Hello everyone! I have a quick question. What are some notable soviet era watch brands? I know Poljot and Vostok but I am not sure if they are good brands or not. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

These are cool dress watches:

https://www.2209watchmovement.com/

 

Also:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/anyone-speaks-russian.94358/

https://omegaforums.net/threads/russian-watches-the-unexplored-country-or-no-mans-land.38944/

https://omegaforums.net/threads/vintage-sturmanskie-possible-to-find.109243/

 

Thank you both. I appreciate the information.

 

@TheNewOmegaMan this is one of my Vostoks. It’s beat to hell but it’s a watch I can’t be without. IMO you aren’t a true watch collector if you don’t have at least one Vostok. Plus you can pick up the old cccp made mechanical ones for 40 bucks if you hunt around. They are great as I always need to have a watch on even if I’m doing mechanical or home improvement chores and these Vostoks are perfect for such occasions.

 

Soviet-Russian spaceflight history is very interesting, also wristwatch-wise as military versions of the Poljot 3133 have been worn in the Salyut-6 and Salyut-7 space station era. Between July 1975 and April 1981 there was no US spaceflight, while the "Soviets" performed 21 interesting spaceflight missions among which the Interkosmos flights with guest cosmonauts from Warsaw-Pact nations (Czechoslovakia, Poland, DDR, Bulgaria,...)
As these watches weren't marketed as the Omega-marketing-machine did for the Speedmaster, 4 decades later these Russian-made chronographs & watches still don't get the attention these deserve...
Check:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/hidden-gems-from-the-russian-space-photo-archives.65152/
.

 

I see Vostok and Poljot have already been mentioned. There's also Strela, Slava, Zarya, Luch, Raketa. Some notable Raketas include the Raketa Big Zero and The Raketa World Timer "Goroda". Raketa 24H comes to mind as well. Luch is famous for their "one hand" watches. There are many models and brands worthwhile having.
Edit: Forgot to mention there is also Vostok-Europe, a new watch brand, but many of them use Seiko movements. If you want something truly Soviet I'd not go for those.
Happy hunting!

 

55 years ago, the Soviet-Russian Strela “Arrow” was used by Voskhod 2 cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev. However, both cosmonauts wore the Russian-made chronograph underneath their Berkut “Golden Eagle” spacesuit so the watch was never exposed to outer space. Here’s a 1963 example of the 33 mm white dial manual winding chronograph with a Sokol spacesuit glove as background. Note the blue telemeter and red tachymeter on the edge of the dial. The 19 jewels caliber 3017 Strela was made by the 1st Moscow Watch company and 1964 onwards issued to cosmonauts. It became known as the Soviet-Russian Speedmaster. (Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)

 

A watchmaker I knew some years ago adjusted a Vostok Amphibian to chronometer standards. I was pretty impressed by that.

Tom

 

I have a pair of vostoks. Admiralskie and Kumanderskie. The wobbly crown is interesting.

Would love to get my hands on the sturmanskie gagarin watch.

 

Good luck finding an authentic sturmanskie gagarin watch. There are a lot of reissues, and fake junk out there.

 

Leads me to a question. I’ve bought a few for my son that were inexpensive but is there a legit seller anyone recommends?

 

What watch are you looking for? My comment was only about trying to find an Sturmanskie like Yuri Gagarin wore as the first man in space. There are so many Vostok Amphiba out there and they are cheap, so nobody tries to fool anyone. If you are interested in the ultra-thin dress watches, this link will help you find an original https://www.2209watchmovement.com/

Also, look for CCCP on the dial if you want Soviet era. Russia looks like: Россия. Russian republic is: Российская федерация.

 

I think you should definitely look more into collecting Soviet era watches. As previously mentioned, the Strela and Sturmanskye are some great examples. Here is a shot of my Poljot "Strela" . It is a great watch with a lot of history.

 

My two Rubels worth of contributing

 

I should add that you will see USSR or Russia on watches made for export, like the nice chronograph @Alf85 posted below.

 

Lots of great posts everyone, thank you so much for showing me your watches.

That's exactly what I am looking for and I think I may have found one! Well two to be precise. A real nice 1960 Sturmanskie, the movement and case checks out to be from that era. It has been redialed but with the period accurate dial just new. If you are looking for something completely authentic never touched up I found one of those also. PM me if you are interested in taking a look. I decided not to go with the untouched watch because the dials get so cruddy, which isnt a surprise for something from the 60's. Just isn't my style and I would never want to wear it.

 

Here is a good source on the Gagarin watch:

https://www.netgrafik.ch/russian_space_watches.htm

and also:

https://wornandwound.com/watches-space-yuri-gagarin/

 

Just bought it! WooHoo! The hands and dial have been replaced but the case and movement appear to be original.