Post your Russian vintage watches

GordonL · Apr 23, 2018

Professor
These Russian watches often have very fine looking movements. Its odd how with the attention to detail everywhere else many have such crudely ground scallops to allow a case back removal tool to fit in.
The scallops usually look to have been cut before the case was plated.

I believe that Start was a "luxury" brand but you're right-that scalloping is very common on 50s/60s Russian watches

Andurs · Jun 23, 2018

Hi guys,

Here are a few of mine - the good, the bad and the ugly (or the tacky, the cheesy and the cheapo). I'll let you decide which is which.
Feel free to comment, or laugh, if you feel the need!

Some for the pocket.......

Some for the wrist.....

And a 50th anniversary piece with original paperwork. I have no idea what the 50th year event was, any info would be greatly appreciated.

They all keep good time and until I can afford a Speedy or Seamaster they will fill a special spot in my collection.

Thanks for looking,
Andy.

GordonL · Jun 23, 2018

the papers say 14th March 1995 and 1995 would be the 50th anniversary of the end of the 2nd world war (or the great patriotic war as I think the soviets referred to it). Nice collection.

Andurs
Hi guys,
And a 50th anniversary piece with original paperwork. I have no idea what the 50th year event was, any info would be greatly appreciated.

They all keep good time and until I can afford a Speedy or Seamaster they will fill a special spot in my collection.

Thanks for looking,
Andy.

Andurs · Jun 23, 2018

GordonL
the papers say 14th March 1995 and 1995 would be the 50th anniversary of the end of the 2nd world war (or the great patriotic war as I think the soviets referred to it). Nice collection.

@GordonL Thanks for the quick answer, I thought it was either WW2 (1995) or the revolution (ca.1967) but my Russian reading skills are non-existent. Although I can tell that Bostock, Wostock and Vostock are all pronounced with a "vee" sound!

Thanks again for your reply,
Andy.

GordonL · Jun 23, 2018

no special skills. I'm just seeing the 140395 on the papers! I've seen other russian papers and they always seem to record the date that way. I have an attraction to russian watches for some reason and have a few in my watch box - a couple of 1990s 3133 chronos, a 1961/62 Start and a Bostok/Vostok very similar to yours. Also a 1950s Pobeda just like yours but with a centre seconds hand.

I'd like to get an original 3017 Strela but haven't yet seen one which is original/at my price level....

Andurs
@GordonL Thanks for the quick answer, I thought it was either WW2 (1995) or the revolution (ca.1967) but my Russian reading skills are non-existent. Although I can tell that Bostock, Wostock and Vostock are all pronounced with a "vee" sound!

Thanks again for your reply,
Andy.

Andurs · Jun 23, 2018

GordonL
no special skills. I'm just seeing the 140395 on the papers! I've seen other russian papers and they always seem to record the date that way. I have an attraction to russian watches for some reason and have a few in my watch box - a couple of 1990s 3133 chronos, a 1961/62 Start and a Bostok/Vostok very similar to yours. Also a 1950s Pobeda just like yours but with a centre seconds hand.

I'd like to get an original 3017 Strela but haven't yet seen one which is original/at my price level....

Haha, You know I've looked at those numbers about a thousand times and it never occurred to me that it was a date. 😬

I like the old soviet watches too. Really solid movements and usually within my seriously limited budget. I have Raketa, Zim, Pobeda, Star and a few other, less well known names in my lot. Unfortunately most of them are not in great condition. Those Russians liked to smoke good strong tobacco - a lot.

Anyway, thanks again for your help and good luck finding that Strela!

SpeedyPhill · Jul 18, 2018

1964 photo showing cosmonauts Pavel Popovich (Vostok 4) and Andriyan Nikolayev (Vostok 3) with the latter wearing, what looks like a 1st MWF Strela "Arrow" chronograph aka the Soviet-Russian Speedmaster ...
.

BlackTalon · Jul 19, 2018

My wife us visiting her parents, and got a look at her (deceased) grandfather's and grandmother's watches. The ladies watch looks redialed. Sorry about the photo quality, but these are the best I could get my wife to take.

Professor · Jul 19, 2018

Update on my NOS Pobeda. After much careful adjustment it is now accurate within 1-2 second in the last seven days.
Never had that much luck adjusting a watch before.

I did notice that the results depend on which quadrant of the dial I use to check the accuracy. If I use the minute markers from the 8 o'clock position to the 12 o'clock position to gauge when the minute hand hits center of the marker its dead on every day by the NIST Naval Observatory clock. If I use the markers from one on down to 4 o'clock it appears to be a couple of seconds fast. Could be some slight slack in the minute hand drive.

