Has anyone else comes across the CCCP watches on ebay? Just search for that. Here is a bunch of images I saved. These are really cool watches. The main reason I haven’t bought one yet is that I become wracked with indecision.
I don’t have the attention span to be reading a lot about watches tbh but I did find some places that are discussing these if you do like that sort of thing.
- Russian watches | WatchUSeek Watch Forums
- [Raketa] Just bought this one - what are your thoughts on russian watches? : Watches
- The Best Russian Watches From The Soviet Union - Almost On Time
Oh and I will also note that many of these are available quite cheaply from refurbishers. A few of the below run hundreds but they are primarily well below US$100. Many are below $50 and a few below $30.
prepare for outstanding cool
I don’t find a gallery function on this site, I hope the format is not terribly rude.
I’ve got a Vostok Komandirskie
Only reason I don’t use it more is that it requires winding almost everyday. But it’s got really nice build quality for the price.
That’s pretty sweet!
I have been considering if I even have the patience for an automatic.
If you are willing to wind or shake your watch daily there are hella gorg choices.
Vostok gang! I’ve got one of these from their Retro series:
I got a Vostok several years ago, I love it.
Mechanical watches are cool, I like to hear it tick.
Just wanted to say that this comment made me instantly raise my watch up to my ear to listen to the tick for a couple seconds.
I love these. Thanks for posting! The Штурманские Гагарин has got to be my favorite.
this is fasion so you should get the least legible one since you’re not actually using the thing to tell time
Those Copernicus watches have a retro-future positivity that makes me wanna cry.
they only get more retro, more future, more positive.
Nice to imagine how the advancing second hand wouldn’t fill you with dread.
Love these things. I don’t really wear watches unless I’m dressed up for work, which I don’t do much anymore, but some years back I bought a few of these raketas. They were dirt cheap. Truly the timepiece of the people. Stylish and sturdy bits of history. Think I maybe have the eighth one from the bottom.
Here’s a Luch watch with the 2209 movement. This movement is bare bones and was used in several models across a few Soviet manufacturers. I really like the simple look.
red second hand is killer
Interesting that these are all either masculine or gender-neutral designs as far as watches go.
I know Luch and Slava make some women’s watches
some examples from the ussr:
Neat!
I wonder why the feminine ones aren’t on ebay though? Rarer?
I hope you aren’t judging by my post because these are just the ones I thought were cool so they reflect my own tastes.
But OK, OK I did a bit of searching and found some real beautiful ones. Again filtered per my tastes. But the much lower amount of… how could you say… “tackiness” like space race or hammer and sickle imagery isn’t my selection; I just didn’t find much of that in the women’s. Not much by way of cartoons on these. But a few of those.
I really especially love ones with ceramics, lacey metal and stones. And the simple ones cause they are more like my style but with narrow bands. But if I am deviating from my actual style I am definately going with one of these Luch pieces with flowery details.
spoiler
So i hope nobody feels left out.
I was! I should have looked for myself, sorry about that.
Some of these are weeeeird, in a good way. I like them. Thank you for the effort.
Incidentally, we need a “show all images” button.
I don’t really know why the images are blurred in the first place. I’d rather they just all be visible.
Probably there is a user script or extension that would accomplish it.
I agree they are weird. This is what worker power looks like. Would love to read the minutes of those meetings.
Great watches!
I don’t find a gallery function on this site, I hope the format is not terribly rude.
It’s something we lack yeah. I think usually as a courtesy users put large or numerous images under spoiler tags, so it doesn’t take up too much of the screen or phone data.
e.g.
check out this cool frog
ok i fixed it thanks
they’re all so damn chunky, which makes me whince a little, but lets just say my ebay watchlist just got very crowded… I am in the market for a new watch (my cheap swatch has a loose spring and keeps stopping, I should get a repair kit)
so many sus listings from ukraine haha i’m not falling for that again comrades
Before I found all these I ordered a very slim seiko quartz. They have a rectangular shape and there are a zillion of them in different colors.
You can search by dimensions too.
There are a lot of ukraine ones. Is there anything particularly wrong with them? The vibe I got is that these people are not anti communist because I get the impression of pride in the work that was done.
I’ve got a Vostok Amphibia with a KGB emblem on it. I bought it for $50 from a Ukrainian refurbish/reseller like a year and a half ago - I checked the site recently and the prices have doubled as the stock has dwindled.
My review is that I like it a lot, but its waterproofness is unfortunately compromised by its age. I’ve been tinkering around with replacing the gaskets and stuff to see if I can restore that bit of functionality to it, and it’s real easy to work on even for an amateur like me due to its simple design.
I’m just gonna warn everyone that if you get a Soviet watch it’ll probably be mechanical, as in, you’ll have to remember to wind it every day or two. They might not work off a battery. That can be difficult to remember if you’re not used to it.
yes you must pay attention. there are 3 types:
- mechanical as above
- automatic: self powered by the movement of wearing it. if you wear it every day, you don’t need to wind it. my impression is that they’ll last 1-2 days sitting still, then you have to wind again. you can also just shake it for a couple of minutes. (I read this; don’t have one.)
- quartz: with a battery as normal
there are all 3 types available, it is listed in the specs. you can search for the type of movement you desire. if you are willing to go mechanical there are the widest available styles.
I see what you mean, very nice.
Just start “collecting” until you have a different watch for every week of the year, like my in-laws.
If you’re interested in Russian watches, Molnija and Raketa make some beautiful ones based on Soviet mechanical movements.
my favourite ones from Molnija
and Raketa
Love how the Raketa one is an identical design to the cover image for this post (minus the hammer + sickle). What was the Soviet stance on knockoffs? Weirdly the one I posted has English writing on it; I wonder what that means. That style seems to be widely available. I like it a lot personally.
For the third raketa I have this image , very similar, also says “CПУTHИK” not sure what that means:
One or more of the links I posted is talking specifically about Raketa, it says they are a good brand and I believe still in production.
Love how the Raketa one is an identical design to the cover image for this post (minus the hammer + sickle). What was the Soviet stance on knockoffs?
It’s not a knockoff, It’s the same watch. They are made in the Peterhof “Raketa” watch factory, same as the Soviet one.
Weirdly the one I posted has English writing on it;
probably an export variant. Exported watches were usually localised
For the third raketa I have this image , very similar, also says “CПУTHИK” not sure what that means
pretty sure these are Raketa as well. The ones I posted are a newer design from few years ago and a slightly different movement
One or more of the links I posted is talking specifically about Raketa, it says they are a good brand and I believe still in production.
yeah, they still make them. Here is the website: https://raketa.com/shop/chasy/raketa-chasy/
holy moly it is €1600 new!!
yeah raketa watches are kinda pricey :(
look into Luch, Vostok or maybe Molnija for something more affordable
The refurbs are like 98% discount compared to new. I’d be happy with one of those.
fair enough. Just be careful about buying Soviet watches unless you’re 100% sure that the previous owner took good care of them. 30+ year old movements are gonna be super unreliable without proper maintenance. Take it to a watchmaker if you’re not sure
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