Vostok Komandirskie "Fifty Fathoms" Review: From Russia With Love

When it comes to dive, field and just plain rugged timepieces, the formerly Soviet watchmaker Vostok stands above the rest when it comes to pure affordability. You can get a tried-and-true dive watch-the Amphibia-that's water resistant to 200 meters (officially, lots of testing by online watch enthusiasts have effectively proven that an Amphibia's true WR is ~800 meters), has its own design philosophy, comes with a robust automatic movement that has a 10-year service interval (!!!) and comes from a historic brand, all for under $100. 

But, there are some caveats to this. Beyond having to deal with the slow and sometimes frustrating Russian Post-where you can order a Vostok in late October or early November and not get it until the new year-most Vostoks have absolutely terrible bracelets, antiquated movements, acrylic crystals, debatably useless bezels and some quality control issues. For me, one of the biggest issues is that you can't wear your Amphibia or Komandirskie to absolutely everything; if I wore my Amphibia 090634 to a wedding or a dinner party, I'd probably be hanged, drawn and quartered by the six-digit Submariner and Pro Diver-wearing guests. 

Suffice to say, this issue has made me wear my Vostoks less and less since I bought my first one. I was frustrated that my favorite dive watch stuck out like a sore thumb, and that Teddy Baldassare would call me a "wild person" and backhand me if I ever bumped into him during some insane universal alignment at a formal event. 

Then Chistopol came knocking. For a few years now most of Vostok's newer watches have essentially been cross-breeds of the Amphibia and its older, yet less hardy brother, the Komandirskie field watch. Although the Komandirskie only has 10% of the Amphibia's water resistance on paper, Vostok has slapped its name on several high-WR, dive-ready watches that have the same basic architecture of the Amphibia (casebacks, crystals, gaskets, movements, etc) and come with various functions and complications, such as the 650 cased range of watches, which feature GMTs, 24-hour watches and vibrantly colored divers. 

One of these watches is the 030598, a blue diver's watch that I felt was the first Vostok I'd seen that didn't look too rugged or quirky (or a mix of both) to be worn for all occasions. I first learned about this style of Komandirskie diver from Ben Arthur of @benswatchclub fame, where he reviewed its black and yellow brother, the 030787. Unfortunately, like most desirable Vostoks, it ended up like a Seiko SARB; only being available secondhand for vastly inflated prices on eBay. 

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Then, not too long ago, I was browsing Meranom when I noticed that they restarted production of the 030598. Sure, it was waaaay more expensive than its original price during production, along with most other Vostoks, but I felt that it was worth it. After ordering it and waiting a week (thanks UPS), the watch was in my hands. 

If I'm being honest, I think this is the best looking Vostok the company has ever made. Both the bezel and the sunburst dial change colors depending on the lighting, going from almost black to a rich royal blue. The numerals are also applied and are lumed like the handset, making it not only practical, but look at home with watches far more expensive than it actually is; it remind me a bit of a Moser. The bidirectional friction bezel is also scalloped, which immediately reminded me of the Omega Seamaster. The entire watch is brushed to a pretty good standard for a Vostok, though I wouldn't say it's giving the Shizuku-ishi Watch Studio a run for their money. The caseback does remind you of Vostok's Soviet roots, though; a big star surrounded by triangular rays of light are embossed into it. 

Although the quality of the 030598 is superb for a Vostok, there's still a few hiccups here and there. There's a small protuberance about a 1/4 of the way down on the right side of the second hand's counterbalance, and I'm fairly certain the 12 o'clock indicie is skewed very slightly to the left.

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Like a majority of Vostoks, the bezel is bidirectional and friction-based, meaning that you can spin it both ways, unlike most dive watches. Although this does make it slightly more convenient to use as opposed to a unidirectional bezel-which, as the name implies, can only be spun in one direction-it arguably makes it useless for timing actual dives. Personally I don’t really mind the bezel, given that most of the time I use it to time my laundry or for cooking, not as an indicator as to when I’ll run out of oxygen in my tank and die horribly underwater. Like all Vostoks it stays fitted to the case via a thin, paperclip-like wire. If you remove the bezel (which you can literally do with a butter knife), you can even adjust the tension of this wire if the bezel feels too loose or tight.

