The Vostok Amphibia: Failure or Fabulous? 

Links to the Amphibia watch in the video, and others I like: Frogman watch (featured) amzn.to/38hkZXq Frogman with Orange nylon strap amzn.to/2PDNE0z New Amfibia Design Scuba Series amzn.to/2s3AXUt Bill Murray "Life Aquatic" model amzn.to/2s4fPO3 Traditional large case model amzn.to/2YrbhNM As an Amazon Associate I earn from a qualifying purchase _______ Photo Credits A port bow view of a Soviet Papa class cruise missile submarine underway. Public Domain: ''Released to Public''' *ID: DN-SN-87-04292 *Service Depicted: Other Service *A port bow view of a Soviet Papa class cruise missile submarine underway. *Date Shot: 10 Mar 1987 [[Ca Vostok, by TigerPaw2154 at English Wikipedia, public domain Georgy Grechko stamp, public domain, Русский: Почтовая марка СССР 1975 года. Космические корабли «Союз-17» «Салют-4». Космонавты Губарев и Гречко. ЦФА #4446 Georgy Grechko, Космонавты СССР Романенко и Гречко. This work is not an object of copyright according to article 1259 of Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation No. 230-FZ of December 18, 2006. Shall not be objects of copyright: official documents of state government agencies and local government agencies of municipal formations, including laws, other legal texts, judicial decisions, other materials of legislative, administrative and judicial character, official documents of international organizations, as well as their official translation. The Fabs, United Press International (UPI Telephoto)Cropping and retouching: User:Indopug and User:Misterweiss [Public domain] Woodstock_redmond_stage. Derek Redmond and Paul Campbell [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)] Plant management CHZZ.JPG, by Gryzunov Andrey Evgenievich, There is permission to copy, distribute and / or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (version 1.2 or later), published by the Free Software Foundation , without immutable sections, without texts placed on the first and last cover. Cool Hand Luke 3: Warner Bros. Entertainment [Public domain] Cool Hand Luke 2: Warner Bros. Entertainment [Public domain] Soviet Naval Infantrymen: US Dept. of Defence [Public domain] KFRC_Fantasy_Fair_Dryden_Balin_Kantner. Bryan Costales ©2009 Bryan Costales, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] Christiaan_Barnard_1969.jpg Mario De Biasi (Mondadori Publishers) [Public domain] Ggerdel - Buceador y camarógrafo: Gustavo Gerdel [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] Russian space photos retrieved from: www.roscosmos.ru/309/. Text, photo, audio and video materials (hereinafter referred to as media materials) of Roscosmos are available for free use and distribution for purposes that do not imply direct or indirect commercial or political benefits. NASA space images retrived from: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/multimedia/index.html. NASA content used in a factual manner that does not imply endorsement may be used without needing explicit permission. Frogmen Exercise: Mil.ru [CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)] Hero of the USSR Gold Star: Fdutil [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

I'm Russian, and I wanted to buy amphibia, and this is one of the best reviews, that I ever looked!

Here is the true story. My dad found an Amphibia watch on the seafloor while diving in early 90ies(I'm not sure how deep he went, I don' think deeper than 10m). There was an engraving on it's case "To Oleg we wish seven feet under keel. 1985" He picked it up, cleaned it up, wound it up and it worked! And it still works in 2020! Now it is our family heirloom, which I'll pass to my grandchildren.

I spoke several years ago with a watchmaker who worked for Vostok for some time before coming to the US. I asked him his overall assessment of the watch. He stared off into space for a moment then smiled at me and said "I was thinking of how to say 'POS' in Russian." He went on to say that the watches did a good job of meeting the government's requirements while costing almost nothing to manufacture. I said, "I suppose you had a huge repair department." He replied, "No, we never repaired them. When a watch was sent in for service, we just tossed the movement in the garbage and put in a new one. Or, if we were rushed, we tossed the whole watch and sent out a new one." My final question had to do with the Vostok reputation for reliability. He explained that most watches, regardless of brand, fail because of lubrication issues and dirt. Their approach, at least during the years he worked there, was to make the tolerances so loose that the movements would keep running even when dry or gunked up. Unfortunately, those sloppy tolerances made them pretty inaccurate. For all his criticisms, he was a fan of the brand and owned quite a collection. His final assessment was, "They're like Timex. They take a licking and keep on ticking."

