# So, These Russian Watches...



## Billtr96sn (Jun 15, 2011)

Can anyone tell me more? Is Sekonda still Russian? Are there any 'good' or 'bad' things to look out for? Where is the best place to get these if you are UK based? What sort of price ranges should I be looking at? etc etc etc.

I have been looking at some of your posts, and the watches look terrific to me, they seem to have a solidity to them that you dont see in Japanese watches unless you are willing to pay big bucks.


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Hi There,

No they are no longer Russian , there are now made in China, low end market

Cheers Martin


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## Billtr96sn (Jun 15, 2011)

My bad, I meant Russian watches in general for the rest of the info, the Sekonda question was just meant for that bit, i.e. is Sekonda sstill Russian, which you have answered, thanks.

Oh, I am not explaining myself very well.

Please read the first question, leaving out the Sekonda reference.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Russia has a long tradition of matchmaking (400 years), they just don't have the advertisement of the Swiss. Plus, the Soviet era kept them "on the other side". Those oldies are usually tough, simple made but excellent watches. Slava, Raketa, Vostok, they are all good. Best place to get them is through ebay, you'll pay a lot from the UK based sellers that might have them (at least the ones I know of). Even if you'll end up paying customs taxes and VAT, it's still cheaper to buy them from Russia or Ukrain. You sometimes can get a few interesting watches from ex-soviet countries like Czech Republic or Bulgaria, now inside the EU (so no taxes added).

The new ones... there aren't many new brands around. They still use old movements but that's a good thing. A 3133 or a 3602 are tried and true mechanical movements that are well know for they toughness and reliability.

Volmax is pretty much the crown jewel of Russian brands nowadays. They sell under 3 diferent sub-brands: Aviator, Buran and Sturmanskie. They are expensive comparing to other Russian brands (Moscow Classic for example) but they are very well made and very close to a Swiss watch which costs a lot more.

You can find some UK sellers but the best place to get them is from Germany and Poland (EU countries), they have the better prices, are reliable sellers and are also official sellers with those brands.

Things to look out for (IMHO): Russian models with ETA or Vauljoux movements. They are much more expensive because they are fitted with much more expensive Swiss movements. You can usually find the same model fitted with a proper Russian movement for a lot less and the quality is pretty similar.

Hope this helps.


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## paul1684 (Jul 21, 2008)

Kutusov said:


> Russia has a long tradition of matchmaking (400 years), they just don't have the advertisement of the Swiss. Plus, the Soviet era kept them "on the other side". Those oldies are usually tough, simple made but excellent watches. Slava, Raketa, Vostok, they are all good. Best place to get them is through ebay, you'll pay a lot from the UK based sellers that might have them (at least the ones I know of). Even if you'll end up paying customs taxes and VAT, it's still cheaper to buy them from Russia or Ukrain. You sometimes can get a few interesting watches from ex-soviet countries like Czech Republic or Bulgaria, now inside the EU (so no taxes added).
> 
> The new ones... there aren't many new brands around. They still use old movements but that's a good thing. A 3133 or a 3602 are tried and true mechanical movements that are well know for they toughness and reliability.
> 
> ...


Raketa is the only surviving Russian brand that still makes the complete watch, including the movement, in-house.


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## Billtr96sn (Jun 15, 2011)

Thank you very much.


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## KevG (Dec 15, 2008)




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## Billtr96sn (Jun 15, 2011)

Thank you very much.


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