As a long term collector and restorer of Vostok watches, I couldn't help but notice a few inaccuracies in what you said here. Firstly, your Komandirskie is not Gold Plated, in fact all of the Gold Coloured ones are plated with something called titanium nitride and as with the chrome plated versions, the plating is harder than the brass beneath it, so yes it does have a nasty tendency to erode away, especially in areas where a scratch has exposed the brass to salty sweat from the wearer. You're spot on target about the transitional dial after the fall of the USSR, in fact they also began to run out of movements to put in them and I own a Komandirskie with a Slava movement fitted from new and a Amphibia with the Blue Submarine dial fitted that says Komandirskie beneath the dial but they omitted to print the number of jewels (17 Vs 31) and it remains blank in that area and of course it doesn't say USSR or Russia at the bottom edge of the dial. Yes they are rare and getting rarer but I've seen no price increase when buying any of them. That dress watch with the reddish dial has me slightly concerned about it's authenticity, it looks too new and I am beginning to see more and more Franken watches out there that do have new cases and dials (marked CCCP) and I have found a company in Ukraine that are actually selling repro dials of the originals also marked CCCP. Plus you said you bought it from a street vendor who was selling only watches. Yes the movement is original but is it marked RUS or SU this might be useful in determining it's level of authenticity but not definitely. Your Amphibia with the date complication is the 2416b movement and the one with no date complication is the 2415b movement. The Komandirskie is a 2414 movement due to it's date complication and manual wind. I hope this helps.
Vostok's are great. I have 1 amphibian watch that I take surfing, swimming, my go to watch for working around the house and has been absolutely beaten up. The dial paint on the edge has come off due to bangs and being dropped, just adds character. Still goes strong. With the bezel, I removed the chrome plating with acid revealing the brass, looks way better IMO.
Some of the old Rolex Submariners had movements that ran a 19800 bph, the same as the Vostok. Also, the Vostok Amphibia has 31 jewels the same as some Rolex movements. Vostok presumably put in the extra jewels to give them the Ten years without the need for servicing.
Never knew about the transitional Vostoks... interesting piece of history! I love my Vostoks, really accurate, tough, fits and looks good. Definitely a bargain, and I always enjoy wearing them. Thanks for sharing your collection. I look forward to seeing your vids!
I've just ordered my first Vostok, more out of curiosity than anything else, and I love something unusual. It's one of the cheapest Komandirskie's they make with a blue inner dial displaying a submarine and black outer dial with the red Soviet star. I'm going to put it on a red white and blue Nato to match the dial. Not expecting expecting special but if it's half decent I've got my eye on a khaki green field watch which I'll order next. I've got a feeling these Vostoks might become an obsession so thankful it's going to be a relatively cheap obsession. Thanks for the interesting vid 👍
Same here! Hard to find a more affordable military piece with some history (but if there is every similar vintage with history pieces feel free to let me know!) :D
Vostok seem to be upping their game I just recently bought the Amfibia Reef GMT and it is a cracking watch for $165 :-) I wholeheartedly agree that the date is a pain in the ass ,so much so that I keep my Amphia/Amfibia on a watch winder!!!!
Thank you! Vostok - is the best! Respect from Russia! Many interesting technical solutions are used in this watch (if you are interested, see my review in Russian). Sometimes the quality is not the best. But it mostly refers to the build quality. For example, before using in water, it is sometimes necessary to check that the back cover is fully screwed on. At this price, there is no other fully manufactured watch with its glorious history and original designs on the world market! Although, in my opinion, this is not the best dial design.
I've had an Amphibian with a nice black dial (no scuba guy for me) for about a month now and really enjoy it. It's unique and inexpensive for a automatic watch. Planning on getting a 2nd one. Took about 2 months to arrive...Russia, Checnia, Poland, then the US...so it took the long way here but worth the wait.
