravings would stay straight. So it may or may not be a two-piece, but if it is, it is quite doubtful if a key and keyway arrangement had been implemented which is one of the essential factors in the Amphibia design.

OKEAH,

Thanks for the tip, I would not be at all surprised if they experimented with mineral crystals first, and then quickly abandoned it.


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## peacemaker885 (Dec 25, 2009)

Seele said:


> Peacemaker885,
> 
> I also noticed the caseback of the MKII models, and by the appearance of the watch with the case off, I cannot see an obvious key and keyway mechanism to keep the caseback from rotating, if it is indeed of two-piece construction....


You hit it right there! Thanks Sir! Just gotta love the functionality of this design...


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

One more comment - the Russian engineering design (not only in watches) is maybe most influenced by the constrains of the production and maintenance. Soviet Russia was not famous with precise production or good after-sales service. This led to the extreme simplicity and robustness of the products by design, which I personally admire a lot


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Sci,

A good point indeed! However, it comes down to how the collective society sees design as well. Say for example, weaponry design in the 30s, towards WWII. The Germans worked hard to pull its industries from the "cheap and nasty" public perception up to around the 1920s by using good design: designers like Peter Behrens and the Bauhaus crew did a lot to achieve that goal, and within a decade Germany became known as producer of well-designed products of good quality. In that sense the German psyche got fixed in a sense that, good design can achieve pretty much anything, so the war machineries from small arms to tanks were very well designed - for something designed in an ivory tower - but not really practical.

The Russians, on the other hand, did not go through an industrial revolution naturally; it was pretty much dumped in at the deep end, in a sink-or-swim scenario. So, design became something totally functional and integral to the end product: the Russian war machineries were not pretty and polished as their german counterparts but when the chips were down, they worked much better. Even if you give the Russians the most sophisticated and precise machine tools for manufacture, the designers' mentality would not be significantly changed, I believe.


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## nht (Jul 15, 2007)

Fantastic article, Sam ! |>

Thanks !


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## OKEAH (May 13, 2006)

I agree! Another factor that influenced Soviet post-war design was the absence of the profit motive, so there is less need to create flashy products but more emphasis on functionality.


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## DragonAce (Sep 13, 2010)

great article!!! thank you!!!

(please pm the material that the case is built because i cant find a 100% sure source, s. steel or brass like kommadirskie? thank you again)


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## DM71 (Feb 6, 2009)

Thank you very much for such a well explained article. It completely changed my vision of this humble divers watch and you managed to make me even more excited about the one I have incoming. Lot of work and details that makes your post one of the most informative and interesting I have read in a while...

Thanks again for taking the time to put all this together, very well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

Gentlemen, thanks again for your appreciation.

DragonAce, the Amphibia is definitely of steel construction, but there have been reports saying some examples were found with chromed brass cases. In a situation like this, tracking such an example's provenance becomes greatly important. Examine in detail its features to see if it has any indication of its being a Komandirskie in the past, what makes it seems like an Amphibia, chain of custody, etc, so as to determine if it actually left the factory in that form. Otherwise we have to discount the suggestions that some Amphibias were made in brass cases. Besides, it is very easy to swap out certain parts after all.

Daniel, I am glad that you have a greater appreciation of what I consider as good design. The point is: it is easier to impress with superficial bells and whistles, than good design! In fact the new generation of Vostok Amfibia watches (with "F" rather than "PH") goes some way to address to this situation, and with higher prices to give the prospective customers better perceived quality. Whichever way, I suspect I have helped to foster a generation of Vostok evangelists who help to promote and champion good design, and that's not a bad thing, if it goes some small way to help a company worthy of support, rather than some who are much less so!


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## TheJohnB (Feb 24, 2009)

Wow that is just amazing, thank you for writing that!!!!

Excellent work, information, and writing skills!


