I hope they get more than a slap on the wrist. Hard time if you ask me.

consumable time keep... wear and toss.

'Collectors debate'... lol

if folks dont have the wherewithal to tell the difference between a invicta and a 116619, just get the invicta because there really is no debate going on anywhere.

Has anyone bought a Vostok Amphibia watch? How's the reliability? Is this watch for a person with a big wrist? What are your thoughts about this watch?

I dont own a Vostok, but there are some quality issues in terms of inconsistency as with most things Russian.


that being said, Vostok does have a small loyal following and collecting community.

Nice!

I've been wanting to get a Grand Seiko with a 44GS case design... it's a classic 1967 Seiko case design.




and before anyone gets their panties in a wad, yes... it's a Grand Seiko Quartz movement.



This is not your run of the mill Quartz movement... it is a Hand built and assembled 9 jewel thermo compensated and fully regulated movement that is accurate to +/- 5 seconds... per year.

it is milled with aligned Cote de geneve base plates, mirrored anglage edging and fire blued screws.

AND A BATTERY

What would be the best strategy for monetising a watch that one had been given by Vladimir Putin? Asking for a friend.

It is authenticated with a signed certificate from V.V. Putin and the seller also has a photo of themselves with Putin and Leonid Kuchma. The basic idea was for them to be presented as gifts when the president went to places (in this case Putin's first visit to Crimea as Russian President).

I only saw a pic briefly. It says "Russia" in Cyrrilic with a Russian flag motif. I doubt it has much value as a pure watch, just the history, though it's presumably not a unique piece.

Owner is reluctant to return to Ukraine with it on his person but my take is that it is likely to be worth more after Putin dies, the war is over and Russian money is unsanctioned.

Any ideas or suggested venues for sale?

if everything is true and as stated, there MAY BE some additional value due to his stature as a head of state. Russian watches in general are not that well made and the class of folks that collect Russian watches are fairly small but they do exist.

do you have a makers mark or manufacturer? is it steel or precious metal?

I can suggest listing it on Chrono 24 as a direct watch collector market place, but I think this has multiple cross collectable aspects to it... political collectors, russian collectors, watch collectors putin collectors.

Sothybes has regular watch auctions also...

As for the size vs your wrist size - that model is 40mm, the same diameter as the previous gen Rolex Submariner (current gen was increased to 41mm). Current fashion trends would say 40mm is on the smaller end of the spectrum for men's diving watches, which are often >42mm, though there are a few that are under 40mm. For comparison, most Panerai are 44mm or larger.

How big is your wrist? Average adult male is around 7", and most guys who are around average size seem able to pull off everything from a 34mm-36mm dress watch to a 42mm-44mm diving watch, with 40mm basically being a sweet spot for everything and everyone. If you're a sasquatch with gorilla wrists, look for something 42mm and up.

I haven't personally owned a Vostok, but I'm a longtime member of a watch forum (watchuseek.com), where there is a ton of discussion about them. I've handled a few at meetups, and since I own a company that makes watches, I'm qualified to assess the quality. Our in-house watchmaker started out by tinkering with Russian watches, and he has a bunch of them.

Russian watches are sort of like French cars - quirky. People typically either find that endearing, or just weird (I'm in the latter group).

The good - Vostok Amphibias are pretty inexpensive considering how rugged/tough they are. Whatever they cost these days, you're not going to find another automatic watch with decent water resistance at a comparable price that isn't super craptastic no-name Chinese-off-brand garbage sold on Ali Express.

The mechanical movements are generally pretty robust. Vostoks have some features that are odd, but generally lead to them being less failure prone, and yet, those are also things most watch geeks would view as negatives.

For instance (the bad)...

The timing bezels on most other diving watches are unidirectional (a safety mechanism for timing decompression stops), and have 60 or 120 clicks (to keep the bezel from moving, also for safety). I'm pretty sure most Vostok bezels turn either way, and there are no clicks. Turning the bezel feels like adjusting a thermostat from the '30s.

The crown has a unique wobble built into the design. I forget the purpose, but I think it has something to do with avoiding damage to some mechanism. Every other watch, you pull the crown out to wind it or set the time, the assembly feels like everything is attached and working as it should be. The first time you work a Vostok crown, you think it's broken.

I'm not positive, but I think the crystal is either mineral, or acrylic. Even a lot of cheap watches these days use the much-more scratch resistant sapphire, which is pretty ubiquitous in luxury watches, save a few that still use acrylic for nostalgic reasons. At least with acrylic, if it gets scratched, the scratches can be buffed out easily. But with mineral, they can't be, so after a few years, the crystal looks like a cloudy headlight cover.

Vostoks aren't known for the quality of their finishing. Actually, they are known, for it being pretty rough. Bracelet and clasp quality are going to make you want to put it on an aftermarket strap.

