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Meet "Roman": World Traveling Poljot 3133.

44K views 655 replies 55 participants last post by  MattBrace 
#1 · (Edited)
Following in the footsteps of "Vlad" the roaming Komandirskie, I would like to introduce to you "Roman", a Russian chronograph that I would like to send off for adventurous travel whenever he may be summoned.

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The chronograph is a mid-nineties Poljot creation with flashy gilded casing and rotating titanium bezel. Although not your customary old school Sturmanskie-style to say the least, I have made an attempt to beef up the looks by retrofitting a aviator chrono-seconds hand and matching nato strap. The watch face is actually very impressive with cut chrono-eye borders, gilded indices, and one of the better pilot emblems I've seen on a Russian produced watch.

Mid-life crisis...

After being rejected by his former owner(s), Roman made the lengthy trip from Germany to Canada to become apart of my ever growing collection of cal. 3133 chronographs. Upon his late-arrival, I began my usual inspection to determining whether Roman was fit to join the ranks in his current, seemingly as new, condition.

Well, things did not go so well for Roman...

Being a mid-nineties child of the bankrupt 1st Moscow Watch Factory, Roman had some quality control issues with his plating that only storage in a drawer within a temperature controlled environment could help conceal. Sadly, the blemishes that appeared in the plating stick out like a sore thumb in close-up photographs and more so under the loupe.

Fortunately, not really an issue for everyday usage, as Roman, like myself, looks just fine from a distance!

Mechanically, however, there were issues too...

After numerous winds I could tell Roman had some movement issues that would need to be addressed, including a gap between the movement and casing that allowed for unsightly movement when setting the time. To rectify that particular problem the clamps had to be tightened against the casing to the point where extra friction was created that decreased power output.

Into the parts bin...

And so, after languishing in the parts bin for the past two or more years, I had decided that it was time to resurrect Roman, fix him up as best I could, and put him to good use as a travelling ambassador of my collection, the forum, and the cal. 3133 chronograph in general.

To accomplish this, Roman has had a few parts replaced, been cleaned and oiled, and had a fine-tuning done to his chronograph function.

I suspect that Roman was dropped on his head a few too many times as a child, and also that the same storage issues that caused the plating to blemish also caused the escapement wheel to produce some erratic readings - so I replaced it with decent results.

He now runs respectively well.

To fine tune a 3133 chronograph function so that there is no jump at start-up is riding a fine line, and nothing a trip through the postal service cannot undo, but here is hoping he stays in top form for at least a few trips.

The loose movement issue was rectified by placing a small section of a broken 100-year old Dueber-Hampden mainspring into the casing to act as a spacer. This worked very well and leaves a small gap to get your nail under to pull out the crown.

Dressing up Roman...

I was a little reluctant to replace parts or spend further money on Roman, but decided it may help create some interest in the project and hopefully add to the fun factor. Therefore, as seen in the images, I spruced up Roman with a new Nato strap, had his case back engraved, and purchased a fake passport to accompany him throughout his travels.

Unfortunately, the recently completed case back engraving was, oh-so-predictably... not done to my specifications:

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I had actually printed out a copy of an image that detailed exactly how I wanted the engraving to look. However, the main concern seemed to be noting existing scratches on the case back, the current value of the watch, and of course the pre-payment. Oddly enough, I had envisioned it looking a lot worse than it did!! So all-in-all, I was content with additional non-perfection on an already non-perfect watch.

The mock passport finally arrived after more than a month in the mail. I added an image of Roman and had it stamped at a area post-office.

I also though it would be cool if members hosting Roman could toss in a postcard from their location, or thereabouts, so I picked up one of those for a meager fifty cents too.

Hosting Requirements:

All I ask is that you ensure Roman is passed on to the next host within 2-4 weeks; that you chose a trusted follow-up person (preferably) before accepting to host; and that you assume responsibility for ensuring that Roman is passed along by said host in the allotted time frame.

Vlad the travelling Vostok, courtesy of forum member Dan, has been making the rounds for some years now, but with a few layaway stops here and there, so I would like to either keep Roman moving or have him sent back to home base for a while.

Please refrain from opening the case back. If and when repairs are necessary, send the watch back and I will forward it to the next host after the repair is complete.

If you drop him and cause damage--don't worry!! Just send him back to me.

It would be nice if the host could:

1) Have the mock passport stamped at a nearby post-office. But only if you feel comfortable in making the request.

2) Add another postcard to the package. But again, not a requirement.

3) Take a few pics with the watch that are (preferably) somewhere of interest in your area - but a few WRUW shots will suffice if you do not have the means or time to do so.

Roman recently accompanied me to the local military base as seen in the April edition of WRUW:

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And now, all we need is for you to post your interest in hosting Roman so that future hosts can make contact. Roman is on parole, and counting on you to keep him out of the parts bin!

The legend of Roman begins, or ends, here...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
How would Roman like to spend a couple of weeks in Egypt with me - a 7 day Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan visiting numerous ancient cities, temples, burial sites etc etc, and then a 7 night stay at the old Winter Palace in Luxor, and all the relaxation and even more ancient sites visited that this would bring. I'll not say when I'm going on the forum for obvious reasons, but will post up stuff after I get back if you like. Am happy to receive from any host, and post onwards to any other, wherever in the world they may be... arrangements by PM/email only of course...
 
#3 ·
Love these threads and following them as they travel. Nice that Roman , probably the butt of all your other 3133's jokes gets to travel and see the world and prove he is far too important for the spares bin. He is welcome here anytime to visit my collection and see the sights of Rutland U.K. Nice idea Polmax .
 
#11 ·
I am definitely going to keep in touch with Geoff regarding his amazing trip up the Nile. But in the mean time we are going to be sending Roman off to tour some other locations around the globe, and being that there is a bit of initial interest in the project, I am going to coordinate the travel destinations for a short period.

