# You Never Forget Your First Russian...



## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Ive just been sent a Vostock Amphibia and its really quite nice....







I know that sounds patronising














but I got it cheap off a forum member and wasnt expecting much at all!









It seems to keep good time and im really quite taken with it... how on earth do they make these for the money?

Anyone know if the case is stainless as it looks it, but I want to be sure before i buff a scratch out....?

I have to say I didnt originally get the Russian watch thing but im starting to understand now...


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## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

I think the backs are st. steel but not the case. File a little inside one of the lugs and if it's brass it'll show up


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## Xantiagib (Apr 22, 2005)

They are great arent they? where else can you get an all in-house built watch for that money? I use mine most at the summer, beaches, snorkeling, fixing the car etc... places I would not wear a more expensive watch.

The current ones are stainless steel - there was a thread on this here a while ago, an't seem to find it now - I think only the early ones from the 80s and early 90s may have been plated.

However for the price they are you would not be dissapointed and if you wreck it - buy another but they're practically bullet proof











JonW said:


> Ive just been sent a Vostock Amphibia and its really quite nice....
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## Xantiagib (Apr 22, 2005)

Found it:

Discussion on what Vostoks are made of...

General concensus was that the current 200m (Amphibia) waterproof ones were made of steel.


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## r1ch (Feb 2, 2004)

Hi Guys..

There are still the two types of this Vostok available. The base metal chromed ones tend to be sold as "Vostok Military" by many, and most have a rounded dome type screw crown. These are also typically a wee bit cheaper than the SS variety unless the vendor is being cheeky! They have a thinner acrylic crystal and the gaskets are a tad feeble, making them 100M WR I believe, (from memory).

The Amphibia model is IMHO the real good bang for buck watch. Steel case, and as JonW said, more quality than you'd expect for the price. I believe it was Jason who's used his in "anger" for SCUBA diving whilst on hols. I'm a big fan of these and have three or so. They've got bags of character and have a rustic old school communist feel to the way they work and are engineered. The bezels on both models are chromed base metal, so don't be tempted to polish out those scratches too much









Rich


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Cheers guys, the crown on this one looks very slightly domed on the outer edges...but flat in the middle.... so im assuming that its what we would call flat as it is mostly flat - certainly it is in the main. So that means a SS case... I think!









Oh and it also says 200m on the dial which back up whats been said...


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Vostoks are excellent watches especially for the price, I`ve got 6 including 2 from the `80`s which are both going strong









* A couple of Vostok Amphibias, 31 Jewel Auto c2003 & 17 Jewel Manual wiind early `80`s*










This one isn`t an Amphibia but again is appprox 20 years old & again still going strong, obtained from a fine man in the Fens:wink2:

*Vostok 1980`s 21 jewel 2146 Automatic Movement*










This one is now fitted with a bezel in better condition


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

wow, those are some very classy looking watches! just love the dials...









The crown on your blue dialed auto looks the same as mine...


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

JonW said:


> wow, those are some very classy looking watches! just love the dials...
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Thanks Jon, I remember there was mention sometime back on the forum that the Russian navy had attached an Amphibia to the outside of one of their submarines and taken it to a depth of *300m*









I have no idea if the story was true









BTW what sort of dial does your one have?









Heres another of my favourite Vostoks









*Vostok Ampibia Military Style, 21 Jewel Automatic*


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Mine is the same as one of the ones Roy has on the site... I'll sort a pic but a bit tied up right now...


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## bluejay (Apr 12, 2005)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> * A couple of Vostok Amphibias, 31 Jewel Auto c2003 & 17 Jewel Manual wiind early `80`s*
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Does that blue one have a stainless steel case? How inaccurate would you say it is? (my experience of Ruskies is very mixed!).

And... is it this one at the bottom of the Vostok page?









cheers


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

I will never forget my first Russian


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

JoT said:


> I will never forget my first Russian
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I wondered when you'd turn up and say that John.
















You bugger.


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## AdrianG (Jun 4, 2005)

JonW said:


> Ive just been sent a Vostock Amphibia and its really quite nice....
> 
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> 
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Hey Jon,

What do you usually use to buff out those scratches on ya watch case?

Thanks.

Regards,

Adrian


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

bluejay said:


> mach 0.0013137 said:
> 
> 
> > * A couple of Vostok Amphibias, 31 Jewel Auto c2003 & 17 Jewel Manual wiind early `80`s*
> ...


I`ve never got too anal about the accuracy but its good enough for me & yes it is the same one as in Roys pic on one of his Swiss rubber deployment straps









See here.. http://www.rltwatches.com/acatalog/Swiss_Rubber.html


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Stan said:


> JoT said:
> 
> 
> > I will never forget my first RussianÂ
> ...


I was just thinking that too. Hope she's not your last







Wimbledon's up soon and we can get to ogle the lovely Maria again









Ahem, anyway, back to watches; I have three modern Vostok Amphibias, a ten (or so) year old Komandirskie and one that's maybe 20 years old. All are solid as a rock, keep great time, and, at the price, I couldn't fault a single a one of them. They're superb watches.


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

I absolutely love Russian style!

When I first started collecting watches a couple of years back, Vostoks and Poljots were a cheap way of getting into things.

*My first Russian -*










Maybe some of their dial designs are a bit OTT.

Great quality for the price.

Caught by the Vostoks? Absolutely.


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

> Caught by the Vostoks? Absolutely.


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## DavidH (Feb 24, 2003)

Accuracy?

How about this which gains one third as much in a week as another watch I have which costs 67 times the price!










Of course they wont all do that but with a bit of regulating will be close.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

makky said:


> I absolutely love Russian style!
> 
> When I first started collecting watches a couple of years back, Vostoks and Poljots were a cheap way of getting into things.
> 
> ...


Nice looking Vostok you have there Makky, do you have any photo`s of your other Russki`s?









BTW welcome to the forum


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

I was going to run a dremel mop with a bit of Maas metal poilish... unless people say thats an increduably bad idea!


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## Xantiagib (Apr 22, 2005)

I use autosol chrome polish + elbow grease

Dremmel beware! the heat generated can damage other parts of the watch - the bezel, acrylic crystal etc... use in short bursts, allow metal to cool down. Unless you have a very veyr low RPM setting then it should be ok.



JonW said:


> I was going to run a dremel mop with a bit of Maas metal poilish... unless people say thats an increduably bad idea!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Ok, elbow grease it is! cheers for the tip.

Ok a pic!


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

Here's a couple more of mine.

I was doing a bit of strap changing and making sure my O rings were well greased, when...

Sorry about the poor composition -










Don't know what happened. My tool must have slipped.

I'm a bit new to this Digital Photography. Perhaps someone could help me improve my technique.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

makky said:


> Here's a couple more of mine.
> 
> I was doing a bit of strap changing and making sure my O rings were well greased, when...
> 
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Good one Makky


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Xantiagib said:


> I use autosol chrome polish + elbow grease
> 
> Dremmel beware! the heat generated can damage other parts of the watch - the bezel, acrylic crystal etc... use in short bursts, allow metal to cool down. Unless you have a very veyr low RPM setting then it should be ok.
> 
> ...


My experience also, hard work and good sense produces shiney mesh and no tears.
















Keep the RPM low and take your time, imo.


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