Those watches performed excellently; I had no complaints (well, except for the traditional ones - like weak lume).
It's time to look again at the East model range. I liked the model with the 2416B movement with dial index 150346. Of course, this is again an Amphibian, again a classic - modern models of Vostok watches did not take root well with me - there were two models, both broke quite quickly.
The decision to buy a new Amphibian came spontaneously - I accidentally saw a photo on the Internet. And there are new bezels! They attracted me. Well, I chose the model with a cushion body, this is my favorite variation of the Amphibian.
These watches are now more expensive than in 2014 - if previously they could be bought for about 2000-2500 rubles, now they cost 3000-4000 rubles, depending on the greed of the store.
Well, let's start in order.
The box is still the same. Kind of black, forgive me, but yes, “kind of a black coffin.” I don’t even know how to feel about this: it’s funny, and historical continuity is preserved, but it’s almost 2017, and the East is still there... Moreover, in such a box, the watch can get scratched during transportation.
The instructions are also good old, I think foreigners are delighted with it (and after all, they are simply fans of the Amphibia, they belong to the icon watch category, that is, the famous watches of their time).
The mechanism is 2416B with 31 jewels and a power reserve of 31 hours. The accuracy of the movement, as stated in the passport, is -20...+60 seconds per day. Terrible accuracy, to be honest, but: the same inexpensive Seiko and Orient also do not have the same accuracy. So you can make complaints here, but I think it's inappropriate. Given the price of the East and the awareness of the fact that a mechanical watch in any case is not quartz in terms of accuracy... well, you shouldn’t demand much from such a caliber.
Go ahead. Frame. The body is beautiful! It was good on my old Amphibia, but with the new bezel... Simply gorgeous! And most importantly, the bezel is made in a UFO style, like the Omega Speedmaster Reduced. It seems to float above the body. Looks very cool and has a wow effect. To be honest, I only bought the watch because of the bezel.
The bezel and case are polished, well made and have a nice shine. True, I would prefer a matte case with a polished bezel, but this is a matter of taste. It’s just that in the current design, the case and bezel look a little massive in relation to the small window of the dial.
The dimensions are:
The diameter at the narrow part of the case is 41 mm, at the bezel - 39 mm. Yes, yes, the bezel is slightly narrower than the case, this is also a great feature of the watch.
From lug to lug - 46 mm. So the watch is quite large and looks like a massive modern diver.
The strap width is 22 mm.
The bezel, as before, rotates in both directions, which, again, is very historical, but for a diver this is a big disadvantage. This bezel can be easily moved when diving. This is no good. It would be possible to make a normal decision already.
The dial on my model is blue. There is also model 150344 with a black dial. But I like the blue color. The phosphor on the dial is applied quite neatly (by the standards of the East), but it shines, of course, very modestly, although better than I expected and than it was on my last Amphibia. The dial has a pattern in the form of a wave, it looks good. In general, the numbers are restrained and moderate, beautiful.
But between the lugs the case is not very well polished. It's a pity - the strap/bracelet attachment makes this part of the case visible quite clearly.
The back cover is standard for the Amphibian; there is a legendary solution in which the back of the case is, as it were, “pressed” under pressure at depth, and the mechanism remains intact. And no helium or other paraphernalia is needed. Water protection 20 ATM.
The crown of the mechanism dangles for a similar reason - for reliability. When hit, it should remain intact, after all, it shakes anyway. But winding the watch and changing the date with this solution is not easy: you need to “catch” the desired position of the crown. On the last Amphibia I almost didn’t manage to do this, but on this one I did it almost immediately. This makes me happy!
Convex glass, acrylic. It looks vintage, scratches easily and is just as easy to polish (even with toothpaste) and can be replaced for 100 rubles. Fine.
The bracelet... The bracelet here is a little different - if I'm not mistaken, it's called a "ministerial" design (experts, correct me if I'm wrong), but its quality has not changed: it's still just as bad.
However, I also have a wonderful mesh bracelet from Balticus, by luck also 22 mm. And how can you not take advantage of this? 🙂
Well, you can try a NATO strap. True, it is black, but here it would be blue or multi-colored.
To summarize, I will say the following.
As a fan watch, as an icon watch, the Vostok Amphibia Classic is an excellent purchase option. The design of the 60s, the technology of the USSR, the spirit of those times has definitely been preserved in them.
