Amphibia 'Gagarin'

This Vostok Amphibia 'Gagarin' was sourced from a private collector in Ukraine and dates back to circa 1991. It was released to mark the 30th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight~the 1st man in space. There have been reproductions of these watch which can easily be identified as the Yuri and Rocket images on the dial are a light blue colour. This version has a unique dial with grey images of Yuri and his Rocket, Vostok 1. The dial has inner hour markers, outer minute markers, sweeping second hand with lume point, rotating bezel and excellent lume markers on the dial and hands. This watch has some of the best lume i have ever seen on a Vostok. You will not find another of these 1st edition 'Gagarin' watches in almost mint condition with the Gagarin caseback. This watch is truly one of a kind and was made when Russia was the Soviet Union and is not a modern copy. This Amphibia is a real conversation starter as no one would have seen one before. It is perfect for a night out, wearing to work or even diving. The perfect addition to your watch collection.

The black leather strap is included with the watch.The watch is sold in excellent condition with a few marks from storage.

All pictures are of actual watch, please check out the condition.

To own an Vostok is to own a piece of history

Amphibia Story

The Amphibia creation was led by Vostok's chief of their new design bureau Mikhail Novikov and Vera Belov in 1967. The objectives were to create a watch that was competitive with contemporary diving watch such as the Blancpain 50 Fathoms, the Rolex Submariner and the watches using the compressor case, and to create a watch that could operate reliably at the temperature and pressure of a depth of 200 metres (and later 300 metres). The chief designers were Mikhail Fedorovich Novikov and Vera Fedorovna Belova.

According to Mikhail Novikov, the name “Amphibia” was chosen in a contest among the watch factory’s employees. It was named after the amphibians for their quality of being equally comfortable on land and in water. 

The Amphibia is the embodiment of possibly the most simple concept for creating a watertight case. The basic principle is to use the outside pressure to create the seal needed to prevent water from entering the case. The further the case sinks, the higher the outside pressure, the higher pressure is exerted on the case, creating a dynamically tighter seal. This is opposed to the idea where you create a case that creates the pressure to withstand 20ATM of pressure no matter what pressure it experience 

The case is made of stainless steel. The thickness of the caseback is 1 mm, double the regular thickness. The crown screws down with a gasket to prevent water from entering from the stem opening. The stem incorporates a clutch to protect it from lateral forces. This clutch gives the stem a wobbly feel as it doesn't engage unless you pull the crown away from the watch. The watch includes a rotating bezel which is used to mark the time you first submersed. The dial and hands are luminescent so that the watch can be read in the darkness of ocean depths. 

Vostok History

The Chistopol Watch Factory 'Vostok' is a World famous Russian watch maker producing some of the best watches available today.

Vostok produce mainly rugged military-style and diver's watches at its factory in Tatarstan, Chistopol city, Russia. The Vostok story begun in 1942 when a Soviet watch-making plant was evacuated to Chistopol, a small town located on the Kama River, due to the German invasion of Russia. During WWII only military equipment was produced but after the war ended the company began to make mechanical wristwatches. The brand name 'Vostok' was only used starting in the 1960s, named after the space program of the same name.

Vostok watches became very popular due to high precision, excessive reliability and durability. The appearance of the watches also contributes to its appeal - functional and clear-cut design invoked the feeling of belonging to the tough world of combat professional.

In 1965 the Chistopol watch factory "Vostok" became the official supplier of watches for the Ministry of Defense. The Kommanderskie, or 'Commander' as these watches began to be called, won recognition at from military personnel for reliability and a practicality. 

The first Amphibia watches were manufactured in 1967 in the USSR by Vostok Watch-Maker Inc. These watches became the symbol of all Soviet during the 60's and 70's. 1965 marks the creation of the world-famous "Komandirskie" ("Commander") watch. Vostok is now the leader of the Russian watch industry. Vostok factory is an official supplier for the Ministry of Defense of the USSR (now Russia) and is the official supplier of Russian Army.

One of the most celebrated Vostok Amphibia watches is the "Desert Shield." This watch was released in celebration of the success of the Iraq war military operation which had the same code name. Vostok produced about 200,000 pieces of these watches across a range of models. They were marketed to military officers at a lower price, while civilians who were interested purchased these watches at higher rates. The watches were also given away to troops stationed in Saudi Arabia for free. These Desert Shield Vostok watches were designed by an American import company called Timepeace Russian Watch. These watches represented a fascinating period of relationship between the US and Russia.

Delivery

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