I'm a former US Submarine Sailor. We were always watching for crazy Ivan in his Submarine. Today I bought the Submarine Commander's version. It has the sub with the Red Star on it's sail. Love that - it's an homage to my wild youth on Submarines.

This is basically the AK-47 of watches

Made from tractor parts, performs like a sports car. Love mine.

I don't dive much with my amphibia (nobody actually uses a watch to time dives anymore with modern dive computers) but I do use the bezel a lot as a paramedic. I use it to time how long I've been running a code, how long a seizure has been going, drip rates for IV's, length of rescue extractions, etc. And even doing 45-180 minutes of CPR, I've never had the bezel dislodge time. I like the two way nature of it, since when I'm in a hurry to set it, I often overshoot on my one way bezels.

I own and wear my Amphibia for over 20 years now, not serviced once, taken to diving, flying, yachting.... At the time it´s been some cheap fun to buy it, but in the meantime it´s one of my favorites, not giving in, not giving up. I need to set it every 3-4 days depending on environment. I LOVE MY AMPHIBIA💖, I´d buy another one anytime. Anyone who want´s ultimate precision may be recommended a quartz watch or his smartphone, PC, car-clock.... you get the point. Thanks for giving credit to this tough little fellows, worth EVERY Cent spend. ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻 p.s. You actually CAN "hack" the Movement, by applying some gentle "back-pressure" in reverse direction to the crown in setting position, which causes the movement to stop. If more torque is applied to the crown and stem, the hands will of course turn backwards, even allowing the "fast set date" by rotating back to 9 pm and forward again to midnight to make the calendar switch to next day. This is part of the manual (if anyone intends to read it😊)

I have always wanted a mechanical watch, but newer knew I could afford one, I always just assumed that interesting watch has to be expensive. I got my Amphibia few weeks ago thanks to your video. The watch is everything I could hope for. Thank you so much! (I would highly recommend to anyone to get one, it's such a wholesome thing. If you don't like original bezel or bracelet there is entire range of cheap and cool replacements, you can replace them yourself quite easily, no need to bother with watch-repair shops)

I must have more than twenty Amphibias and some forty Vostok Komandirskies, most bought in eBay and a few in Ukraine and Russia. I just love them. My experience is that they are actually very accurate when brand new, being about 3 to 8 seconds fast per day. A couple of years later, once the already poor quality oil starts to dry, they became much more erratic. But just have them cleaned and this will solve the problem. I never had to have a brand new Amphibia calibrated for better accuracy, unlike some Swiss watches. I had to have my Longines and my Omega Speedmaster calibrated weeks after the purchase, because these expensive watches kept doing more than 20 seconds per day. That is unacceptable. Same with my Rolex Submariner purchased new, which actually ran out of COSC specifications! (It was calibrated and only then it did became outstandingly accurate) So much for Swiss watches. To set the date you must turn the hands back and forth repeatedly between 10 and 1; that is fast enough. Regarding the bracelet, it is indeed horrible. Cheap, very poorly finished and very prone to bending. But I strive to keep it, since it is the original, with the Boctok clasp. Pulling the pins out and in again is a nightmare, and a few just refuse to come out, period. If you insist you will ruin the link. The end links usually come with a huge gap to the watch case, and either you disregard this - but it is ugly and noisy - or you patiently adjust them with a pair of pliers, tightening their back wings. In all, all Vostok watches are great. Very affordable, reliable, pretty accurate, and you can easily learn how to swap a movement with its dial to another compatible watch case in case of need. Regarding the bezel, be advised that in case you need to replace it, it is quite easy to remove but exceedingly difficult to reassemble. Buy a few Amphibias, you will be well served!

