Vostok Komandirskie

Brief History

Founded in 1942, Vostok Watches Makers, Inc. is a Russian watchmaking company based in Chistopol, Russia.

Originally producing defense equipment during World War II, the company started making mechanical wristwatches as soon as the war was over.

Yet, the company started using the name « Vostok » in the early 1960s, and it’s most likely to have been named after the Vostok space program.

In 1965, the company was selected to be the supplier of watches for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The same year, Vostok also created the Komandirskie line of watches, which I will review in today’s article!

Specifications

• Caliber 2516
• Diameter: 42 mm
• Height: 15 mm
• Lug width: 20 mm
• Lug to lug : 48mm
• Water Resistance: 200 m (20 ATM)
• Model: 2416 / 020716

Case

This Komandirskie features a 42 mm brushed stainless steel case (model 020) with a 48 mm lug to lug, 20 mm lug width, and the crown at 3 o’clock. For my 19 cm (7.5″) wrist, it wears really well, although slimmer wrists might find it a bit big.

The first time I unscrewed the crown, I was wondering if everything was alright with my watch, but after quick research, I found that this wobbly crown is Vostok’s signature and has a precise function.

Indeed, if the stem takes a knock, the force will not be transferred to the movement.

When screwed on, the crown sits nice and tight on the case, keeping it water-resistant.

At the back, an engraved caseback pushed by a screwed ring is keeping the Komandirskie nice and tight.

 

On top of this case, a domed acrylic is creating some very nice distortion when looking from the sides.

Acrylic as it’s haters, but it’s a perfect fit for the Vostok. Despite being easy to scratch, an acrylic glass will give you a hard time breaking it, which works perfectly for a budget dive/tool watch.

The good news is that it is also very easy to remove scratches on an acrylic glass with Polywatch.

Dial

On this pretty straight-forward white dial, the date window is at 4.5 o’clock, at 6 o’clock, the inscription “31 jewels” in Cyrillic, and at 12 o’clock, the name of the watch, “Komandirskie,”  also in Cyrillic. Each hour is represented by a rectangular index except at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, which are arabic numerals.

Concerning the hands, both the hour and minute hands are pencil-style with lume on the inside. The second hand is painted in red but not lumed.

Bezel

The bezel on this Vostok is a friction one (no-clicking), made of polished stainless steel with a no-lume black insert, which I assume might be acrylic, but there is no precise information from Vostok. One major benefit of this type of bezel is that you can’t misalign it!

The bezel action feels weird but can be seen as a historical reference to old dive watches. Also, mine has a bit of play between the bezel and the acrylic glass, which cheapens the overall feel of the watch.

Lume

As previously stated, both the hour and minute hands are lumed, but each hour also has a small lume pip on top of the index.

The luminous material glows a very bright green, but sadly, it doesn’t last long.

Movement

Powering the Komandirskie is the 2516 in-house caliber, a robust 31-jewels movement that is pretty easy to regulate by yourself.

Non-hackable, setting the time precisely might not be the best experience you will ever have. Also, it doesn’t feature a quick set date function, which can be a bit of a pain if you leave it for several days.

Bracelet

The supplied steel bracelet is said to be pretty bad, but thanks to the 20mm lug width, it’s a blessing to find a ton of straps and bracelets!

I personally chose several NATO straps, and it looks phenomenal!

Conclusion

Built like a tank, I have been using it as a tool watch this year, and it has worked flawlessly, taking a huge number of knocks.

The Komandirskie might not be the perfect watch for your budget, but it is definitely a very cool watch with a huge amount of charm and history!

Moreover, its robustness makes it a perfect everyday or tool watch for a small budget. What could go wrong!

Lastly, this Komandirskie is definitely a keeper; it’s the one getting the most wrist time out of my collection.