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Poljot Aviator

5K views 29 replies 6 participants last post by  mike.s 
#1 ·
Hi all

Can anybody give me some info on this Aviator? I have looked all over the place for it but found nothing, is this an extremely rare model? I have had it for about 10 years now.

Thanks

Andy





 
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#2 ·
Hi Andy,
I have the English version of the Polot/1stMWF catalogues from the year 2000 and 2003. Your watch is shown in the 2000 edition and not anymore in the 2003 edition.
Although your watch has all the looks of an Aviator, Poljot in their wisdom, were positioning it in the Military Watch Collection and not as an Aviator. That's may be the reason you can't find much information about your watch. Continue your search with the Poljot reference number: 3133/2543002 .
Here is a copy of the English catalogue mentioning and showing your watch.





As you might know, don't put much value on the production quantity of 999 pcs on the back. When a watch was popular a small chnage detail on the hands or slightly different dial would allow Poljot to produce another 1000 or 3000 pcs.

More info I can't find.
Very nice looking watch btw !

Tammo
 
#5 ·
Tommo could you look at your catalogs and see if you can find this one there. If your catalog scans are available online
This watch is not shown in any catalogues I have. The reason is simple, because this watch is produced after 2003, when 1st MWF went bust.

This watch is not an original Poljot from the 1st MWF,( possibly I will start a flame now) , but (I'm speculating) a so called put together from parts available from the old stocks of the 1st MWF. It is still available as old stock.

The reasoning being that just after the 1stMWF/Poljot went bankrupt several start-ups bought parts and made Poljot branded watches from them. ( According my source/ information they were even located in the same old 1st MWF building) The owner of the brand of the Poljot brand ( Mr. Ksenofontov) stopt this. As a result these watches show up from time to time as NOS/Old stock. ( And Volmax survived but still can not use the Poljot name, and now has to use the model/collection names instead i.e. Shturmanskie, Buran etc.)

So again, and this may be disappointing, to me these watches have nothing to do anymore with Poljot nor the 1st MWF.

And please note, my first name is Tammo not Tommo (Don't worry I'm used to it. My friends in Moscow call me this way. ;-) )

Tammo
 
#6 ·
Well, I'm not sure that if the watch was not listed in some catalogs, it has nothing to do with the Poljot.
I got this one in Moscow officially from one of the "post-Poljot" companies.

http://forum.m-watches.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=34&p=61#p61

As you see at the last but one pic, it was even assigned a serial number. It is now a matter of definition, what to call "Poljot" and what not. Yes, this is the old stock, but if all the parts are from Poljot, why not to call the whole watch Poljot?
 
#7 ·
Tammo, sorry to miss-spell your name, my hands are faster than brain and the spellchecker is not helping :)

Just like what Boris shows, mine includes a serial number and has a Poljot 31681 ticking in it. My hands are blue, while Boris's pic shows silver (?) hands. Boris, who did you buy it from in Moscow? Was it a post-Poljot company, or a small "artel'" in their old building there? I'm really curious.

I actually strangely like this watch. It's pretty well put together and now keeps good time after adjustment.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Tammo, sorry to miss-spell your name, my hands are faster than brain and the spellchecker is not helping :)

Just like what Boris shows, mine includes a serial number and has a Poljot 31681 ticking in it. My hands are blue, while Boris's pic shows silver (?) hands. Boris, who did you buy it from in Moscow? Was it a post-Poljot company, or a small "artel'" in their old building there? I'm really curious.

I actually strangely like this watch. It's pretty well put together and now keeps good time after adjustment.
Mike,
that was one of the most famous post-Poljot companies, which i don't want to advertise since I'm interested in advertizing of another one :)
 
#11 ·
I don't think there's any bad new. A pretty nice Poljot. My only issue with it is that it doesn't have a second rotating basel as many of them did. This is a later watch with no second crown.

I liked it on the pics and considered bidding on it, actually. Among other things I was thinking of getting my grubby hands on one of those Slavas - the one with Bluish/greyish dial and calendar/date.
 
#12 ·
Whew - that's a relief.

I think the rotating bezel was dropped on the later chrono's and the 31659 chrono like this Poljot is later than the 3133 models.

I can't quite make out the "made in xxxxx" at the bottom of the watch. I don't think it says USSR, but I hope it's Russia. Not Albania (not that I have anything against Albania).

PM me about the Slava.
 
#15 ·
"Oh, Albanians make the best watches in the world, all the other watches are made by little girls" (sing it as Borat would) :)

I don't think it's a Ukrainian-Albanian project Poljot. I think it's made in Russia and is legitimate.

