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Educate me please on Russian watches  Rating:  Rating
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 Posted: Sun Aug 16th, 2009 12:53 am
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Mattybumpkin
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I really am liking the looks of several Russian watches but know nothing of their build quality, attention to detail, movements, reliability, service/support, etc.

Can anyone give me a brief on their quality?  Are they on par with the Hamilton's, Tissot's, Oris's of the world?

Thanks,

Matty (new guy)

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 Posted: Sun Aug 16th, 2009 08:43 pm
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Nabco
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Hi Matty, first of all welcome to 3T!!!

Here is my two cents on Russians, at least the brands i own.....

I own several Vostok-Europes, IMHO I think these are one of the best buys out there...The Energia is probably one of my top 10 watches in my collection of over 100 (BTW Oscar -oagasper- has one for sale here at a tremendous price)...the automatic movements are very reliable and after a month or two of break-in they run at about +/- 10 seconds per day, sometimes even better.

Also, have a few Maktimes, Moscow Classics and a few other....many of these have in-house movements that similar watches from Swiss manufactures would cost thousands more.

A great place to check out what's out there is http://www.russia2all, Craig is a great guy and they offer a 10% discount to 3T members.

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 Posted: Sat Aug 29th, 2009 07:54 pm
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EricAldovino
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Love mine. Nice robust mechanical chrono for under $250.

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 Posted: Sat Aug 29th, 2009 08:30 pm
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mcwright
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Your best bets are the Russian Mechanical Movements such as the Molijna hand winder, the 3105 hand wind, and the 3133 chronograph hand wind. The lume is generally quite good on most Russian watches and I'd rate the fit and finish from fair to good on most. I have owned many of these and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

However, my one experience with service in Moscow was not good. Sent in a watch for a simple fix and it came back scratched and modified (no longer had a screw-down crown).

Last edited on Sat Aug 29th, 2009 08:34 pm by mcwright

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 03:54 am
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bigrustypig
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard a buddy of mine tell me that PolJot is now owned and in the hands of the Swiss? If this is correct, I would expect better quality overall, particularyy the metallurgy groupings inside (barrel, pinion and finger) and the choice of lubricants. I also heard from my same buddy that ETA is now fitted on the newer Poljots.;)

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 05:45 am
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Simon_Leung
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From what I know is that Poljot has
ceased to exist when Volmax tried to cash-in
on the success and subsequently abused the name
Poljot for their movements,though they had nothing
to do with the original company.

In 2003, a rumors started flowing when
the First Moscow Watch Factory was to cease production,
of their own model of watches. Only to become a supplier of inexpensive movements to other European brands.

Enter Sergei Pugachev:

Sergei Pugachev,the businessman and a politician
within Vladimir Putin's Inner Circle,with strong
financial and business influence on the Russian
Orthdox Church.
Wound up buying Poljot.

From 1992-2002 Sergei Pugachev,was
the chairman of the board of Directors for
the International Industrial Bank.

Recently he faced a major financial setback
when his investment company OPK lost the rights
on a major construction project in Red Square,on
March 31,2009.


Counterfeit Poljot:

According to aficionados and collectors of Poljots, both
the Golden Poljot and the Poljot Elite are considered fakes.

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 03:20 pm
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ral
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Eric,

where did you get yours at that price?

Thanks,

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 03:33 pm
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VEV 1138
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Simon_Leung wrote: From what I know is that Poljot has
ceased to exist when Volmax tried to cash-in
on the success and subsequently abused the name
Poljot for their movements,though they had nothing
to do with the original company.

In 2003, a rumors started flowing when
the First Moscow Watch Factory was to cease production,
of their own model of watches. Only to become a supplier of inexpensive movements to other European brands.

Enter Sergei Pugachev:

Sergei Pugachev,the businessman and a politician
within Vladimir Putin's Inner Circle,with strong
financial and business influence on the Russian
Orthdox Church.
Wound up buying Poljot.

From 1992-2002 Sergei Pugachev,was
the chairman of the board of Directors for
the International Industrial Bank.

Recently he faced a major financial setback
when his investment company OPK lost the rights
on a major construction project in Red Square,on
March 31,2009.


Counterfeit Poljot:

According to aficionados and collectors of Poljots, both
the Golden Poljot and the Poljot Elite are considered fakes.



Please forgive my corrections...  But I've got to differ with the "subsequently abused the name Poljot" attributed to Volmax... can you share what source this is coming from? Volmax was actually distributor of Poljot in Russia throughout much of the '90s.  Volmax played no role in the demise of Poljot in terms of causing it. 

If anything, as they were collapsing and quality suffered, Poljot created issues for Volmax.  That is why Volmax moved to the brands Aviator, Sturmanskie and Buran and stopped using Poljot as a brand for any of their own builds.

detailed article here: http://www.russia2all.com/images/shop/filebrowser/File/Russian%20Watches%20IW%20General%20Overview%202006-1.pdf

Poljot just never made the transition to the Western marketplace and collapsed under the weight of being a mass-producer.  It's the smaller volume, higher quality manufacturers in Russian that have survived and now thrive.

Poljot no longer exists in any form.  MakTime, Vostok and Volmax now all make the movements Poljot once did, with MakTime being the producer of the chronograph movments.

thanks...

Last edited on Sun Aug 30th, 2009 03:58 pm by VEV 1138

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 07:35 pm
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Simon_Leung
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Quote:


" Please forgive my corrections...  But I've got to differ with the "subsequently abused the name Poljot" attributed to Volmax... can you share what source this is coming from? Volmax was actually distributor of Poljot in Russia throughout much of the '90s.  Volmax played no role in the demise of Poljot in terms of causing it. "

I got the information from an email
that I've received through a member of
NAWCC Chapter 121,who contributed
to an article in another watch forum.

Therefore, I stand corrected after reading the PDF.

Simon




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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 10:42 pm
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mcwright
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Here is one recommendation. The 45mm Aviator pictured here is a great watch. Runs up to 60 hours on a full wind, is nicely made, has one of the best designed Russian dials with excellent lume and its 3105 movement is very reliable.

Attachment: aviator.jpg (Downloaded 88 times)

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 Posted: Sun Aug 30th, 2009 11:29 pm
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scottran
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I own 9 or 10 Russians and like them all.  For what you pay for them, I think they are an excellent value.  Also, if you are looking for a design a little different than others, they will also fill that bill.  If you buy from R2A, the CS is top notch so, no worries there.  I had an issue with only one of my Russians. Sent it to Craig and it was taken care of.  Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.:D  Here are a few pics of some of my favs.








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 Posted: Mon Aug 31st, 2009 12:29 am
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VEV 1138
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thanks...  you can only go with the best information you have at the time you are asked... 

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