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| Joined: | Thu Apr 16th, 2009 |
| Location: | Arctic, Norway |
| Posts: | 5821 |
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I will pass on the historic to go straight to the point: You can find easily on the net about Zlatoust watches, the real ones, the fakes, the bluff from Invicta and what you can get from Agat who restarted the production of this iconic Russian military watch in the Ural.
We'll see there how it's built , how it feels, what's the price...And other details...
Let's start with the stainless steel case: This is a new adaptation of the original with a more friendly 53mm case.
The 60mm Vodolaz is also remade by Agat but only with the crown on the right side and a manual wound Vostok 2409 movement.
The 53mm version comes with left crown with sterile dial and right crown with sterile and printed dial(Agat in Cyrillic / RUSSIA in latin letters) and a Russian automatic movement: Vostok 2415.
I did choose the left crown version for comfort purposes: I'm already owning a 60mm model from the 70's and wanted something more comfy for everyday use...
The case, as the original is a monocoque: There is 2 screws on the dial( going in the movement) and an elongated hole over the stem for apparently unlocking it from the movement and permit any access on it.
This watch is told to withstand pressures down to 700m.
Unlike many monocoque divers, the access on the movement is easily made with the screwed bezel who retain the glass and it's gasket.
You unscrew it and the mineral glass shows up with it's gasket under.
You pop them out the watch case without any trouble.
Here's a picture from my vintage 60mm when I opened it earlier.
For the crown system: A strong cap(some don't like it...) is protecting the crown.
By screwing it in the case, the inside part of the cap makes contact with a gasket area situated around the stem and water-tighten the case.
I let you see and understand...
The stem is custom made for the watch and is very strong as you can see on the pictures. It's a breeze to operate.
A screw in the cap is holding the second part inside it: The one who makes contact with the gasket.
A chain is connected from a ring around the cap to the case: It avoid any loss as you could see on the pictures.
The cap turns freely in this ring making the operation very easy.
The original model had fixed bars on the lugs but this new model has screw bars: Making the 24mm straps change operation very convenient.
This watch will fit many rough leather straps and give a cool vintage look.
On this picture you can also appreciate the bezel etching, helping to an easy grab when demounting the watch and giving a nice look as well.
For the back of the watch: Factory inscription and serial number are the only one to see. No fancy "Made in Russia" or "automatic movement"...
The watch comes in a wooden box: Simple and rough. The notice is all in Russian and the serial number of your watch is hand written on it.
This is a small production and it feels like that: No huge industrial production there...
Agat even make some small custom batches apparently: 100 pieces was made for the Asian market with left crown and logo on dial(That's what I've been reading on a thread...)
The lume is good but not lasting like a Citizen diver.
No lume present on the second hand, but you'll definitely see some life on your dial in the dark as the second hand sweeps over the big numbers and the wide hands.
The watch dimensions are: 53mm case diameter, 68mm lug to lug, 17mm thick and it weigh 168 grams.
The dial opening is 43mm and the numbers are easily 5mm tall: You will not have trouble to read the time if you have bad eyes...
For the movement: It's a Vostok 2415 with 31 jewels non hacking second.
Mine is running about +13 seconds/day fresh out of the box so I can't complain.
For the straps and buckle: It's all simple but good.
The leather straps are very comfortables and made by Stailer.
Steel buckle: Simple with no branding.
This watch isn't for every wrists but it feels comfortable on mine.
Of course it's big: But right now, we all know it...
I find it sitting solidly on the wrist: It don't slide around.
Having the crown oriented on the left makes it much more comfortable to wear as it don't come in the top of your hand when bending it up or don't grab things around.
The 425 Euros(included postage) asked price directly from the factory in Russia will no bleed off you if you want to try something different with a lot a wrist presence and heritage.
Agat factory is producing "by hand" in Zlatoust, like in the old days...
Here's a little video showing it: http://youtu.be/uaPt5c4caYc
I hope this review been useful!
