Watches from the Soviet Union
rbth.com
rbth.com
I collect mechanical watches and have a fair number of vintage Soviet watches in my collection - Rateka, Vostok, Poljot, etc. Cheap, reliable, and often with striking designs.
(Today's watch is a Poljot - Russian: Полёт, literally meaning "flight", is a brand of Soviet/Russian wristwatches, produced since 1964 by the First Moscow Watch Factory. Poljot produced numerous historical watches used in many important space missions, including the world's first space watch worn by Yuri Gagarin.)
I don't think I've ever had a stranger complicate my watch when I've been wearing a Rolex, or something high-end, unless the person making the comment was also wearing one. But I get weekly comments on the cheap and cheerful watches.
Even now, in pandemic times, I still put on a watch every morning, and it still makes me smile. If smart-watches had batteries that lasted for a few weeks or more I might be tempted, but until then I'll stick with mechanical watches. (And one Casio terrorist watch, just for completeness!)
I'm flexible on digits vs. markers, (e.g. the piece I'm wearing today has numerals at 2, 6, and 10). But I stick to two/three hand watches.
To get started just enter "soviet vintage" into the search-box. Once you have some results click on "Filter" and you get the option to set "Location: European Union", "Max Price: €100", etc.
There are a lot of regional variations, so I use chrono24.fi, for example. But the content is the same - I think it's just the default location and currency that changes based on TLD.
The site has been around for many years and is well-regarded, but even so I don't think I've ever paid more than €1000 for a watch there. Just in case.
Edit: Main thing to pay attention to are the dimensions of the watch. Watches from the 40s-80s tended to be smaller. So you'll find diameters of 34mm, 36mm, etc. Most people prefer larger watches these days. For me 36mm-42mm is fine, but that's because I have thin wrists. But I know looking at photos can be misleading in terms of diameter/dimensions so read the details.
Edit #2: This is what I'm wearing today, which cost me around €70 - https://tinyurl.com/dd7bnthx
Missing my Pebbles, this looks like an awesome replacement. Thanks for the link!
https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/the-c...
I gotta say though: stick with mechanicals. There's an elegance to it which smart watches will never touch. And I say that as someone who has settled on the Apple Watch as my daily driver. It's so useful! Does a bunch of small things that add up to a great tool, and I'm even fond of it. But it... isn't a watch!
I'm looking forward to dressy evening stuff happening more, so I can leave it behind and put on something nice.
> He believes that mechanical watches were created by the best minds of 18th and 19th centuries. "Many modern watchmakers admit that we will never match them," he adds
I think there is some pretty innovative stuff coming out of Japan right now. The high accuracy quartz models from Seiko (under the Grand Seiko brand) and Citizen have insane accuracy measured in seconds per year.
Of course if you want to limit the discussion to the mechanical realm the Spring Drive is for all intents and purposes a mechanical watch with an electromagnetic quartz feedback loop slowing the unwinding to the correct pace to keep time. Not as accurate as the full quartz but very impressive and it truly glides (instead of ticking).
That said I do agree with you that in today’s world innovation in high precision independent time keeping has stopped. A radio controlled relatively accurate quartz watch will keep excellent time with no user intervention over many years.
My hope is consumers start demanding the availability of parts when buying a high end watch though.
It's a good feeling knowing you can repair that hunk of metal on your wrist, with interest, and a fair amount of study.
(There was a guy in the Navy whos boat was torpedoed by the Japanese during WW2. He, and rest of the crew were stuck on a deserted island. One by one the sailors watches were breaking down. Since he was a Watchmaker in life, he took over repair. At first it was difficult. He then got creative and made small screwdrivers, and even made a lathe. Anyhoo--I thought that was neat. A guy fixing jeweled watches with tools he made himself in that enviornment. I saw the article years ago, but haven't been able to find it again.)
That... goes for everything, software included. But watches being something of a Veblen good [1], wouldn't availability of parts just make consumers realize that actually this $700 watch is practically no different from that $70 watch? They wouldn't want to sell parts for that reason, I think.
