# The Ekranoplan Has Landed.....



## bobbysamd

....and has landed on my wrist!

Introduction. I learned of the Vostok-Europe Ekranoplan by error. My Russian watch seller, Craig, had mistakenly sent me an e-mail. His e-mail stated "my Ekranoplan order" would be delayed. What order? What the heck is an Ekranoplan? Naturally, I was curious. I went to the website.

The Ekranoplan, also known as the Caspian Sea Monster, is a large Russian ground-effect sea vehicle.










Russian watches are different from the rest of the crowd and, in my mind, are interesting because so many of them have a theme. (E.g., the Energia, with the offset minutes hand representing the offset booster engine on the Energia rocket.) Vostok-Europe created the Ekranoplan as a theme watch to recognize the vehicle.

Of course I wanted my own Ekranoplan. I contacted Craig. He explained delivery could be slow because the watches' radioactive tritium gas tubes made him jump through NRC hoops. Despite the bureaucratic delays, Craig and Kristine provided their usual excellent service and timely delivery.

Packaging. The Ekranoplan arrived in a good quality but standard Vostok Europe box. Accompanying the watch was a guarantee card, Craig and Kristine's business card, and a straightforward instruction manual. The manual extols the virtues of purchasing a VE product, and has technical specs and instructions for operating VE movements, including the 2432 movement that powers the Ekranoplan.










Casework, Dial and Strap. The Ekranoplan is built solidly of stainless steel. The watch has a heft to it. I love nice casework and the Ekranoplanâ€™s sandblasted finish gets an "A." The unidirectional bezel and screw-in crown are nicely knurled and easy to grip. The bezel rotates easily and clicks into place decisively. Water resistance is 20 ATM. Although the Ekranoplan commemorates a ground-effect vehicle that skimmed the water, with 20 ATM water resistance one could dive with it.

The exhibition caseback displays the 2432 movement fully - unlike the Energia, which displays a half-picture of the movement. The movement is nicely done. It features Geneva striping on the rotor and blued screws.










The rubber strap is nicely pliable and not stiff, unlike, e.g., Citizen. The end slips easily into the strap loops.

The dial has a wave pattern, like sea waves, which suits the Ekranoplan theme. The dial sports a numeric 24-hour indicator and a day/night indicator. The Trigalight Â® T tubes glow brightly - as brightly as Ball or Marathon. The rotating bezel's triangle dot and small triangle above the 12 o'clock do not have tubes. I believe they are luminova.

After viewing the watch at several angles, Iâ€™ve decided the dial is black. The chapter ring is olive drab green, but also looks black in some lighting. The rotating bezel is a shiny olive drab green.










The 2432 automatic movement is typical Russian - no quickset date or seconds hand hacking function. No problem - the date sets quickly enough in the usual Russian watch fashion - by turning the hands back to about 9 p.m., turning them forward past 12 midnight to advance the date, and repeating the process - a la the Poljot 3133 movement. The watch winds easily. Itâ€™s too soon to determine accuracy.

Comfort. Though the watch measures 47 mm in diameter, I still expected a somewhat smaller watch. The Ekranoplan is a big watch. It wears big but comfortably on my 6Â½-inch wrist.










Conclusion. In her e-mail advising she was shipping my Ekranoplan, Kristine said it would blow me away. She was right! Vostok-Europe outdid itself. For sure, the Ekranoplan is a cool watch, with unique features and a unique theme. But the Ekranoplan is a quality watch - solid, well made, and priced fairly. VE stands for Vostok-Europe. The "V" should also stand for "Value." If you like uniquely themed, quality watches, you'll like the VE Ekranoplan.

(Ekranoplan photo borrowed from http://www.vincelewis.net)


----------



## bowie

Great review of a very nice looking watch well done 

bowie


----------



## mrteatime

thats very cool.......i really like the look of that.....and is that plane real????


----------



## AlexC1981

Yes it's real. I saw a TV programme about it not long ago. Click the link in the OPs post for more info.


----------



## mrteatime

just been looking...its an awesome piece of kit aint it?


----------



## bobbysamd

mrteatime said:


> its an awesome piece of kit aint it?


You'll like the watch. BTW in natural light the dial is olive drab green, though in incandescent light it looks black.


----------



## langtoftlad

mrteatime said:


> just been looking...its an awesome piece of kit aint it?


I think James May took a ride in one awhile back...

BBC News

3rd clip is the original.


----------



## Stan

The Russians certainly seem to be trying to make their watches appealing to more affluent customers.


----------



## carver

I bought a K2 Submarine a while ago and found it to be the worst time keeper I have ever had like gaining three minutes a day after this i swore I would never buy another Russian watch however I often watched the telly sales of Vostok watches for something to do then last week they pull out the bloody Ekranoplan (can I call it the CSM for short) well I like big watches and this looked really almost stupidly big but I managed to resist the urge to buy then next day I had a look on the internet and there it was and a lot cheaper at Soviet watches they only had one and it was the olive drab one that I liked so I hit the buy button it turned up a day later well I was expecting a big watch and was not disapointed better still the overall quality seems excellent the finish is top stuff the bezzle clicks as nicely (for want of a better word) as my swiss watches and the screw thread on the crown feels smooth the strap feels a bit soft I prefer the harder Citizen Casio type as I feel they are more durable but time will tell and as for timekeeping well I have an atomic clock which I use to set my watches and so far the CSM has been spot on so great watch love and will buy another as soon as there is a blue one :lol:


----------



## HereBeMonsters

Just out of interest, how much was it? Looks the sort of thing I'm after for a large daily, but if it's pricey it may not be suitable.


----------



## skyMAX08

What an interesting review just ordered my first russian but will be looking for one of these.nice to know some history behind the watches as well thanks


----------



## carver

Watch cost Â£332 with free postage which I feel is about right there are two other colour/finishes available silver and black and red and black both of which cost abit more but I feel the green one looks much better the watch is keeping very good time as good as my automatic swiss watches that cost a lot more

wish they made a blue one.

when you wear one you will hear "what the f$%k is that quite often"


----------

