# Poljot Choices



## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

I found a Strela watch which I* had* to buy (1960 silver chrono) This will be my "_posh_" watch & my everyday watch is a Seiko Diver which I bought as it looked very similar to the Omega Seamaster (with black face) - Now that I am well & truly hooked I was thinking of adding another Russian to my collection & was looking at a black faced chrono like a Poljot Aviator 2 (the polished one with a black leather strap) Apart from spotting one here for sale is there anywhere I should be looking apart from Juri L's huge array on that well known online car boot (?) I'd also appreciate any pointers on similar looking watches (new or used)

Cheers ... Paul


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

PaulBoy said:


> I found a Strela watch which I* had* to buy (1960 silver chrono) This will be my "_posh_" watch & my everyday watch is a Seiko Diver which I bought as it looked very similar to the Omega Seamaster (with black face) - Now that I am well & truly hooked I was thinking of adding another Russian to my collection & was looking at a black faced chrono like a Poljot Aviator 2 (the polished one with a black leather strap) Apart from spotting one here for sale is there anywhere I should be looking apart from Juri L's huge array on that well known online car boot (?) I'd also appreciate any pointers on similar looking watches (new or used)
> 
> Cheers ... Paul


Anyone









Came across a web site called aviator-watch dot com - Anyone got any experience of this firm?

Paul


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## dapper (Jun 18, 2004)

PaulBoy said:


> PaulBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I found a Strela watch which I* had* to buy (1960 silver chrono) This will be my "_posh_" watch & my everyday watch is a Seiko Diver which I bought as it looked very similar to the Omega Seamaster (with black face) - Now that I am well & truly hooked I was thinking of adding another Russian to my collection & was looking at a black faced chrono like a Poljot Aviator 2 (the polished one with a black leather strap) Apart from spotting one here for sale is there anywhere I should be looking apart from Juri L's huge array on that well known online car boot (?) I'd also appreciate any pointers on similar looking watches (new or used)
> ...


Hi Paul, the lack of response is probably because forum rules don't allow posting links to commercial watch sites. For reliable Poljot sources have a google for 'P. Maier GmbH' and 'Poljot24' 

Cheers


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

dapper said:


> PaulBoy said:
> 
> 
> > PaulBoy said:
> ...


Hi Alan - Thanks for pointing that out, a real rookie mistake on my part







- I have done the google you mentioned & that's a good start - I'd still like to hear of any other Russian brands I might overlook due to my lack of knowledge on such matters as I'm sure there's some to look out for & some to avoid (?)

Paul


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

Poljot are the top of the line Russian makers - the chronographs are the top of the Poljot range, and my favourites...

As you will know from your Strela, they originally used a 3017 movement, which was replaced by the more robust 3133, and this in turn was replaced with the 31677, currently in production from 'Maktime'.

One of each would be nice....

All Russian watches are of variable quality control, you need to be careful where you buy from, to ensure that in the event of a problem you have some comeback. Or you could gamble with Ukrianian sellers, as I often do, and win some, lose some...

The older 3133s come in a wide variety of designs, the Okean is one I'm currently looking to add. Watch out for reproductions; they're perfectly OK, but should be identified as such. On the other hand, the repro Kirova chronos are the only way I'm ever to going to be able to afford a Kirova chronograph!

As always, buy with your heart, pay with your head.

Good luck.


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## dapper (Jun 18, 2004)

Good advice from Chris









Russian watch manufacture has undergone many changes changes recently.

Here's an interesting article by Irina Maier:

"1. Poljot and Volmax

Poljot is the name of perhaps the most known watch and watch movement factory in Russia. It has a very rich history and the watch brand it produced (is still producing) â€"â€œPoljotâ€- is one of the most famous watch brands in Russia. A couple of years ago the owner of the factory sold the machinery for watch movement production to other Russian companies (3133 â€" to McTime, 26.. to Vostok, â€¦) but the name â€œPoljotâ€ has not been sold. Approximately at the same time production of Poljot watches was nearly stopped. At the beginning of the century , as it got clear that Poljot decline is inevitable some employees of the Poljot factory founded a new company â€œVolmaxâ€ â€" pure Russian company that started production of three watch brands â€œAviatorâ€, â€œBuranâ€ and â€œSturmanskieâ€. These brands officially belong to Volmax and are produced in Moscow in the Poljot building. By the way, best designers and watch makers of the former Poljot factory work at Volmax company. So one could say they are a successor of Poljot. On the other hand, Ivan Ksenofontov (PoljotÂ´s ownerÂ´s son) has not buried the idea to go on with production of Poljot watches, so he is about to release a small collection of Poljot watches this year. Time will show if it will work.

Conclusion: Both â€œPoljotâ€ and â€œVolmaxâ€ are well known officially registered watch manufacturers in Russia. Neither Poljot nor Volmax has ever tried to bring watches to the market without indication to the manufacturer. It means: all the watches produced by Poljot or Volmax have the registered logos on the dials or the back cover. Poljot has the â€œPoljotâ€ logo and Volmax uses â€œAviator, Buran and Sturmanskieâ€ logos on their watches. Additionaly, Volmax has just released a watch line called â€œPatriotâ€ with the logo â€œРЧЗâ€œ on the dial (special edition, as a separate project). These watches belong to Volmax.

