# New To It All.



## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Hi folks.

Just come to the conclusion that its pointless having a small amount of money sitting in the bank these days so why not have some fun without losing my shirt. My thinking runs like this - buy old watches that have done their depreciation and have fun wearing them - preferably on inappropriate occasions. The one that's uppermost in my mind right now, is a certain government minister and his reaction to an obviously Soviet (not Russian, Soviet) watch.

The problem is this, like most people I have a busy life so time to hunt these things down is scarce, so the web comes into play. Whilst I know the camera does lie, all those watches described as working look to be in incredibly good condition for being a minimum of 30 years old (OK, old stocks may have lasted a couple of years afterwards). Are there any reasonable ways of telling repros from oldies?

Rgds

Mo


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Hi Mo and welcome to both the forum and the minefield that can be Russian watch collecting.

First off is to telling how old your watch is. On most dials near the bottom is some cyrillic script:

Ð¡Ð´ÐµÐ»Ð°Ð½Ð¾ Ð² Ð Ð¾ÑÑÐ¸Ð¸: Made in Russia (Post 1990)

Ð¡Ð´ÐµÐ»Ð°Ð½Ð¾ Ð² CCCP: Made in the Soviet Union (pre 1990)

3AKA3 MO CCCP: By Order of the Soviet Ministry of defence (pre 1990 and the most valuable versions)

A lot of watches made in the early 90's won't have anything at all on them.

There are fakes out there but because Russian watches are generally pretty cheap anyway, they're few and far between. By far the biggest problem is "frankenwatches" - watches that have been cobbled together from (usually genuine) parts of other watches. It'd take days to go through the ins and outs of these.

There also seems to be a quite a few NOS watches about - the same styles seem to appear on ebay at the same time. Some of the dials do look iffy to be honest and personally I stay away from them.

If you see a watch you like but are unsure of it's heritage, I'd just post it up here and I'm sure the masses will be along to give an honest opinion.

Finally... which government minister???


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

i never pay more than 20 quid for a russian watch, so just take your time and get a bargain, they are out there, and finally heed lampocs words he knows a damn sight more than me on this subject


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Hi Lampoc that's really useful stuff - I can see I'm going to have to get some cyrillic script going here at some stage.

I have to say I've seen a number of Wostok and Komandirskie watches on the dreaded 'bay which have been tempting and it could well be that we're talking about Franken's and NOS. I probably wouldn't have much of a problem with either as it ties in with a kind of Cold War necessity, albeit a little after the fact.

I do struggle to believe that serving soldiers had pictures of tanks and battleships on their watches. Frankly a watch made out of grey concrete with cyrillic graphitti on it would be best but, if I assume that I'll be buying genuine Cold Ward parts in a Cold War case, perhaps put together in a fashion slightly different to original I'll be happy enough.

I just don't want a cheap copy of a cheap watch.

In answer to your last question - actually, any of them. If they carry on this way I'll be buying a Che t-shirt and beret, soon.

M


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

How about a Raketa with a hammer and sickle?










I can't for sure say what the common Red Army soldier wore on his wrist - probably just a watch he actually liked unless he actually got issued one (22 years I've been in the forces, I've never even seen a wristwatch issued to a non-commissioned rank...).

There's no need to get a cheap copy of a cheap watch - if it says CCCP on the bottom it's a cold war watch!


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

royal navy divers get issued a watch lampoc


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

chris.ph said:


> royal navy divers get issued a watch lampoc


 I don't associate with fishheads


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

yes you do crab :tongue2:


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Thanks for the advice , Chris.

Just love that Raketa!

I feel a low-ball offer on a couple of Komandirskies coming on.


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

if they are cheap ive probably got a bid on it lol


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Oops! That's done it. Two for Â£40 plus postage. Did somebody (Chris) mention taking my time? Damn!


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Don't forget to post pictures so we can tell you:

a ) what great watches!

or

b ) you messed up



Hope you like them and don't get too caught up in buying all the decent russkie stuff on ebay - Chris is already doing that


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Almost certain to be messed up. I won't be going whole hogski on the Russian watch thing although a Poljot alarm would be nice. There are other temptations waiting in the wings (a DDR watch, a bit of Tissot, Jump hour, maybe even an Omega). There's just so much out there.

