# Vostok Stopped While Setting Time!



## dmrvos

Just bought a Vostock Amphibia a few weeks back. It is new, not vintage, and is autowind.

Last night I was on a plane from Atlanta(GMT - 5:00) to San Francisco (GMT - 8:00), so I had to set my watch 3 hours earlier upon arrival. Not wanting to advance the hands forward 9 hours (and mess up the date), I moved them backwards 3 hours. (As a child, I was told to "never move a watch backwards". Of course, I've never heeded that advice and haven't had a problem until now...)

During moving the hands backwards, I noticed the second hand would stop in place -- but then as I let go of the stem, it would start moving again. As I fussed around to set the time -- moving the hands backwards several times -- the second hand stopped in place permanently. The watch has not run since. No amount of fussing with the stem or advancing the hands forward had any effect.

Any suggestions? Am I a newbie here and ready and willing to learn.

I'd be most interesting in knowing what happened and why it happened, and if there is any way for the watch to be "unstuck" without taking it apart.

One other observation: If I pull the stem out to the first stop (the "winding setting"), it feels like the watch is almost completed wound. This would make sense, as I had been wearing it for a full day... Don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but though I would mention it.

Thanks,

Dan


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## johnbaz

hello dan

i've had an auto amphibia for a few years now and didn't realise that they could be handwound,anyhow i've just been and found mine out,tried it and it sure does







,although,i wound mine and it just kept winding and winding so, i'm afraid there's definately something wrong with yours







.

your problem is a new one on me,and i can't really see the connection with the winding side and the power escapement side of the watch,although on some watches with limited movemet of the balance wheel, (ie-a dirty movement)when thatch is wound and pressure kept on the crown,it will usually make the balance wheel go like crazy







.

you say the watch is a new,can it be sent/taken back under warranty?, as it sounds fairly serious









btw,have you tried giving it a sort of good tristing shake?, this may get it going again,but if it's stopped once, it probably will again









forgot to saywelcome to the forum









regards,john.


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## rhaythorne

Hi Dan,

Try placing the watch face up on a flat surface and then bash it with a large, blunt instrument briskly twist the watch to the left and right a couple of times. This may get the balance swinging again. I'm not sure this a recommended procedure but it's certainly worked for me on more than one occasion


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## dtoddmiller

dmrvos said:


> Just bought a Vostock Amphibia a few weeks back. It is new, not vintage, and is autowind.
> 
> Last night I was on a plane from Atlanta(GMT - 5:00) to San Francisco (GMT - 8:00), so I had to set my watch 3 hours earlier upon arrival. Not wanting to advance the hands forward 9 hours (and mess up the date), I moved them backwards 3 hours. (As a child, I was told to "never move a watch backwards". Of course, I've never heeded that advice and haven't had a problem until now...)
> 
> During moving the hands backwards, I noticed the second hand would stop in place -- but then as I let go of the stem, it would start moving again. As I fussed around to set the time -- moving the hands backwards several times -- the second hand stopped in place permanently. The watch has not run since. No amount of fussing with the stem or advancing the hands forward had any effect.
> 
> Any suggestions? Am I a newbie here and ready and willing to learn.
> 
> I'd be most interesting in knowing what happened and why it happened, and if there is any way for the watch to be "unstuck" without taking it apart.
> 
> One other observation: If I pull the stem out to the first stop (the "winding setting"), it feels like the watch is almost completed wound. This would make sense, as I had been wearing it for a full day... Don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but though I would mention it.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan
> 
> 
> 
> ←
> ​


Dan,

I broke one of my Vostoks this way, and had no alternative but to send it for repair. Fortunately, the repair was covered under warranty (which surprised me, as I thought I'd done the damage myself). The repair and shipping time to- and from- the USA was about 5 weeks.

Sorry about your watch,

--TODD


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## Stan

If a Boctok stops and won't restart with a gentle shake it is probably broken.









I didn't use the non-word prolly.









I hate that.







And broken watches.









Best of good luck Dan.


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## dmrvos

Guys -- thanks a million! The "face up and and shake briskly side to side: trick worked and the watch is now running again. (While I thought of doing something like this on my own, I feared I would perhaps injur the mechansim further. Good to know I was only trying to free up the balance wheel!).