Ottawa, an amazing place to tour, seems like a logical first stop considering it is just down the road apiece, and then maybe a few more stops in North America before we ship Roman off to the old country - where I'm hoping kev80e will let him have a go at driving the locomotive. Texas is a big place, as we know, but if tylehman lives anywhere near San Antonio a trip to the Alamo would be awesome. Anywhere will do, though!

Let us know, membership, if you are interested in hosting!
 
#13 ·
As owner of Vlad, I would be happy to have Roman on the east coast. My only photo ops are with my 3 dogs, one cat and an old Jeep, oh yea, the Miata I bought for the wife at Christmas. 2 Days max and he is off to the next destination. |>
 
#19 ·
I think we will go with Ottawa->PA->Texas->England route for now, and if possible fit in more North American members before heading overseas for while.

Dimy, can you send me your address via private message whenever you get a chance. Everyone else can do the same when it is clear who will be hosting previously.
 
#21 ·
There are 3 other members from PA within 2 hours of me. I have Timepice Tenderfoo'ts alarm now, he works 5 minutes from my house. Perhaps a photo op handing off Roman to the next host if he is so inclined?
 
#22 ·
Well if Roman is coming to the UK I could also host him for a couple of days. Maybe show him the Queen Elizabeth 11 bridge and the Mick Jagger Centre. In fact if his visit coincides with my annual trip to the Yorkshire Dales with my old Rugby mates he can come and stay with me in a 13th Century pub complete with it's own collection of ghosts for the weekend and help me partake in a few pints of Yorkshire Ale..
 
#24 ·
Sounds like fun, gents! I don't see why a few more PA members can not be squeezed in prior to the crossing to England. Especially if someone can run Roman up and down the "Rocky" steps in Philly. :) The last PA guy will have to send to tylehman in Texas.

No problem, slowprop! Not sure if Roman will arrive in time for the Yorkshire trip, which btw sounds like a lot of fun, but we will definitely add you to the list of U.K. host.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Roman update:

Roman is currently travelling to Ottawa, Canada and should arrive early next week. Enjoy the watch for a few weeks, Dimy! Ottawa is a must see for anyone visiting Canada.

I did not get to travel too much with Roman myself, but I'm hoping that some of the other Ontario and Canadian based members with host Roman and visit Niagara, the CN Tower, and other places of interest whenever he returns from overseas.

What I can offer up with Roman on wrist is a visit to a small town Ontario harbour where I drove to witness last night's beautiful sunset.

Sky Sunset Sunrise Afterglow Water


Sky Nature Natural landscape Sunset Water


Sky Tree Nature Water Natural landscape


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The next time Roman sees daylight will be in Ottawa, Canada.

As suggested, if you want to post a pic of yourself feel free to do so, but by no means is it a requirement. After all... we don't want to frighten anyone! ;-)

The last known picture of myself (with Roman) was at the military base:

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which I deleted from my photo-essay in favour of the pic of my wife, for obvious reasons...
 
#26 ·
Roman Survival Guide

or "How To Operate a cal. 3133 Chronograph"

A few tips on how to best operate your 3133 chronograph in prioritized do-not-do order as stated in the Poljot instruction manuals:

1) Always stop the stop-watch function before resetting to zero-position. Press the top #1 button to "Start", and then again to "Stop"-before resetting! If the watch stalls while running the stop-watch function, you still have to press the "top #1 button" to disengage it prior to resetting. It may be stopped, but it is still engaged.

Why? You can damage the resetting lever by bending it, which could disable zero-position resetting.

Note: Poljot states in the manual "Stop-watch is a complicated device, therefore it is recommended to use only for time interval counting. Switch off after using and return to the start position".

I would recommend not using the stop-watch function on a half-charged watch. If you must run the chronograph continuously - which I sometimes do - wind it up fully in the morning and you should have a 24 hour period of trouble-free operation. The chronograph wheels are only supported by one jewel each, which creates extra friction and hence a loss of power - not to mention the friction spring that should be set fairly snug for proper operation. Running the chronograph continuously will also polish the friction spring.

Poljot suggests that the 3133 will run at least 42 hours, and that would be with the chronograph running on a new watch. There is still power in reserve, it just can't handle the stop-watch operation at that point.

In a nutshell, for trouble free operation, wind the watch every morning and run it on eight-cylinders instead of four. No extra winding involved.

2) When setting the date, carefully advance the time clockwise until the date changes, and then counter-clockwise to the 10:30 position. Poljot advises 1:00am->10:00pm.

Why? You can damage the spring that advances the date-wheel.

To fix the spring you will need to purchase another parts watch or send it to a watchmaker that has access to parts. Some of the older chronograph spring are already damaged when you receive them, so take-it-easy when setting the date.

3) When winding the watch, stop immediately when you feel back-pressure. Do not try to force another click.

Why? Because you may loosen or damage components associated with the winding mechanism.

4) Swiftly press chronograph buttons for proper operation.

Why? As soon as you place pressure on the Start #1 button, whether in the reset or stop-position, the chrono-seconds hand will be free to travel and therefore produce inaccurate stop-watch readings.

It is not always poor adjustment that causes inaccurate movement of the chrono-seconds hand. Applying pressure to the Start button will release the reset hammer (reset-position) or chronograph brake (stop-position) and allow the wheel/hand to travel. The effects of gravity can cause the hand to drop.

You do not have to press hard and fast, just swiftly with no delay.

For those hosting "Roman". The watch should only need cleaning with a soft cloth. The plating is mid-nineties thin. Acrylic crystal almost always looks worse after polishing that it did originally with a few scratches. Place post-office stamp on the first page of the passport where there is room.
 
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