The Ekranoplan has taken off.. (Comprehensive review w/pix!)

[bobbysamd]

....and has landed on my wrist!

Introduction. I learned of the Vostok-Europe Ekranoplan by error. Craig at Russia2All had mistakenly sent me an e-mail. His e-mail stated "my Ekranoplan order" would be delayed. What order? What the heck is an Ekranoplan? Naturally, I was curious. I went to the website.

The Ekranoplan, also known as the Caspian Sea Monster, is a large Russian ground-effect sea vehicle.



Russian watches are different from the rest of the crowd and, in my mind, are interesting because so many of them have a theme. (E.g., the Energia, with the offset minutes hand representing the offset booster engine on the Energia rocket.) Vostok-Europe created the Ekranoplan as a theme watch to recognize the vehicle.

Of course, I wanted my own Ekranoplan. I contacted Craig. He explained delivery could be slow because the watches' radioactive tritium gas tubes made him jump through NRC hoops. Despite the bureaucratic delays, Craig and Kristine provided their usual excellent service and timely delivery.

Packaging. The Ekranoplan arrived in a good quality but standard Vostok Europe box. Accompanying the watch was a guarantee card, Russia2All’s business card, and a straightforward instruction manual. The manual extols the virtues of purchasing a VE product, and has technical specs and instructions for operating VE movements, including the 2432 movement that powers the Ekranoplan.



Casework, Dial and Strap. The Ekranoplan is built solidly of stainless steel. The watch has a heft to it. I love nice casework and the Ekranoplan’s sandblasted finish gets an "A." The unidirectional bezel and screw-in crown are nicely knurled and easy to grip. The bezel rotates easily and clicks into place decisively. Water resistance is 20 ATM. Although the Ekranoplan commemorates a ground-effect vehicle that skimmed the water, with 20 ATM water resistance one could dive with it.

The exhibition caseback displays the 2432 movement fully - unlike the Energia, which displays a half-picture of the movement. The movement is nicely done. It features Geneva striping on the rotor and blued screws.



The rubber strap is nicely pliable and not stiff, unlike, e.g., Citizen. The end slips easily into the strap loops.

The dial has a wave pattern, like sea waves, which suits the Ekranoplan theme. The dial sports a numeric 24-hour indicator and a day/night indicator. The Trigalight ® T tubes glow brightly - as brightly as Ball or Marathon. The rotating bezel's triangle dot and small triangle above the 12 o'clock do not have tubes. I believe they are luminova.

The dial is olive drab green when viewed in sunlight, though it looks black when viewed in incandescent lighting. The chapter ring is olive drab green, but also looks black in some lighting. The rotating bezel is a shiny olive drab green.



The 2432 automatic movement is typical Russian - no quickset date or seconds hand hacking function. No problem - the date sets quickly enough in the usual Russian watch fashion - by turning the hands back to about 9 p.m., turning them forward past 12 midnight to advance the date, and repeating the process - a la the Poljot 3133 movement. The watch winds easily. It’s too soon to determine accuracy.

Comfort. Though the watch measures 47 mm in diameter, I still expected a somewhat smaller watch. The Ekranoplan is a big watch. It wears big but comfortably on my 6½-inch wrist.



Conclusion. In her e-mail advising she was shipping my Ekranoplan, Kristine said it would blow me away. She was right! Vostok-Europe outdid itself. For sure, the Ekranoplan is a cool watch, with unique features and a unique theme. But the Ekranoplan is a quality watch - solid, well made, and priced fairly. VE stands for Vostok-Europe. The "V" should also stand for "Value." If you like uniquely themed, quality watches, you'll like the VE Ekranoplan.

(Ekranoplan photo borrowed from http://www.vincelewis.net)

[abraxas]

.
Thanks for letting us know about this. I remember (as if it was yesterday) the first time I’ve learned about the Ekranoplan (plane). I still have a programme (on video) somewhere from the pre-net days.

Probably the craziest plane ever …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIr8bjg_o2U



I recently saw a Vostok catalogue but I did not notice the Ekranoplan model. Probably because my attention was taken by the Energia which I thought it was interesting ... I wish it had more traditional lugs. Do you have one?

You sound like a Vostok fan and I am sure you will get lots of pleasure from the Ekranoplan. It looks a beast.

john

[bobbysamd]

I recently saw a Vostok catalogue but I did not notice the Ekranoplan model. Probably because my attention was taken by the Energia which I thought it was interesting ... I wish it had more traditional lugs. Do you have one?

I do!



You'll like the Energia.

I like the three Vostok-Europe watches I own. I also like my Aviator (Volmax), Poljot and Sturmanskie watches for the same reasons I wrote, above; they are interesting and different from usual watches.

Craig and Kristine enclosed with my Ekranoplan an updated VE brochure. The brochure includes the watch. You can download the brochure at this link. You'll need Adobe Reader to view it.

[Bionic Man]

Superb review , thanks for the info.

[Alpha4]

I buy one of those Ekranoplan monster in aheartbeat if you could put a bracelet on it. Rubber straps get grotty very quickly
I find.

[c.k.]

Hi everyone !

Very nice review bobbysamd. It's worth mentioning that this is (i think) very first tritium russian (lithuanian) watch.
Do you maybe have some shots in the dark?

[bobbysamd]

It's worth mentioning that this is (i think) very first tritium russian (lithuanian) watch.
Do you maybe have some shots in the dark?

Unfortunately, I don't have any lume shots. I don't own a tripod and my hand isn't steady enough for a time exposure.

FWIW, by way of comparison, the Ekranoplan's lume is every bit as bright as well known T tube watches such as Ball, Marathon SAR and Luminox. I own examples of all three brands. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

[ATCOBOY]

great watch, my friend has one...great wrist presence.

[Andy Schuhren]

Interesting enought to get me looking at russian watches again, i had a bad experience with poljot a few years ago but this is interesting, nice watch too

[Diaboliq]

I was looking for this one; what's the price tag on these? :roll: (may I even ask?)

[MADDOG]

Nice bit of kit.

[Pathtower]

This one looks quite substantial to say the least - a pretty clean design though - some of the Vostoks get a bit OTT for my tastes but this one I like.

[boddah]

Great write up :D

[WatchScout]

Very good tongue-in-cheek review of an excellent watch. Makes me want to get one.

I have an ancient Poljot to stay within the aviation theme...., and ofcourse my Vostok, which is a bit smaller than the Ekranoplan.

I can not say, that there is anything that I dislike about the Vostok Ekranoplan, but I do lament the fact, that they chose not to use cyrillic on the dial. Well, at least my ancient Poljot is pure :wink:

[Diaboliq]

I had a crush on that STURMANSKIE Arctic 24hr watch.. still waiting for it to arrive :evil: