# Sturmanskie Gagarin Retro



## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I really like the look of the Sturmanskie Gagarin Retro, but 270 euros seems quite a lot. Is it worth the price or there cheaper alternatives or better deals to be had??


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2012)

Do you mean the chrono version or the standard one? I myself like the re-issue of the Gagarin watch I assume the price represents the limited issue of the watch more than anything else. You can get watches with the same poljot movement for a bit cheaper but that depends on what you want really.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I'm really only interested in the non-chronograph version, which as you say has the Poljot hand winding movement??


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2012)

odyseus10 said:


> I'm really only interested in the non-chronograph version, which as you say has the Poljot hand winding movement??


As far as I know both are hand wind movements. The chrono being the Poljot 3133. I have a couple of Poljot chronos and they are both excellent, the power reserve is something else!


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I think though that the non-chronograph is closer to the original version? I done an ebay+google search and Â£230 seems about the cheapest?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

You mean this one, right?










There's this silver dialed version, a black and a white one, the white one being the closest to the original. But the silver one is the one to get! Beautiful watch! These are made by Volmax, so they should be pretty good.

Unfortunately the price is the same everywhere I've looked... â‚¬270. Haven't checked Russian sellers on ebay though but I don't remember them having these.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

Yep, that's the one! - I didn't realise it came with a silver dial (aswell as black and white)

I see the 'great' Juri Levenberg accepted 245 Euro's for a silver one - that's about Â£192+postage?? - A good deal do you think??


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, you save â‚¬25... It's not a huge deal but it's the lowest price I know of. Offer him 200 and see what he says...


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I'll give it a go but I reckon he'll refuse, hopefully he'll remember all the 'crap' he gave me last time and accept the offer. If I could get watch for under Â£200 inc postage, then that would be a fair deal??


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

He might accept it or make a counter-offer, it's usually the way it goes. I imagine he doesn't have much of a margin with these, in fact I don't even know how he got those. Volmax doesn't supply him with any of their stuff (or didn't used to), so should be a middle man there somewhere.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

Kutusov said:


> He might accept it or make a counter-offer, it's usually the way it goes. I imagine he doesn't have much of a margin with these, in fact I don't even know how he got those. Volmax doesn't supply him with any of their stuff (or didn't used to), so should be a middle man there somewhere.


I have had a look around for one of these before. There is the German seller Vostok-Watches who to my knowledge is an official distributer so presumably thats where he got them from. They sell them for the same price so if you do get it for 200 quid then I do think thats the lowest you will get.

Personally I also like the silver one but white being the original colour I would probably end up going for that one.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I think I screwed up?

As I offered 200,210 & 215 but in Euro's!!

All offers got instantly declined and now I can't make any more offers??

Bummer, never mind


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

Sorry one other thing I thought I shoud add. Looking at the prices of many of the watches I see on the site it does appear that they are artificially overpriced expecting an offer. You can get them elsewhere for what would probably be the offer price without the haggle.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

odyseus10 said:


> I think I screwed up?
> 
> As I offered 200,210 & 215 but in Euro's!!
> 
> ...


Try putting in an offer for one of the other colours if you like that watch. You can always contact him and say you want a white/black/silver one instead.

Just a suggestion.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

robert75 said:


> I have had a look around for one of these before. There is the German seller Vostok-Watches who to my knowledge is an official distributer so presumably thats where he got them from. They sell them for the same price so if you do get it for 200 quid then I do think thats the lowest you will get.


I doubt it... they are the official distributor like you said and Juri isn't an official retailer. There's also some (indirect but) harsh words from the lady in charge towards Juri in some other site, so I think there's not much love there. Things are changing though, as prices went sky high and I think they aren't fairing all that well. I used to see a lot more people buying Russian watches a couple of years ago as they were pretty good for the money. Now, some are very close or even more expensive than some Swiss watches so they lost the edge there. Rules can change and sales are down... 



odyseus10 said:


> I think I screwed up?
> 
> As I offered 200,210 & 215 but in Euro's!!
> 
> ...


You did well, I think... â‚¬200 was what I was talking about, his price is â‚¬285... There may be some sort of automatic threshold thing set to decline an offer below a set value. If there is such a thing, makes sense that it blocks you out for a time just so you can't probe it. I imagine it should reset itself after 24h or something. If not, contact him directly with the offer you know he accepts. Better not complicate things with him...

