Is this vintage watch fake?
Hello my dear Crunchers. I have purchased a watch this weekend from a flea market and I am not sure if it is legit. I own Vostok watches and I’ve seen them called also Bostok but I am not sure about this Wostok one. It is a beautiful watch with a broken crown so I can’t tell if the mechanism is still working. What intrigued me was the name Gagarin written on the dial. He was a famous cosmonaut and supposedly the first man who went into space and I have read that Vostok developed a commemorative watch or watches to honor him. While searching online I find many similar watches dated from the early 60s until the 70s but none with the name Gagarin on the dial. I am sure there are some of you here at WC who know the brand well and maybe have some knowledge of their vintage watches. Any idea on how to check if the watch is original and how I could try to restore/repair it to its working state would be extremely helpful! Thank you all and have a great day and week ahead 🙌
My name is Kostas. I love going hunting for watches, finding information, exploring new models and discovering unknown affordable gems. I am getting particularly excited when I manage to find and make...
Can’t tell you if legit or not as I’m not an expert, but I can sure tell you that Wostok written with W is not an issue. That’s the German way of writing “Восток”, where the character B is transliterated to a W. This, and the small “Made in USSR” printed very small at 6 o’clock, makes me think it was a watch destined for the “international” market, mainly the GDR and the other non-Russian speaking countries of the Warsaw Pact. There’s a few of this sort to be found in Berlin flea markets.
About the Gagarin, I’m afraid I can’t say much. Google’s search is not too accurate for these terms and it returns that stupid Sturmanskie watch named after Gagarin.
Can’t tell you if legit or not as I’m not an expert, but I can sure tell you that Wostok written with W is not an issue. That’s the German way of writing “Восток”, where the character B is transliterated to a W. This, and the small “Made in USSR” printed very small at 6 o’clock, makes me think it was a watch destined for the “international” market, mainly the GDR and the other non-Russian speaking countries of the Warsaw Pact. There’s a few of this sort to be found in Berlin flea markets.
About the Gagarin, I’m afraid I can’t say much. Google’s search is not too accurate for these terms and it returns that stupid Sturmanskie watch named after Gagarin.
Thank you very much for the information. I didn't know that they were making models for markets outside the soviet union. I was also wondering why the made in USSR is written in English. I have spent two days looking for a Gagarin model from around that period but I can't find anything. Any suggestions on how to restore it professionally? I wonder if I take it to a watchmaker here in Belgium if he would be able to find parts. I would really like to repair and keep that watch in a working state.
This is almost certainly a Model No 173059 that was meant for export. The nearly identical 073059 has the "Bostok" labeling. They were both made by the Chastopol Watch Factory in the 1960's. Chistopol did produce a "Gagarin Extra" in the 1970's. It had a sector dial and was for domestic consumption.
There are two possibilities: it was a poorly documented limited run of watches from Chistopol or some unscrupulous jeweler added it after the fact. Either one may be true.
This is almost certainly a Model No 173059 that was meant for export. The nearly identical 073059 has the "Bostok" labeling. They were both made by the Chastopol Watch Factory in the 1960's. Chistopol did produce a "Gagarin Extra" in the 1970's. It had a sector dial and was for domestic consumption.
There are two possibilities: it was a poorly documented limited run of watches from Chistopol or some unscrupulous jeweler added it after the fact. Either one may be true.
Thanks a lot! Very useful information. I wouldn't be able to find these details online. I guess I will never really find out if that Gagarin extra existed on the dial or added afterwards. Do you think it will be worth repairing it and is it even possible for a watchmaker to find parts for it?
Thanks a lot! Very useful information. I wouldn't be able to find these details online. I guess I will never really find out if that Gagarin extra existed on the dial or added afterwards. Do you think it will be worth repairing it and is it even possible for a watchmaker to find parts for it?
The parts shouldn't be rare. It should not cost too much to get it running.
The parts shouldn't be rare. It should not cost too much to get it running.
Great! Thanks a lot again.