While sending the watch back for repairs under warranty is probably the thing to do -- since I only paid $32 US for the watch, the hassle of doing this seems way out of proportion to the value of the watch. I'm inclined to just take my chances and be more careful in the future when setting it.

I think this has been a bit of an education, too. While I like the Amphibia, I'm wondering if it is a little too delicate for my every day usage. I travel quite a bit and am resetting my watch for a different time zone at least once a week.

Another question about the robustness of the Amphibia: Are these things really waterproof to 200m -- or is this just marketing hype? The reason I ask is that the screw-down stem on mine doesn't look like it would seal anything -- it doesn't screw flush to the case. Of course, maybe the seal is in the threads themselves (like the threads on the plug screw on the engine oil pan of a car...)?

While I'm on the subject of the screw-down stem: What's the deal with that? I've had watches with this feature before, but never one like this Vostock. Once unscrewed, the knurled head of the stem flops around loosely on the end of the inner stem (it's still attached and doesn't pull off, but it does have a range of movement). Is it supposed to be like that? Why?

-- Dan


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## JoT

dmrvos said:


> I think this has been a bit of an education, too. While I like the Amphibia, I'm wondering if it is a little too delicate for my every day usage. I travel quite a bit and am resetting my watch for a different time zone at least once a week.
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> ​


Dan I wouldn't worry too much .... the Soviets didn't do delicate







they are very robust.



dmrvos said:


> Another question about the robustness of the Amphibia: Are these things really waterproof to 200m -- or is this just marketing hype? The reason I ask is that the screw-down stem on mine doesn't look like it would seal anything -- it doesn't screw flush to the case. Of course, maybe the seal is in the threads themselves (like the threads on the plug screw on the engine oil pan of a car...)?
> 
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> 
> ←
> ​


As well as the thread providing some reistance I believe there is a seal inside the crown that seats against the end of the stem tube when screwed down. I think Jason has been diving in his.



dmrvos said:


> While I'm on the subject of the screw-down stem: What's the deal with that? I've had watches with this feature before, but never one like this Vostock. Once unscrewed, the knurled head of the stem flops around loosely on the end of the inner stem (it's still attached and doesn't pull off, but it does have a range of movement). Is it supposed to be like that? Why?
> 
> 
> 
> ←
> ​


It's normal for a Vostok, as for why? Who knows ... it does add character though


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## mach 0.0013137

dmrvos said:


> While I'm on the subject of the screw-down stem: What's the deal with that? I've had watches with this feature before, but never one like this Vostock. Once unscrewed, the knurled head of the stem flops around loosely on the end of the inner stem (it's still attached and doesn't pull off, but it does have a range of movement). Is it supposed to be like that? Why?
> 
> -- Dan
> 
> 
> 
> ←
> ​


Hi Dan, I`ve got three `80`s Vostok`s and the floppy crown hasn`t caused any problems with them, it`s just one of the Vostok`s little quirks


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## rhaythorne

Glad you got the watch going again Dan









Now it's running, I suggest you wear it constantly for several days. I've sometimes found that keeping a "sticking" watch agitated for a few days by wearing it and not leaving it sitting motionless helps to keep it ticking until it's run in a little.

As JoT said, Vostoks are tough and generally very reliable and should give good service for many years. Quality control can sometimes be a bit lacking though which is perhaps not surprising given the price! I expect yours may have had a little bit of grit in it somewhere that needed shaking loose or perhaps a bit of sticky lubrication that needed smoothing out. I have three modern Vostok Amphibias, one of which exhibited similar symptoms early on but that is fine now.


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## johnbaz

happy to hear that it's going again,we'll make a watch repairer out of you yet









btw,the crown shouldn't screw up to the case as this means that the seal in the crown would not be tight onto the winding tube.

ps i bought one off the bay, i shook it for ages but it kept stopping,when i removed the back,there was no pendulum







, it was a manual wind,the sort with the crown at two o'clock.

i thought that these (autos) were the same as the seiko autos whereby you have to shake them to get them going









regards,john.


