Cold and watches.
Out for a walk today, it was just about freezing. And I noticed some misting on the inside of my Vostok.
Of course it disappeared when I got back into the warm. So obviously there's some moisture in there, now I know the good old Vostoks have some QC issues,but it is newish and never been under water, doesn't bode well for a claimed 200m wr. Is it something I should worry about and have any of you had any similar issues with any of your timepieces. I am thinking maybe get a jar put some desiccant in it and taking the back off and leaving it there for a week or so then try and find somewhere with a dry atmosphere and put the back on, and if it mists up again change the seals. It's never going to be a dive watch for me,but I don't want it damaged by any water ingress. Any ideas or is this quite common,cheers.
Love dive watches,practical,stylish and sometimes beautiful. In my collection seikos, a couple of longines and an alpina
Good old Vostok QC. Yeah, the seals would need to be replaced if you ever wanted to take it near water. I'll leave you to decide whether that's worth it.
I do the jar of rice method to dry things out but I'd wager good money on it never going through any sort of real depth testing. I'd probably do that at minimum if you wanted to venture into the water with it.
pop the back and leave it on something warm like a floor warm air heat register for a while. Condensation on the crystal back will leave calcium stains eventually. Usually its the crown seal that goes as the vostoks have a good case back system.
This seems to just be the ambient humidity inside the watch. I don't see how that is really an issue or preventable via reasonable measures, but "soaking" in drier air can't hurt.
pop the back and leave it on something warm like a floor warm air heat register for a while. Condensation on the crystal back will leave calcium stains eventually. Usually its the crown seal that goes as the vostoks have a good case back system.
Thanks for that,plus its got twin crowns
Good old Vostok QC. Yeah, the seals would need to be replaced if you ever wanted to take it near water. I'll leave you to decide whether that's worth it.
I do the jar of rice method to dry things out but I'd wager good money on it never going through any sort of real depth testing. I'd probably do that at minimum if you wanted to venture into the water with it.
I certainly won't be diving in it,but might be a holiday watch,so the usual pool n beach wear. I'll probably stick with my seikos.
This seems to just be the ambient humidity inside the watch. I don't see how that is really an issue or preventable via reasonable measures, but "soaking" in drier air can't hurt.
I suspect it could be that, but would have thought even the Russians would put there watches together in a 'dry air ' environment.
Try unscrewing the crown then retighten it might sort it only takes a little water to do that if the crown isn't tight enough.
I think it's natural condensation from the atmosphere. Unless you close the watch in a hyper-arid environment you will get water vapor from the air in your watch. It is nothing to worry about, imo. I take my Vostok in the pool all the time and have never had a leak. I'm betting you won't either.
The wobbly crown is a feature not a bug. It is so the crown is disconnected from the stem so if it is hit there will be no damage inside the watch. It is a clever design.
I think it's natural condensation from the atmosphere. Unless you close the watch in a hyper-arid environment you will get water vapor from the air in your watch. It is nothing to worry about, imo. I take my Vostok in the pool all the time and have never had a leak. I'm betting you won't either.
Thanks, I will try n dry it out just for peace of mind.
My G Shock has this issue. It’s almost assuredly humidity inside the watch from when it was assembled. I’ve gone swimming with my G-Shock many times. No issue. Get it in cold and it fogs from the inside every time.
A little bit of fogging on a big temperature change doesn't always mean there is a problem. I wouldn't take it in the water until it was checked. My watchmaker has a 100m tester right in his shop, I would take the watch to him and have him check it.
A little bit of fogging on a big temperature change doesn't always mean there is a problem. I wouldn't take it in the water until it was checked. My watchmaker has a 100m tester right in his shop, I would take the watch to him and have him check it.
Thankyou for the advice
Misunderstood 😮
It's most probably condensation from the air inside the case. It's not unusual for the crystal to fog when it gets very cold.
Air does get inside watches during their lifetime because WR doesn't mean its hermetically sealed and because air flow in and out every time the crown is pulled out.
It only become a problem if this condensation persist despite returning to warmer temperatures or if it gets worse. This can indicate that it's not just air that gets inside the watch.
When it gets cold enough the air just can't hold any humidity anymore, and that's how you get condensation. That's why the air is dryer in Alberta, Canada, where I live, than in Riyadh, KSA, where I worked for a short time. (Had to totally change my hair and skincare routine). Condensation is not likely a sign of a poor seal. Gotta properly test for that.