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## DragonAce (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanx again Seele, i hope to find out even if its difficult for me to examine the watches' provenance


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## pmwas (Aug 20, 2010)

Oh, fine, very fine :-!. Just where is Edox Delfin??? According to Edox, the very first 20ATM watch 

A quite early one:


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

pmwas said:


> Oh, fine, very fine :-!. Just where is Edox Delfin??? According to Edox, the very first 20ATM watch


I don't think Vostok or anyone else claims, that Amphibia is the first 20ATM watch. The article of Seele just shows that Vostok bring unique technical solutions to resolve the 20ATM task.


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## pmwas (Aug 20, 2010)

Of course . But in such presentation, with a few waterproof watches shown, this one is also worth showing. First watch with double seals and 20ATM resistance. I just wanted to, sort of, supplement the topic


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry, didn't get your intention


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## captain kid (Jan 6, 2010)

Nice read!
I will look at my Amphibia different from now on.


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## WhoKnowsWho (Jun 9, 2010)

You enlightened me greatly regarding the Amphibia. Thanks for the writeup.


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## lysanderxiii (Oct 4, 2006)

Seele said:


> Thanks again gentlemen! I actually would greatly appreciate further suggestions, such as the various design approaches towards the stem mechanism, raised at the old thread - which went horribly off topic!
> 
> The Amphibia was originally designed as the Type 350, using the then-current 2209 hand-wind movement, first used in the elegant Mir dress watch. Obviously, its stem only required to have limited travel: in the "pushed in" position it is for winding, in the "pulled out" position it is for setting the hands. For the Amphibia, a third position was required by the crown relative to the rest of the watch, pushing further in as the crown is screwed over the threaded stem tube. Therefore, the clutch mechanism inside the crown serves that extra purpose of offering an extra millimetres of travel for the crown, in relation to the stem. The movement can thus be totally standard, the stem has two positions, but the crown has three.
> 
> ...


All watches use a standard keyless works for the movement and tackle the requirement fo screwing down via the crown design.

The first of these pictures shows the crown in the unscrewed and in the time setting position, what you cannot see in these drawings is the square section of the telescoping post that slides in a square hole in the fixed post. when the telescoping post is pushed in the lower portion is round so it allows the stem to turn relative to the crown. all of these design are typical of crwon designs from the 1960 through the present. (Drawings are not to scale.)

Internally threaded crown (typical Swiss )









Externally threaded crown (typical Swiss)









The way Vostoks do their crowns (they don't detach from the stem)


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

lysanderxiii, I am so glad that you came in to add to our understanding. I hope it would be alright for me to add the drawings to the article in due course, as it would be a great opportunity for me to revise it. Thank you!


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## Loxodrom (Oct 31, 2010)

The vostok on my wrist seems even more profound than before!


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## OKEAH (May 13, 2006)

Seele said:


> ...
> the Amphibia is definitely of steel construction, but there have been reports saying some examples were found with chromed brass cases....
> 
> ...


Comrade Seele, I actually have a brass tonneau Amphibia with a strange black or dark grey coating. Here is an old thread about it:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f10/real-black-pvd-soviet-amphibiya-20371.html


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

That is quite intriguing indeed. A likely scenario is that, Vostok wanted to try a black finish case and it was easier to apply a black surface finish to a brass substrate rather than steel, so it could be one of an experimental batch they made.

Other companies also used black coated brass cases without using the costly PVD process. Raketa's black chrome is well known, and Zaria also used black-finished chrome cases too but the coating can wear through relatively quickly. Vostok could have noticed how poorly the black coating wore through, especially at the edges and ridges, so they abandoned this experiment.


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## russamys (Dec 20, 2010)

Loxodrom said:


> The vostok on my wrist seems even more profound than before!


That is the case every time I look at the Scuba Dude. I am amazed how so much technology and quality can be packed into a $60 package!


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## Argon (Apr 14, 2009)

I've just read this excellent and highly informative article. Thank you so much Seele for putting it together |>.


