When you have strange urges that you can’t control, or how I ended up wearing a clunky watch today.
I went to sleep with the elegant and refined Dietrich SD-1 on my mind and woke up with the Vostok Amphibia. It’s like these comedies when the hero wakes up in the morning and find an ugly stranger asleep over his arm. I guess that I was still lucky because I didn’t have to gnaw off my arm in order to escape my own bed, but sometime I really can’t explain how my subconscious manage to hijack the watch selection process, as if it was running its own and parallel decision tree.
I don’t dislike my Amphibia, in fact I own two of them and would wear them more often if they were not manufactured in a country that think that driving a T-72 is a perfectly acceptable way to visit the neighbors. It still doesn’t explain why I found myself wearing the clunkiest watch in my collection, the very one that I had to fix its automatic mechanism with a toothpick. I felt almost as if I was compelled to do it against my will, but I know that it could be worse, I mean that I could just as well have found myself queuing to buy a plastic zero fathoms Swatch pain.
One of the reasons why the Amphibia is clunky is due to its living fossil nature. While other brands were raiding their historical catalogs to find vintage models that are worth a relaunch, Vostok instead bypassed this time consuming chore and simply continued to manufacture the same watches worn during one of the Soviet Union friendly visits to Czechoslovakia back in 1968. The other reason was the huge gap between the aspiration to build a watch that will be free of foreign design and patents and the actual manufacturing capabilities of the Soviet Union. The real miracle here is that the designers took this into account and designed a watch that will work despite the Soviet’s shoddy manufacture and abysmal QA.
And work it does, and quite well if I may say so. It’s been very reliable and its daily deviation is less than 15 seconds per day, which is a LOT better than say my SPB147. It wears very well on my wrist and it’s a genuine diver’s watch. It’s really quite a lot of watch to get for the 70US$ I paid for. That of course is if you get a good one, because what you may get instead is one that goes tits up the moment you pull it out of the package, so it’s like a lottery but funnier.
And this is probably why it ended on my wrist today, because part of the appeal of owning a watch collection is the ability to get a watch that you can have some fun with, or as they say: In Soviet Russia the watch is having the fun for you.
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I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
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Ive been looking at pre owned vintage vostoks for a while now, and saw many people here selling theirs or having issues because of the war. I dont really understand that. If you associate your watch with politics and world events you shouldnt have bought the watch in the first place because it is soviet made, and as we all know, commies had a lot to do with many millions of people dissapearing in a few years.
Folowing that logic, you shouldnt buy german watches because one overly enthusiastic drug addict with a sexy mustasche started a world war and killed millions of innocent people.
I think it is foolish to avoid certain watches because of their origin. My country is still fucked up beyond recognition from the trauma it endured during the soviet occupation, and I still want a vintage vostok because they are cool.
Im interested in others opinion on this.😀
Until someone shows that Vostok are actually supporting Putin rather than carrying on despite him, I don't have a problem.
Interestingly I came across a Ukrainian on FleaBay recently selling a few very old, beaten-up Vostoks. I wondered if it was war booty he was flogging
Until someone shows that Vostok are actually supporting Putin rather than carrying on despite him, I don't have a problem.
Interestingly I came across a Ukrainian on FleaBay recently selling a few very old, beaten-up Vostoks. I wondered if it was war booty he was flogging
Yeah, I have the same opinion. And the attitude of those living outside of Russia towards Russians in Russia annoys me for the same reason. It feels like people drinking ww1-style hatred rather than trying to empathize with people living under a very bad and very powerful state.
Lol, I have a strong feeling that those are bogus 99.99% of the time. I have a post on Reddit about a particulate egregious one I found that I’ll repost on here
Yeah, I have the same opinion. And the attitude of those living outside of Russia towards Russians in Russia annoys me for the same reason. It feels like people drinking ww1-style hatred rather than trying to empathize with people living under a very bad and very powerful state.
Lol, I have a strong feeling that those are bogus 99.99% of the time. I have a post on Reddit about a particulate egregious one I found that I’ll repost on here
I'll look forward to your reposting from Reddit 👍
I'll look forward to your reposting from Reddit 👍
The listing was so phony in terms of presentation that it’s funny. You won’t be disappointed.
The vostok amphibia was my first automatick watch and has opened the whole watch story for me , in the mintime i own two of vostoks and love it .the 2416 movement is simple but relayeble i have manege it to set it to 1sec + per day , so Happy days 🌞
Yeah, I have the same opinion. And the attitude of those living outside of Russia towards Russians in Russia annoys me for the same reason. It feels like people drinking ww1-style hatred rather than trying to empathize with people living under a very bad and very powerful state.
Lol, I have a strong feeling that those are bogus 99.99% of the time. I have a post on Reddit about a particulate egregious one I found that I’ll repost on here
What’s gonna happen when China invads Taiwan? Are Chinese watches going to become passé? As if China isn’t morally gray already.
Best to not mixed politics with anything including phones, appliances, accessories and now watch. Otherwise there will be nothing left to buy. Imagine when China get involved? Many people going to boycott Seagull? Or for that matter Aliexpress? 🤣🤣🤣
One Asian Country attacked us and killed thousands of Americans. We now buy millions of their watches - Japan.
Another country allied with us, protected our downed bomber crews and assisted winning WWII - China. Now they are bad guys, even though 98% of the products in your home are made in China, nope, China bad. Don't buy their watches.
