Suddenly: A grail - vintage strela chrono versus new?

[parrotandpitbull]

Hey all. Ive been collecting vintage watches since the early 80s.Ive had vintage watches of all types. They have come and gone, but mostly stayed. I can truthfully say Ive never had a GRAIL watch until recently. Sure I have my present passion, Soviet made. There is something about the white faced Strela Chrono thats got me going. Maybe the black? Unsure. I have small wrists and the vintage Strela is 36mm which would be pushing it, but okay. My real question is vintage versus new. I havent bought a "new" watch for 30 some years. Looking at JLs strelas on ebay, he doesnt say the diameter.Thats the easiest part to figure. Im thinking in terms of practical upkeep. A vintage always has that certain something, but if it breaks I can only imagine the bills, if I can find someone to fix it. With new there might? be less hassle. Theres also, which is really better made. Id assume old? Im in no hurry. I want the right Strela for me. Open to other simple cleanly designed Russian Chronos as well. So please, Id like all the opinions and advice I can get. Russian watches and this forum have opened a whole new world to me and I want to Thank you all. :thanks So hoping for some good advice , Best regards,P&P

[cavallino33]

Original is always better, but sometimes it's nice to have a new one, less worries and easier to find. Some of them are fairly close to the original.

I'd look at vostok-watches.com or poljot24.de both have various strela replica re-issues that appear to be the same and come from where ever juri gets his and you will get better customer service and prices.

Most of these seem to be of the 38mm size. Volmax has larger 44mm Strelas but they are much more expensive and imo look less like the original.

heres my strela re-issue (one of my prettiest watches):

[Lucidor]

Since you are not in a hurry, I'd say get a new one now (Cavallino33's piece is very nice), and then take your time to find a vintage one as well. The new one can be your daily wear (within reason), and the vintage you save for special occasions. That way you will put less stress on the vintage one and it is likely to last longer. And you don't have to choose one over the other.

[paveiv]

As Lucidor writes, I suggest the same. And I did (am doing:) the same. Bought new one from <commercial>Julian-poljot24.de, I even tried his excellent customer service, because of my fault I had to send it to him for repair</commercial> and now I am slowly starting to look around for the old Strela. Even with the new one, you get a truly wonderful watch, I like it more every day, and you can use it daily, no worries as with vintage watch. You can find a great comparison between old and new Strela on this forum.

Black Strela 3133 remake vs original 3017 chronograph

[parrotandpitbull]

Thanks for the recommendations folks. But paiev makes my case for me. The new watches are enormous and I HAVE VERY THIN WRISTS!!! 38mm would look ridiculous on me. 36 is the limit. On the other hand events last night have me leaning towards a new replica something. I have had a new(5 days) to me vintage Poljot Auto 2616 2n that was ticking away keeping great time. When I went to put it on this morning it was dead in the water. Not over wound, just dead. I bought it because it was a work horse movement. It may be but...in this case. Any one have any simple suggestions.? So that illustrates perfectly the problem with vintage. (The dealer said it was serviced lol) I guess Im caught between a rock and a hard place with the Stela. Its among the most beautiful watches Ive ever seen.Any more input appreciated! Regards, P&P

[Seele]

I am sorry to learn of your predicament with vintage pieces, which must have left a sour taste. Do bear in mind that some sellers of vintage pieces just give the movement a squirt of WD40 and then say they're lubricated, so in a way you have to factor in the cost of a service too. It would have been more helpful if you see the pieces in real life but that's the nature of the beast anyway.

Regarding size, I think my 6 1/2 wrist would be worse than yours! As long as the lugs do not overhang the width of the wrist then you should be fine. But then, I can wear 29mm Pobedas without the need for a bund strap to bulk it up

There again, there are those wearing Zlatoust divers; nobody would have wrist that wide.

[paveiv]

Another plus of the new Strela is the caseback through which you can watch the handsome 3133 movement :)