Russian Watch

[Flying Turtle]

I just received a Restoration Hardware catalog today in which they advertise the KGB Kommandierskiye Watch. I quote: "The shock-resistant 31-jewel movement is housed in a stainless-steel case, water-resistant to 200 meters. Stamped with the official KGB insignia, the numberless face has luminescent hands and a rotating bezel. The watch needs no winding if worn daily. Black leather band." The bezel has 7 black and 5 red dots around it. It also has a calender window and a silver/white face. The best part may be that it is $40. Is anyone familiar with such a beast?

 

[Stu_Travelbee]

I just saw it and if it is the real deal it would make an interesting time piece. http://tinyurl.com/wlof At $40.00 how could you go wrong? <g>
Stu

 

[avusblue]

I was in Ukraine last summer and you can buy Russian made watches like this on the street all day long for $20 American cash. They're widely available on eBay as well. They have a million variations of "commemorative" dial styles (KGB, Soviet Army, Tank Gunner, MiG pilot, etc) but I don't know if any of them even resemble the legitimate watches. I didn't buy one, they seemed pretty junky. A guy on our team did, and it turned out to not be a very accurate timekeeper. I guess for $40 you're not out much if it ends up being junk and if you're buying from a reputable store, it should be returnable.

 

[FC.]

It is junk. I bought one of them as a gift for my uncle, and did not give it to him. It would be a major embarrassment. Probably the worst watch I have ever handled.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I just checked out this watch at the Restoration Hardware store during my lunch break and it didn't seem too bad. It's nicely finished, heavy, and pretty thick. Just the movement of pulling it out of its box got it running for a few seconds. The instructions are minimal. They said it would run for something like 30 hours if fully wound with an accuracy of +20-60 sec./day. I asked about warranty and was told, "We stand behind our merchandise. Just bring it back if you are not satisfied." It's definitely tempting. I haven't had a self-winder in 30+ years and the price seems more than reasonable. I just haven't decided if I'm enough of a watchaholic to go for it.

 

[Marty Weiner]

I've been told that Poljot watches were good.

Marty

 

[bigcozy]

Revolvergeek has some experience with Poljots and many other watches, he has given Poljots a favorable review. Somewhere on this forum if you do a search there is a question about Poljot quality that he answered.

 

[FC.]

Poljot,(pronaunced polet,sharp T)means "flight" in Russian. And those are the best watches made in Russia. The cheap $30-40 watches(KGB,Desant,etc.) are junk!!!

 

[BlindTiger]

Remember in the movie Defending your Life where albert brooks looks back at his life where he was offered to buy Casio stock. He mentions the Swiss makes watches not the Japanese and of course Casio was the watch on one of the judges.
What did he buy instead of the Casio stock?
I'm going to stick with Albert on this one.

 

[_mike_]

Flying Turtle,

I looked into getting one of those cheap Russian watches last year. As previously stated, pretty much the concensus on the newsgroups was they are junk. Also as stated previously, I found that folks in the newsgroups felt Poljot makes decent watches.

Never did get one though, still like my G-Shock.


Mike

 

[revolvergeek]

I have two Poljots, my friend Thom also has two. We have been very pleased with them. I have the Glashutte (spl?) Chrono on an aftermarket oyster bracelet that I often wear as a dress watch, and one of the limited edition Aviators on a black NATO strap that I wear in my daily rotation.

The Chrono shows very little gain, maybe a minute or so a week. I have only been wearing the Aviator for about two weeks, and it seems to gain about 20-25 seconds a day. Once I have worn it for a couple months I may see about adjusting it, but since they are both mechanicals and have to be wound every couple days anyway, adjusting the time is not a big deal to me.

 

[Flying Turtle]

In spite of what some said about this watch, as described in the first post of this thread, I got one today. I was in the Restoration Hardware store an hour ago and found them on sale for $20. Just couldn't resist. At least I'm not out much if I learn my lesson. So far its keeping up with my Casio, but it's only been a half hour. The only thing I can see grossly wrong with it is that the band is kind of short. I'll report its accuracy tomorrow.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Accuracy Report- After 25 hours it is still running and has gained about 4 seconds on my Casio. I wore it through the night in order to get it fully wound, but will leave off tonight to see if it can keep running.

I guess I'm pleasantly surprised so far. I don't think it looks too tacky. Of course, my wife just rolled her eyes.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Four days now and this $20 watch is still running fine. It seems to consistantly gain about 4 sec./day. All in all I'm quite pleased, though it is a bit funky looking. After much googling I was able to determine it is made by Vostok who supposedly was the main supplier to the Russian military.