2. Juri Levenberg. A lot has been written about this watch dealer in the WUSF. J. Levenberg is a Russian who moved to Germany quite a few years ago and started to sell Russian watches through Internet. As there was no distribution policy at that time the business bloomed. Juri Levenberg sold watches to other internet dealers for Russian watches like Ruwatch, Poljot24, etc. Some years ago the Russian watch manufacturers came to the conclusion that working on the world market is not possible without reasonable distribution strategy and so, the rights to sell some official Russian watch brands were given to companies that were able to work not only with Internet shops but what is more important, with normal retail shops, to represent the watch brands on the decent level at watch trade fairs, etc. Levenberg company never got the right from any Russian watch manufacturer for any exclusive representation at the German market, moreover, some of the Russian watch manufacturers refuse to deliver any watches to this company. Thus it led to the situation that has been known for a certain time: Levenberg company suddenly offers watches in E-bay that are supposed to be Russian but give no indication to their manufacturer, additionaly they are sold by his company to some of their Internet dealers. A warning signal for all people who like Russian watches: is it a real Russian watch if there is no official Russian watch manufacturer behind it or is it an UFO? What are the reasons that make such "watch producers" hide the origin of their watches?

Please do not mix all those â€œnew Russian brandsâ€ â€" Moscow classic, Sturmovik, Pilot, etc with Poljot and Volmax watches â€" they have nothing to do with these well known official watch manufacturers.

3. One more thing: Vostok and Vostok-Europe. These two watch brands are still being mixed up although these are two different watch brands. Vostok or Восток (Russian way) is a typical Russian watch brand produced in Chistopol (Russia/Tartarstan) at the Vostok factory and Vostok- Europe is a brand made by the Lithuanian company Koliz Vostok in cooperation with the Vostok factory.

Watches produced by Vostok in Chistopol can be divided into 2 groups: those produced for the domestic market (cheaper and with much lower quality) and export watches â€" the same watch lines made with better movements and better quality. The former are to get through all Russian companies via Internet or in retail shops in Russia and also by inofficial Internet dealers who buy these watches just somewhere to sell all over the world, the latter (export quality) can only be bought through official Vostok dealers (distributors and authorized dealers) outside Russia.

Watches Vostok Europe produced in Lithuania have very high quality that is the same all over the world because Vostok Europe started the watch production with the only aim â€" to provide the market with inexpensive high quality automatic watches officially distributed all over the world".

Cheers


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Wow! Two great replies there from Chris & Alan







- I haven't actually received my Strela yet having only ordered it last week - From the seller's description it is : POLJOT chronograph STRELA, Caliber 3133, 23 jewels, diameter 38 mm. limited to 500 pieces - It may have arrived from Germany on Friday or Saturday but I have such things delievered to work (hopefully be there 2moro) - As I mentioned I was keen to add an Aviator Chrono in black to compliment the Strela but haven't decided which one to get or whether to keep my Sub / Seamaster clone (Seiko Diver) or keep it to pad out my "collection" - Thanks for the info / Lots of food for thought ... Paul


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

My Strela arrived today & apart from the strap (post about this in the straps forum) I love it - Quick pic (excuse the quality its darker than a dungeon round here) Paul


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

Nice!

I have a similar Strela and some other chronographs, here are a few....





I have some more unphotographed including my Strela... The Buran used to be common and inexpensive, but seems to be less so recently.

I see your Strela has the 1MWF marking, and Kirova above the '6'. You may be interested in the significance of this marking.

Kirov was a Soviet hero, Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov (Ко́стриков), later assuming the name "Kirov" as an alias, and popularly believed to have been purged by Stalin's man, Leonid Nikolaev. Kirov was so popular that Stalin, worried that he (Stalin) had made a dangerous mistake, that he, (Stalin), named many Soviet features after Kirov to placate the proletariat. Others adopted Kirovs name by public demand.

So we get in many Soviet town and cities a Kirov park, square, street, or 'Kirovska Prospekt'... indeed even in 1987 the new Moscow Metro station Kirovskaja (Кировская) was opened.

I particularly like the Soviet watches marked with Kirov's name, and have a small collection of them. Many of them were gold, and thus expensive. Sold only through store accessible only to Party members, we must ask what the wearing of a watch marked with the name of a purge victim's name meant, in the Soviet culture of paranoia in the USSR of the late 1950's....



Every vintage Soviet watch is a little bit of Revolutionary history... what do you get with those Swiss things?

"Chocolate and the cuckoo clock"...

"The world domination of Socialism is inevitable. If somewhat delayed...."

"Krasnaya Rodina"


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Chris - Superb collection of watches you have there & some fascinating info on my Strela & the Kirov connection - Like you say not just a watch but a history lesson! Thanks for sharing that - This forum impresses me more every day ... Paul


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