ALL the "Japanese" motorcycles we buy these days are made all over the place, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, China etc...
We buy guns from Turkey, Chek Republic, Yugoslavia and so on. Those countries are either Muslim or former Soviets. Doesn't seem to affect the quality of their pistols or shotguns.
I think there are people everywhere who are hard workers just trying to put a bowl of rice on the table. And consumer products have extremely little to do with world events. There isn't a product made anywhere that I wouldn't consider. My Gruens will sit right next to my Sea-Gull, which is next to my Nivada, which is next to my Pobeda, which is next to my Seiko's.
I'm trying to check out of the worldwide propaganda engine and just appreciate these fabulous mechanical creations we humans have created. Enjoy them all.
"..... if they were not manufactured in a country that think that driving a T-72 is a perfectly acceptable way to visit the neighbors."
In Soviet Russia, watch wears you!
An entertaining write-up! I’ll avoid taking any geopolitical bait and just enjoy it. 😉
One Asian Country attacked us and killed thousands of Americans. We now buy millions of their watches - Japan.
Another country allied with us, protected our downed bomber crews and assisted winning WWII - China. Now they are bad guys, even though 98% of the products in your home are made in China, nope, China bad. Don't buy their watches.
ALL the "Japanese" motorcycles we buy these days are made all over the place, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, China etc...
We buy guns from Turkey, Chek Republic, Yugoslavia and so on. Those countries are either Muslim or former Soviets. Doesn't seem to affect the quality of their pistols or shotguns.
I think there are people everywhere who are hard workers just trying to put a bowl of rice on the table. And consumer products have extremely little to do with world events. There isn't a product made anywhere that I wouldn't consider. My Gruens will sit right next to my Sea-Gull, which is next to my Nivada, which is next to my Pobeda, which is next to my Seiko's.
I'm trying to check out of the worldwide propaganda engine and just appreciate these fabulous mechanical creations we humans have created. Enjoy them all.
That's a good summary of a macro view, but I happen to live with someone who has lacerated legs and barely managed to escape from near Kiev at the beginning of the conflict. So my reasons for not parading daily with an over-patriotic Russian watch are less of the global geo-political and historical nature and much more personal.
Until someone shows that Vostok are actually supporting Putin rather than carrying on despite him, I don't have a problem.
Interestingly I came across a Ukrainian on FleaBay recently selling a few very old, beaten-up Vostoks. I wondered if it was war booty he was flogging
I don't wear my Amphibians frequently because I suspect them of being Z supporters of Mr. "Tea or Window?".
I just think that wearing a Russian watch when I happen to share space with an Ukranian refugee is a bit over the top.
Ive been looking at pre owned vintage vostoks for a while now, and saw many people here selling theirs or having issues because of the war. I dont really understand that. If you associate your watch with politics and world events you shouldnt have bought the watch in the first place because it is soviet made, and as we all know, commies had a lot to do with many millions of people dissapearing in a few years.
Folowing that logic, you shouldnt buy german watches because one overly enthusiastic drug addict with a sexy mustasche started a world war and killed millions of innocent people.
I think it is foolish to avoid certain watches because of their origin. My country is still fucked up beyond recognition from the trauma it endured during the soviet occupation, and I still want a vintage vostok because they are cool.
Im interested in others opinion on this.😀
They are very cool, which is why I own two of them. I just don't wear them often because the GF who still has scars on her legs from when we had to rescue her from near Kiev is getting upset with me and my Vostoks.
That's a good summary of a macro view, but I happen to live with someone who has lacerated legs and barely managed to escape from near Kiev at the beginning of the conflict. So my reasons for not parading daily with an over-patriotic Russian watch are less of the global geo-political and historical nature and much more personal.
Oh man. I am so sorry.
In Soviet Russia, watch wears you!
Exactly.
Buy Soviet era ones. Easy.
Oh man. I am so sorry.
Nah, that's OK. I'm already getting flak at home so I'm used to it.
One Asian Country attacked us and killed thousands of Americans. We now buy millions of their watches - Japan.
Another country allied with us, protected our downed bomber crews and assisted winning WWII - China. Now they are bad guys, even though 98% of the products in your home are made in China, nope, China bad. Don't buy their watches.
ALL the "Japanese" motorcycles we buy these days are made all over the place, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, China etc...
We buy guns from Turkey, Chek Republic, Yugoslavia and so on. Those countries are either Muslim or former Soviets. Doesn't seem to affect the quality of their pistols or shotguns.
I think there are people everywhere who are hard workers just trying to put a bowl of rice on the table. And consumer products have extremely little to do with world events. There isn't a product made anywhere that I wouldn't consider. My Gruens will sit right next to my Sea-Gull, which is next to my Nivada, which is next to my Pobeda, which is next to my Seiko's.
I'm trying to check out of the worldwide propaganda engine and just appreciate these fabulous mechanical creations we humans have created. Enjoy them all.
Yeah. but we buy them from Japan, not the Empire of Japan. Not the same country. Buying something from Germany is not buying something from the N*zis. I won't wear my Russian Federation watches, but I will wear my Soviet ones. NOT the same country.
Never liked or owned any Amphibias, but that one looks great. I love that dial. It's interesting to have watches made in different countries.
I have a watch which claims to have been made in Luxembourg but I can't document it.