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## unwatched (Mar 11, 2008)

Why do I suddenly feel that I must take scuba-diving lessons in order to justify my ownership of the Amphibia??


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## LGH (May 24, 2010)

unwatched said:


> Why do I suddenly feel that I must take scuba-diving lessons in order to justify my ownership of the Amphibia??


You don't need it to justify your Amphibia, but everyone should take diving lessons anyhow! It is an extremely rewarding hobby, and one that led me to becoming interested in watches too (but you already have got that covered!).


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## N8N (Jun 17, 2011)

Just came across this article... never having handled or seen in person an Amphibia I had always considered them interesting watches but never pulled the trigger on one despite the low price - I guess I considered them more of a curiosity more than anything, with dials that often expressed a different sense of style than a typical westerner would consider classy or functional. After reading the article, I think there's definitely a "scuba dude" in my near future... the explanation of the caseback design and crystal pretty much sold me, I have to have one! I still love my GSAR and wouldn't mind having a Rolex Oyster or Doxa someday (but probably won't, 'cause I'm chea^H^H^H^Hfrugal) but now that I've seen this design critique I can see that the Vostok designers came up with a different yet equally functional - and arguably more elegant - solution to the same problem, and one that is orders of magnitude more affordable than the traditional Swiss dive watches.

Edit: as for the caseback gasket "bounce back" - wonder why they didn't think to tighten down the ring while the watch was being pressure tested? Or did they not pressure test the watches? that would seem to be the simplest solution to the issue, although obviously an improved rubber is also a Good Thing.


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

N8N,

Thank you for your kind comments; I appreciate it greatly.

Regarding the gasket bounce back, this is also another indication of the cleverness of the design. The idea of pressure testing is to see if an assembled watch has any part which is faulty, or not correctly installed, making it less resistant against water ingress. Say for instance, the more common one-piece screw-down caseback offers water resistance if the thin O-ring is not crunched up when it was screwed down, but there is no way of telling (unless you are Superman with X-ray vision to see the O-ring under the metal), except by performing a pressure test: if the watch fails the pressure test you're going to have a pretty scary repair bill.

I feel sure that Novikov and Belova must have thought of that, and made the design inherently water resistant as long as it was properly assembled. In other words, the design makes pressure testing superfluous. By spending efforts in developing the sintered rubber technology as a one-time investment, the benefits flow down the line to the customer as well: he would have the assurance that the watch is indeed water resistance to a high degree without the need (and possible downfall) of pressure testing, and the repairer would not have to invest in the equipment for conducting this test.

The Amphibia was indeed tested vigorously by actual deep sea divers and they passed the tests easily. For the most of us, it's got to be way more than "good enough".


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## blueseamonkey (Aug 20, 2011)

Excellent article. I'd already chosen an Amphibian as my first decent watch, mainly because it's affordable, reliable, sturdy and waterproof, but also because I liked the style. I'm currently waiting for it to arrive in the post. After paying for it on Ebay I was a little anxious to find a few negative remarks online about the design, but after reading this article I am MUCH happier with my choice, (even more than I was _before_ reading the bad comments.) 
I'd far rather have an underappreciated, unique design classic on my arm than an overrated, overpriced fashionable piece.

But the article was good enough that I would have enjoyed reading it even if I hadn't just bought the watch!


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

blueseamonkey,

Thanks for your appreciation.

While I do not deliberately seek out other people's opinions as a way to justify my admittedly informed choices, I have a feeling about how some people don't "get" the Amphibia design. More than often there are those who insist that anything other than sapphire crystal has to be inherently bad, but when I ask them about things like hardness vs. toughness, structural stresses, etc, I get blank stares!


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## williepete (Aug 4, 2011)

I only recently read this. As an engineer and a diver, I can definitely appreciate the design paradigm detailed in this excellent exposition. Sometimes less truly is more. Even more reason to like this unique watch, in addition to its undeniable cool factor ;o). Thanks for putting the work into this.