However, this watch cannot be considered as a tool-watch in 2017. Bad bracelet, weak phosphor, bi-directional bezel, low accuracy of the mechanism. Hence the negative reviews about this watch.
At the same time, all the shortcomings are easily outweighed by the price: you won’t buy something like this for $50. If desired, you can put on a normal bracelet/strap and you will get an excellent sports and historical watch. You can dive in them without worrying for hours. You can also replace the lume, but this is already an improvement.
What do you think about this new model?
In contact with
Although wristwatches have lost their position with the advent of modern gadgets in the form of phones, tablets and the like, they are nevertheless still in use. At the same time, many people prefer the classic look of a watch, that is, with hands, hour and minute. Well, there's something to it! We can say that this is a kind of tribute to conservatism, classical style, inflexibility of views, and sometimes even fashion. Well, in exceptional cases it is also an image! However, this article is not about that at all...
Many have heard that a wristwatch with hands can be used as a compass, but how!? Let's say more, watch manufacturers often install a ring on the case - a bezel, which should act as a compass. So, how to determine the cardinal directions and how to use this compass in a watch? This is exactly what our article is about.
Watch with compass bezel ring
In order not to be unfounded, it is necessary to show our reader which companies and how they make the bezel - the compass on the watch. We can say that this is just a visual aid to possible execution options. So the compass bezel is found on watches of such popular brands as: Casio, Seiko, Timex, Swiss military and other brands.
It should be noted here that there are also electronic compasses built into watches, but this is somewhat different from the bezel ring. In fact, when electronic compasses work, the arrow or indication immediately indicates the position of the cardinal points, but with a ring you have to calculate this yourself.
In fact, in order to calculate the cardinal directions, it is not necessary to have a bezel; it is only an auxiliary device that somewhat simplifies your calculations and can make them not only more accurate, but also adjust this very bezel in the direction of the cardinal direction. In fact, the compass bezel is a simple ring with markings that can be rotated. It itself does not indicate anything unless it is set in the right direction. This can even be called a kind of move from the marketers of watch manufacturers, when the compass bezel looks solid and beautiful, but there is little point in it if you do not have certain skills and abilities. About them just further...
How to determine the cardinal directions using a watch or a watch - a compass with a bezel ring
Before moving on to the process of describing the determination of cardinal directions using a watch, let's talk about what is known. Everyone knows that the sun moves from east to west. At noon, the sun will point north or south, depending on what part of the hemisphere you are in. That is, we can say the following. The sun comes from the east, then through the southeast, south, southwest and leaves in the west. All this is relative to the observing person on earth, located in the northern hemisphere. Here it should be noted that the sun moves, regularly and systematically - every day. That is, there is a dependence of the location of the sun on the time of day. The conclusion is simple, so to speak, but it is on this that the principle of determining the cardinal directions is based, that is, using a watch as a compass.
In fact, the most important thing is the fact that the number 12 is taken as astronomical noon in hours. It is at 12 o'clock that the sun should be in the south, conventionally opposite the sun. That is, a straight line is built through the points: our view is 12 o'clock - the sun.
Now, if this is so, that is, if astronomical noon corresponds to noon in the time zone, which we have been having problems with lately, then everything will work out! The greater the spread between these values, the greater the error will be!
Now let’s talk about this dependence and applicability clearly and in practice. If you point the hour hand towards the sun, and also take into account the number 12 on the dial...
That field divided in two between these guides will point to the south (northern hemisphere). This rule applies before and after noon. Unless you have to divide the other half of the dial. See an excerpt from the Seiko watch instructions.
So what is the role of the compass bezel ring? In this case, the bezel ring, as it were, fixes your mental line, which you must draw in the middle. It is simply adjusted according to it manually, that is, it is set in the middle between 12 o’clock and the hour hand directed towards the sun. That's the whole principle of the ring - bezel. By itself, until you align it along the calculated line, it will never show you the correct data, as a compass would.
It remains to be said that in some cases it is recommended to use not 12 hours, but 13, as half a day, that is, the number 1 on a clock.
Features of determining cardinal directions and using a compass ring on a watch
The first feature that can be easily guessed is that in different hemispheres we will receive oppositional results, that is, with the same accuracy, but with a different meaning. If in the northern hemisphere the straight line we calculate between 12 o’clock and the hour hand points to the south, then in the southern hemisphere it points to the north. We already mentioned this, but still.