The Amphibia is a watch from the 60s, in that time friction bezels, acrylic crystal and scarce lume was common on Swiss watches like the Rolex Submariner who didn't receive sapphire until the late 80s if I remember correctly. Regarding timekeeping you can regulate to decent level.

Thank you for documenting this great watch. You absolutely did it justice. Vostok deserves recognition and praise for its role in horological history. My Vostok watches mean more to me than another other watch I have ever owned, including Rolex, Omega, Breitling or Panerai. Excellent content!

Ordered my 1st Vostok now. My grandpa had Vostok watches, he wore them when we went fishing when I was young. So lots of memories related to this watches.

That's amazing - the chance to put something so historical and remarkable on your arm for so little cost. Thank you for your research.

I've used my amphibia while ice swimming in -30c weather and in a 120c sauna and it still works. Even after going from the said sauna directly to ice swimming.

I love my Scuba Dude, a birthday gift from my wife. I got it in June of this year and I wear it almost every day. I get positive comments and questions a lot, so it's fun to tell it's story.

I have 4 Vostok's between Komandirksie and Amphia's, I love that you can calibrate the movement and make timing near perfect like a swiss watch! Thank you for sharing!

I own the "green wave" 150348, and I love it. I got VERY lucky adjusting the accuracy. In all conditions it averages only +2-3 seconds/day. Since I got it I have worn a black nato and a black rubber strap, but recently went back to the original metal bracelet. I find the criticism of the bracelet overstated. I have no issues with it, and am enjoying it a lot. GREAT video, thank you.

Just stumbled on this video and really enjoyed it. I bought a Vostok a few months ago and I really like it. It’s hard not to fall in love with them, provided you can accept their idiosyncrasies and foibles. They’re basically the anti-luxury watch brand. They’re design language is just so full of individual personality in a world of cookie cutter, play it safe designs (not that there’s anything wrong with that of course). For the designers and watchmakers to be able to come up with something so rugged and reliable under what was probably less than ideal conditions/funding/equipment and a pretty inflexible design brief is remarkable. And they’re still making them today! Considering their history and unique designs Vostok is surely one of the best bargains in all of watches.

I’ve been researching this watch for months now to add to my collection. I thank you, you have made my decision, fairly easy to make. Keep up the great content.

I love the “space video” at the end. I wasn’t expecting that.

I had a Tank Commander's model which I paid only $39.50 for in 1980. One of my "friends" decided he liked it more than I did and purloined it. Did I know who there would have been a proper tune up. Now I have three Vostok- Europe models which I really like. And next year I plan to get one of those huge Russian Divers which comes via Neramon at around $500.00 and ships with all original documents, all in Cyrillic!. Great review!

Just found your channel. Solid reviews and down to earth intellectual honesty. Liked and subscribed.

So happy that I found your channel! Wonderful, informative, and accessible and presented in a charismatic, engaging manner.

An absolute must have for any collection. The workhorse for the price is unmatched

This video is my favorite of all that talks about Vostok ; you give this brand the credits it deserves. Thank you very much for your work.

I love my over dozen Vostok Amphibias, mostly post 2018, and a couple 1980's Soviet made. The bracelet clasp can be made more comfortable by filling or sanding the edges of the stamped steel. I love the high polish light weight bracelet on 710 case. I've regulated a couple of mine to ±2 sec/day variation hitting bang on four days in a row. I like the bezels, no click is easier to mass produce and keeps the price of the watch down.

In Soviet Russia, the watch winds you.

I love those watches.. still love them since 1985 when they came in italy.. applause ... very nice video ..

I have owned an amphibian SE 710B35S for over a year and love it . It dead accurate at 0 seconds for weeks at a time. No lie! 0 seconds. The polished hour markers make it look incredible! This watch is not a toy! It’s the real deal! Great value as well!

