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Vostok 2416B Amphibia


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This is a bit of a departure for me as I usually like to play with stuff a little more vintage and a little more Swiss. That being said I have done a few vintage Russians in the past and this is a watch that I had been curious about for some time.

I picked this one up at a car boot sale last summer for just £3 in a less than wonderful state. As you can see, the seconds hand was off and it was described a not running.

 

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It turned out that it did run, just not too well and the hour and minute hands didn't move. Canon pinion anyone?

 

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First impression with the back off is pretty encouraging.

 

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Still looking good with the rotor off. This is a 31 jewel movement, 10 of the jewels are inside those reverser wheels.

 

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Somewhat minimalist under the dial.

 

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With the calendar wheel retaining plate off you can access the motion works, the calendar works, and the keyless works.

 

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Flipped back over and with the auto-wind bridge out of the way. This is an indirect driven centre seconds hand which has a tension spring to hold the seconds hand pinion in place. This has to be supported when installing the seconds hand otherwise the hand simply pushes the pinion against the spring and won't install. 

 

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Balance cock removed with the shim that the soviets are so fond of for adjusting end shake. Hair spring is in good shape.

 

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With the train and barrel bridges out of the way the going train is revealed in all its glory.

 

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Flipped over again to strip out the bottom plate and a problem comes to light. There is some damage to the minute wheel (marked in red ink). Maybe the canon pinion isn't the problem after all?

 

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In close up you can see the damaged minute wheel tooth. This I didn't think would be a problem, just replace it..... I thought.

Not so easy as it turned out as I couldn't find anyone that could supply a new wheel, and a donor movement proved elusive unless I wanted to spend a fortune on a complete, working watch, which I didn't, so I had to wait for eBay to come up with a spares or repair victim at the right price, which it eventually did.

 

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The stripped out main plate with the balance and cock, minus jewels, ready for the cleaning machine.

 

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The bottom plate back together again after a good wash cycle in the Elma. At this point I did check the canon pinion anyway and it was as well that I did. There was virtually no transfer of power through to the hands at all so a suitable adjustment was made and a tighter fit achieved.

 

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Back in the case and ticking like a champ. 

 

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The rotor and massive case back gasket back in place.

 

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And a much improved trace on the timer. This is with the original mainspring which turned out to be in very good shape requiring just a clean and relube. The trace isn't perfect by any means, but compared with other Russian watches that I have played with (and with it's starting trace), it's pretty good. There is still a hint of a periodic variation that I may investigate at some point but for now I shall just wear it and enjoy it.

 

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And here it is on the wrist after a bit of a cosmetic brush up. These are available with many different dial designs, apparently this one is referred to as a "SCUBA Dude". I have worn it for two days now and it has gained about 5 seconds a day so there is a little fine tuning to do to get it right "on the wrist".

 

All in all I'm very pleased with this one. I had been curious about the Amphibia for some time having read a couple of articles detailing its history and design. It also has quite a large following of avid enthusiasts who rate it for both value and robustness. On the value front I can't complain with this one as the total cost to me was just £11 (including the donor). As for ruggedness only time will tell, but the performance so far is very impressive.

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Thanks Geo,

 

here is the secret to my lighting;

 

eBay item #121337832210

 

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It was a birthday present to myself at the beginning of March to use on my microscope. However a quick cobbling together of a suitable adapter and it now also fits my camera, providing enough light to permit hand held macro shots, so no more tripod on the bench.

 

The wifey bought me cycling gear as she says that I spend far too much time sat on my fat backside fiddling with watches and I ought to do something to keep my circulation going!!

 

I will spare you the photos of high vis lycra  :thumbsd:

 

 

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Thanks for posting your photographic setup, it's most enlightening!

"The wifey bought me cycling gear as she says that I spend far too much time sat on my fat backside fiddling with watches and I ought to do something to keep my circulation going!!"

I was out my bike for the first time this year, it started first press of the button! :)

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I do have one of that sort too but it is in the shed awaiting much money and time to be spent on it before I can think in terms of firing her up.

In the mean time it's pedal power to fight the flab and keep in shape, although precisely what shape is anyone guess!!

