That Komandirskie is nice looking but I keep being drawn to more colorful watches like this or this or this one that I like the texture and the color on.
Me too! I generally prefer leather bands but I could see a NATO style one.
Crown & Buckle has a nice line of leather NATO straps. I’ve got two (mocha and azure Chromexcels) and they are absolutely lovely.
And if you like colorful watches, the Russian brands certainly have you covered. I’ve leaned towards Vostoks because I prefer more utilitarian, military styles and they were the official military supplier, but even they have tons of colorful and even fanciful dial designs.
I’d love to see what you settle on, so please share when you decide!
Those are great. I knew that that type existed but I wasn’t sure if NATO was used to refer to the leather ones or not since I have always assumed that the NATO bit referee to the fact that the stripes were in national colors as well as the style.
I think those are technically Zulu straps because they’re single-piece and have thicker, rounded buckles, but the line between those gets a bit blurred. “NATO strap” has kind of become the umbrella term for all pass-through straps. Patterns and material don’t really matter much.
My dad loved to collect watches. When he passed, I ended up with a Breitling, a Patek Phillipe and a Rolex Submariner. The PP is too pricey for me to ever feel comfortable wearing, which means it’s kind of pointless. I love the Rolex though, especially since I was a submariner :)
This nifty boy showed up today. Clearly post-Soviet art, but the movement has Soviet stamps. I like the look quite a bit.
Yeah, a Patek Philippe is something I’d love to be able to afford, but I’d be so terrified about actually wearing it in public. The Vostoks may not be able to predict the phases of the moon or show multiple timezones, but if I lose one, worst case I’m out $100.
I definitely want a Submariner though–especially as a big Bond fan.
It’s an iconic watch, but unfortunately Rolex has restricted output of their new sports models so much that new ones are practically unobtainable. Every authorized dealer has a long waiting list and repeat customers go to the top of the list. If you’re in the market for a Submariner, look to the used market where perfectly good models are available for a more reasonable price. If the Rolex warranty is no longer available, a reputable dealer will provide its own warranty. For example, the dealer I bought my watches from warrants its used watches for one year.
Oh yeah, I’d much rather have an old one, anyway. New watches don’t really hold much interest for me.
Absolutely. A well made watch is, if you’ll pardon the pun, timeless.
One of the things I like about automatics is just how they’re so complex and precise. It appeals to me as an engineer on a really low level lizard brain kind of feeling.
That is one reason I’d eventually like a Rolex or similar high-end watch. I love these Russian watches, but they’re more utilitarian than precision.
I’m the flip side of that. I love the Soviet watches because they are utilitarian. The idea that a fairly delicate mechanism was made 50 years ago, used by some random person and can, with some hunting, still be found working today is a pretty cool idea in my mind.
But the joke is on me. I’ve just been banned from the WatchUSeek site for, as far as I can tell, bad taste. While there are multiple thread talking about modding watches seemingly you can’t discuss cheap eBay watches (they might not be authentic!) and how one might restore some of their looks.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I love my Vostoks! If I had to choose between an old Soviet watch and a new Rolex, I’d… well, I’d take the Rolex, sell it, buy a bunch of old Soviet watches, and pay off a chunk of my student loans.
But it would be neat to add something real fancy to my collection at some point.
The sign of a community on its way to dying. When you start excluding people because their taste is not sufficiently pure, that’s gonna lead to decline.
From their point of view I was encouraging franken watches - in one sense I was as have a little bit of a DIY tinkerer streak and would be interested in playing around with these old watches for a low entry cost. I don’t want to encourage fake Submariners but what’s the harm in buying a watch for <$20 if I know going in that the hands aren’t original but the case, dial, and movement are?
Of course I’ve now seen two watch forums that call a $7,000 - $10,000 Rolex mid range so I guess I’m completely out of luck in discussing the possible restoration of $20 watches!
That’s too bad. I’ve been on WatchUSeek a bit, but only browsing older, Russian watch-related threads. Modding will be one of the next steps for me, I think. Authenticity seems almost pointless to fret about, so I’m mainly just interested in how it looks, feels, and performs.