I bought a vostok komandierskie 020706 (200m and automatic) for ~80€ two years ago, and its one of my most worn watches. It looks quite classy and isn't as "loud" as some other designs, so it never really looks out of place. It is a very sturdy watch, even though i accidentally broke the movement (but it was my fault, i left it on the top of my washing machine while it ran on 1400rpm for half an hour lol, no mechanical movement would enjoy that level of vibrations i guess). I switched out the movements by using another 30m WR hand wind komandierskie i never wore. Servicing would have cost me more than using the movement from the hand wound watch which in itself only cost me around 30-40€. Still runs perfectly! It ran with an accuracy of +20sec/day, but i dropped it once and now it runs +5/sec a day :D. I guess that's how you properly adjust a vostok movement! xD
I love Vostoks. Currently, I have five: a couple Komandirskies from the transitional period, a 2005 Komandirskie that still ticks away without ever having been serviced (even if it feels a bit hard when winding / setting), a 2009 black dial scuba dude Amphibia just like your one, and a blu dial scuba dude Amphibia which I bought just a month ago. My black dial Amphibia has recently started acting up (OK, I tampered with it, replacing the hands and the gaskets, maybe this had some consequences), but, as it does not have a particular sentimental value, I might as well replace it - I can buy two of them for the price of a service! I think later in the year I will make myself a present, with a new Amphibia... The two transitionals too are in desperate need of a service, but here the convenience is even lesser (a new manual Komandirskie costs around €40 including shipping). The automatic version of the 2409 movement is labeled 2415 (the one without date) and 2416 (the one with the date). There is an interesting article on Russian codes for cases and movements here: www.netgrafik.ch/russian-codes.htm The lack of a quick date set is a royal pain in the caseback: when my new Amphibia came, it was three days forward, and I let it stop and sit there three days until the date was right, because I couldn't be bothered to roll the time forward for 28 days in a row. Vostok also makes and sells automatic Komandirskies, mainly with the 2415 or 2416 movements, but also with GMT and 24 hours versions. I have found that the online shop with the best catalogue is vostok-watches24.com (based in Moscow): it has even more models than Vostok's official outlet, meranom.com According to several sources, the original Amphibia dates back to 1967. Vostok even has a special series called "Amphibia 1967". Last: the worst aspect of Vostok is that the standard bracelet is awful. Anyway, they look great on mesh or on silicone, and the online vendors usually can also provide better straps / bracelets (Meranom even has official Vostok bracelets with signed clasp) at a fair price, so it's not a big deal.
"A royal pain in the caseback"! I like that. Thanks, as always, for the insightful comments, Luca. I kind of thought it was 1967 but I'm always hesitant to speak authoritatively unless I'm pretty sure I'm right. I purchased the newest Amphibian from Meranom but I will definitely check out the Vostok-watches24 website at my earliest convenience. As you already pointed out, it's never much of a sacrifice to make yourself a gift by adding another Vostok to the collection. And now I'm feeling a bit inspired to do some shopping. And yes; Vostok bracelets are just terrible. The absolute worst. IIRC, when I bought my transitional Scuba Dude (I used to call him the Frogman, before someone else coined the SD moniker), it didn't come with a bracelet at all. I believe just the watch head came in a small black plastic box with some tissue-thin paperwork and the end purchaser was responsible to supply their own strap or bracelet. My second Amfibia, which I bought on my first trip to Russia in 2006, came on a bracelet that seemed to be made from recycled beer cans. I've thrown every subsequent Vostok bracelet directly into the trash bin.
@@SuburbanPathfinder I remember that back in 2009-2010 everybody on Italian forums used the "Frogman" nickname. I came back to watches in 2020, and now everybody is calling it "Scuba Dude". Oh well, po-tay-to, po-tah-to. In any case, it rolls off the tongue better than "634 dial" or "059 dial"! As a matter of fact, selling just the watch head, with the possibility to buy a strap separately, would be a better idea. If I remember correctly, not only Meranom sells straps and bracelets, they can also put them on before shipping for a small fee (I can replace my straps myself, but not everyone is a tinkerer, so kudos to them for providing the service). Too bad their 18mm mesh bracelet was out of stock when I checked, Jody from JOMW says that bracelet is great, I was curious to check it out.
I have three recently bought Vostoks (one Kommandirski and two Amphibias) and one curious thing I notice about them is that when I'm wearing them and moving about, the time discrepancies are bigger than when I leave them off wrist. Right now, all three are in my watch case facing up and all three are in perfect synch and have been for the last five or so hours. Perhaps they were all set in this position on a timegrapher before they left Chistopol!
I have a no date 24 hr dial Vostok that has consistently been accurate within roughly 2 seconds and under a day using an atomic clock app. I’ve taken measurements after working all day and after it’s been on my nightstand for the night. I also have the same 24 hr Vostok with a date that is consistently 24 seconds slow a day that I want to regulate when I get a case back opener. Very cool watches though, and I get odd looks when people see the 24 hr dial.
Very nice batch of Vostock Own the "Scuba Dude" and also a "Neptune" model As I like accuracy (I'm a quartz man LOL) I regulated them (no timegrapher but instead lot of time spend) and was able to have a average of + 4 sec/day .. not bad at all :)
That isn’t bad at all. I’ve actually never tried to regulate one of my less accurate watches. I’m always afraid of making them worse. 😆 I think I’ll give it a try. I’ve got a bunch of cheap watches which could keep better time. What have I got to lose? Thanks for the feedback!
Definately gonna get a classic Vostok Amphibian scuba dude. Then hunt for a Kimmandirskie Manual hand wind. I was warned buying Vostoks might get addicting since they are extremely affordable. My sentimental favorites that I own? A vintage Kirovskie crab watch and a vintage Sturmanski Gagarin watch with thex15 jewel M41 or Sportivnie movement.
Thank you for the positive feedback! I think the best Vostok case code for a smaller wrist is probably the original 420, as found on my "Scuba Dude". It's actually quite small, by modern standards, but I think it looks fine on my 7.5" wrist. I also think the 420 is the case that's the most classically "Vostok".