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Hi Marc,

 

That type of minute wheel damage is commonly caused by trying to install it while the setting wheel is in place...meaning one of the teeth of the minute wheel was pressed agains one of the teeth of the setting wheel or intermediate wheel.

 

I bet the rest of the watch is pristine? What usually happens is someone has overhauled the watch and the damaged happenned during the final stages, whereby the watch repair person gave up in disgust (but more likely put it away while looking for parts).

 

I'd also hazard a guess that the canon pinion started the whole saga!

 

Anil

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 Anil, I am inclined to agree.

 

I would imagine that the loose canon pinion caused the watch to indicate poor time keeping, prompting the owner (who may not have had too much experience of this sort of work) to try and sort it out himself. I reckon he got as far as taking off the hands and dial, and stripping out the motion works before he gave up and put it back together again which is when the damage to the minute wheel could have been caused. I also think that the seconds hand was off because he couldn't get it back on again; like I said, you have to support the other end of the pinion otherwise the hand simply won't install. (I used a staking tool with my smallest stump for this in the absence of a dedicated movement holder with the support built in).

 

You're right about the rest of the movement too. Apart from being a little dry it was absolutely pristine with nothing to indicate that I wasn't the first person in there. To be honest I was quite impressed as the quality and finish were rather better than I have come to expect from older Russian watches.

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you have to support the other end of the pinion otherwise the hand simply won't install. (I used a staking tool with my smallest stump for this in the absence of a dedicated movement holder with the support built in).

Excellent tip Marc ! :)

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  • 8 months later...

Hi Marc!

 

I'm pleased to see your walk through as I have just won a Komandirske watch with the same 2416b movement. It cost a tad more than yours but is described as "used but unworn". This open to two interpretations of course but I'm hoping that it actually means 'secondhand but unworn'! It appears to be in its original box anyway.

 

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Here's the seller's pic. Chunky, easily readable, and quirky - the date replaces the 6 and the numeral 18 has to jump out of the way! It's clearly an NCO's watch too! :biggrin:

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That's a handsome watch CW. Is the case stainless steel or plated?

With any luck it will need no more than a COA to get it up and running.

If mine is representative of the calibre then you will end up with an excellent time keeper.

 

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this was a good read, marc.

it's funny that you had so much trouble finding spare parts. when you look on fleabay, there are all sorts of case parts and dials - and at VERY good prices. but i've not seen movement parts.

maybe they just don't break?

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That's a handsome watch CW. Is the case stainless steel or plated?

With any luck it will need no more than a COA to get it up and running.

If mine is representative of the calibre then you will end up with an excellent time keeper.

Thanks Marc. I'll tell you more when I receive the watch - sometime next week. Here's the back of the watch. Seller's pic.post-742-0-56239400-1451089748_thumb.jpg

Edited by clockwatcher
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Well, my Vostok Komandirskie watch arrived today just five days after winning it on Christmas Eve. That's pretty good going considering that three of those days were non-working!

 

The case is stainless steel with a beautiful brushed finish. It IS like new and I can only see a few microscopic marks on the crystal and none elsewhere. The protective plastic is still on the back.

 

 My only quibble would be the readability of the date (with my eyesight I have to hold it at arm's length under a light) but I think replacement with a black on white ring would make a difference as would a slightly larger window. The lume glows well, especially the marker lume dots which are more like little globules of pale green icing about a millimeter in diameter that cast light sideways as well as towards the wearer.

 

The watch measures 46mm including the crown and 42mm across the bezel, which rotates both ways, and has no click, but is absolutely free of play. From lug to lug it's 48mm and 15mm thick and, with the 20mm leather strap, weighs in at 70g or a fraction under two and a half ounces - nice and chunky

 

The only thing that seems a bit odd is the crown. It's a screw-down crown that pulls out to 2 positions, for setting the hands/winding the mainspring, and setting the date. When unscrewed, the crown flops about alarmingly but doesn't come off when pulled hard. Through the small gap between the crown and the tube I can see that the stem is solid and it's the crown wobbling drunkenly.

