# Vostok Komandirskie



## MartinAtton (Mar 14, 2005)

About ten days I received a Vostok Komandirskie very promptly from Roy. I was particularly impressed by the fact that it was telling the right time and the date had been set as well!

I bought it because it was cheap and I thought the design was very unusual and distinctive. However, I am aware that although Russian gear is usually very solid and the raw materials are good, quality control is often an issue.

The actual watch is solid and chunky and has a brushed finish on the front, highly polished sides and a beautifully etched back, telling one all about the fact that the watch is water resistant to 5ATM and has 31 jewels etc. The dial is well executed and the watch has a screw down crown. The crown on mine is not perpendicular to the axle, but it functions well enough and the threads engage positively.

I really think the design of the watch is fantastic, even down to the idiosyncratic "day and night" indicator, which is a small rectangle above the date. This changes colour gradually from black to red in the morning and does the opposite in the eveining.

I thought the strap was hideous and have changes it for a Darlena rembord constructed black leather with a stainless steel deployant which sets it off beautifully.

There were three initial problems with the watch which I have sorted out and is now allowed to join my other watches. (Glycine Combat/ Glycine Incursore/ Seiko Orange monster/ Seiko 5 Superior/ Zeno Army Diver/ Plastic Swatch)

The watch was gaining about 35 seconds a day. By much concentration and minute adjustment I now have got it down to within less than 3 seconds a day! It also is very consistent in different positions and wear patterns. The movement looks a little "agricultural", but has everything it should: jewelled pallet stones, Ball bearing rotor etc. I also like the fact that it beats at a leisurely 19,800 bph.

The other problems required me to grasp the nettle to avoid being driven crazy every time I looked at the watch face! The minute hand was carrying around what looked like a wool fibre and the hour hand was out of alignment so that it was on the hour when the minute hand was reading about six minutes past. I removed the movement from the case and discovered that the wool fibre was actually attached to the luminous paint on the hand. A firm tweak with the tweezers soon sorted it out. I also took off and rehanded the watch with the approprate tools and replaced them. I recently acquired a pretty comprehensive set of watchmaking tools form a retiresd watchmaker! After ensuring there were no marks on the dial or hands and no debris to be seen I put the whole thing back together and everything is now spot on!

In spite of these niggles I think the watch is great value, very distinctive and a great watch to add to my eclectic collection.

Interestingly enough, only my two Glycines came with the the hands aligned precisely!! The OM, & Zeno are close enough for me not to worry, but I had to rehand the Seiko 5 Superior. Perhaps I am just being picky, but it can be done with very little effort on the part of the watch assembler!

Excellent serviice and a great watch for the money.

Martin


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Great first post Martin and welcome to the forum









Im glad you got your niggles sorted out and for having the 'minerals' to have a go yourself, I know how tricky it can be having just done a hand swap on a Seiko '5'.

Youll find a fair few Ruskie watch fans here on the forum myself included









If you get a few mins, have a browse through the gallery section at the top of the page where the forum members have got their photos, its a great resourse deleloped and run by 'Silver Hawk' here on the forum,

Looking forward to your future posts..

PS Arnt OM's great


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Welcome Martin and as Jason said great 1st post.

The Vostoks _are_ great value, you should also check out the Amphias that Roy sells these are outstanding value and highly thought of here


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## rodiow (Nov 6, 2004)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> Welcome Martin and as Jason said great 1st post.
> 
> The Vostoks _are_ great value, you should also check out the Amphias that Roy sells these are outstanding value and highly thought of here
> 
> ...


...you betcha !...I just love mine, gets plenty of wrist time and looks fantastic !

these have got to be the best value watches for the money EVER .....thats a good idea for a post ,not including ebay bargains just plain value for money wots the most watch you can get for your money ...?


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

rodiow said:


> ..thats a good idea for a post ,not including ebay bargains just plain value for money wots the most watch you can get for your money ...?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Go for it Rod







be interesting to see what people come up with,hard to beat the Vostok though IMHO


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Well it's not quite in the same league for ruggedness and quality but a 25J automatic day date the Slava's at less than Â£20 are hard to beat.

http://www.rltwatches.com/acatalog/Automatic_Wind.html


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

pg tips said:


> Well it's not quite in the same league for ruggedness and quality but a 25J automatic day date the Slava's at less than Â£20 are hard to beat.
> 
> http://www.rltwatches.com/acatalog/Automatic_Wind.html
> 
> ...


Funny you should say that Paul I`d just remembered those and was going to post basically the same thing







BTW hows yours holding up to daily use?


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## MartinAtton (Mar 14, 2005)

As a postscript to my comments concerning my recently acquired Vostok Europe Komandirskie, I noticed in the blurb about the watch somewhere, that the movement has a supposed power reserve of 31 hours. I thought this seemed a bit stingy so left my watch fully wound and noted down the time. Nearly 42 hours later the watch stopped! That's over 25% better than claimed!

Martin


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Glad you like the watch Martin,

If I had noticed the small problems then I would have sorted them out before posting it, sorry.


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## johnbaz (Jan 30, 2005)

martin

i think you've gotten mixed up-the number 31 is the amount of jewel-bearings it contains,if i recall correctly,i think the power reserve is actually 42 hours-but i may be wrong









regards john.


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## MartinAtton (Mar 14, 2005)

Roy said:


> Glad you like the watch Martin,
> 
> If I had noticed the small problems then I would have sorted them out before posting it, sorry.
> 
> ...


No worries Roy. I hope you didn't feel I was being critical. Being a watch fanatic I notice things normal punters wouldn't even be aware of. As I said, of my seven watches, only two had the hands aligned perfectly when I got them, and I wouldn't expect a watch as cheap as this to have been regulated properly. I am very pleased with the watch and feel that your service and concern is beyond reproach!

Best wishes,

Martin


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## MartinAtton (Mar 14, 2005)

johnbaz said:


> martin
> 
> i think you've gotten mixed up-the number 31 is the amount of jewel-bearings it contains,if i recall correctly,i think the power reserve is actually 42 hours-but i may be wrong
> 
> ...


Hi John,

I knew the watch was supposed to have 31 jewels and definitely remember seeing somewhere the figure of 31 hours for the movement reserve. I will report back after doing some research!

Martin


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## MartinAtton (Mar 14, 2005)

MartinAtton said:


> johnbaz said:
> 
> 
> > martin
> ...


Iv'e just found the site. I just typed in Vostok Europe on Google and a site popped up referring to the watch having a 31 houer power reserve. If I knew how to post it directly here I would! Never mind you should be able to locate it with no problems,

Cheers,

Martin


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

MartinAtton said:


> No worries Roy. I hope you didn't feel I was being critical.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not at all.


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

> If I knew how to post it directly here I would


You just highlight the web address thats in your browser bar at the top of your screen by left clicking on it then right click it then 'copy' then come back to the posting screen here and right click then 'paste'









This being said your not supposed to post links to other watch retailers sites here


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