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10 Posts
Hi
This is my first post on the forum. I've found lots of useful information here while researching my watch, and I'm posting this partly to give some information back, and partly in the hope of learning some more from the experts on the site.
A few years ago, my wife's Grandmother gave me a watch. It used to belong to her late husband, who was a colonel in the Russian army.
The watch had a very scratched crystal and was not working. It went in a drawer.
A few months ago I sent the watch off to be fixed, which gave me a look at the movement.
Here are some photos, courtesy of Christian Dannerman (Watchguy.co.uk) who fixed it:
There are more pictures available on his blog.
From knowing next to nothing about it, I now think I know this...
- It is made of 14k gold, based on the hallmark on the back of the case. Solid gold Vimpel watches seem to be rare (based on reading this website, and ebay).
- It should date from between 1961-1963. This is because the factory opened in 1961 and in 1963 the diamond shaped mark on the movement changed. Soon enough the Vimpel name was abandoned.
- The movement is the Vimpel 2209.
Some things that I don't know, but would be interested to know are:
- Just how rare are these watches? Are they rare in the west, but common in Russia? Although I know it belonged to my wife's grandfather, I don't know how he got it. I presume he owned it from new.
- I haven't seen any pictures of similar gold metal linked straps. I'm almost sure the strap would be original..?
Thanks for the help I already got from older posts!
This is my first post on the forum. I've found lots of useful information here while researching my watch, and I'm posting this partly to give some information back, and partly in the hope of learning some more from the experts on the site.
A few years ago, my wife's Grandmother gave me a watch. It used to belong to her late husband, who was a colonel in the Russian army.
The watch had a very scratched crystal and was not working. It went in a drawer.
A few months ago I sent the watch off to be fixed, which gave me a look at the movement.
Here are some photos, courtesy of Christian Dannerman (Watchguy.co.uk) who fixed it:



There are more pictures available on his blog.
From knowing next to nothing about it, I now think I know this...
- It is made of 14k gold, based on the hallmark on the back of the case. Solid gold Vimpel watches seem to be rare (based on reading this website, and ebay).
- It should date from between 1961-1963. This is because the factory opened in 1961 and in 1963 the diamond shaped mark on the movement changed. Soon enough the Vimpel name was abandoned.
- The movement is the Vimpel 2209.
Some things that I don't know, but would be interested to know are:
- Just how rare are these watches? Are they rare in the west, but common in Russia? Although I know it belonged to my wife's grandfather, I don't know how he got it. I presume he owned it from new.
- I haven't seen any pictures of similar gold metal linked straps. I'm almost sure the strap would be original..?
Thanks for the help I already got from older posts!