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## Karamazov (Aug 19, 2011)

Tov. Seele

Kudos for this thorough article. While I was reading it, I've looked at my Amphibia Tonnau on her olive Nato strap thinking - "well I've always thought you're a real beauty but now I know you've got brains as well". .!

Indeed, a great job Comrade!

Tov. Karamazov


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## bluz4allah (Dec 31, 2011)

I was going to sell a Vostock Amphibian that I recently acquired but after reading this fabulous and informative article I cannot sell such a work of art! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.


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## wood (Dec 3, 2011)

Great seele!

Fantastic article!|>

"The king of wobbly crowns"

wood


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## M. Wiese (Feb 29, 2012)

Fantastic article! I have my eye on an Amphibia on ebay. I was going to wait until next week to get it, but after reading this, I'm too excited to wait. 

Seele, your distinction between styling and design is indeed profound, and it has me thinking about this dichotomy in other areas. 

Also, your insightful article has me wondering: what other watch brands/models do you see as an example of a design triumph?


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## JRMTactical (May 4, 2011)

M. Wiese said:


> Fantastic article! I have my eye on an Amphibia on ebay. I was going to wait until next week to get it, but after reading this, I'm too excited to wait.
> 
> _Seele, your distinction between styling and design is indeed *profound*, and it has me thinking about this dichotomy in other areas._
> 
> Also, your insightful article has me wondering: what other watch brands/models do you see as an example of a design triumph?


Oh no.....You're going to make Sam's head swell so big that he will not be able to pass through normal doors..... :-d :-d :-d


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

JRMTactical,

Funny you should say that, my head is naturally big and I have huge problems finding hats that fit, you can imagine how my spectacle frames have to be modified to fit... unpleasant!

M. Wiese,

In a previous life I was a designer, and finding work was a bit difficult because many half-baked stylists call themselves designers, that gave designers a bad reputation for not being able to solve design problems!

Jonathan Ives' work for Apple are all known to be examples of good design, although most people only look at the outside and merely think "they look pretty" and stop at that. For example, the "El Capitan" case for the PowerMac G3 and G4 towers. They have integral handles at the top for easy transportation, and by lifting one finger catch, the whole side folds down like a drawbridge, revealing the logic board (motherboard to PC users) attached to the inside of the side itself, allowing easy access: installing PCI cards, changing battery etc would be very easy and there's no need to remove screws. I feel that all his works for Apple are worthy of analysis, especially when put in their context against the background of contemporary PCs, whose idea of design was to shape the front plastic panel of standard cases.

In the watch circle I do not have extensive and prolonged experiences with many to evaluate their design merits. But the Casio G-Shock MTG-700SC-2JF might be an example: as a tool watch it has a deeply recessed crystal which makes it well protected against accidental contact causing it to get scratched, and the lack of other structures on top of the crystal makes it easy to clean, thus staying more legible. That said, it is merely one design feature which is noteworthy!


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## JRMTactical (May 4, 2011)

No harm meant, Sam....my noggin' ain't too small!! 



Seele said:


> JRMTactical,
> 
> Funny you should say that, my head is naturally big and I have huge problems finding hats that fit, you can imagine how my spectacle frames have to be modified to fit... unpleasant!
> 
> ...


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## DolleDolf (Mar 29, 2012)

Terrific article on the amphibians. I have a few in my basket on ebay as we speak!
Big head here as well. 62cm. Always had trouble with hats and (motor cycle) helmets. 
Kangol flat caps with the elastic band fit best. The old 504 type, look good too. And Kiwi and Shoei motorcycle helmets. YMMV


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## Colin63 (Mar 10, 2010)

I just read this article yesterday and found it very interesting. So much so that I ordered a 2nd Amphibia that I intend to be my go to watch for swimming on holiday.