The second feature will be that the calculation of cardinal directions, as well as the use of a watch as a compass, will be possible only during daylight hours, that is, during the day.
The third feature is that even such manipulations with the clock and determination of cardinal directions are very imprecise and depend on your location in longitude and time of year. So use your other skills to determine the cardinal directions, and confirm your guess about the position of the cardinal directions. And this article is more useful for general development and to still bring to your attention how watch manufacturers recommend using a bezel with parts of the world!
Good afternoon. Another review on an hour-long topic. In the review there are a couple of purchases for decorating watches, namely the Vostok Amphibian watch.
Read on for those interested:
I won’t write anything about my Amphibian, the administration has already killed one review :) Well, oh well... In general, I had and still have :) Amphibian, there is no point in describing the watch, they are quite famous. The watch is in case 090, the so-called “new barrel” and dial number 659.
The watch came into my hands as standard, on a rattling Chinese bracelet :) The bracelet looks beautiful and many people wear it and are happy, but we are not looking for easy ways.
Purchase No. 1 The so-called Mesh bracelet.
I stupidly bought the cheapest one on Ali (I bought it for 8.3 USD, now this seller is a couple of dollars more expensive) (link:) In general, I decided to show reasonable economy, the watch is not expensive, it would be strange to put it on a bracelet that is more expensive than the watch itself . The bracelet arrived quite quickly, but was longer than necessary by 5 rows. Anyone who has come across these bracelets knows that they are adjustable within +-0.5 cm due to 3 holes on the latch. The excess needs to be cut off. Work for people with both a stable psyche and some physical strength. I armed myself with a tool 
and got down to business. The bracelet is strong, you can't bite through the steel, but with the help of a tool, someone's mother and slightly trained hands in the gym, I managed it in about 20 minutes. The original pins are quite thick, diver-type, and didn’t want to fit into the bracelet, so I had to choose a little thinner ones, fortunately I have a lot of this stuff. I put the bracelet on, I like the result so far, see photo below.
Purchase No. 2 Steel bezel (link in the header).
Replacing the bezel with another made of steel was initially on the agenda. For those who don’t know, the original bezel looks like this: 
The original bezel is quite nice, and if you wear the watch carefully, it won’t peel off for a long time, but I immediately saw a Pepsi-style bezel on the watch, and I really wanted just that. There were three options to choose from:
- German from a famous site (4)20
- with a fine side notch, insert from Seiko from Ebay like: :g:ZQoAAOSwMpZUnw18
- from an Israeli friend with a large side notch, an insert from Seiko from Ebay, link in the header. Pepsi is currently out of stock, although you can buy a Seiko insert separately, size Large. I settled on option 3, for some reason I liked it more, I don’t regret it. The bezel was paid to an Israeli seller, and sent from Ukraine :)
The bezel was also subject to some abuse. The old bezel was carefully removed using an old knife, it is just carefully picked out. The new bezel was complete with a spring, steel in contrast to the original one made of yellow metal. The spring was tucked into the groove, but the bezel did not snap into place on the watch. I fucked for about 20 minutes, I even started sweating. Then I read the statements of smart people who advised snapping the bezel not stupidly from top to bottom, but as if applying force in a circle and rotating this force :) In short, everything worked out. The bezel sits tighter than its original counterpart and rotates with unfeminine effort. With the new bezel, the watch has been transformed, the steel bezel will last forever, it will not peel off, the insert can be changed, there are many of them on sale at prices starting from 6 USD.
Photo of the watch without bezel: 
Photo of what happened with the new bezel and bracelet
What conclusions can be drawn:
This modification refreshes the Amphibia and makes it more interesting and brighter.
Bracelet:
Pros:
- sits comfortably on the hand
- price
- strong double latch
Minuses
- cutting off excess from a bracelet is something incredible :)
- the bracelet slightly screws towards the weave, not fatal in principle
Bezel:
Pros:
- Beautiful:)
- steel
- possibility of changing inserts
Minuses
- installation is something incredible :)
- spins tighter than the original one
I'm happy with the new watches.
I hope everyone found it interesting, I’ll answer any questions.
Peace for everyone!
