# Vostok Amphibia



## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

ok i would quite like a decent condition vostock amphibia.

going to try the trade option first, as sooon as i find something i can part with







.

just a couple of quick questions to set the bench mark.

what sort of value are we talking for a decent condition head only ?

realistically what sort of time keeping should i expect ?

pm or whatever


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## citizenhell (Jul 12, 2010)

desmondus rotundus said:


> ok i would quite like a decent condition vostock amphibia.
> 
> going to try the trade option first, as sooon as i find something i can part with
> 
> ...


This is just my opinion & there are much more knowledgeable people on here than me, but here goes;

Brand new Amphibias (original styles) can be has aplenty on fleabay for Â£40-Â£60 dependant on face design, so expect used ones to come in under that. There are a few around so prices can be quite low, but as you can get virtually every version & colour as a brand new one, unless you have a particular liking for scratches & dings, a new one IMO would be a better bet to guarantee WR.

The new western style ones that are much more modern & come in vibrant colours with rubber straps etc seem to go for Â£100+, but while they are probably nice watches, to me they aren't very russian in style - one of the major points to owning an amphibia in the first place.

I'm getting an Amphibia soon with the scuba diver motif which seems the most appropriate one given it's a divers watch, but they are all nice lookers, so good luck with whatever you choose.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

What he said. These are tough watches, I have one of these...










...and it's an early 70s watch. Keeps time as well as any other watch I have.

I would say get one of these new from Zenitar...










...about US$65 shipped.


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## louiswu (May 16, 2009)

as above.... new amphibias can be had for not much cash, and are reasonable timekeepers.

They come in a variety of case shapes and dial styles. I think mine's a traditional amphibia case with a komandirskie repro dial.










Mine's now back on it's original bracelet. Wrists were getting too hairy and this is perfect for trapping and removing them.... one by each painful one. I've tried it on one of Roy's nylon straps, and a leather but i haven't found anything i really like it on yet. Next try will be a bund i think.

If you're looking for vintage that's a whole different ballgame though. i think ??


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

louiswu said:


> Mine's now back on it's original bracelet. Wrists were getting too hairy and this is perfect for trapping and removing them.... one by each painful one. I've tried it on one of Roy's nylon straps, and a leather but i haven't found anything i really like it on yet. Next try will be a bund i think.


Roy's Heavy Duty Nylon straps are the best thing for these watches! You can see one on my MkII Amphibia in the above pic.


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## louiswu (May 16, 2009)

Kutusov said:


> louiswu said:
> 
> 
> > Mine's now back on it's original bracelet. Wrists were getting too hairy and this is perfect for trapping and removing them.... one by each painful one. I've tried it on one of Roy's nylon straps, and a leather but i haven't found anything i really like it on yet. Next try will be a bund i think.
> ...


yeah.. it spent some time on one of the HD Nylons .....










I just didn't get along with it all that great. I may give it another try now though. I've had all the wrist-hair plucking i can take !


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## citizenhell (Jul 12, 2010)

I'll be getting mine done in black rubber :naughty: THE STRAP!!!!! that is......


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

i did spot a couple on the bay but they were from that blokie under discussion in the other thread, re his frankenstok diver which he sold for silly money.

but just perhaps there may be a deal in the offing via pm h34r:

the thick plottens !

by the way - what is the lug width for these things?

am hoping you will say 20mm as i have a nice used rhino (black) looking for a job...


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

louiswu said:


> yeah.. it spent some time on one of the HD Nylons .....
> 
> I just didn't get along with it all that great. I may give it another try now though. I've had all the wrist-hair plucking i can take !


You can also try one of these (TF)... I think they look better on thinner Komandirskie models but they are very comfy anyway...


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

desmondus rotundus said:


> by the way - what is the lug width for these things?
> 
> am hoping you will say 20mm as i have a nice used rhino (black) looking for a job...


Sorry, they are 18mm... 22mm if you go with a Ministry case like the one in my second pic...


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## louiswu (May 16, 2009)

Kutusov said:


> louiswu said:
> 
> 
> > yeah.. it spent some time on one of the HD Nylons .....
> ...


oooh. now i have Komandirskie envy. A 17j hand-wind blue sub-commander is already on my wish-list.

Must say those straps look made for your 2. What brand are they?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

louiswu said:


> Must say those straps look made for your 2. What brand are they?


PMed you.


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## BlueKnight (Oct 29, 2009)

Mine is the KGB model. I replaced the cheezy OEM plastic strap with an 18mm Kevlar strap w/deployment buckle. It's a cheap watch ( $60) with a quirky tin crown and no quick set. Mine gains about a minute a day. Although rated at 200m, I wouldn't brush my teeth with it. It's a cute watch best left for show and tell.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

BlueKnight said:


> I wouldn't brush my teeth with it.


Neither would I! Might brake a tooth or something!! 

