Reply With QuoteNice gesture, £30 for the Neptune :)
As you may have noticed, I'm having a bit of a clear-out and have already sold a few of my watches on SC and will be selling a few more soon (some going up today if I have time to take the photos).
I've got a fairly large collection of Russians, most of which I either don't want to sell, or aren't really in saleable condition (future projects for when I get the tools and have the time to teach myself watch repair). However, I did manage to find a couple that are basically new, so I thought rather than sell them for a few quid, they'd make some nice Christmas presents for someone and the proceeds can go to the fundraiser.
There are a few fingerprints visible in the photos, but the condition of both watches is 100% (mint condition), as both were bought new and haven't been worn at all, just kept in a drawer. As far as I know both are keeping good time, but I'll run them for a bit and post up some figures when I have them.
Rules
Here's how it works. Just reply to this thread and state your bid and which watch the bid is for. You may bid as many times as you like until the deadline. The auction will end at precisely 20:00 GMT (TZ-UK server time) on Thursday 18th. Highest bidder wins, obviously. Late bids will be ignored!
On Friday morning, I will then pop the watches in the post, first class, to the winners (assuming you've PM'd me your name & address). According to the RM website, that means they should get there before Xmas (with one day to spare just in case). You should donate the amount of your winning bid to the fundraiser. I will trust that nobody will bid without the intention of actually giving to the fundraiser, but I will also verify! Unscrupulous scoundrels will be shamed publicly.
UK bids only please, as I am covering the P&P costs.
Also, for the avoidance of any outright fraud, the auction is only open to those who have enough posts to view Sales Corner. However, I'm posting it here so that you can bid even if you don't have a high enough post-count to reply to SC threads yet. Any bids in violation of the rules will be ignored. The judge's decision is final!
Feel free to post questions, comments or anything else you like, whether or not you are bidding.
Vostok Amphibia Neptune
(if bidding on this, please refer to it as "Neptune")
Full Photo Album
Yellow-dialed Neptune. This is one of the modern Vostok range. I've never worn it because I'm not a huge fan of the Vostok rubber strap, and it's hard to find a replacement because of the inverted lugs. However, it is an Amphibia, which means true 200m diving-capable water resistance with stainless steel case. I rather like the dial on this one, which has applied numerals. All three hands, the indices and the numerals are all lumed. It looks pretty cool in the dark actually, I'll maybe try to add a lume photo later if I can capture it. Like the majority of Amphibias, there's no luminous bezel pip (one of the reasons these are not ISO-compliant divers).
Movement is automatic. Size is 41mm diagonal.
Vostok Junior Komandirskie
(if bidding on this, please refer to it as "Junior")
Full Photo Album
OK, the most important thing I have to say about this watch is that it probably has the nicest dial you will find on any Vostok, full stop. It's got a radial brushed texture and is a very subtle shade of pinkish-brown that's quite hard to describe properly but it looks amazing in person. It has highly polished applied indices and IMO the nicest-looking handset found on any Vostok as well. It's not lumed though.
Movement is hand-wound. Size is 34mm diagonal. Stainless steel case.
It's just too small for me to possibly get away with wearing this. Maybe you could if you have small wrists. It's really supposed to be a boys watch, and it would make an awesome present for a son or nephew. Unfortunately I don't think my nieces would appreciate the design as much as a boy would.
I've fitted it with an unworn Phoenix tropical NATO. This is nowhere near as good quality as one of Eddie's, but it's perfectly wearable and the polished hardware matches the case.
Nice gesture, £30 for the Neptune :)
I'm in, £35 for the Neptune and £35 for the Junior
£40 for the Neptune!
£40 for the junior!
£45 Neptune and £45 Junior
£40 for the Junior
Edit - beaten to it!
Last edited by gunman; 10th December 2014 at 17:49. Reason: beaten to it
Here are the results of my timing both watches over the past couple of days:
Neptune: +35s/day face up; +11s/day crown up.
Junior: +32s/day face up; +61s/day crown up.
The figures are presented as I've calculated them (normalised to 24 hours per day but actually measured over 17-20 hours). Don't take them as super-accurate though, they are just to give an idea of how they are running. The actual "on wrist" timing will probably fall somewhere between the face-up and the crown-up timings, but I'm not sure how much these movements are affected by gravity in other positions. Also since the Neptune is automatic, it will tend to give quite different timings on the wrist due to being kept fully wound, which should tend to slow it down by a few seconds. These number should at least indicate the worst-case for variance.
As they've been sitting in a drawer for a while, it's also quite likely that they'll settle in after a couple of weeks, which also may slow them down a bit.
These figures are pretty normal for Vostoks in my experience, so there's definitely nothing wrong with either movement. The Junior could maybe benefit from a minor adjustment, as it's definitely a bit on the fast side, although I'd wear it for a couple of weeks and see if it slows down on its own first.
Nice touch, in all the excitement of the Neptune I missed the Photobucket album!
£47 for the Neptune!
Here's a quick summary of where the bidding is right now:
Junior: £45 - jimmyt
Neptune: £47 - barryw
As the initial bids came in pretty quickly and things seemed to have slowed down since then, I'm thinking about changing the close time to Wednesday instead of Thursday to give the winners a bit more time to PM me their details and/or to receive the watch a day early, just to reduce the risk of them not being received in time for Christmas. Any objections?
In the meantime, I'm sure bidding will heat up again over the weekend. The money is all going to the fundraiser, so don't be afraid to bid more than the watches are actually worth!
At the request of a bidder, the closing date is going to remain Thusday.
IT'S THE FIIIIIINAL COUNTDOOOOWWWNN!!!
Just over 24 hours to go. Let's keep the thread alive until then... through the power of glam rock, eastern european style!
So, is everyone out Christmas shopping or something? Awfully quiet around here.
Maybe there will be some last minute eBay style bids?
Quite likely, but sniping isn't very charitable is it! Not that I've got anything against those who might wait until near the end to bid. I know at least one potential bidder is away until tomorrow.Originally Posted by jimmyt
At this point I'd just like to get some off-topic conversation going because the thread's been off the front page for the last few days and there are probably a lot of people that haven't noticed it yet.
Another summary, now with precisely 24 hours to go and counting down:
Junior: £45 - jimmyt
Neptune: £47 - barryw
Number of comments on that video: 0
Final day. 12 hours to go...
Looks like I may not be able to get online this evening, so you all know the rules anyway - if you win, PM me your details and I'll take a trip to the post office in the morning.
Good luck!
Looks like I've won the junior! Great gesture from the op.
Well I can't believe I've won the Neptune! Thanks again fantastic gesture ;)
Payment made, thanks again :)
Congratulations to Barry and Jimmy! And of course thanks to them and everyone else who bid as well, because the combined final bids = £92 + Gift Aid to the fundraiser.
Now I'd best get off the Internet and down to the post office!
Proof that I've made my donation
Rounded up to £50 for good measure, thanks again to the op, merry Xmas everybody!
Watches are in today's post, first-class, so if we're lucky they'll arrive tomorrow. With the Christmas post, that's unlikely, but they should be there early next week.
Thankyou:)
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