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## NH102.22 (Nov 10, 2011)

Great article. Vostoks will always have a place in my collection.


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## jrpippen (May 5, 2009)

Great article, thanks.


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## Jaymo (Dec 5, 2012)

Just now finding the article. Great info. Thanks.
On the subject of huge heads. I wear a size 7-3/4 hat, myself. Definitely makes finding safety glasses, sunglasses, and reading glasses that fit-well, a bit of a hassle.


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## cambrid (Jan 18, 2011)

After reading Seele's brilliant explanation of the ingenious Russian technological innovations, this ignorant piece by the "Watch Snob" made me a bit angry.




WatchSnob said:


> If you're looking for a reminder of why the Soviet Union collapsed, buy a Vostok. It is the horological equivalent to a Lada automobile, and that is not a compliment. In the company's heyday of the 1960s and '70s, a Vostok was the best watch you could get inside the USSR, but that's not saying much. Designed and manufactured in-house? Sure, under threat of a long sentence in a gulag.





WatchSnob said:


> Other than a recent bankruptcy filing, little has changed for Vostok since it was building watches for the Red Army, and, while I have a respect for the history of watchmaking, cheaply made, wildly inaccurate movements should have been the first things to go after the Wall came down. Look at what the brands in Glashütte were able to do after the Cold War ended. The stamped metal rotors and unadjusted movements were melted down for scrap and pride restored for East German watchmaking tradition.
> 
> Unique and rugged? Yes. Just don't rely on it to get you to your film sets on time for work. For that, you'd better keep your Seiko around
> 
> Read more: Vostok Watches - AskMen


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## Jaymo (Dec 5, 2012)

How can any watch snob recommend a Seiko? It's not Swiss or grossly overpriced. I'm a fan of Vostok, as well as Seiko and Orient. 
My Vostok must be defective, because it keeps time every bit as well as my Seiko and Orient. 
Garbage, indeed. Where's the middle finger emoticon? I think WatchSnob deserves one. 
I think I'll buy a few more Vostoks, just because WatchSnob doesn't like them. That, and the fact that I like them a lot.


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## JonS1967 (Jan 2, 2013)

Great article, Seele! You gave me a whole new apprecaitation for my vintage Komandirskie and it inspired me to order an Amphibia for my new "swimming" watch.



Seele said:


> blueseamonkey,
> 
> ... More than often there are those who insist that anything other than sapphire crystal has to be inherently bad, but when I ask them about things like hardness vs. toughness, structural stresses, etc, I get blank stares!


I've had a Moonwatch for 13 years and have always appreciated the Hesalite (plexiglass) crystal from an aesthetic and durability standpoint. To me plexiglass makes more sense than a material like synthetic sapphire that can shatter if dropped. 

Aside from being inspired to buy an Amphibia, your article leaves me wondering why other watch companies haven't adopted the Amphibia's ingenious case back design.


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## Oliverb (Aug 21, 2012)

Bulova, for one, has used the two piece case back since at least the 1950s, if not longer. Many manufacturers have used plexi crystals and screw-down crowns for decades. Virtually all Bulova Accutron tuning fork watches produced between 1960 - 1977 had two-piece case backs and plexi crystals. My new Vostok Amfibia Scuba has a glass crystal and screw-down crown yet is still rated to 200 m. However, two of my new Vostoks have glass crystals, two-piece case backs, screw-down crowns and glass crystals but are not rated as water resistant as the others. My new Bulova Precisionist has a glass crystal, two-piece case back and screw-down crown and is rated to 300 m. These design features are not new in watch design and production and, IMHO, were not new decades ago.


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

I am aware that Bulova might have used the two-piece back earlier than Vostok - and perhaps the other Russian makers, I am not totally convinced that Bulova's aim was to offer superior water resistance for giving the gasket compression loading only; in fact most of the vintage Bulovas with this feature were dress watches without any aspiration for being a professional diver, so it could have been a bit of an overkill there. Vostok's strength is the appropriate use of technologies and design features to do a job properly, that I feel is a realistic approach.