 

I'm still in the process of checking the accuracy so nothing to report on timekeeping but I'm not expecting chronometric performance! It is, after all, a low beat movement (19,800bph). If the crown is all that's wrong with it I think it was £26 well-spent. :thumbsu:

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CW, assuming your watch is derived from the "Amphibia" the wibbly wobbly crown is perfectly normal and is a design feature aimed at isolating the movement from shock.

If you Google Vostok Amphibia there are some interesting articles out there about its design and history.

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  • 3 weeks later...

You'll have noticed that my Vostok Komandirskie watch came with a faux leather strap. This didn't look right so I decide that a brushed SS bracelet was called for. The one in the pictures cost £15 inc post from China. It came supplied with spare links and a pin pusher with a spare screw-in pin. It's heavy and beautifully echoes the bezel.

 

Chuffed!

 

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That does look rather good CW.

 

Are those solid links? The last one I got from China looked like solid links so I went for it only to be disappointed when it turned up. Yours looks really good though.

Was it a seller of eBay?

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Thanks Marc. The bracelet is advertised as solid and I can't see any evidence that it's not. I've studied the link ends where you can usually see a seam on fabricated links but there's nothing visible. Also, where the pins go through there's no void. The seller on fleabay is - precision.tools - based in Hong Kong, who got the bracelet to me in quick time. I forgot to mention that they also included a half-dozen spring bars. Good value in my book anyway.

Edited by clockwatcher
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The stainless steel bracelet sets off the watch really nicely.  Bracelets on Ebay from China are so cheap these days.  I remember when the only option one had in changing a band was to go along to your local jewellery chain store or Kmart and buy a Speidel bracelet for a small fortune.

 

Marc...your tear-down threads are just fascinating.

 

BTW... what's the quality like on these Soviet-era watches?  I ask because I once watched a video on Youtube where a Russian watch company organised for a truck to run over one of its watches to show how tough it was.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello, guys! Nice to read such a cool article on true vintage Russian watches. Your watches look definitely awesome! I have a question to you, by the way. I've recently found some old Komandirskie watches from the garage sale, and they don't work. I like how they look a lot, so I want to repair them. I found a website - http://vostokamphibia.com It is said there that they repair such watches. Does anybody here tried that services for watches repair? Or maybe you can recommend me something. I'd appreciate any help, thanks in advance! :)

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Hi Klode,

This is just my very amateur opinion but I think that your best option might be to buy replacement movements and put them into your old cases, using the original dial and hands. These are not very expensive watches and the cost of getting them repaired is likely to be well in excess of replacement. 

 

Check inside the case and see what movements you've got and look for working replacements on the web.

 

Good luck.

John

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks a lot Marc for the walkthrough :thumbsu:

Hopefully, in a few weeks I get my new diver, different dial as the "Diver Dude", but that has to do with special memories....

2415 movement, I believe is the same a the 2416B, but without date. I also understood that the movements are interchangeable in the case. Obviously, the this dial is not going to work with the date-version, but ample customization options seems also to be a  strong point of this watch ;)

Can't wait to have a peek inside.... very excited :jig:

Amphibian.jpg

Edited by Endeavor
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Glad you enjoyed it Endeavor.

I hope you get as much out of your "Radio Room" as I have out of my "SCUBA Dude". One year on from its overhaul and it is still going strong without any glitches. Better still, it's consistent enough on the wrist to only require a few seconds of adjustment every week or so to keep it spot on, which I consider to be a remarkable feat; I hope yours does as well.

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Thanks for your wishes Marc! It may actually become a strong "what to wear" competitor to my Rolex Submariner.......who would have thought that for just $55??

Unlike with the Rolex, when working on the Vostok, I don't need the defibrillator close at hand :biggrin:

I'm very impressed how they solved the 200mtr waterproof. It makes a lot of sense; the higher the pressure, the better the seal. I guess implosion is what will ruin it. However I do wonder, whether you would (still) worry about the watch if it's about to implode :D

Will let you know what my experiences are........if & when it arrives okay out of mother Russia? Bought it two days ago, so it may take some time before I (may) get it. Let's hope the best !

Regards: Roland.

 

 

Edited by Endeavor
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