# Looking for a simple Russian watch



## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Hi all.

So I'm looking for a simple Russian watch.

Once upon a time my father used to wear a simple watch. No numbers on the blue watch face, and non-pointy hands. That look is really important to me (childhood memories I guess).

Must say that this was bought in the USSR (we lived in the USSR), and I vaguely remember that it might have been a "Vostok".

How much am I looking to spend on something like that now?







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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Vostok are one of the few remaining Russian watch manufacturers. Have a look at the factory shop to see what they still make: https://meranom.com/en/


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

These are pretty simple.
























All 36mm.

All got numbers though. Possibly, you may find what you're looking for in the used listings on eBay or etsy. Remember to use the worldwide search option for more choice. Also, there are blue dialed Pobeda watches on the same sites.










They are about as basic as you'll get.


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> Vostok are one of the few remaining Russian watch manufacturers. Have a look at the factory shop to see what they still make: https://meranom.com/en/


 Thank you, that's my Saunday nigth sorted then! 



Lampoc said:


> Vostok are one of the few remaining Russian watch manufacturers. Have a look at the factory shop to see what they still make: https://meranom.com/en/


 Thank you, that's my Sunday nigth sorted then!


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

The main reason that I bought a Rotary Avenger is because that's the aesthetic that I'm after. It looks almost identical to the watch my dad wore back in the day (most of the 90s)

not sure how to insert an image, but the one I have looks like this: https://www.houseofwatches.co.uk/rotary-mens-avenger-watch-gb02874-05?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxdPNBRDmARIsAAw-TUn5w2WQXrcYX2u8A_bR868XtfeZljJ5YYl3FYot2fmG7R_IRc0QdXAaAu9HEALw_wcB

Thsi isn't quite right, but just out of interest, what do you make of this £30 one from Russia: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-VOSTOK-MILITARY-KOMANDIRSKIE-WATCH-211289-NEW/252596507216?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3Dc2b25012a8d6449fa6648ae7a0e82e7b%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D253137749554&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507 ?

Cheers

Vlad


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Avenger Fan said:


> Thsi isn't quite right, but just out of interest, what do you make of this £30 one from Russia: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-VOSTOK-MILITARY-KOMANDIRSKIE-WATCH-211289-NEW/252596507216?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3Dc2b25012a8d6449fa6648ae7a0e82e7b%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D253137749554&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507 ?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Vlad


 Standard new Komandirskie from a decent seller who many here have used before. I'd be happy with it, though I'd prefer an automatic.


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> Standard new Komandirskie from a decent seller who many here have used before. I'd be happy with it, though I'd prefer an automatic.


 Thanks, that's good to know.

I found the same in the automatic version; sadly it's out of stock?!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-VOSTOK-MILITARY-KOMANDIRSKIE-WATCH-921289-NEW-/262970081461?hash=item3d3a3d00b5:g:wCsAAOSwrhBZDbK2


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

I'd personally spend an extra 10 bucks and buy the Amphibia from Meranom: https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-classic/420/vostok-watch-amphibian-classic-420289.html


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> I'd personally spend an extra 10 bucks and buy the Amphibia from Meranom: https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-classic/420/vostok-watch-amphibian-classic-420289.html


 Looks great! Could you please explain to the un-initiated as to why the amphibia is a better bet?

Cheers

Vlad


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Avenger Fan said:


> Looks great! Could you please explain to the un-initiated as to why the amphibia is a better bet?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Vlad


 Of course! Amphibias differ a fair bit to the similar looking Komandirskies, the main one being they are a proper diving watch, water resistant to 200 metres as opposed to the Komandirskies 50m. Also, the Amphibia cases are made of stainless steel while the Komandirskies are a cheaper chrome-plated brass.

The Amphibia is a true icon among watches. There's a great article about them here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f54/vostok-amphibia-analysis-design-methodology-491757.html


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

Komandirskie is 100m water resistant and has a nicer solid crown. It's also slightly wider and has a wider bracelet.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Hussle said:


> Komandirskie is 100m water resistant and has a nicer solid crown. It's also slightly wider and has a wider bracelet.


 I think you're getting confused with the newer, much more expensive K34 Komandirskies. The originals are none of those things above.

One of the K-34s ($187!):


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

No confusion, I have this one at £48 new










100m, solid crown, auto 32 jewels and slightly wider than my Amphibia.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Hussle said:


> No confusion, I have this one at £48 new
> 
> 100m, solid crown, auto 32 jewels and slightly wider than my Amphibia.


 Ah yes! The new 350 cased Komandirskies. I forgot about them. Very nice watches.

However, the original, cheaper automatic Komandirskies (as linked to on eBay by Avenger) are still 50m, chrome plated brass and the same width as the 420 Amphibia. And the chrome plated crown sucks


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

But this one: https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-classic/420/vostok-watch-amphibian-classic-420289.html

looks good, right? (and by that I mean that the listing says stainless steel case, 31 stones, etc).


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

I would be inclined to go for a classic Komandirskie. I have that and the amphibia and will say that for the same price the Komandirskie feels better quality. Do you need 200m water resistance?


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

The Komandirskie 35 on the meranom site are better made and look better quality imo for the same money.


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Hussle said:


> The Komandirskie 35 on the meranom site are better made and look better quality imo for the same money.