As Robert said, I think he inflates a lot of his prices so you can as best offer. I know of a particular case where he accepted a 50% offer right away. It was for one watch of his brand though, I still think he doesn't have a margin for these Sturmanskies. He probably got them through some contact in Russia and probably didn't get a price very far down the retail value.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

Strela watched a perfect example of this. Going rate 300 (and even that is ott) He is selling them for 350. Clearly he is expecting an offer and would accept 300 making you think you are getting a good deal.

As the OP said, I can't see these price hikes lasting in the economic climate you may be better off holding back and waiting for the inevitable sale when they suddenly realise nobody is paying their over inflated prices.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

Thanks for the advice guys. Not sure the bid thing resets, maybe when the auction ends.

I assume the threshold is somewhere between the 215euros rejected and the 245 euros accepted??

Does look like a nice watch though, are there other recommended sites to get it from? I'm in no great hurry, need to off load a few things on ebay first


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2012)

I would hold back if I were you. There will always be sales and there are plenty of other Poljot watches out there. I think the Volmax ones are a bit expensive.

Then again it's up to you, if you really like it and can get it for 200 then why not go for it? After all it's for you to keep.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

I probably will go for the white one to be honest. As I said have a few watches to sell on ebay and a few other astronomy bits and then I'll go for it!!

Trouble is I keep buying watches, re-luming them for fun then offloading them for little or no profit (some watchmakers on other forums charge between 50 & 80 euro's for a re-lume).

I don't think I'd ever do it for a living  but I still think watches are really interesting, hence I paid for TZwatchschool level 2 - ETA2836 servicing..


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Juri still sells Strelas for â‚¬350? That's a good price! It can be debatable if these prices are worth it for a 3133 but it's the prices that now exist. That's why I said before that I was a bit outdated on prices and whatnot as Russian watches are now almost as expensive as Swiss stuff.

Anyway, the prices for watches with calibers 31xx went up a lot as of January this year, as I have warned on some other thread here. It has to do with the fact that no one is making them any more, even though there are still lots on stock. I don't know how it works and why there's suddenly a concerted raise on prices for these things but it was known and expected. Julian Kampmann is a fair player and his prices on Strelas went up about â‚¬100 (so about 33.(3)%). It's a market thing and I have given up on understanding why the market works as it works. There's a war on Middle East, petrol goes up because oil production drops. There's peace in the Middle East, petrol prices go up because oil is too cheap and oil companies share-holders have to keep their profits. It's ******** but it is what it is.

Rant over, now on point... I think this Gagarin watch is a very particular watch where usual rules don't apply. It's a reissued watch made in a small run and with a set price. If you want it, you have to pay its price. If it's worth it or not is more of a collectors thing than the watch itself. I think it's pricey as a watch for what it is but there isn't anything else like it. You can get an original Sturmanskie but that's an old watch and usually in pretty bad shape.

I wouldn't expect a sale on these, there's rarely a sale on Russian watches, let alone these commemorative ones. In fact, what we have seen is that prices went sky high in the last couple of years.

Oh, and do go for the silver one! Really! I have never seen any of them on the flesh but everybody who has say the silver one is a stunning piece that really stands out from the other two. It also doesn't detract much from the original Gagarin watch and you're getting a reissued watch, so no harm done on a bit of updated looks that make it look better :cheers:


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2012)

Sorry I should have been more clear. His prices start at about Â£350 not Euros! You can find them though for Â£300 so I would imagine Juri would accept that if it was offered.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Oh, sorry... we were talking about Euros and since he is the supplier (his brand...), I thought 350 might be Euros. Prices for those are close to the â‚¬400 now which is absolutely insane. They went for less than â‚¬300 a year ago with a little shopping around... not all that hard to get one for 270/280 + S&H... All 3133 chronos went sky high. I bought a Jetfighter less than a year ago for something like â‚¬240... now they are also around â‚¬400


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2012)

Kutusov said:


> Oh, sorry... we were talking about Euros and since he is the supplier (his brand...), I thought 350 might be Euros. Prices for those are close to the â‚¬400 now which is absolutely insane. They went for less than â‚¬300 a year ago with a little shopping around... not all that hard to get one for 270/280 + S&H... All 3133 chronos went sky high. I bought a Jetfighter less than a year ago for something like â‚¬240... now they are also around â‚¬400


There is a Jetfighter on the net going for Â£155 shipped from Russia second hand. Looks in good condition and a very good price. As you say, I can live with 30-50 increase over a year but over a 100 pounds and sorry you are taking the you know what. People buy Russian watches because they are good durable affordable watches they are not going to continue buying if they start coming close to Swiss prices and the fact is some of the prices Juri is selling his chronos are the same if not more than an entry level Tissot chrono!