They joined the others (Rolex, and The Swatch Group), and drastically raised prices. Parts are not even available to Independant Watchmakers anymore.
If anyone is shopping, I’ll happily vouch for Meranom.
The hour dial really gives a more visceral feeling of the passage of time, much like a sundial.
- Kiev rangefinders (2A, 3A) which are the Contax rangefinders copies. Overall they are pretty solid (build-quality wise probably the best, compared to FED/Zorki/...). The lenses are charming, too.
- Kiev 88, which are the Hasselblad copy. Only tried 2 or 3, and all of them have the usual light leak, irregular frame spacings etc issues.
+1 on manufacturing consistency/quality control. Shooting with Soviet cameras is fun when they are working properly. But if you are willing to spend a bit bigger cash, pick Japanese gears instead (Nikon, Bronica, Mamiya etc). Their built quality, overall, are better.
I have a rather ridiculous collection of Orients, and some were off by minutes a day from the factory. Just the nature of them, I guess.
I would just offer to regulate them for other people, but I've scratched enough casebacks to never feel comfortable in that.
Link to example timegrapher: https://www.amazon.com/OTOOLWORLD-Tester-Multifunction-Timeg...
Russian watches <https://www.watchuseek.com/forums/russian-watches.10/>
Russian Watches Image Gallery <https://www.watchuseek.com/forums/image-gallery.97/>
Soviet citizen 1: Look at my new watch! Made right here!
Soviet citizen 2: It's so beautiful, elegant, and small!
Soviet citizen 1 [picking up two large, dense boxes by their handles, one per hand] : Yeah, but these are the batteries it runs on.
By far my favorite and primary is a Maratac “mid-Pilot”. It’s a simple Miyota (Citizen) movement, but completely unbranded and reliable.
My other two are a Vostok Retro 1934 and a Seagull 1963 :)
Those watches do not need battery power, and this is super amazing in era of computers and internet.
Just spring and muscle, perfect for post apocalyptic world.
A shame, and indignity must be forgotten lest you want somebody to say that it wasn't, and pick it as its banner.
The world was very judicious in being uncompromising in stomping out every bit, and part of third reich, and Tojo's militarism.
That's why you don't have a world war 3, and next populists in line coming shouting "make Germany great again"
Unfortunately, the world has not finished this business completely, and now we have no shortage of historical revisionists wanting to take a revanche on the Post-War-World, promising "great old times" again.
Why? Erasing history is biggest of all evil. Even if you believe in "never again" doctrine. History should be preserved - friends or foes, otherwise we will end up with pure propaganda regrading "old times". In my case: I'm socialist so i can see multiple benefits of Bolshevik revolution and its impact on let's say modern labor law, or things like maternity leave(not is US). Same goes towards great evil during Stalin era.
Hard to recommend such a watch honestly.
Low tech, low cost with virtually no design value except when it's so completely off than that in itself becomes notable.
They are still collectable, because some watches are rare, it's just that they aren't very ... exciting or interesting.
Though they might not know what they’re looking at.
Also it my case i observed that i have better accuracy when NOT winding the main mechanism to the maximum.
Do you show up in discussions of 60's muscle cars and moan about the USA dropping nuclear bombs in Japan?
I was wondering what sort of "good citizen" has this username and spouts this... stuff, so I checked your profile. You wrote previously:
> my peers seemed super petty and intellectually average. easily pulled into dogmatic, fuzzy ideas.
Your peers, you say...
At least learn to capitalize your sentences!
There's literally non-stop public reaction against the Soviet Union, a country that stopped existing 30 years ago, especially in threads like this that are completely non-political. Case in point, you, congrats on being the first person who thinks watch connoisseurs are committing wronkthink by talking about watches.
You need a chrome/FF extension that adds to every comment an extra sentence like:
- "I disagree with Stalinist grain policies"
- "The Soviet Union murdered millions"
- "I think the Ukrainians are right to complain about the USSR"
- "They were too many gulags if you think about it"
- "But of the course, the Soviet Union was bad"
- "Stalin? No, I disavow him"
Then you don't have to derail a thread about watches to defend the Nazis and United States from the ghost of Stalin.