HoroLex: Амфибия на даче: Часы дня - амфибия на даче. Подводная лодка в степях Уркаины на даче! Это - часы Амфибия 2416Б "Капитан подводной лодки"...
Finally, a new arrival and addition to collection of watches, and it's this 2018 Submarine Captain Vostok Amphibia 2416B Automatic.
The dial says "Submarine Captain" in Russian which is a bit nonsensical or else common speak as it should properly be "Submarine Commander" (who has the rank of Captain anyways), I guess it's per tradition.
It's fully stainless steel (minus the bezel), it's automatic (meaning winds up from natural arm and wrist motion as you go about your daily business) (whether it will be enough by itself is another matter), it also has a hand-wind option, three hands, including a central seconds hand and a day date, what's not to like?
I specifically wanted this dial.
There is a unique wobbly (by design) Vostok screw-down winding crown which is a major rarity on watches at this price range (but you do have to get the knack of using it properly, not that it's very difficult).
The case back.
I once did a post on water resistance markings, and you can find it by searching for water resistance marks on this very blog, but the point is 200 meters of water resistance here is a conventional designation and means that in reality this watch is good for water activities up to swimming and skin diving. Any more is problematic, not that it hasn't been tried.
Me, I mainly use it for showering, bathing (long hot tubs with a book to read and something to drink) and going to public baths once in a while.
At this writing, I have had this watch for about a couple of weeks and can report that it operates rather well, maybe it's a little bit fast but it's acceptable and expected for mechanical watches and should be tolerated and in any case it's within the stated tolerances.
Current Vostok movements can be a little bit temperamental due to possible lack of proper regulation and quality control at whatever remains of the Vostok factory but this one seems to be OK for now.
Furthermore, I don't usually regulate my mechanical watches, just live with what they are able to provide in terms of time keeping, and each one is different of course.
However the crown on this specimen screws and unscrews a little bit rougher than on my previous amphibias over the years and there is even some grating but it's minor.
Congrats to me, I managed to flood my 2012 Scuba Dude Vostok Amphibian by swimming with a loose (unscrewed) cap on the winding "head" (whatever you properly call it).
The watch doesn't work any more.
I used the opportunity to open the watch as don't like to open working watches and... I found a surprise surprise!
I describe the surprise in this little video.
As you can see it has a Vostok Europe auto-winding rotor (and Vostok Europe is not necessarily related to the Vostok company proper).
At first, I though that maybe even the movement itself was a Vostok Europe but it is unlikely.
It is now time to catalog on this blog another watch from my collection which is this 2002 Vostok Amphibia(n) "Sailboat" called so on account of it having a picture of a sailboat on the dial.
These photos were made some years back and they are not too good.
Maybe I'll make yet better photos of this watch but for now these will have to do.
But it happens to be the oldest of the three having been bought in the now distant year of 2002 and is a veteran of many a swimming-pool and sauna session, and I don't go to places like that -- where they engage in water activities -- without having a Vostok Amphibia on my wrist.
Sorry about the graphic picture below.
You can read more about Vostok Amphibia watches on my blog, just use the search function for "Vostok Amphibia".
Here it is - in focus. More figuratively than literally (or is it the other way round?) because I am in a Ford Focus and am shooting with a cheap point-and-click.
A 3 year veteran of many a sauna and swimming pool session, it is still going strong.
Another one of my Vostok Amphibia(n)s by the Vostok Chistopol Watch Factory.
With a compass bezel... not everyone likes it but I don't mind it... you can still use it to mark time. It rotates.
This is a Vostok Ampibia wrist watch with a Cal. 2416B automatic movement -- self-winding but can be hand wound as well.
The movement is like this one (but not this decorated version of course).
...
Date of manufacture is marked as 10.07.07 -- tenth day of July in the year of our Lord 2007.
And it cost me RUB 1,300 in 2007 (US$ 36 at current rates).
I wore it from 2007 to 2011.
Used it often for sauna session - at least once a week, which finally was its undoing. Time keeping became very erratic in 2011, sometimes it would stall for no reason, at other times it would be way too fast -- those sauna sessions, I think, got to it.