If you keep looking around Juri does have some "Sales" (Read, sells a watch at its actual price not his inflated one) I have seen some Poljot watches going down from Â£200 to Â£120! Tells you everything about what the real value of the watch is!


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

Anyone want to comment on this watch??

http://www.ussrwatch.net/Jurij-Gagarin-SHTURMANSKIE-USSR-Air-Force-Poljot-1MWF.html


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

odyseus10 said:


> Anyone want to comment on this watch??
> 
> http://www.ussrwatch.net/Jurij-Gagarin-SHTURMANSKIE-USSR-Air-Force-Poljot-1MWF.html


Looks wrong to me but that doesn't mean much, I don't know enough about this vintage stuff. Martin or Vaurian would be a lot more helpful than me. Anyway, I think it's wrong. The real thing should look like this (note no sword hands):


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> odyseus10 said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone want to comment on this watch??
> ...


A good old movement into new case, dial and hands.

How do you call it? Frankino?

:taz:

Price is nice, though :big_boss:


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2012)

There is a seller in Ukraine that has loads of these "retro" Gagarin watches going for 50 quid.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Vaurien said:


> A good old movement into new case, dial and hands.
> 
> How do you call it? Frankino?
> 
> ...


Grazie mille Anna! I wasn't sure about the case but those hands... that's something that belongs to a German flieger. :lol:


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Vaurien said:
> 
> 
> > A good old movement into new case, dial and hands.
> ...


Looking better, I'm not sure the case is new. :stop:

However, the crown has been changed and its name is still the same :wallbash:


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## 1878 (Oct 27, 2009)

odyseus10 said:


> Thanks for the advice guys. Not sure the bid thing resets, maybe when the auction ends.
> 
> I assume the threshold is somewhere between the 215euros rejected and the 245 euros accepted??
> 
> Does look like a nice watch though, are there other recommended sites to get it from? I'm in no great hurry, need to off load a few things on ebay first


Just had a bid of 230 rejected one bid left on the silver.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

Why not see if Julian Kampmann poljot24.de will cut you a deal??

He has the black and silver 50th anniversary editions for 270 euros. BTW He also has all three of the 40th editions for 170 euros.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

odyseus10 said:


> Why not see if Julian Kampmann poljot24.de will cut you a deal??
> 
> He has the black and silver 50th anniversary editions for 270 euros. BTW He also has all three of the 40th editions for 170 euros.


Are you sure? I can't find a single one... where are they in the site? Should be in the "Manual winding watches" but I don't see anything...


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

Kutusov said:


> odyseus10 said:
> 
> 
> > Why not see if Julian Kampmann poljot24.de will cut you a deal??
> ...


I asked what he had in stock and his reply was what I posted..


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Ah, ok! Thanks! I already had the impression that he sometimes has stuff that he forgets to post on his site. I think watches are a side business for him, his main income has to come from some other business. I think that's part of the reason why he's such a great a guy to deal with, he's probably more of a watch enthusiast than a seller.


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

OK, just to get some final advice.. It looks there are several choices??

(1) Get a 40th anniversary version for 170euro (Â£134)

(2) Get a 40th anniversary version for 270euro (Â£212)

(3) Get a Franken ie new dial & old movement+case for Â£65 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330678318431?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_4105wt_1186

Any other options/suggestions...


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Don't get the Franken!!

I would go with the 40th anniversary one, because of price and the fact you prefer the white dial like the original watch.


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## Dazzer (Dec 7, 2011)

Don't get the Franken, it's not really the watch you want it to be.

If you're going to get this watch, get the ones with pedigree.

Plus they will hold some value, the Franken will be worth squat !


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## odyseus10 (Jan 26, 2012)

..I just bought a white 50th Anniversary edition from seller uhren-point. It had to be the 50th edition as that's 38mm diameter, while the 40th edition is 33mm in diameter..


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