The movement that powers this Komandirskie is Vostok's own 2416b, a 31-jewel automatic-winding mechanical movement that goes into every Amphibia, and now, most modern Komandirskie releases. As Jody from Just One More Watch always says, its "agricultural"; it doesn't hack, and there's no fancy, over the top finishing that tricks you into thinking that it's a luxury movement. They tend to also be improperly lubricated from the factory, so their performance can vary wildly when on and off the wrist, a problem I had with my other Vostoks. Furthermore it's tolerances are infamously loose; Vostok claims an accuracy of -20 to +60 seconds per day for the 2416b, although most movements fresh from the factory do far better. Before regulation mine was doing about +15 seconds a day; after regulation, my Komandirskie is running between -6-+5spd with basically no beat error, which is great performance for a Soviet-designed movement that hasn't been updated since the 1980s. 

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As mentioned previously, most Vostoks come with an acrylic crystal, and this Komandirskie diver is no exception. Due to the way the Amphibia (and this Komandirskie) is designed, the acrylic crystal, the unique two-piece caseback and the unusually thick gasket work in tandem under pressure to increase the watch’s water resistance the deeper it goes, which allows it to have such a high water resistance as opposed to more traditional divers, like the Rolex Submariner and the Seiko Turtle. Although most people throw shade at acrylic crystals, I actually prefer them over mineral crystals, considering that you can literally polish them with toothpaste if you scratch it, which can’t be said of mineral, not to mention "Flame Fusion" and "Krysterna". It also gives the watch a retro vibe that’s damn near impossible to match with other watch crystals.

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This watch also wouldn’t be a true Vostok if it didn’t have the trademark “wobbly crown”. Although many first time Vostok owners believe that they received their watch broken, in actuality the crown stem is in two pieces as opposed to one, like in most watches. When the Amphibia was first being developed in the mid-60s, Vostok’s engineers figured out that if the stem was in two pieces, as opposed to one, it would be less likely to break within the watch and ruin the movement if it received a substantial enough shock. So when the crown is unscrewed from the watch, it’s loose in order for it to prevent the stem from breaking if its owner dropped it.

Up until now, one might think that this is the perfect diving watch; that it’s style and engineering assures its owner that they can be a Soviet James Bond (Yakov Bondavich?) with their watch for well under a grand. But I’m sure SOME of you realized that there’s no pics here of the watch being on its stock bracelet. That’s because the bracelet that the 030598 came on was the worst one I’ve ever seen; yes, worse than an Orient Tristar’s or even other Vostok bracelets. Although Vostoks are not known for their bracelets, this is the first time I’ve seen one that basically makes it impossible for someone to wear. You see, the bracelet this Komandirskie came with had solid links and a butterfly clasp, which doesn’t sound that bad. But the problem is that the clasp probably didn’t go through QC enough times; when I was moving my hand and my 7.5 inch wrist, part of the clasp would go undone, and the watch, to my horror, began to slide off my wrist. Consequently, I replaced it with a tropic strap from Uncle Seiko (highly recommend him, by the way) and the stock bracelet became the first ever stock watch strap that was so awful I threw it away. Thankfully, if you decide to order one on Meranom, you can get an exquisite mesh bracelet for the watch, which is under $20, or alternatively, you can get an oyster-style bracelet with integrated end links and a single fold deployant clasp for about $10 more. I’m just glad that it didn’t undo the whole bracelet, or else I’d be ordering a new crystal and looking for a watchmaker.

Given that the Seiko SKX has been discontinued for some time now, and its spiritual successor, the Orient Kamasu, starts at around $210, I think the Vostok Komandirskie 030598 is one of the best choices for a sub-$200 dive watch. It’s unique yet classy aesthetics, idiosyncratic engineering and near universal proportions make it a real contender for a great watch, and a truly underrated one at that. Even if you don’t buy this specific model, a Vostok is truly a common man’s watch that can stand up to the greats. 

Vostok Komandirskie "Fifty Fathoms" Review: From Russia With Love

3.8
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4/5
5/5
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4/5
  • Beautiful yet utilitarian design
  • Has all the innovative engineering that goes into the Amphibias
  • Movement is simultaneously a workhorse and very accurate
  • Costs less than a 5KX
  • Is a strap monster; looks good on bracelets, rubber straps and even leather
  • Can be worn formally or casually
  • (As of 2022) Is very challenging to get from Russia and/or Ukraine
  • Some may not want to spend $150 on a Vostok
  • Might take a bit to arrive from Russia if you use the Russian Post
  • Stock bracelet is not only bad but dangerous
  • Movement might not be properly lubricated out of the factory
  • QC is adequate but not class-leading
Reply
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Gorgeous watch, great review! I didn't even know this watch existed!

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nikson

Gorgeous watch, great review! I didn't even know this watch existed!

I actually did stumble upon it by accident. I was rewatching Ben's vid a few months ago and I was wistfully browsing Meranom- wishing they still made them- when I found it. You can go and pick one up there, too; they’re still making them