The Chistopol watch factory was founded in 1941 in the city of Chistopol. The equipment arrived from Moscow from the evacuated Second Moscow Watch Factory. Already in the spring of 1942, the plant began producing military devices. The enterprise worked for the needs of the front and was a closed facility. Since 1943, ChChZ began producing civilian products; the first men's wristwatches, “Kirovskie,” were produced. In the post-war years, the plant began the development, production and production of new models of watches “ZiM”, “Volga”, “Pobeda”, “Vostok”, “Mir”, “Volna”, “Saturn”, “Cosmos”, ship clocks, and others. Subsequently, the plant became the main supplier to the USSR Ministry of Defense, and then the “Commander” and “Amphibian” watches with a water resistance of 200 meters were created. Since the 70s, the plant began producing 24xx caliber wristwatches with calendars and automatic winding. Today the factory is bankrupt, and watches are produced by subsidiaries.
The watch was delivered with a defect: “something is loose inside and does not work”
We take the mechanism out of the case and see
balls, from the ball bearing of the automatic winding sector, they are not all here, there are 2 more balls in the mechanism itself.
We disassemble the automatic winding mechanism and remove the drum with the spring.
Remove the balance and anchor fork.
The watch is disassembled and ready for washing. Cleanliness is the key to health, and especially for watches.
The old automatic winding sector (with a crumbling bearing) and the new one.
The mechanism parts are washed and it can be assembled.
We assemble the drum and lubricate the spring.
While checking the parts for defects, I discovered that the intermediate wheel blade was bent.
We insert the wheel into the caliper and straighten it.
After straightening, we assemble the main wheel system and check the wheel slope.
We install the drum, cam and winding clutch and winding shaft.
Cover with a drum bridge and screw it on.
We lubricate and install the anchor fork, and check its operation.
We establish balance.
We install the bushings (balance bearings and shockproof device at the same time) and secure them with lyres (three-leaf springs).
And for verification.
After setup, the watch runs great!
The bezel on a watch can be fixed or rotating. A fixed or fixed bezel is a design element and can serve as a protective function for the glass. Manufacturers often decorate the lunette with beautiful engravings, inlay it with precious stones, and give it an unusual shape.
The mechanism in the rotating bezel can be single-sided or double-sided. Dive watches are only equipped with a bezel with a one-way mechanism. This is done for safety purposes so that the diver does not accidentally increase the threshold of time for which he can remain underwater.
How to use the bezel on a watch?
In addition to being useful for divers, a watch bezel has many other uses, let's take a closer look at why a watch needs a bezel and how to use it.
Timer bezel
To record the time, you need to turn the bezel until the mark on it coincides with the minute value that you expect to occur. Then all that remains is to track whether the minute hand has reached the mark or not yet.
Compass bezel
The bezel acts as a compass, it is an auxiliary device that only slightly simplifies the calculations of cardinal directions and can make them more accurate. Such a bezel in a wristwatch is a simple ring with cardinal directions marked, which can be rotated. The steady itself does not point to anything unless it is positioned in the right direction. In fact, this is a marketing ploy from watch manufacturers; such a bezel-compass looks very beautiful and solid, but there is little point in it if you do not have certain skills in orienteering.
Bezel with tachymeter
Tachymert (“Tachymeter”) translated from Greek means “quickly”, “I measure”. The tachymeter scale consists of special notches applied to the rotating bezel, and is used to determine the speed of movement and count the number of cycles of actions performed. This type of movement is only available on watches with a chronograph system. This functionality works in semi-automatic mode; to perform the calculation, you need to know the distance in advance.
For example, at the beginning of a segment you press the start of your chronograph, and at the end of a kilometer segment, you stop it. The stopwatch hand will indicate your average speed on the tachymeter scale.
Bezel with world time function
World time in wristwatches (GTM function, “Greenwich Mean Time”) is a rotating bezel with a scale of time zones (1-24) or cities printed on it. There is also the concept of UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) - universal coordinated time, a modern version of GMT adjusted for more accurate atomic time. Watches with World Time function usually have "GMT"/"UTC"/"Dual time" written on the watch face.
The world time function on the dial will be useful for travelers and businessmen.
Bezel with slide rule
The circular slide rule consists of a ruler on the bezel and a ruler on the dial, which allows you to perform a number of mathematical operations. Using this scale is quite simple; you just need to turn the bezel until the bezel values coincide with the desired number on the dial.
