I couldn't pass up a NOS Slavia manual wind watch New Condition still in the box. Not bad looking with a 21 Jewel movement and metal link band. I know zero about Russian (Belarus) made watches, but I'm figuring this was a low end product about the same level as a Timex of the same period. Heres the specs from the advert. Model: SLAVA Mechanical movement 2414 Manual winding; Sub-dial second hand; Calendar Caliber: 2414; 21 Jewels; 2414 -is the basic mechanism of Slava watches with a central second hand; shockproof device; number of jewels - 21, height - 4.05 mm; Average daily rate at a temperature of 25 degrees from -20 to +40 s / day; Working time is not less than 42 hours, the average life is 10 years Cheap as it was I'll be satisfied if it runs at all. A good beater if nothing else, but a very nice looking one at that.
I like the double barreled mainspring idea. I suppose this allows less stress on the springs to provide the same amount of force allowing longer run time between windings. I didn't link to the Ebay image, probably should have. The images weren't that clear. Only on my second or third look did I realize this is a calendar version. According to Wikipedia the Slava has a few weaknesses. The hands are clutch driven which makes them more vulnerable to wear, and the staff is a bit thin which can make them vulnerable to sudden shocks though they are advertised as shock proof. The calendars are not very reliable either. Finding a similar watch with more of a description it appears this model was made in the 90's. By the time I get it I should have my camera software reinstalled. A freeze up required reloading the OS with all apps removed. Haven't gotten around to reloading the software yet. In the past I've been able to just place objects like this on my scanner and get pretty good images.
What sort of avatar would you suggest, a furry creature or a random guy in a field with a clip board. Not sure if its kosher to use the seller's photo this way, even though I now own the subject of the photo. The crown is very well protected at least. The watch looks better each time I see it. I should receive it about the middle of January if not sooner. The seller is fairly new to the game but has a 100% positive rating so far. This was his next to the last watch. The last one is an older more used model. Saw another I'm tempted to bid on . A much older vintage model in great shape other than a cracked crystal. The crystal looks like it would be hard to find a replacement for. I best just wait till I see how this one turns out before going overboard. Apparently theres been some counterfeiting of slava watches, but I sort of doubt they'd go to the effort for the lower end models. Surprisingly the counterfeits use authentic Slava movements sold to Red China ages ago. I'm not familiar with cyrillic but the trademark looks legit. The fakes use a similar but different set of cyrillic letters to try to avoid copyright issues..