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Show your Amphibias! Part 2

352K views 2K replies 409 participants last post by  979greenwich 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
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#114 ·
I've been doing some more reading. So you're supposed to screw back the crown after setting the time. That disengages time setting if you want to wind the mechanism?
Yep that's right. Unscrew the crown (without pulling out fully) to wind. Pull out fully to set time. Screw back in after setting time to un-engage the time setting mechanism.

Also, the steel crowns are supposed to have the wobblyness. I don't think I've ever seen anyone suggest otherwise on here - but I could be wrong. Either way, fear not - all is as it should be.

That's a great looking watch by the way!
 
#117 ·
So, my new Amphibia stopped while I was setting the time (possibly got over-wound) just minutes after taking it out of its box.

I was distraught and disappointed that after a month of waiting for it to arrive, and after reading so much about how these things are indestructible, that it could be so easily broken through normal use. I decided to take the case back off and see if I could see what the problem was. It wasn't immediately apparent to my untrained eye, so after tapping on it and shaking it around as suggested by friends, I decided to try nudging the balance to see if that would work. Lo and behold, that did the trick! It's back to ticking away, although it's running about 40 seconds fast at the moment.

I thought I'd share this pic of the movement, which is way more nicely finished than I would imagine a watch of this price to be.



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#118 ·
Has it been running continously since then??

So what dial you got? Let us see its face [emoji6] .

By the way I really like that black movement spacer! One of my newest Amphibias has a purple one... Vostok has always produced natural nylon color movement spacers... I hope they continue putting colored ones from now on, are a nice touch.

Enviado desde Costa Rica [emoji1080]
 
#122 ·
Timeslider - you can regulate your watch, many people can get within 5 seconds per day. Looks like the arrow pointing to the +/- signs on the balance bridge is a bit too far on the plus side. This is moved by the lever on the left. You can do this by trial and error, but a watchmaker with a time graph could do this much more easily and precisely.

And congratulations on the Vostok!
 
#124 ·

My 710. Has the aqua green/blue dial, which i wasnt a huge fan of, but it is growing on me. I have a black sharks tooth bezel, grey bezel insert, exhibition case-back, steel movement holder and orange trident second hand on the way. Going to try and do a brushed finish on the case and ill end up ordering a shark mesh ss strap for it. Going to be my first amphibia and my first mod. Anyone know how difficult it is to swap the second hand out? My grandfather has worked on watches for a long time so ill probably ask him for some help.

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#127 ·
My 710. Has the aqua green/blue dial, which i wasnt a huge fan of, but it is growing on me. I have a black sharks tooth bezel, grey bezel insert, exhibition case-back, steel movement holder and orange trident second hand on the way. Going to try and do a brushed finish on the case and ill end up ordering a shark mesh ss strap for it. Going to be my first amphibia and my first mod. Anyone know how difficult it is to swap the second hand out? My grandfather has worked on watches for a long time so ill probably ask him for some help.

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Second hand is usually very easy. Order a cheap hand puller to yank the old one off and then press the new one on. Keep in mind the reverse side of the seconds pinion is held by a leaf spring and obscured by the automatic mechanism. This spring needs to be uncovered and supported should the second hand prove to be trouble to secure on the pinion.
 
#141 · (Edited)
Thanks for the clarification mroatman. Unfortunately, watch manufacturers are perpetuating this myth in their own materials.

This is from an apparent translation of the Vostok Amphibia manual:

Winding the Watch

If you wear the watch on your hand every day there's no need to wind it up. The watch uses an automatic self-winding movement which powers the watch by movement of your hand. But if you do not wear your watch more than 24 hours it's necessary to wind it up.

Unscrew the winding head counter-clockwise from the case. This puts the winding head in position 2. Start winding clockwise by turning the winding head 25 to 30 revolutions. You may need to pull out slightly on the winding head so it doesn't screw back onto the threads.

Do not overwind or you will break the mechanism.

When done, screw the winding head into position 1.

The best way to wind an automatic watch is by wearing it on your hand.

In my case, trying to set the date via the 'quick' method led to the balance wheel getting stuck somehow. I am new to mechanical watches, so I have no idea how this could happen.
 
#143 ·
Unfortunately, watch manufacturers are perpetuating this myth in their own materials.
Unfortunate indeed, especially when describing an automatic movement. If you have a basic understanding of how this movement works, that sentence makes no sense at all.

I could understand your inclination to trust official manufacturer information over some random forum dude, but I promise you, there is nothing to worry about.


In my case, trying to set the date via the 'quick' method led to the balance wheel getting stuck somehow. I am new to mechanical watches, so I have no idea how this could happen.
In this rare case, a gentle twist (like your throwing a frisbee or opening a doorknob) should be enough to get it ticking again.
 
#144 ·


710 ministry case; black ss sharks tooth bezel with grey/orange insert, clear case back as well. Leather strap to come, as well as trident second hand and ss movement holder. At some point i may swap the dial out for a grey one to go better with the bezel insert. Not sure. Thoughts?
 
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