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## dmrvos

johnbaz said:


> i thought that these (autos) were the same as the seiko autos whereby you have to shake them to get them going
> 
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> 
> regards,john.
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Mine is definitely an auto. I've worn it for a couple weeks with no manual winding.









-- Dan


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## Xantiagib

Sounds like a healthy and normal Vostok to me Dan...

if you rewind the hands do it very slowly next time... it should not stop ticking.

the 'flick' with the watch face up is known as the 'watchmakers flick' gets most watches going when no amount of shaking will get them going.


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## raketakat

Xantiagib said:


> the 'flick' with the watch face up is known as the 'watchmakers flick' gets most watches going when no amount of shaking will get them going.
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I find uttering a few choice terms of abuse helps too







.

Well. It makes me feel better







.


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## Polo_Step

I had the identical thing happen with a brand new, unworn Vostok w/2416b and also a Molniya 3602 (less surprising there).

Though they were unused, I had kept them wound and running on a shelf and discovered that the Vostok had stopped keeping time right when I had wound it the evening before. After some fiddling with it, it began running again. Some many days later, I discovered that I had let it run down and started to manually wind it up again and saw that it was not running after a normally-adequate winding. A little shake and it got going again without mishap. I don't know what this is about, but I doubt it would ever come up if the watch was in actual use. This watch has been running a couple of months now, I guess, since I got it.

As far as turning the hands backwards, this is in the instructions as the _recommended_ way of advancing the calendar several days without going twice around the dial for each day (check the Vostok documentation for clearer explanation).

And yes, the Vostok second hand is weird.


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## dmrvos

Thanks. I sort of read the Vostok documentation (but my 1 semester of Russian in college 15 years ago wasn't up to the task!).









I did manage to figure out the part where they talk about 8 o'clock to 1 o'clock, then back to 8 o'clock to advance the date.

Maybe this means that I have a "real Vostok" since the instructions are in Russian only!

-- Dan


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## Polo_Step

dmrvos said:


> Thanks. I sort of read the Vostok documentation (but my 1 semester of Russian in college 15 years ago wasn't up to the task!).


There's an English translation on several pages. Someone here is bound to have it bookmarked. I do, but not on this notebook.


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## JoostK

"Guys -- thanks a million! The "face up and and shake briskly side to side: trick worked and the watch is now running again. (While I thought of doing something like this on my own, I feared I would perhaps injur the mechansim further. Good to know I was only trying to free up the balance wheel!)."

This worked for my Komandirskie which had the same problem. Thanks so much guys!

Joost


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## WRENCH

JoostK said:


> "Guys -- thanks a million! The "face up and and shake briskly side to side: trick worked and the watch is now running again. (While I thought of doing something like this on my own, I feared I would perhaps injur the mechansim further. Good to know I was only trying to free up the balance wheel!)."
> 
> This worked for my Komandirskie which had the same problem. Thanks so much guys!
> 
> Joost


 Vostok's "stopping" after time setting, and not starting after being fully run down, is something I have found common to all of mine. Always setting the time with the watch fully wound helps, and after fully winding, if the watch still fails to start, a quick flick to the side of the watch casing with your thumb nail does the trick.


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## Alex_225

Interestingly I have recently purchased three Komandirskie watches and an Amphibia. One of the Komandirskie's randomly stopped I can't recall if that was setting the time or winding it.

I got in touch with the seller I bought from and they recommended similar, a firm but sympathetic tap on the palm of the hand. Mine actually started without needing to do so but it seems it's not an uncommon occurrence with the movement!


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## Welsh Wizard

Alex_225 said:


> I got in touch with the seller I bought from and they recommended similar, a firm but sympathetic tap on the palm of the hand. Mine actually started without needing to do so but it seems it's not an uncommon occurrence with the movement!


 Interestingly enough I purchased a Komandirskie directly from Vostok within the last 3 months and I have had a similar problem which was quickly resolved in the same manner but a friend of mine who is mad over Vostok's and swears by them told me if It's not uncommon especially if you don't wear them regularly. In fairness if you read the instructions that come with a Vostok they do say that the best way to keep your watch working effectively is to wear it regularly. mine gets an outing may 2/3 times a month so I can't complain but it does perform better if I put it on then watch winder a few times a month.


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