Russian Trio

[atimegoneby]

I recently purchased a trio of Russian watches to add to my modest collection,

 

I bought them directly from Russia and the first to arrive was this unusual one handed 'Luch', the dial is marked in 5 minute increments, it's a manual wind with 15 jewels and runs for around 43 hours on a full wind and is surprisingly accurate ! .    :)  

[Marc]

I quite like that, although it took me a couple of seconds to get over it having just one hand.

There is a simplicity about it that is very appealing and the idea of a pace of life that demands no more than 5 min increments on the dial is very attractive.

[atimegoneby]

Thanks Marc, I think most people would need to do a double take, also having a zero before the numbers gives a it different look, almost like a depth gauge from a submarine ! . 

[atimegoneby]

The second of my trio to arrive from Russia, is a Vostok komandirskie, it has 17 jewels with a screw on back and screw down crown,

the quality and finish of this watch is far better than I expected and I think is actually quite superb, the paperwork guarantees accuracy to -20 to +40 secs per day but when I check it against my radio digi clock it usually gains 5-10 secs in a 24 hour period which I think is pretty good ! it runs for around 42 hours on a wind and when setting the time, with slight back pressure you can pause the second hand

( I think they call this hacking ). Overall I think a great watch especially for the money ! .    :)

[ianmedium]

I love the one handed one! The first time I saw one I thought how on earth does one tell the time but after a while I realized how easy it is to tell the time. I must look out for one of the Russian made ones, thanks for showing your lovely collection.

[atimegoneby]

This is the third of my trio, a Raketa pilot 24 hour watch with a 17 jewel 2609 movement, slightly lesser quality than the other two although it was the most expensive but it works well and keeps good time, a nice novelty  !      :)

[Marc]

Atimegoneby,

 

I don't suppose you can post a shot of the movement in the one handed Luch can you? I am intrigued every time I look at it. I had assumed that it would have a standard three hand movement but with only the one hand fitted as this would allow the use of an existing stock design. However, a jewel count of 15 is a little unusual for a modern watch unless it's design has omitted one wheel from the standard layout, which you could do if you only have the one hand. That would require designing and tooling up for a new movement though which would be a very expensive exercise, particularly for a watch that is likely to have a fairly limited following. So I'd love to know what's inside.

[WillFly]

The Luch is very interesting - very tempting! RLT Watches do one as well.

Edited February 21, 2014 by WillFly

[Marc]

Just had a look at the RLT offering and that appears to use an ETA (Unitas) 6497 or 6498 with just the hour hand fitted.

I think I prefer the more "instrument" look of the Luch though. I'm just curious about the jewel count though.

[atimegoneby]

I love the one handed one! The first time I saw one I thought how on earth does one tell the time but after a while I realized how easy it is to tell the time. I must look out for one of the Russian made ones, thanks for showing your lovely collection.

 

Thanks for looking, glad you found them interesting .   Phil.

[atimegoneby]

 

 

Hi Marc,

 

The movement in the Luch is very small with a plastic spacer to hold it central in the case,

I did some looking on the net and apparently the movement was originally used in a small ladies watch, and thinking about that I'm not sure whether such a tiny main spring would have the power to drive two large hands ?, I'm sure Mark would know the theory on that ?

don't know the reason for 15 jewels though ?

I've also seen another version where the dial looks like a vintage car speedometer and the rear case is engraved with an old Russian car ! quite curious.  Phil.    :)

[Marc]

Thanks for the pic Atime, not what I was expecting though. It looks like the Luch 1800 or 1801 which is a ladies watch calibre and was always a 15 jewel machine. Despite its diminutive proportions though, capable of quite respectable performance.

 

The "single hand" concept has got my interest now. I am thinking that a future project may be to put one together my self. ETA 6497 or 6498 based (or more likely a seagull clone at a fraction of the price) in one of the off the shelf pilots style cases. I would probably need to fabricate the hand and dial myself which would be fun. I have seen a number of articles now regarding DIY dials using water slide transfer ink jet paper and acrylic lacquer with excellent results, although I don't know how UV durable the dial would be. Maybe if I found it on my wrist often enough I could get a "proper" dial printed, although that would probably double the cost of the project.

 

Certainly one to add to my "to do" list.

[WillFly]

You can buy an ETA 6497.1 or .2 for about £185 from Cousins. Good solid movements and often hard to come by.

[Marc]

I'm thinking more like the Seagull TY3600 which is pretty much the same thing for around £26 + VAT, also from Cousins. A no-name stainless steel case with mineral crystal and display back off ebay for about the same money, and some 0.3mm brass stock for the dial blank. Probably do the whole thing for less than £75 for materials. Then it's just the fun of pulling it all together.

 

From what I can gather the Seagull movement is actually very good and any differences that there are between it and the ETA offering are nowhere near enough to justify 7 times the price. You could argue that in a watch that only has an hour hand even the Seagull is over kill since as much as +/-60 seconds deviation per day would go unnoticed for quite some time.

[WillFly]

Sounds good!

[atimegoneby]

Sounds like an interesting project Marc, I look forward to seeing your results ,  Phil.

[Marc]

Well this took a more rapid turn of events than expected.

Having costed up a Seagull TY3600 and a case at around £75 separately I spotted this on ebay.

 

 

 

A Seagull TY3600 in a suitable stainless steel case, brand new, for £26 + £4.95 postage. 

 

The crystal on this one looks awful but that's because it has a clear plastic sticker on it.

 

So project started rather sooner and for less than half the price than envisaged. :thumbsu:

I now need a non-seconds hand fourth wheel, and then to make the dial and hand. If I keep all of the original parts I can always return it to stock if I want to. Not sure when I will tackle that part of the job but I will post my progress when I do.

 

Incidentally, there seems to be a number of these on ebay starting at 99p on a 2 day listing and ending up between about £20 and £30. If you're on the look out for a big watch on a small budget these have got to be worth a look. I checked out a couple of user reviews on the internet and they seem to be well received. Search for Detomaso Savona; the buy it now price seems to be £99 so look for the auction style listings.

 

When mine turns up I will give it a couple of days wrist time and then post my impressions.

[Marc]

Got my Savona. It's a huge watch at a shade over 44mm but wears very comfortably. I'll give it a bit more wrist time then maybe start a new thread by way of a review.