[markot]

Hello. I just got this watch in the mailbox. It's a Pilot or пилот sold by Juri Levenberg.

It is sort of a Panerai homage. Similar case with nice california dial.

The watch looks nice, but there are some flaws.

Lume is almost non existant. On ebay sales page he wrote that it is lumed with superiluminova. Notice the spelling "mistake". It is definitely not superluminova. The lume is crap.

Crystal is slightly domed mineral crystal and I think it has no anti reflective coating. Reflections are visible, but it's not too bad. I have seen worse.

Another thing that bothers me is that the crystal seems to have a fingerprint or some sort of dirt on the inside. Which is just barely visible from a specific angle, however. But it annoys me nevertheless.

The back seems nice on the photo, but it is not engraved. It's either laser etched or maybe even a sticker. It's hard to tell. I would expect proper engraving on a "limited" edition watch.

Watch came on a black rubber band, which is, to my surprise, extremely soft and nice to wear. I was positively surprised.
I have changed the band and put on a brown leather strap. And put the rubber band on my Seiko, which looks really cool now, IMO.

I have listed a few things that bother me, but overall, I still like this piece. It wears well, has nice design, feels solid, movement is Molnija 3603 and the rubber band is nice.

I bought this watch on ebay. These models have a buyout of about €200, but I won this one on auction for 100.
Is it worth €200? In my opinion - no. But since I got it for 100, I'm happy. If it had sapphire and real superluminova, I'd gladly pay 200.

I have attached some photos. I hope you like them. You can also see a comparison shot with Seiko "BFS".

 

[Chronopolis]

Markot, thanks for that review.
I always liked that design, and might have bought one some day, but now thanks to your review, it has dropped down a few slots on the list of Must Gets.
And it looks like that seller - Juri Levenberg - cannot suck enough. Man! Just about everyone's got something (not nice) to say about him. I've bought straps from him, but I don't think I will EVER buy a watch from the guy.
Anyway, Beautiful watch! Wear it in good health!
PS: U're in Slovenia? I never knew such a beautiful country existed so close to Italy(!) until I met this man named Slavoj Zizek. So I Googled Slovenia. Wow! Who knew.

 

[Beau8]

Pretty interesting design for a Russian~Cheers! ;-)

 

[markot]

And I have a problem with the watch already....

Wanted to wind it up this morning and after I unscrewed the crown it would just spin freely and when pulled out to time setting position the hands won't move. The watch still runs on yesterday's power reserve tho' and seems accurate. Any ideas?

I opened up the watch to see the movement. See the attached photos.

 

[randb]

I like it a lot but I like the seiko even more....what is that???



Cheers

 

[d777777]

And I have a problem with the watch already....

Wanted to wind it up this morning and after I unscrewed the crown it would just spin freely and when pulled out to time setting position the hands won't move. The watch still runs on yesterday's power reserve tho' and seems accurate. Any ideas?

I opened up the watch to see the movement. See the attached photos.

Garancijo se mas?
Poslji ga kar nazaj,naj ga popravi,zamenja ali pa vrne denar.Najboljse tazadnje.Lep pozdrav!

 

[roo7]

Loose crown stem ?

I would suggest to return the watch, since you having some problem and I don't think that's a 3603, it looks like 3602 to me.

Here's a reference to 3603, there's shock proofing at the balance wheel.

http://www.aviator-buran.com/Movements/molnija-3603.html

 

[markot]

Garancijo se mas?
Poslji ga kar nazaj,naj ga popravi,zamenja ali pa vrne denar.Najboljse tazadnje.Lep pozdrav!

Oj, verjetno bom jo res nazaj poslal.

 

[markot]

Loose crown stem ?

I would suggest to return the watch, since you having some problem and I don't think that's a 3603, it looks like 3602 to me.

Here's a reference to 3603, there's shock proofing at the balance wheel.

http://www.aviator-buran.com/Movements/molnija-3603.html

Yea it's probably 3602. Description on the eBay sales page is confusing too:

CALIBER 3602:
Mechanical Molnija 3603 caliber, manual winding, 18 Ruby jewels, 41-hour power reserve

Well I will probably send the watch back. But I'm not sure if I really want to send my watch back to this guy.

 

[ecalzo]

yes yes molnjia 3603 caliber..
nice watch

 

[markot]

OK... so today morning I was fiddling around with the crown a bit and it suddenly clicked in and I can again set time and wind it. Weird.

Anyway, I noticed the watch is about a minute or two fast per day. Is there a way I can adjust it by myself or should I take it to the watch smith?

 

[Ptolomej]

Wait, Wait ... this is a Moscow Classics Vodolaz case, but the dial is a bit different, and it says Pilot, what is the story here??

 

[pompe]

i bought a watch with the same case but black for under 1 euro (search ebay for schaeffer a-31) and then i fitted a monlia 3602 in it that i got bor the standard price (around 30$ usually)

here is a tread about it with pics http://www.homageforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1901

so 200 euro "buy it now" is a bit steep for those parts around 70 would be more what it is worth, max

 

[michele]

Just an information. The most recent versions of the watches that share that case (Pilot by JL, Amphibia/Vodolaz by Moscow Classic ) have a 3602 inside, not a 3603. I have discovered that some time ago, dismounting my Amphibia/Vodolaz. No antishock at all, although the plastic spacer gives some additional safety.

Most recent versions have the very late, brass-made 15 jewels versions of the caliber 3602. Calibers 3603 are probably out of stock since much time (Molnija is out of business since some years, so the "old stock movements" saga strikes again, everywhere).

Anyway, the problem on your watch is the crown, not the movement. It can't be easily found elsewhere, so you have to return the watch.