I'm not sure if this is still common for Vostoks, but some of them aren't steel, they're like chrome-plated brass. The plating can wear off, revealing the underlying base metal.

All that said - among watch geeks, there's a sub-set who are die-hard fans of Russian watches, and Vostoks are generally seen as must-haves. Lots of guys have multiples, if not dozens of them. The brand enjoys a cult following, even if I can't figure out why, as unimpressive as they seem to me. My watchmaker still loves his Russian watches, so there must be something to them.

Here's a link to the Russian watches sub-forum on Watchuseek, if you want to go there and learn more - https://www.watchuseek.com/forums/russian-watches.10/.

If you can and want to budget a little more, say, up to $200-$400, I can make some reco's:

1. Invicta gets a lot of hate from watch geeks, but there's also still some appreciation for their basic dive watches (the ones that typically resemble Rolex Submariners). The movements are generally reliable Japanese made units from Seiko, with a low failure rate. Just like Vostoks, their prices are low enough that no one bothers to repair them if the watch breaks. Check out their 1953 model. It's the design that even watch geeks can't hate (it's basically a tasteful knock-off of the Tudor Black Bay One).

2. Swiss brand Glycine was purchased by Invicta maybe 5 or 6 years ago. Since then, their prices have come down A LOT, but I haven't heard anyone complaining about a drop in quality. They're a pretty fair bargain considering the quality, specs and features. I had one before the Invicta buyout, and thought it was worth $500 when I paid that back in 2014. They're a lot cheaper now, when everything else has gotten more expensive. The Glycine Subs are 42mm, but super-thin, and will slide under a shirt-cuff.

3. Seiko's entry-level models have crept up in price while actually decreasing in specs and quality. As an alternative, my friend Marc at Long Island Watches has been re-imagining classic Seiko models and producing them under the Islander brand, with better specs and lower prices than Seikos. Check them out at https://longislandwatch.com/islander-watches/

4. There are probably a few hundred microbrands like mine around the world, and almost all of them offer insanely good watches for what they cost. The problem is that there's usually a waiting list to get the sold-out ones, or there's a massive feeding frenzy whenever a new release drops. There's a brand called Scurfa, in the UK, with some models under $300, but they're swamped right now. As an alternative, check out Bernhardt watches. They're unbelievably good quality for the price, with workhorse Japanese movements and good specs. The founder was a good man and personal mentor to me when I was starting my business. He passed a couple years ago, but it looks like his family is keeping the biz going. Check out the 42mm Binnacle Diver. https://www.bernhardtwatch.com/collections/frontpage

5. Shameless self-plugging, if you can come up closer to $600-$800, check out my brand NTH. Our 40mm Subs range is as close as you'll get to a vintage Rolex or Tudor dive watch without dropping $20k or more. Our DevilRay and 2K1 Subs models are 43mm and 44mm. Everything we make is vintage-inspired, but with more modern specs, and bulletproof reliability. https://nthwatches.com/

Drop us a line at customersupport AT nthatches DOT com if you have any questions about the watches on the site.

there's a russian brand called "cbet" that i thought would be fun to wear at the tables

hey guys.

i got a citizen eco drive. best watch I ever owned. SO many compliments on it.

that's ^ all that counts...

unless you expect it to hold value or act as a hedge against inflation.

nah man. i got it cos i liked it. did not expect to make money off it.

also, I dropped it and broke it. it has new glass on it so it's worthless now.

best watches under 1k retail.

ok GO!

Under $1K retail, there are a lot of microbrands that offer exceptional quality and specs for the money, as well as innovative designs.

Check out NTH watches, Aevig, DiRenzo, Visitor, Straton, and Nodus.

I can't help you with the sub 1k category... Apple Watch.

luke i've had my eyes on a russian 24 hour watch from paqueta for some time but have yet to pull the trigger - they are a lot harder to get since the invasion of ukraine since most sellers were russians on ebay previously

I made a new addition to my permanent collection, the Tag Heuer Monaco to go with my Omega Speedmaster Pro and Tudor Black Bay red/smiley. Got a good local deal for $3,700 cash. I feel like the Monaco and Moonwatch go perfectly together as two watches with a lot of history, one more subtle and the other with flair.

Hmm, don't know why I can't get the pic to post. But you all know what it looks like :P

you can copy paste images directly into the text field now

the old Monaco... that piece has been in production for YEARS.
if you could find an original in good condition, that would be worth something.

I dont really do Heuer, but they have a couple pieces that are desirable...
Top of which is the Heuer Mikrograph.

It's Chronograph beats at 360,000 beats, when most watches beat at 28,000 beats, to capture that 1/100th of a second timing.