Also I've found that the Compensation factor of the NIST online clock is not always 100% correct. If on some days the time pieces tested look to be un accountably off by five to ten seconds early in the day then wait till the evening and you'll find they are actually dead on without making any adjustments. Could be a local connectivity problem. Possibly a matter of high internet traffic loads early in the day. Best to check timing in the evening hours to be consistent.

Omega alan · Jul 19, 2018

I am not sure what it is but I do like Russian watches, while on a trip to Cuba we visited an open street market where I found several examples, unfortunately they had a bit too much 'petina' for me!
I recently acquired this Vostok for everyday type wearing, rugged, waterproof and is keeping good time - about 5 secs a day.

SpeedyPhill · Aug 22, 2018

Don't know if this Poljot website has been pointed out before: http://polmax3133.com/guide.html

GordonL · Aug 22, 2018

It's a great collection of info/data on the 3133 calibre watches. I wish the same level of detail existed for the (predecessor) 3017 movement!

SpeedyPhill
Don't know if this Poljot website has been pointed out before: http://polmax3133.com/guide.html

balaja · Aug 22, 2018

GordonL · Aug 25, 2018

hi Buster,
I'm thinking that the usually quoted "standard" table for dating 3017 movements may be inaccurate, especially in the earlier years.
I bought a "1 owner" Sekonda 3017 with movement S/N 13595. It's the early "naked" UK version without the tachy or telemetric scales on the dial.

This dial seems only to have been available in early-mid 1966 - it is described in the April 1968 Sekonda catalogue (Model 68), but is gone by the December 1968 Sekonda catalogue.

So I think that the "standard" approach of assuming that 3017 movements were made at a consistent rate of ~5000/year is maybe not accurate in the earlier years. Certainly, the Sekonda brand did not exist prior to 1966, so I think that my watch provides some sort of rough "calibration point" as to mid-1960s numbers. Maybe 2000/3000 a year between 1959 and 1965 or so? Then ramping up as they started to be sold in the UK as well as in Russia?
But, as with all things soviet in the 1950s/60s/70s, we will probably never know.....this doesn't detract from the attractiveness of many of the watches they produced.
cheers
Gordon

RCAFBuster
I think there will always be confusion or conjecture on this one.
Here is more of what I've found

The Strela, which means "Arrow" in Russian, is one of the most coveted watches in Russian horology. Introduced in 1959
The movement in the Strela was Poljot caliber 3017, a 19 jewel based on the Venus 150 chronograph movement. The movements made around 1965 have the following serial numbers:

1959 - 1963 Strela, Sekonda, up to 19000

1964 - 1965 Strela, Sekonda, Poljot 19000 to 31000

1966 - 1967 Sekonda, Poljot 31000 to 42000

(Movement number divided by 5000, then add 1959 to get year of production).

I always stand to be corrected.
Cheers,
Buster

florian0079 · Aug 25, 2018

So many amazing pieces! Thanks for sharing.

Never seen the Soviet-Russian Speedmaster before. Need to do some research 😀

Professor · Feb 26, 2019

Two recent acquisitions. Dirt cheap but surprisingly nice watches in very good mechanical condition, running perfectly and keeping pretty good time.
Uncertain of the vintage, I suspect post Soviet, possibly not old at all. Could be recent production from NOS movements and parts.

Some wear and brassing of the cases but dials are fine and the upper watch had a few very shallow scratches on the crystal that polished out easily. The lower watch has a pristine dial and crystal , no scratches just a little build up of dirt. Once cleaned it looks like new aside from some wear on the case as I mentioned.

Not sure how they get the near holographic effect of the hair fine gold circles of the lower watch. At one angle they look like they are in the crystal but at another they are obviously in the dial. The markers also wink in and out according to how the light hits them.

The numbers on the upper watch are faceted and partly wink in and out according to how the light hits them and have markers similar to those of the lower than act the same. Very unusual effects.

NikolShep · Feb 26, 2019

Raketa - my Grandmother's and

recently purchased.

Professor · Feb 27, 2019

NikolShep
Raketa - my Grandmother's and

Beauties both. A rock of ages vibe from granny's old trooper and the well preserved example is stunning.

bobbee · Mar 25, 2019

Communist era Sekonda with double mainspring.

Professor · Mar 25, 2019

My Slava has that double barrel mainspring. It gives an unusually pleasant feel to winding.

Post your Russian vintage watches

GordonL

Andurs

GordonL

Andurs

GordonL

Andurs

SpeedyPhill

BlackTalon

Professor

Omega alan

SpeedyPhill

GordonL

balaja

GordonL

florian0079

Professor

NikolShep

Professor

bobbee

Professor

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