# Slava, And Vostok, Any Good,



## zed4130 (Jun 25, 2009)

Im after a vostok as a every day watch, are they any good,also seen a few old slava's are these ok, im new to this hobbie so any help is good help, thanks

paul


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

I`ve owned ( & still have) a number of Vostoks since the early 90`s, I`ve have found them to be tough reliable watches & am happy to recommend them to anyone :thumbsup:

One thing which intially causes new owners some concern is the fact that the crown wobbles when unscrewed, this is perfectly normal & nothing to worry about, in fact it`s part of their charm


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## zed4130 (Jun 25, 2009)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> I`ve owned ( & still have) a number of Vostoks since the early 90`s, I`ve have found them to be tough reliable watches & am happy to recommend them to anyone :thumbsup:
> 
> One thing which intially causes new owners some concern is the fact that the crown wobbles when unscrewed, this is perfectly normal & nothing to worry about, in fact it`s part of their charm


thanks for the info, they look like they would last, i need a tough watch i can wear all the time, one of the VOSTOK TANK KOMMANDER's looks ok, is there different images on the back indicating different year made ?

thanks again for the reply,

paul


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

zed4130 said:


> mach 0.0013137 said:
> 
> 
> > I`ve owned ( & still have) a number of Vostoks since the early 90`s, I`ve have found them to be tough reliable watches & am happy to recommend them to anyone :thumbsup:
> ...


Vostok case backs have used a number of different images over the years but I`m not aware if it`s possible to use them to date a particular watch whereas what is printed on the dial _may_ give a rough idea...



chris l said:


> potz said:
> 
> 
> > Says Made In Russia in cyrillic letters ... afaik it just points to it having been made before 1992. And Russian writing may point to inland use rather than export.
> ...


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## zed4130 (Jun 25, 2009)

thanks for that, i hope to find a good book on russian watche's , im looking forward now to getting one,

paul


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

There is such a book, albeit it's now getting a bit (=LOT, soon) out of date, called "Russian Wristwatches" by Juri Levenburg. I'd be inclined to try finding a second hand copy, maybe one of the guys on the forum, or an Amazon used purchase would be ok. 

There's been considerable developments since the last edition was published, but the basic info is still reasonably valid. :yes:

Slava makes/made a range of watches purely for the civilian population, high number of jewels, and some with a double mainspring. Current Slava "new" offerings on the bay and similar, sold using CJIABA (cyrillic Slava) signatures tend to be/are Chines made pieces utilising standard Chinese movements supposedly made under licence from the original holders of the Slava name - this is unconfirmed, and some believe these to be purely Chinasian rip-offs. Some evidence from yet others suggests Slava did licence a limited manufacturing run but withdrew the licensing after QC problems. h34r:

Find a good NOS original one and you should have no real problems with it. A vintage piece likewise from a good seller. So called military Slava watches are reckoned to be Frankenwatches - put together from bits and pieces and never actual;ly sold as that previously. :huh:


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## zed4130 (Jun 25, 2009)

mel said:


> There is such a book, albeit it's now getting a bit (=LOT, soon) out of date, called "Russian Wristwatches" by Juri Levenburg. I'd be inclined to try finding a second hand copy, maybe one of the guys on the forum, or an Amazon used purchase would be ok.
> 
> There's been considerable developments since the last edition was published, but the basic info is still reasonably valid. :yes:
> 
> ...


thanks mel. i think that book is on ebay and amazon, ill wait for a cheaper copy, ive seen those chinese one's i prefer the old ones, more classy looking,thanks again mel,

paul


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

A good Vostok Amphibia is a good choice, and one of the world's bargains.

It should last you for years; I would look for an older 'CCCP' example, but that's just my taste!

Once you have bought that, you might want to consider some other 'Russian' watches....

The chronographs are very good, and the gold dress watches, such as the Poljot De Luxe are also very tasty. I have a weakness for the 50's Kirovskies.

And so it begins...

Show us what you decide on.


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## andyarmitage (Dec 25, 2008)

Hi all I am new here and really want a Russian watch but I am after a vintage piece any ideas where to find one that isn't a franken as I have no idea where to find vintage I really want it to shout cold war at me when I look at it [not literally] which makes should i look for. The one i would like is a vintage Okeah.... I can hear you all laughing saying you will never find one as i believe they are hard to find 

Thanks

Andy


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

andyarmitage said:


> Hi all I am new here and really want a Russian watch but I am after a vintage piece any ideas where to find one that isn't a franken as I have no idea where to find vintage I really want it to shout cold war at me when I look at it [not literally] which makes should i look for. The one i would like is a vintage Okeah.... I can hear you all laughing saying you will never find one as i believe they are hard to find
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andy


You could set up a search for Okeah (Ocean) on the bay - they show up there and it would give you an idea of how much you'd have to pay, last time I looked they weren't cheap









Experience will tell you what looks like a Franken and /or a re-make or re-issue, and what looks like the real deal :yes: It's not easy - the old adage, if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is! :yes:


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