It's a lovely watch that... of all the KGB dials, that's probably my favourite but people tend to go with the black one with the logo at 9 and letters at 3.


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## Clum (Feb 14, 2009)

Got mine from the forum a while back for Â£25; bracelet, thick leather strap, box & papers. Well pleased


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Clum said:


> Got mine from the forum a while back for Â£25; bracelet, thick leather strap, box & papers. Well pleased


And well you should! 25 quid is a bargain for that puppy!

It's already a new one (made in Russia on the dial) so it's probably the 32 jewel movement too. You can also see how well it has been treated by the bezel. These watches are SS except the bezel, it's plated brass as far as I know. The point is that the bezel is the place that keeps a register of bangs and rough usage as is the part that gets easily scratched or marked.

The crystal is plexi so it can get easily scratched as well but all of that will come off with Polywatch. Not possible with plated brass though... I didn't had this thought explicitly in my mind until now but I think it's something I always look at when getting one of these from the bay.

Anyway, there's another tip for the OP...


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

For the money I think they're excellent & anyone interested in watches should have one in their collection at least once! I've had many Vostoks but heres a picture of my latest one (which I want to sell - pm sent) that I wore on my scuba diving trial (in the hotel pool!) whilst on honeymoon in Kenya this year.


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

BlueKnight said:


> Mine is the KGB model. It's a cheap watch ( $60) with a 200m, I wouldn't brush my teeth with it. It's a cute watch best left for show and tell.


 I seem to remember few years back that Jase (jasonm) actually took an Amphibia diving (somewhere in the Middle East I think) & found it worked perfectly, there was also a story about one being attached to the outside of a Russian submarine and surviving the ordeal in working order :wink2:


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## suggsy (Aug 25, 2008)

I have 3 Amphibias including a scubadude with the black dial and can also confirm they are excellent value watches for the money, I especially like my scubadude and keeps excellent time


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## howie77 (Jun 21, 2009)

The Scuba dude is a great looking Amphibia. Found this pic of the 2416164/710634, shamelessly 'borrowed' from image results...! Apologies if it's yours, great picture.










Love the braided strap. Wonder what it might be?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

howie77 said:


> Love the braided strap. Wonder what it might be?


Well, it's not one of Roy's... that's a 22mm perlon and Roy's are only up to 20mm. Mach should know, he has lot's of watches on perlon straps.


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## stefano34 (Sep 27, 2009)

I have a couple of these now and can thoroughly recommend them , I have the Black faced 'Scuba Dude Explorer' and just in the Orange faced tonneau version, the later was aquired brand new in the UK special order from a Nottingham, based outfit(not sue if I can name on here?)anyway they did'nt have it in stock but ordered it directly from Vostok I believe , they even tested it for a few days before despatch!!!

Cost was around the Â£60 mark inc p&p but Ebay prices often creep up into the Â£50 area and these are brand new! unless of course you want a Soviet era one. here's mine;










and a stock photo of the orange one as no pics yet;










I actually like the look of the stock bracelet though it is a bit 'tinny' in construction pity really as it has Cyrllic markings on the clasp;ÐÐµÑ€Ð¶.Ð¡Ñ‚Ð°Ð»ÑŒ which I believe states Stainless Steel.


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## Vaurien (Jul 19, 2010)

desmondus rotundus said:


> ok i would quite like a decent condition vostock amphibia.
> 
> going to try the trade option first, as sooon as i find something i can part with
> 
> ...


You can get a new Amphibian from official Vostok distributors: Zenitar on ebay or meranom: www.meranom.com for about 35-40Â£

If you want a vintage one, prices are quite the same, but you must be careful about the state of the watch.

They are quite accurate watches, but new ones need some time to adjust themselves. After some month of use, you could be surprise by their accuracy! :man_in_love:


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

just a quick wee update - managed to separate Paul form his watch pictured above.

on a rhino for now (dunking them in hot water makes then easily pliable enough to fit into 18mm lugs).

photos to follow some place on the forum ...

cheers Paul...nice one!


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

on its back yesterday this gained over a second an hour.

on my wrist for almost 16 hours today and only +6 seconds

:thumbup:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

desmondus rotundus said:


> on its back yesterday this gained over a second an hour.
> 
> on my wrist for almost 16 hours today and only +6 seconds
> 
> :thumbup:


Great little watches, huh? :thumbsup:


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## suggsy (Aug 25, 2008)

howie77 said:


> The Scuba dude is a great looking Amphibia. Found this pic of the 2416164/710634, shamelessly 'borrowed' from image results...! Apologies if it's yours, great picture.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's the one I have, I don't think it's my actual watch but you never know lol

I like my ministry cased one, but I see now they do the 'normal' round cased one, I'm assuming those take 18mm straps as opposed to the 22mm ministry case ones?

I might get one anyway and see


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