Description
Vostok Amphibia DESERT SHIELD soviet watch
Manufactured on Chistopolsky Watch Factory “VOSTOK”
The company was appointed an official supplier of watches for the Defence Department of the Soviet Union in 1965. This year also marks the creation of the well known Komandirskie (“Commander’s”) watch.
The Desert Shield Amphibia
One of the most historically interesting Amphibias is the “Desert Shield,” a watch celebrating the success of the Iraq War military operation of the same name. Vostok produced (allegedly) 200,000 of these specially dialled watches, across a range of models – not only Amphibias. These watches were marketed to military personal for $99 ($149 for civilians), though apparently many were given away to troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.
The Desert Shield Vostok was the brainchild of an American import company called Timepeace Russian Watches, and is an artefact of a fascinating period of US/Russian relations.
Aside from the oddity of seeing “Made in the USSR” in the context of the jingoistic dial of these Vostoks, they are a great example of Glasnost, a policy encouraging openness and reform in the previously very closed USSR.
That this watch, made in a Russian factory, commissioned by a company from Beverly Hills, was made possible by the reformist policies of Mikhail Gorbachev makes the Desert Shield Vostok a great memento of international geo-politics writ small. *source
The watch is mechanical and does not need batteries to operate.
Original soviet Vostok Amphibia has automatic lever movement and manual winding.
*An automatic or self-winding watch is a mechanical watch in which the mainspring is wound automatically as a result of natural motion of the wearer’s arm, to provide energy to run the watch, making manual winding unnecessary.
YEARS 1990s
CASE SIZE 46x44mm
THICKNESS 14mm
LUG WIDTH 18mm
TYPE Mechanical
MOVEMENT 2416Б
FUNCTIONS Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Calendar
Watch went through a complete service by a professional watch tech and keeps good time.
Comes complete with high quality 18mm canvas NATO strap!
This watch ships out from🇺🇦 Ukraine with tracking number
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About the watch factory
Watch Factory “VOSTOK” – began as the “2nd State Watch Factory” was evacuated during World War 2 to Chistopol in 1941.
In 1943 began producing Kirovskie watch – first soviet man’s wrist watch earlier made on 1st Moscow Watch Factory. From 1949 famous “Podeba” watches were made here.
From 1962 “Commander’s” watch Vostok were made on the factory.
Since 1969 factory was official supplier of Ministry of Defence, all watches produced were branded as “Vostok”
Other brands produced: Albatros, Amphibia, Buran, Chaika, General’s, Kama, Kolos, Comandirskie, Mir, Pobeda, Saturn, Sekonda, Sputnik, Svet, Uran, Vostok