Really great from you to share my country's history and craftsmanship with the world, thanks!

Thanks for sharing the history of Boctok watches. It was interesting to learn about.

When I see a video like this, I can't understand how people would spend big money on some designerwatch where the manufacturer buys some movement, sticks a bit of glitter and their name on it and people spend thousands on that shite. I love watches that have been made by proper watchmakers, who know their craft and can fully stand behind their product.

Excellent Overview Comrade!

Love the channel. I just discovered this watch (late I know) but I’ve been looking into other brands that have deep history and unique design that may (may not) increase in value because of their history later on in the future, and I believe that this watch is one kind that will. I love your review. You gave credit and didn’t disrespect the watch in-spite if it’s imperfections. I want to have at least one of these watches in my inventory, and I think I’m going to get one. I’m an invocation guy, but as a watch enthusiast, history is a major part of my collection. Thanks so much!! Love the channel!! Keep reviewing and teaching.

I have the exact same scuba dude and love it more than some of my more expensive watches. Such a fun rugged design that looks great on a navy blue nato.

The Vostok is the AK of the watch world. You can take it to hell and back, just not to a fancy dinner party where the Rolex's and Omega's hang out.

Such a well made and informative video, lovely stuff

Thank you for your high, high-quality videos!

This is one of the best informative videos about Vostok's Amphibia watches. Also visually supported with very clear views about the watch's sealing & mechanism & acrylic crystal etc too. Thanks a lot for this nice video. 👍🏻👌🏻

I bought the same one you have on E-Bay Scuba Dude, I love the watch. It was the first watch that had I worn, it was given to me as a present by my Grandfather. I also noticed that they have gone up in price

wonderful storytelling!!! I first saw one in the wild in early 90s, my new supervisor owned one and it was a hit in our dept! He purchased his while visiting Russia. We thought at the time that would be the only way to get one. I also like stamp collecting, I'll look for those stamps! Thank you!!

Solid review, I love the back story, thank you for this!

Thanks! Great work on the video , just found your channel a few days ago and love the videos. Keep up the great work!

Calling the amphibia a failure/toy gets you a free ticket to gulag

I've had my "Scuba Dude" for many years, but seldom wear it anymore. This video has prompted me to get it out of my watch box and start wearing it. I agree with all your points. I immediately removed the bracelet and put it on a Sail cloth strap. My Biggest complaint, is as same with most Russian watches, the non quickset date. Even knowing the "trick" it's still a pain to adjust the date. I'd rather have the Time be incorrect, then the Date, LOL. All in all, the Scuba Dude is a GREAT WATCH. I believe I paid around 40+ Dollars U.S. when I bought mine. This is the Best Video, I've seen about this watch, and learned a lot about it, that I didn't know. Thank you.

So good to get a genuinely informative video about these watches!

One of the best Vostok historical documentaries I've viewed - Thank you!

Great review, being a collector of dive watches, impressed with the mechanical side.Friends father 47 years ago used to wear one ,worked as a watch and clock repairer. He also had a collection of very expensive ones . I only seen him wear the vostok or doxa .

Great video and nice to see the some real appreciation for the Amphibia! One important note is that the Amphibia or Komandirkskie are very easy to regulate and all six of mine are averaging +3 to +7 sec a day.

Long overdue, but thank you for the detailed and qualitative reviews you put out there. This one in particular got me hooked on watch collecting. I have not regretted getting my little 670 Amphibia, even though shipping took over 2 months back in the day. 🥴

What an outstanding channel. Love the misc details

Best review of the Vostok Amphibia I've ever seen! I use one for sea swimming and it works a treat. Soviet watches are the shirehorses of watchdom.

This was incredibly interesting!

Brilliant video with the most thorough review of the Amphibia I've seen!

Thanks so much for this review. I love my Amphibia and Scuba Dude already, but I now have a greater appreciation for them now. They really are built like tanks and just plain cool. Cheers!