 Thanks for your input.

Please would you post links to the products?


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

https://meranom.com/en/komandirskie-classic/35/


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Thanks for your input so far everyone.

The main thing that concerns me is that the faces are plastic and I scratch watches easily. My Rotary Avenger is borosilicate glass and I've managed to scratch it.

What is the model Vostok/komandirskie/amfibia that are glass faced?

Also - what exactly is the difference in the number of stones/jewels? The more the better?

And yes, I'd like it to be 200m water resistant - as every once in a while I shower with my watch on (accidentally) and that's how I trashed my first Avenger. It was returned and refnded under warranty. I got another Avenger on eBay after a thread on here and have been looking after it like the apple of me eye.


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

The acrylic crystals on all Amphibias (apart from a very few special editions) are easily scratched - however the scratches are very easily polished out too. Just buy some "polywatch" and a quick polish will take about 5 minutes. Far better than mineral crystals in my opinion as once you scratch them they're pretty much ruined (Admittedly I prefer sapphire crystals though).

Because an automatic movement is more complex than a manual winding movement, it has more jewels (normally synthetic sapphires or rubies) to eliminate friction in the more moving parts.

Good call on the Amphibia - certainly my favourite :thumbs_up:


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

The main issue with the Amphibia is those bloody watch hands. Why do they have to be such gaudy looking arrows with that big arrow head?

I quite like this: https://meranom.com/en/komandirskie-classic/92/vostok-watch-komandirskie-921289.html especially as the arrow heads are more sedate but we're back to chromed brass and not stainless steel as well as the waterproofing being "standard". Not sure what to do now!


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

Avenger Fan said:


> The main issue with the Amphibia is those bloody watch hands. Why do they have to be such gaudy looking arrows with that big arrow head?
> 
> I quite like this: https://meranom.com/en/komandirskie-classic/92/vostok-watch-komandirskie-921289.html especially as the arrow heads are more sedate but we're back to chromed brass and not stainless steel as well as the waterproofing being "standard". Not sure what to do now!


 https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/vostok-amphibia

Information overload. :laughing2dw:


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Right, I've pulled the trigger on the 420 289 - let's see how fast it arrives and how well I get on with it!

Good night, all!


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Avenger Fan said:


> The main issue with the Amphibia is those bloody watch hands. Why do they have to be such gaudy looking arrows with that big arrow head?


 It's so you can get excited when it's "rocket-o-clock" every 1 hour 6 minutes. :tongue:


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Got an email on the 11th of September saying that the order has been shipped.

I really can't wait!

How long do the watches usually take to get to the UK?

Cheers

Vlad


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

This flipping watch looks amazing! https://meranom.com/en/komandirskie/komandirskie-k-65/vostok-watch-komandirskie-1965-2414a-680220.html

Anyone got one? What's your impression?


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## Hussle (Jun 26, 2017)

Mine took about a month but the post mark showed it wasn't posted for over 3 weeks so I'm guessing about 4-7 days. I didn't get mine from Meranom.

The one in that link does look very nice!


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Avenger Fan said:


> This flipping watch looks amazing! https://meranom.com/en/komandirskie/komandirskie-k-65/vostok-watch-komandirskie-1965-2414a-680220.html
> 
> Anyone got one? What's your impression?


 I've got one. It's nice enough but I never wear it.


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> I've got one. It's nice enough but I never wear it.


 do you, err, need it?!


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

Avenger Fan said:


> do you, err, need it?!


 I've got over 100 Russian watches I don't need. I just like to have them :laugh:


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> I've got over 100 Russian watches I don't need. I just like to have them :laugh:


 Let me know if you want to part with any, eh?!


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Does anyone know, what's the deal with a lot of these cool watches on the meranom site being out of stock? They claim they're getting more but pushing back the time frame. Is it a marketing ploy?


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## Lampoc (Oct 31, 2010)

A lot of them are special editions, some of which sell out in a matter of hours (or less). If you've got Facebook, join Meranom's page as you can get advance warning. Or just pre-order them - there's a batch of Neptunes coming next and they're fantastic watches: https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-se/960se/


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

Lampoc said:


> A lot of them are special editions, some of which sell out in a matter of hours (or less). If you've got Facebook, join Meranom's page as you can get advance warning. Or just pre-order them - there's a batch of Neptunes coming next and they're fantastic watches: https://meranom.com/en/amphibian-se/960se/


 Interesting.

I must say that I have been eyeing up watches on the meranom site, especially ones that are automatic and have a glass back.

There also the 3 handed ones, with a 24 hour hand going round.

I might regret joining this forum and asking these questions when I'm crippled by credit card debt! ;P

Just kidding, so far I've only ordered the amfibia... Maybe another around Xmas...


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## Avenger Fan (Mar 30, 2017)

The amfibia finally arrived!

I'm just about to shorten the bracelet length to suit me.

I nearly broke the damn thing when trying to set the date. From the diagram there seems to be a position 3 that from the diagram appears that you have to pull out really far in order to get to. I was trying to get there... It seems that in reality there is no position 3, just positions 1 and 2. The date is set by going through 24 hours or by going from 8 to 12 then back to 8.

Hopefully I didn't damage it by trying to pull so hard on the winding mechanism!


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