Vostoks, Vostoks everywhere.

blue5000

Fitz II wrote: »

I am going to get a vostock to see why people buy them, as far as I can make out they have no appealing attributes....better to speak from experiance than ignorance. What one should I get and from where.

What's your budget?:D:D

I've this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-VOSTOK-KOMANDIRSKIE-436171-popular-MILITARY-WRIST-WATCH-NEW/164816195665? on my fleabay watchlist. Sorry Wibbs, maybe we should start a new thread.

Wibbs

Done.

Fitz II

Wibbs wrote: »

Done.

Already got one on Amazon (paypal would not let me buy one from russia...its obviously bandit teritory).

My thesis on all the vostocks is that they are hot garbage, brutally ugly, and rough as a badgers arse. Any casio takes away the reasoning for "I just need a cheap watch", any seiko is a better automatic, and I feel they are bought as pointless trinkets.

I know there is some history to the brand, but there is some history to cholera but we are all glad thats not around much anymore.

I am going to give it a shot I got a half decent one and will test it out.

Cienciano

I'm impressed, buying a watch just so you have license to shít on it :pac:

banie01

Ahh now Fitz...
Don't hold back, don't pussyfoot around the topic...
Tell us how you really feel :pac:

blue5000

Wibbs wrote: »

Done.

Thanks Wibbs. Looking forward to the giveaway now, what did you get Fitz?

redlead

I know this sounds ludicrous but the sh1tness of a Vostok is kind of part of their charm.

1. The time keeping is bad but not that bad. Plus minus 20 seconds on mine

2. The bracelets are horrendous. You just have throw in bin when you get one

3. The caseback has a horrible feel to it. Most likely recycled radioactive alloy straight out of Chernyoble

4. No quick set date

5. They have the dodgiest crown pin ever invented. Its flimsy which is apparently an intended part of design. To wind it, you need to gently pull on it as you wind kind of like the way you have to lean on some doors to lock them.

6. The have the worst bezel action known to man. It is friction based so basically just doesn't work.


..... but, I think they look really cool. I love the cushioned cases, I love the quirky dials, I love the domed crystal. You can fun customising them. They're a great beater if you don't want something a bit boring.

Fitz II

redlead wrote: »

I know this sounds ludicrous but the sh1tness of a Vostok is kind of part of their charm.

This must be it, but impossible to judge without having one. I do like a movie so bad its good. So lets see

893bet

When you fall in love I am happy to sell my house and buy all your old watches.

Ian OB

893bet wrote: »

When you fall in love I am happy to sell my house and buy all your old watches.

Must be some house : P

emo72

I bought vostok once. Lasted a few days. Then in bin. Type of thing we used to get in lucky bags.

Wibbs

On the accuracy front they're like cheap Seikos, they come from the factory with cursory attention to regulation. The one I got from Cyclingtourist is now running 2-3 seconds slow per day, on the wrist or on the bedside table. That's pretty impressive with an old movement design and older tech. Though I have long held the view that good accuracy can be had even with quite primitive movements and materials. The difficulty is it requires more fettling. A modern COSC rated movement because of better manufacturing methods and materials can be manufactured out of the box with little fettling by watchmakers after the fact in the assembly process.

The bezels are useless. Not so much the friction fit(the ones I've had were all pretty stiff), far more the markings.

The crown was a very clever way to avoid having a clutch in the stem of a screwdown crown. Screwdown crowns were in play long before Rolex bought in an existing patent for one. Their single and actually innovative change was their invention of a slipping clutch that was reliable and producible.

The bracelets are total muck.

The dials are an "acquired taste" indeed. Most are tacky, some are quirky, but that's part of their charm too. Dial printing is low quality and was worse back in the day. When you take one of the vintage ones apart the raised indices are not applied, but stamped from the back into a dial that's remarkably thick.

Like Seiko they're great for customisation for guys into that.

IMHO the quality of the case steel has actually gone down since the USSR days. Today they use plastic spacers internally, back then they used steel.

They're daftly robust and will take a beating like pretty much no other mechanical watch.

Bang for buck they're well ahead of anything else mechanical at their price range.

They've zero suburban social cache for those who require that. Though do have WIS/hipster cache.

Cienciano

The only negatives imho are the shítty bracelets and no quick set date. Styling is subjective. mine is 15 years old and within 10 seconds per day. I don't wear the same watch for long, it's not an issue. You can get a seiko 5 for not much more, but the vostok is far cooler. Just finding one you like, I'm not a fan of shít like a graphic of a space rocket blasting off on the dial.

Cienciano

The bezels are useless. Not so much the friction fit(the ones I've had were all pretty stiff), far more the markings

Oh yeah, the bezels aren't great. But come on, a bezel is pretty useless in fairness.

Wibbs

Actually I'd use one often enough. Timing car journeys, hours on a job and the like. Though being a terminal hipster insist in calling them by their original and proper title; Verge ring.



Bezels are for dreadful oiks *sniff*

emo72

Didn't sekonda make a lovely cosmonauts chronograph? I've seen it with a Russian branding on it, though the Russian is probably the original version. I looked at them a few years ago but they were fetching around 500 euro at the time, so that cooled my jets fairly promptly. Wibbs hopefully knows a thing or 2 about them.

Daemonic

Soviet brands, Vostok, Poljot, Slava were all sold under the Sekonda brand in the UK mainly. These are all the known 3017 movement chronograph dials.

emo72

Bottom row, second from left is the one I remember. Although there is a few similar ones there.

Fitz II

Even for you Wibss this attachment title pun is terrible...groan

Wibbs

VergingOnTheRidic was also in play.