Watch22, I'll PM you later on about the Slava. Show us some pics when they all arrive, OK?
 
#19 · (Edited)
I respectfully disagree. Poljot is/was the 1st MWF. Nothing else.
In Soviet times 1st MWF had a plant in Kiev producing movements, and other watch parts.So, yes there were likely a lot parts available in that branch of Poljot. But a Poljot watch with "made in the Ukraine " makes me :-s

What I don't like is that because of commercial interests, even on this forum, the history of 1st MWF is affected badly. Facts are not accepted, instead vague information without reference is mentioned just to justify the origins of a watch to increase interest or sales of that watch.

All the best

Tammo
 
#18 · (Edited)
Boris, I actually figured out who it is once you've mentioned the other company, went out and found it. They want about $400 for the thing now. Pretty steep. Are they allowed to use the name Poljot straight up like this?

Interesting that they've assembled Poljots in Kiev. That might explain Mark Gordon's recent purchase of a "Yanukovich Poljot". Do you know if it was Kleynod that was assembilng them, or was there another watch factory in Kiev? I'd love to see a pic of one with "Made in Ukraine" on a dial if you happen to have it.
 
#21 ·
Tammo, I would actually disagree with you. Soviet economy was always ran on premise that any factory within the specific industry can, in theory, make the same products as other factories. In theory. If you look at Pobeda, for example, it was made in at least 3 factories that I'm aware of. It doesn't make it any less of a Pobeda, whether it was made by 1 MChZ, 2 MChZ or ZIM. Early Russian watches weren't really branded by factory. They were designed, given a name and made at separate different factories under that name. This seem to ave been the case until at lease late 50s, I believe.

I've lived in Kiev for a combined 20 years between 60s, 70, 80s and 2000s, but did not know that they made Poljots. I'm sure if they've made them in the 70s and 80s, they had Made in USSR stamped on them and nobody knew they were made in Kiev.
 
#23 ·
Guys, I'm very sorry. What is on the dial is simply "Ukraine", not "made in Ukraine".

I never stated that Poljot had a factory in Kiev. I said that the Kiev watch factory (they also assemble Kleinods, true) absolutely legally produced Poljot watches from the original Poljot parts. I still have a couple of those in my collection. If you want some pics, let me know please.

Here is another couple of examples, but I have many more photos of "ukrainian Poljot" (no watches though).

http://forum.m-watches.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35

Those of you who are familiar with the 2614 Poljots should easily recognize the original design.
 
#26 ·
Boris, thanks for the pics. I was at Kleynod's Kiev Watch Factory in 2007. Have I known they've made Poljots, I'd ask them about it.

Their site is http://watch.kiev.ua/2007/10/01/storja_kgz.html According to it they've made quite a few Poljots in the late 90s. Actually, it appears that the whole factory was open initially to make Poljots. And they still make gold "Poljots", albeit with Myota automatic inside and pretty expensive at $1,200 and up.

Definitely something I would consider picking up if I see an older non-gold ukrainian Poljot that I like.

On an unrelated note - I like the picture on that "history" page. This is Podol with a typical juxtaposition of the old beautiful church and a soviet-style ugly concrete building. The ugly building houses the watch factory and a bunch of shady offices of unknown little companies. Babushka downstairs, the "concierge", tries to make sure that you are not loitering and that you get the damn snow and dirt off your boots. You go inside and understand that not much has change in some places.
 
#29 ·
There are big changes coming in movement industry. Just a year ago ETA 2824-2 could be purchased for under $100 from any parts retailer. Now it's double in price and almost no one has it in stock. It's all a part of ETA strategy of detachment from what I understand. Pretty soon ETA will only supply movements to Swatch group (which ETA is part of).
Other companies will be able to purchase "ETA like" movements made by different Swiss vendors. Companies like Invicta are already in the game. Any new mechanical Invicta Swiss has Selitta movement, which is hard to tell a part from ETA. Quality is on the par as well.

So, pretty soon the era of ETA everywhere be over, I think. I am sure Kleynods will have to seek another vendor. The prices you are talking about are available only because they already stocked up on ETA with old pricing...
 
#30 ·
Partially that, partially the fact that Hryvna lost 60% of its value against the USD over the last 9 months and they are selling in Hryvnas on teh local market.

Still, a pretty good bargain. If they only didn't go overboard with butt ugly "ukrainian style" numbers on the dials, both Arabic and Roman, which they consider their defining design feature...
 
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