Ah well, work beckons.

I'll post pics when they arrive.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Look for Ruhla and Glashutte if you're after a DDR watch.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Welcome to the forum Mo & a great way to start with a couple of old Ruskies : :thumbup:

A word of warning though- do not even think of putting them on nato straps...

Putin does not approve!!

















:lol:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> Welcome to the forum Mo & a great way to start with a couple of old Ruskies : :thumbup:
> 
> A word of warning though- do not even think of putting them on nato straps...
> 
> ...


There seems to be an underlying feeling around here that to NATO you should just say...










:lol:

Later,

William


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

just put a nato on, on the sly, they will never know :tongue2:


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Welcolme to the forum. Here is one of my 24 hour jobs.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

chris.ph said:


> just put a nato on, on the sly, they will never know :tongue2:


Trust me - Putin will know...


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

William_Wilson said:


> mach 0.0013137 said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the forum Mo & a great way to start with a couple of old Ruskies : :thumbup:
> ...


Great one William :thumbup:


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## Edb1984 (Jan 11, 2013)

Did someone say Putin?



One thing he hates more than NATO's, is people who take his pen...


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Think I'll have to get a 24hr watch if only to lend out and spread confusion in the capitalist West (as opposed to the capitalist East where it was made).

I'm not worried about Putin. I hear he's a slave to his Asthma... (I'll leave the rest to you).


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Oh it`s not just Putin you have to worry about if you dare to put a nato strap on a Russian watch - these are in the air 24/7 on standby to deal with transgressors...


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

except that is a yank drone not russian, dont tell me barack is against it as well


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Of course he is, he understands that it is just wrong!!


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

:lol: :lol:


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

OK, folks. Lets see if I can upload a couple of camera pics. I have to go for a couple of days due to ill family but, if anyone has any comments on these great. Also, The paratrooper seems to wind but, clearly hasn't - is there any trick to this I'm missing?

Damn! can't. Any advice on uploading pics from my hard drive? I'll be back to it in a couple of days.


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

file:///COCUME~1MAURIC~1LOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_image002.jpgfile:///COCUME~1MAURIC~1LOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_image002.jpg

Well, following instructions doesn't work then!

If you want to laugh at my foolhardiness, someone's going to have to advise me on uploading.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Use a file hosting site like photobucket.


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Thanks, Lampoc. I'll investigate.


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Now, let's see....

















Hmmm... This obviously requires some practice - They're not that big, honest!


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

they would look even better on natos :tongue2: i like the 2 o clock winder, what problem are you having winding them again?


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Tank seems fine but, the paratrooper just keeps winding and winding; it makes the right noises but no additional resistance and it runs for a few minutes only. I've been away from home since they arrived so I'll have another go and see how long it runs for. Could be it's just the old Allthumbs magic :yes:


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

thats not right, somebody will know whats wrong with it tho


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Well I never.Two and a half hours later and it's still running. Keeping time too. I think I'm a happy Thumbs. Trouble is, I think I'll have to give one away to the brother-in-law. Thanks to all for the help so far.

Franken or not, I like them. Think I'll have to get some more.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

They look perfectly original to me. Nice finds.

Might be worth investing in a tube of polywatch to clean up the crystals: http://rltwatches.co.uk/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=polywatch&product_id=34


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

I've seen mention of pollywatch before, so I may well try it,thanks.

Silvo seemed to work a treat on my daughter's swatch. Is there any reason why I shouldn't use it? It's just sitting in the cupboard taking up space.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

It should work ok. Hell, some people even use toothpaste http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=83415


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## chris.ph (Dec 29, 2011)

i use brasso


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## Allthumbsmo (May 16, 2013)

Can't go near Brasso, ever since I heard of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Traumatised.


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## luckywatch (Feb 2, 2013)

Allthumbsmo said:


> Can't go near Brasso, ever since I heard of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Traumatised.


Signs of a misspent youth. :yahoo:


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