Try the Vostok Kadet or Cadet, it has also been called the Dolphin. It is a 2409 movement in a much smaller case and is idea for the smaller wrist without looking at all feminine, which can be problematic with a smaller dial.
I got on this channel b/c I bought a matriarch II recently & was interested in what you had to say about the Black Talon II. Turns out I also have an interest in Russian curios & relics, & also have a box full of fairly unusual watches. I am just starting out learning to hand engrave, so I have an interest in metal finishing (surface prep/repair & polish before engraving) You said you are a semi-pro metal finisher, so I have to ask, could you point to some good learning material? Information in the engraving community is scant as most send the work out to a pro. I won't be working with that kind of budget for quite some time so I'll need to learn myself. I did find Doug Turnbull's videos from decades ago posted on the Turnbull channel here. I'd really like a good book to study if you know of one. Maybe a good forum to sift. Thanks if you see this. Cool watches.👍
Thanks for the positive feedback! Doug Turnbull is about as good a metal finisher as I've ever seen. His bone color case hardening is exquisite. Unfortunately, I don't really know of any good reference material on the subject. Everything I've learned, has come from working beside older tradesmen but mostly from trial and error. I imagine with fine engraving, the margin of error is much smaller. I know that with guns and jewelry, etc., dimensions and profiles can be quite critical and are easily destroyed. The old adage about metal being much easier to remove than "put back" is very true. We mostly work with much larger things where dimensions are not so critical: architectural features, large installation art projects, props for the entertainment industry and the like. Luckily, the metal itself is usually quite forgiving. As long as you keep the flats flat and the corners square, you can refinish a piece several times until it comes out how you like. Sometimes my boss will hand a project off to me and tell me what he's looking for and I get out my Scotchbrite pads and sponge blocks and chemicals and just start experimenting. I've had to sand finishes completely off several times to get the right effect. Often I will take a small sample of the same material to experiment with before I attack the actual piece. I've worked with carbon steel, many different stainless alloys, aluminum, brass, bronze, zinc, German silver (nickel). They all behave quite differently. I've also done a fair amount of work with other materials like polymers and Richlite but that's a whole other topic I wish I had some good reference material to point you in the direction of but I've kind of just learned by doing.
@@SuburbanPathfinder Thanks for the the response! Yeah I watched a video of an interview with Doug Turnbull & a guy from Brownells, & he said he had to trial & error his way to becoming good at it. He had the extra benefit of growing up in a gun shop & getting to see & handle a ton of firearms doing repairs etc. He says he's more of a hands on type of learner, & really doesn't like to read about how to do things. So I don't know if he'll ever put out a book to help the rest of us at least have a good idea of the basics going in, but that would be nice. I learned a lot just from the old vids he posted, which were on VHS & not available anymore. At this time I have a handful of inexpensive C&R pistols that when I get confident after working on practice plates & stuff I can find at the hardware store, & will try to strip down & polish before engraving. That will be some ways off, as I do not want to mess up even an old C&R pistol. Anyway I will keep & eye on your channel, I would love to see pics or video of life Russia when you go, if you won't get thrown in a gulag for it.
Just curious, have you been in service in Germany? Buying a Vostok in the early 90s was a typical thing to do, after the wall came down. I still have a Russian military hat wich I bought at that time. 😊 Anyway, love your channel, Greetz from (West) Germany
Nope. I was in the service in the early 90s, but not in Germany. I did, somehow, end up with a Russian wife, however. I have all kinds of goofy Russian militaria. Thanks for the positive feedback! Greetings from the USA.
It has been my experience that Vostok movements are a bit of a crap shoot. If you get a good one, they will run forever with nearly no maintenance. If you are not so lucky, they can break very quickly. Older, Soviet-era, movements tend to be very durable and reliable. New production movements can be very reliable as well but they seem to have a higher rate of failure. This is my experience from the handful of Vostok watches I have owned. Thanks for the positive feedback!
The Komandirskie isn't gold plated. It is coated with titanium nitride (TiN) ceramic. This shows a titanium nitride coating process. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qFpIyGAhZ3I.html Click on the SPECIFICATION link on the bottom of this catalog page it says titanium nitride coating: meranom.com/en/komandirskie-classic/vostok-watch-komandirskie-819072.html
@@SuburbanPathfinder Hello! Mimi kutoa wewe na video kwa ajili ya mood, kuweka Uswisi mashine ya ubora wa saa mrosto mizani -2 sec hapa mimi kuwa kwa siku 4
I love Vostok I have a few old models nothing repro or new... But I couldn't watch all this.. He tends to talk a lot.. Without actually saying anything...
Rolex should of stayed more Vostok. Sucks stupid Yupies got into them for bragging rights. The more Rolex charges the more they like it so they can Brag and Brag some more. I love Rolex still but Vostok is a gem. I love the Amphibia case, it's just next level design and the boring movement is in house so it's hard to complain.