I personally like the one with white dial. I just had my komandirskie and planning to get white dial Amphibian scuba dude in a couple months. Great video, thanks dude.

If you ask vostok amphibia what kind of time he s keeping, the answer is: sometime i go fast, sometime i go slow, sometime i go in the middle or below😂. I love my vostok amphibia.

Thanks for an informative review. I've had my first Amphiba (SE Pepsi 710) now for a couple months. No issues with the watch and it is built like a tank. The watch came with a very comfortable perforated navy blue silicone band. WRT accuracy it gains about 1 minute every 5 days. Unlike the watch in this video the bezel on my watch has minute indices up to 20 minutes and 5 minute indices for the balance of the hour making it very practical for timing things like cooking. I put a couple drops of silicone lubricant on the crown thread and bezel so they both now operate very smoothly.

Great little vid well done. I love Vostoks. I just bagged 2 vintage ministry's as well as several other vintage pieces one of which was the vintage version of your scubadude. It's got some really nice patina on the dial

I have around 8 vostok watches and I love them all. It's the best inexpensive watch you can own. It's reliable and durable and very affordable.

Great review. I have a Scuba Dude and it's now become my favorite. I regulated it, tried a few different straps, and installed a stainless bezel. In terms of accuracy, it is sensitive to position. Overnight it will gain a few seconds if laid flat and will lose a few seconds if placed on its edge. Knowing this I can "adjust" for gain or loss by positioning it as needed when I'm not wearing it..

Informative video. I have three months on my Komandirskie field watch that I picked up for 30USD. Put a 5 USD NATO strap onto it. Regulated the movement myself with a few tools and online tutorials. It now gains 10-15 seconds. I absolutely love the hand winding ritual in the morning with my first cup of coffee and taking a moment for myself. I have used it for the gym, free running, showering and swimming. No leaks, no fogging. The manual says it is rated for only minor spills during washing hands, but I know better than that. Absolutely loving the Vostok and will surely add more to my collection. Cheers for the great content!

Brilliant video. Loved it. I have two amphibia and really like their uniqueness and their style.

just found your channel today and so happy i did. most underrated watch channel on youtube in my opinion. thoroughly enjoyed the timex video.

more than 30 in my collection, 15 different shape in the cases, and hundreds of dials.

Just got my first Vostok Amphibia and I'm completely bowled over! I absolutely love this watch, Vostok has upgraded their ss bands and the new ones are 100% better! Great video WoW... love the ending music... SUBSCRIBED!

Nice photos and music at the end. Very nice video!

I have this one modded Scubadude with a blue diver bezel and on a Blueshark seatbelt Nato. I love the vintagy vibe. It is my Lada Niva of watches. I bought a special edition Radio room no date as well. The non quick set date setting is a pain so buy one without a date.

I have a 1970s Amphibia, a Vostok Sputnik, and a modern 'Diver Dude' in my collection. So far. There will be more. Love Russian watches.

Dude. This was amazing! Great work!!

This video and information along with the images at the end was spot on. Im getting the Airborne Vostok.

I am only just getting into horology and collecting so I am catching up on as many interesting channels as possible. Its my 60th later this year and plan on getting a few watches. On my shortlist are the Seagull 1963 pilot watch. An amazing piece of history and a real chrono for £150 or less. Next is a Vostock Amphibia. Lots of designs and another watch with amazing history. Both should be conversation starters and both in house movements. I plan on getting a Steeldive 1975 "Tuna" homage as well but if I can find another affordable piece of history I could be swayed. Great video with plenty of information. Thank you.

you made me buy one, and a Timex! Great videoes :)

Best review I have Ever seen. Best regards from Brazil!

Excellent video, plenty of useful watch history, clear tech explanations too.

The bezel is depressed further into the casing with the more atmospheric pressure as you dive deeper. Just like the crystal. Speaking from personal experience, it works very effectively. I've seen several of these videos and the same ponderment comes up.

