Opinions on Vostok?

good automatic entry watches, their quality is good to average, they do not have stop seconds, an important point for me

Love the casebacks! It just makes sense, why don’t more watchmakers do this?

I own two of them. Great watch for the money

Good entry level watches for the price. Easy enough to maintain and they have a lot of options.

I have half a dozen. They remind me of a 70s MG. A cheaper option that will make you smile, good looking in an individual and old fashioned way, not always a good runner but pretty much bulletproof, old tech, easily and often customised, lots of character but sometimes a bit wilful!

I have an Amphibia and a Komandirskie, when I bought them they were $65 or less. Absolute bargain. Lately I’ve been seeing them at $150 or more. Unless there’s some source I’m unaware of: at that price I’d pass. They’re kind of cool with an interesting history so I see why people still buy them. There’s just a lot of really good watches around that price now.

If you do get one, I'd recommend putting it on a different strap. The bracelets and leather straps are almost as bad as the one on the MoonSwatch.

Great all-purpose inexpensive dive watch.

Don't expect superb accuracy...but don't expect that with Seiko either.

The crown is a little funky...no it's not broken...it just wobbles around when you are winding it.

Be careful...they can become addictive since they are so reasonable.

I find the bracelets and straps are mostly crap (again like inexpensive Seiko), but you can easily find replacements.

Here is one from my collection...

Here is a really good book to explore Russian watches...

Fun entry watches. Very quirky with the wobbly crown, friction bezels, and time-intensive date setting. However, they're a fun wear.

I had a dosen different models, still own two but they get almost zero wrist time. Acrylic crystal, horrible bracelets, poor quality materials...

Two of them had started getting rust spots after a summer holiday. I always take my divers in the sea and rince them afterwards to remove any salt and yet...

It's a watch that was designed in the 60's and stayed there. Only improvement they made since then was adding shiny collored dials.

I would not recommend you getting one unless for the pure "historical value" and that only if it's under 70$.

Honestly, current geopolitical situation puts a damper on them for myself. Besides, steeldive and similar are better value, higher quality, and easier to mod. Just my opinion.

My question for you is what draws you to them as a brand. Opinions can be somewhat biased depending on preference and situations.

Simple, value for money. Vostok Amphibia holds the record for deepest dive without failure 2,700 feet. Your Breitling Superocean breaks you’re into thousands plus 3 months down time, your Vostok breaks just get a new one.

My Omega Seamaster, Rolex Air King and Yacht Master are at home while me and my Vostok are out at the local watering hole with not a worry in the World. If I get robbed, fall down and smash the watch so what? The bar tab will be more than the cost of a new Vostok.

Late to the Vostok game.

The way I see it, having a Vostok is like having a classic bike. It’s not the most sophisticated & advance watch, but you get to admire the ingenious engineering and the retro futuristic design. It’s like having a mechanical history on your wrist.

Yes, the bracelet are horrible.

Yes, it doesn’t have a hack second and kinda weird crown to operate.

Yes, it uses acrylic instead of hardlex or sapphire.

But for me, that’s the charm of having a Vostok. Like having a classic bike, we compromise with it’s quirk and limitation, and enjoy the engineering and design.

Here’s mine, a 771059 Amphibia scubadude. With DIY brushing of the case and bezel, swap the bracelet with a rubber strap.

I have about half a dozen at the moment and would have had more if I'd let the addiction to collect all the different dials take over. I think they are great for the money. I've never had any problems with accuracy or even the straps breaking, which some people have. Unfortunately the manual wind ones don't last forever, and I've broken 2 of them so far.