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## JonS1967 (Jan 2, 2013)

I didn't know Bulova used the two-piece back. Thank you for shedding light in that.


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## badger47 (Sep 5, 2012)

Fascinating and informative article.


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## anirudhkitt (Nov 7, 2009)

Sorry but some of the image links in the article (stem section) are not showing up for me. Is it a browser issue or the image links broken. Cant believe i missed this thread till now. 

Hoping i can see the pictures of the stem design.


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## andrewm7 (Feb 10, 2013)

Thank you so much for posting these insights into the design process Seele, I find them very interesting! I personally prefer the Vostok's function and reliability driven focus in designing the Amphibia to other company's more marketing driven focus.
I wish that Vostok would include a simple multi language instruction sheet with their watches however; I really think that owners would respond more positively to the watch if they knew that the wobble crown did not mean that the watch was broken or poorly assembled.


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

anirudhkitt said:


> Sorry but some of the image links in the article (stem section) are not showing up for me. Is it a browser issue or the image links broken. Cant believe i missed this thread till now.
> 
> Hoping i can see the pictures of the stem design.


Hmm... these pictures were directly linked from member lysanderxiii's photo album site, which seems to have gone under; that explains why they are not around anymore.


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## stratg5 (Jun 23, 2013)

I know I'm kinda late to the party but are there any watches similar in ingenuity to the amphibia? I'm concerned that vostok will go out of business and there will but no more creative watches left. Sure seiko and citizen are relieable, but they don't have the same soul and ingenuity and cost efficiency, at least in my opinion.


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## OCDood (Mar 12, 2013)

JonS1967 said:


> I didn't know Bulova used the two-piece back. Thank you for shedding light in that.


I have 3 Bulova Watertite watches from the 50's with a screwback case, one has a ring locking setup like a Vostok, the other 2 just crank down:



























Bulova automatic with Vostok type ring lockdown system

According to mybulova.com, the automatic movement type indicates it was only used in 1954, but they also show one in a 1952 vintage watch. However, the dial matches my 1951 Watertite, so go figure.


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## Seele (Jan 9, 2010)

stratg5,

Vostok is not going away in the foreseeable future, so there is nothing to worry about. While SAAB cars are no longer being built, it does not mean all the SAAB cars on the road have blown themselves up to bits!


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## stadiou (Jun 1, 2013)

Fascinating...but that's what I expect of Russian watch design.


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## smuggled_sheep (Dec 13, 2013)

sci said:


> One more comment - the Russian engineering design (not only in watches) is maybe most influenced by the constrains of the production and maintenance. Soviet Russia was not famous with precise production or good after-sales service. This led to the extreme simplicity and robustness of the products by design, which I personally admire a lot


+1. Agree with you sir.

Maybe thats why they don't bother much about good after sales service because they're confident with the reliability and robustness of their products.:-d


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## Perdendosi (May 10, 2012)

Ak! Some pictures are missing from the Design Analysis thread!


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## msp1518 (Oct 27, 2009)

Terrific article, but the missing pictures should be replaced.


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## James_ (Sep 5, 2011)

I've had that article bookmarked for about a year, just for the sake of it. Love the Vostok design and history.


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## stadiou (Jun 1, 2013)

smuggled_sheep said:


> +1. Agree with you sir.
> 
> Maybe thats why they don't bother much about good after sales service because they're confident with the reliability and robustness of their products.:-d


Just think of the Raketa 2609 - must be just about the most durable, reliable movement out there. Borders on the indestructible.


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## JValjean (Jun 12, 2021)

Necropost, I know, but damn, that was an amazing article! Major props to the OP. I've never been super drawn to the amphibia, but now it is definitely in my watchlist. I need to find the best place to get one of them in the EU.


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