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Vostok watches

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Industry
  
Watch manufacturing

Website
  
Vostok official page

Headquarters
  
Chistopol, Russia

Subsidiaries
  
Amfiby, Betar, Briolet

Founded
  
1942

Type of business
  
Joint-stock company

Vostok watches httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen225Vos

Products
  
Wristwatches, Clocks, Watch movements, Clock movements

Vostok Watch Makers, Inc. (Russian: Восток; literally meaning "East") is a Russian watchmaker based in Chistopol, Tatarstan, Russia. The company produces mainly rugged military and amfibia mechanical watches. It also makes clocks and watch movements for other watch brands.

Contents

History

The Vostok Watch Makers company was founded in 1942 when one of the Moscow watch-making plants of the First Moscow Watch Factory was evacuated to Chistopol, a small town located on the Kama River in Tatarstan. Only defence equipment was produced during the war years, but as soon as the war was over the company started making mechanical wrist watches. However, the company did not begin using the "Vostok" brand name until the 1960s. Presumably, the "Vostok" brand was named after the Vostok space programme, as were some other soviet watch brands, namely Poljot and Raketa.

The company was appointed an official supplier of watches for the Ministry of Defence of the Soviet Union in 1965. This year also marks the creation of the well known Komandirskie ("Commander's") watch. The experience gained through development of the army watch led to the Amphibia, a stainless-steel diving watch able to withstand a 200-metre depth (20atm). By 1980, Vostok Watch Makers was producing 4.5 million timepieces per year.

Watches sold to the military were marked "ЗАКАЗ МО СССР", meaning "Ordered by the Ministry of Defence of the USSR". These models were sold exclusively through Voentorg stores, which catered to military personnel with identification only. Today, these models have become sought-after collectibles.

At turn of the 21st century, Vostok launched a line of 1940s-style replicas called the Kirovskie K-43 collection. Vostok also began producing a "luxury" line of watches called Kremlevskie. Both lines are made of stainless steel, produced in limited quantities, and aimed toward a more affluent consumer.

In 2004, Vostok Watch Makers began supplying movements to the Koliz Company of Lithuania, makers of the Vostok Europe brand of timepieces.

In 2006, Vostok Watch Makers began marketing another line of watches branded "Amphibia". This brand, like most other Vostok products, features the familiar 31-jewel automatic (No. 2416B) movement. These watches feature "diver" styling with polyurethane or stainless steel bands. An updated version of the Komandirskie debuted in summer 2007, and a special anniversary edition of the Amphibia (called the "1967") appeared in early 2008.

Despite the introduction of the new lines of Komandirskie and Amphibia, the "classic" models (mostly designed in 1960s and 1970s) of these lines were still in production (as of 2014).

In early 2010, Vostok Watch Factory filed for bankruptcy and their official website was disabled. The factory went through restructure and resumed the production of watches and movements.

Trivia

  • The Company also makes a 12 jewel, very accurate mechanical submarine wall clock, known to stay on time in a wide band of temperatures. It is highly sought after in certain collectors markets, especially among Soviet item collectors.
  • Although Poljot watches are commonly associated with the Soviet Space Program, Vostok watches were also frequently worn in space by the Russian cosmonauts. Vostok watches were famously worn by the cosmonauts Georgi Grechko and Yuri Romanenko.
  • A popular myth claims that after the Desert Storm operation in 1992, the Pentagon awarded soldiers from the allied forces with a special edition Vostok Amphibia military watch called "Desert Shield". Although watches were given to President George H.W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, there is no record of watches being awarded to soldiers by the Pentagon or any other government agency.
  • Vostok was produced High Precision Mechanical Watches (Volna (Wave), Almaz (Diamond) and Vostok Precision models - Soviet Chronometer Standard), based on their movement Vostok 2809 with 22 jewels (except Almaz - only 18 jewels, no fine regulation). The watches were produced in late 1950 till 1960s.
  • In the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Steve (Bill Murray) and his crew wear black Vostok Amphibia watches.
  • List of Vostok movements

    Vostok produces its own mechanical movements. The company also owns "Briolet", which specializes in the production of technical ruby-jewels. Vostok supplies models for other watch makers like Vostok Europe, Volmax, Moscow Classic and Poljot International. The 24mm-caliber models produced as of 2010 are presented in the table below:

    References

    Vostok watches Wikipedia


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