[cevan995]

I am selling several watches from a cousin's estate and am curious if anyone can give me info on this one. See the pictures.

Thanks for any info!

Steve

 

[kroko]

This Albatros (seagull in Russian) looks like an old USSR Vostok Komandirskie Amphibia...strangely unfamiliar marker on the caseback. The serial number of 00001 is suspicious. Maybe it is a prototype or a joint venture project that has not materialized. Dan

 

[cevan995]

Dan,
Thanks for the info. Atleast I have a name to research. I agree the serial number makes it suspicious. However my cousin's collection that I got has had some rather valuable items....and some clunkers for that matter. Perhaps someone else will have more information.

BTW.....the hands block the hammer and sickle in the middle of the star on the face of the watch.

 

[smuuta]

Commissioned by the Ministry of Defence of the USSR in 1965 Tchistopol plant began producing the famous "Commander" watch for Red Army officers. Clocks that operate at any temperature in any environment that can withstand shock and overload.
Soviet watches really durable, I have now are of more than 21 years
The serial number is really tempting to think that China is fake.

 

[Seele]

Smutta,

Judging by the watch itself and all the design details and clues, there's nothing to feel suspicious, it is indeed a real Vostok. The Vremir marking is, as far as I know, still not totally understood though.

 

[Sekondtime]

VREMIR - Is it a trademark name? see VREMIR - Trademark by TimePeace Russian Watches, Inc. Beverly Farms , - Serial Number: 74132482

Could it be a poor transliteration of время?

 

[watch22]

VREMIR - Is it a trademark name? see VREMIR - Trademark by TimePeace Russian Watches, Inc. Beverly Farms , - Serial Number: 74132482

Could it be a poor transliteration of время?

I have several Boctoks with Vremir and/or the onion domes on the caseback.

I read somewhere that these were watchs sold on the Russian equivalent of a PX. Other than the unusual caseback these are 100% Boctok.

You can see a picture of one on page 67 of the Levenberg book.

 

[nht]

VREMIR - Is it a trademark name? see VREMIR - Trademark by TimePeace Russian Watches, Inc. Beverly Farms , - Serial Number: 74132482

See the logo for TimePeace Russian Watches, Inc. : Trademarks of TimePeace Russian Watches, Inc. (3 trademarks)

 

[watch22]

Good find. It looks like this company was around for a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union to source Boctok watches and resell them.

 

[smuuta]

after the Soviet collapse, the markets filled with counterfeits from China, I personally experienced this. Therefore, serial number 000001 is suspicious to me. These clocks can be reached only to the director of the company, the chief designer or high-ranking state official of the Soviet Union. In a free market they could not do.

 

[Mister Mike]

after the Soviet collapse, the markets filled with counterfeits from China, I personally experienced this. Therefore, serial number 000001 is suspicious to me. These clocks can be reached only to the director of the company, the chief designer or high-ranking state official of the Soviet Union. In a free market they could not do.

I think it's legit. This looks too good to be a Chinese knockoff. Plus, American imporer Timepeace "Vremir" caseback is so obscure, I doubt it was faked. Quite a few western companies got involved w/ Vostok as the markets opened up. My first Vostok was purchased from an American catalog company called "Wireless," who sold the more popular Komandirskie models fitted to nicer leather straps. We've seen on this forum the Italian importer who also fitted their own casebacks, straps and cases to Vostoks, Poljots and Raketas in the late 1980s.

My theory is that these enterprises ultimately failed due to the dropoff in quality that came with the fall of the USSR. The three Komandirskies I bought in the early 1990s all failed to work for one reason or another after about a year of use. It wasn't until last year that I redescovered these watches and learned how much better they were before the collapse -- and how much better they've become since.

There was a great appetite in the West for Soviet products in the late 80s/early 90s. I remember around the time of the collapse there was an article in Newsweek about a plan to sell the UAZ-469 through US dealerships as a low-cost competitor to the Jeep Wrangler. Like Vostok, though, the factory went through a period of chaos and QC issues after the collapse, reliability ws impacted, and the plans fell through. Too bad, too -- I'd love to have had one of those.

 

[smuuta]

I think it's legit. This looks too good to be a Chinese knockoff. Plus, American imporer Timepeace "Vremir" caseback is so obscure, I doubt it was faked. Quite a few western companies got involved w/ Vostok as the markets opened up. My first Vostok was purchased from an American catalog company called "Wireless," who sold the more popular Komandirskie models fitted to nicer leather straps. We've seen on this forum the Italian importer who also fitted their own casebacks, straps and cases to Vostoks, Poljots and Raketas in the late 1980s.

My theory is that these enterprises ultimately failed due to the dropoff in quality that came with the fall of the USSR. The three Komandirskies I bought in the early 1990s all failed to work for one reason or another after about a year of use. It wasn't until last year that I redescovered these watches and learned how much better they were before the collapse -- and how much better they've become since.

There was a great appetite in the West for Soviet products in the late 80s/early 90s. I remember around the time of the collapse there was an article in Newsweek about a plan to sell the UAZ-469 through US dealerships as a low-cost competitor to the Jeep Wrangler. Like Vostok, though, the factory went through a period of chaos and QC issues after the collapse, reliability ws impacted, and the plans fell through. Too bad, too -- I'd love to have had one of those.

Well then, I would like to hear the story of the watch: how and when they hit the U.S..
What about your watch, if they stopped working a year later, it's likely the previous owners used them improperly.

 

[Mister Mike]

Well then, I would like to hear the story of the watch: how and when they hit the U.S..
What about your watch, if they stopped working a year later, it's likely the previous owners used them improperly.

I bought three new Komandirskies between 1992 and 1994. I was the original owner. All three failed for various reasons after approx. 1 year of use -- not due to improper use as far as I know, more likely due to poor QC, as these were made at a time of crisis at the Vostok factory. None of the many Vostoks I now own (pre-1992 Soviet models and new Amphibias made in the late 2000s) have experienced similar issues. While there are probably very good post-Soviet examples from the 1990s, I avoid them due to my experience that they're more likely to have problems due to the spotty QC of that era.

 

[Odessa200]

Got these 2 Vremirs.