The Ministry cushion cased is my favourite had mine for about four years intended to change the strap straight away, but the jubilee like strap is not that bad and have left it be. Mine gains about 25 secs a day. Lume on hands does last all night it's not in the same class as Seiko\Citizen, but I can see the time satisfactory. Used it on holiday shallow dives and found at about 10 metres the bezel stiffens up, I have never noticed mine move accidentally in general use though. Let's face it for proper diving your going to be using a dive computer, I've had more comments made about this watch than any other I own. They reckon the service life is 10 years be interesting to see if this is true.... Well if it stops working I'll just buy another... For a tool\beach\holiday watch you really can't go wrong if lost, stolen or damaged ( that would be difficult ) you can't go wrong. These things are meant to be used and not cosseted.

Very nice series. You have a great voice and deliver the content well. BTW I have an Amphibia and absolutely love it

A superb presentation. Thank you very much! You made me want to buy one.

I have a 21 jewel automatic Восток from the 70's. the accuracy is honestly pretty good, Id even say it might be on par with the one he had in the video even though it has 10 less jewels. I love my Восток Амфибия.

Just found your channel today! Dude...I'm just saying...you really should make more videos. LOVED your video on Timex, and why watch enthusiasts don't consider it a collectible.

Amazing video both visually and full of detail and info; thank you. You have yourself a new subscriber.

Didn't know it was a space watch too. Awesome!!! Great video!

This was a great video. So many of the watch channels on youtube are just trying to sell you something. This was a cool little history lesson and it gave me a new appreciation for the engineering of this watch.

Spot on. Love the watch, hate the bracelet, changed it to nato. the only thing is that the lumes on mine get me through the night just fine. price is so low that one can not complain.

Love this watch and really think they offer amazing value.

Wonderfully made piece. Love the end.

My first Vostok is on the way, and I can tell there will be more!

Great video! Thank you for the history lesson, it makes one appreciate the simple, no frills Amphibia. BTW I know the Sub is fake because of the bezel insert. On a real one the numbers and markers are sunken and laid with platinum

I am wearing my 80's Amphibia right now, its been off the wind for a while but it started up on the third twirl of the winder, it keeps astonishingly good time and when I took it to my watch chap he said it was in perfect order. My second is the rather groovy "tonneau" 090 cased beast awaiting a set of paddle hands for it to be finished, the 090 uses a 2209 movement so the second hands are unique to this Amphibia, has the MO printing on the dial and a commemorative message on the back to a ranked soldier from a platoon or squad dated 1985. Got 20 Komandirskies, 1 Cadet and 2 standard Boctok pieces without dial embellishment oh and two 1970's Commanders.

Wow. Great review of a great watch. This video tipped the scales for me, I will be buying one.Thanks.

Man I just got mine in today. I already love it. I don't have hairy wrists so the bracelet works just fine for me, and I don't dive so bezel is no problem.

OK, after I watched your video I took off my Amphibia (made in 2016) from the hand and measured the power reserve, it was beyond 31 hour. With Amphibia it is important to follow the instruction - if you ware it after it stopped - you need to fully cock it manually and then if you are wearing it daily it will not require manual cocking and will maintain full energy reserve, my personal experience confirms it.

My god what an amazing watch channel recording History, Heritage and Value in watches of any price.

I love your directness and pronunciation.

Wow! This is by far the best watch video I've ever seen on RU-vid and I've literally seen hundreds of them. Thanks so much for uploading. I've now been inspired to order my first Vostok. It will probably make me feel like a Russian Cold War spy. I'm guessing the acrylic domed crystal will be a haven for scratches.

Informative and honest review of this bargain diver -- well done. My Amphibia rates "strong like bull" - it stacks up well against my Seiko Sumo -- the Sumo is more accurate with a much, much better lume, but the Amphib is just as tough and weights 1/2 as much. And yes, it's on NATO strap. And i love the retro/russo/industrial look--- merits its own heroic, social realism poster!

Excellent explanation of the history and technical specifications!