Foo - Another watch thread...Russian watches

I have friends who live in Moscow. Are there any decent watch makers in Russia? I'd love to send them some money and have them pick me up something that I couldn't get here. Any suggestions?

Yes there are Russian watch makers. Poljot is one of the old time Russian companies, the picture below is one that I used to own. Vostok is another company name that I remember.

This site is from a friend of mine who is an expert on Russian watches:

http://kevinsrussiantime.com/wordpress/

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a370/bjd70/Watches/DSC_1408b.jpg

Cool. Thanks.

My everyday watch is a Vostok "Komandirskie" (may be spelled wrong). It's a nice watch though not fancy, mechanical movement, meaning it needs to be wound daily, has date function. My only problem is the band that came with it is pretty junky, the watch itself seems good quality and sturdy. I wear it at work and it (and I) take a beating and it has given me no problems. I also have a older Vostok Amphibia model, it needs minor repair so I haven't been wearing it but by appearance I think it will also be a fine watch, probably stronger than the one I wear now. It also has a mechanical movement but no date. The Amphibia seems a little heavier, has a stainless case, and is supposed to be water resistant to 20 atm (about 200 meters). These are both older watches, the Ampibia is the older of the two, so I'm not familiar with the company's current products, I do think they are still in business though.

I hope this is useful to you!

mechanical movement, meaning it needs to be wound daily

hand-wind movements need to be wound daily, lots of mechanical movements don't need to be wound by hand, they have an automatic mechanism to do that, generally called an "automatic" movement.

hand-wind movements need to be wound daily, lots of mechanical movements don't need to be wound by hand, they have an automatic mechanism to do that, generally called an "automatic" movement.

You are correct, that was a vague statement on my part - the Vostok watches I have are not automatics (also sometimes called self-winding). I believe Vostok did make some watches with an automatic movement but I have no personal experience with those.

Gotta say I am kind of underwhelmed by the watches. I guess I figured thay would have a lot of very bold and manly styles, but mostly they are kind of homely and bland. Guess I'll keep looking.

Found some bad-ass Russian watches here: http://www.vostok-watches.com/

Here's a picture of my Vostok that I bought in the Czech Republic some time ago.

http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww330/mchacon01/Breitling%20Evo/DSCN2653.jpg

It's a manual wind. Not exactly what I call accurate but it's a good watch.

I have an old Russian watch with a MiG-29 on the face that says "Slava". It was given to me by some friends of the family when I was a teenager. They had some velcro band on it, but now it is band-less. I think the date is broken on it now.

More recently, my roommate got me a reproduction Soviet Railway pocketwatch. I think I might wear it to my sister's wedding, as my gold Cal Poly watch is dead and hey... Soviet Railway pocketwatch.

Both are all-mechanical and made in Russia. I will have to get some pics for y'all tomorrow.

I have friends who live in Moscow. Are there any decent watch makers in Russia? I'd love to send them some money and have them pick me up something that I couldn't get here. Any suggestions?

Pocket your cash until the "cool it's from Russia" feeling goes away. Buy Swiss.

Really digging these two watches

This is a Sturmanskie:
260769

This is a Vostok:
260771

I read somewhere that the new Vostoks are made in Germany.

I read somewhere that the new Vostoks are made in Germany.

Got my eye on a Soviet Toughsheitsky watch at the local pawn shop for $5.99.