Hey you all, I have been recently on a hunt for a vintage sturmanskie, but the more I look the more garbage I find. Do you guys think it's possible to get a good vintage model? Or is the risk of fakes very high? I am considering getting the modern re-issue. Thank you in advance! Michele
Greetings, Michele! As you probably know already, a 33-mm 2609 Shturmanskie have just recently been reissued. Looking nice, what do you think? Also, can you share any obvious red flags that you've come across while hunting for one, if you have a minute? Just curious. Thanks!
The re-issue has been used in spaceflight training by Russian cosmonauts... Here's a 2016 Sokol spacesuit training photo showing Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhinov wsearing the Shturmanskie re-issue wristwatch ! (Photo: NASA) .
Depends on which model (early ones or newer chronos), but every model has been faked AFAIK. The ones from the Gagarin era are the most difficult to find unmolested, but it is possible: you just have to study everything carefully. A few genuines of my collection for reference: Bridge probably replaced, jewels are not recessed; it hacks though:
Leonov had a poljot cal. 3017, not a Sturmanskie. I only have a black dialed latin Sekonda (export brand), I think Leonov had a white dial Strela class1 in cyrillic:
Yes, it was a Poljot; this one is really nice! But it is not very clear for me, the history of these brands... Sturmansky, Poljot, in fact are not real independant "brands", since they were produced by the same factory, and I have difficulties to understand the timeline of the different models... a friend, who comes from Ukrain, even told me that for him, "Sturmansky" is not a brand, but a "model" of watch. So, what is "Strela"?... I confess that I'm really confused... But I love the look of these vintage russian dials...
Well, all these were produced by the 1st Moscow watch factory (1MChZ im Kirova). In the 60s the Poljot brand name was created replacing the 1MChz branding on the dials. Sturmanskie is a model name, meaning "navigator", for the watches delivered to soviet military pilots. Strela ("arrow") is also a model name for the cal. 3017 used for the Russian market mainly. Confusingly it is also produced without model name (poljot only) or under the Sekonda name. Sekonda is a UK brand importing soviet watches... Another 3017 using no model name under the poljot brand, from the 1960s: A montage of different brandings of the 3017 chrono:
Waou, I understand that I was far to understand... Some of them look like a "modern" one I bought 2 years ago, for not much, just because I wanted to have a watch "looking" like this legend space watch, the Strela...
What you have is some sort of "reissue" of Leonov's Strela, using the other Poljot chrono, the 3133. The "poljot international" (German brand) are said to be well made. Nice watch!
Yes.. "Poljot international"... which means.... nothing I guess!... So strange that these great russian brands did not succeed in swiming on the vintage mood... Hard job now for collectors !...
I ran across this very beat up one with a low(?) buy it now price. Despite the doggy case they claim it runs well and remains accurate. Any thoughts on this?
I bought this Sturmanskie on an auction 2 years ago. What do you say? Is it original or is it one of the many fake ones? and - do any of you know if this is the model that Gargarin had on his wrist during his space travel? Thanks.
I believe he had the 17J version, see the links I posted in the recent thread on Soviet watches. There also seems to be conflicting information, I recall (but can't find the source) reading that there was debate about the exact model he wore.
Here are some relevant threads https://omegaforums.net/threads/seeking-advice-on-vintage-sturmanskie.107174/#post-1404650 https://omegaforums.net/threads/first-watch-in-space.103594/#post-1401631 https://omegaforums.net/threads/what-to-look-for-in-a-1mchz-sturmanskie.55953/#post-688229
According to this link (originally provided by @Foo2rama ) it passes all the tests except lacks the polish stripped pattern (Geneva) on the movement. EDIT: Here is the link: https://forums.watchuseek.com/f54/s...el-sturmanskie-tammo-23013.html#/topics/23013
Looks like the Gagarin model. I mean, the look, of course...and not enough skilled to judge about the authenticity... Great look anyway, I love the dial and hands!