Vostok (watches)

Vostok watch factory (initially named Chistopol watch factory) was established in 1941 following the evacuation of the First Moscow Watch Factory to Chistopol, a small town on the Kama River in Tatarstan.^[3] Initially, the factory focused on military equipment. In 1943, Chistopol watch factory started to manufacture Kirovskie wristwatches. Since 1945, the factory focused on producing watches, including wristwatches, wall clocks, automotive watches, outdoor clocks.^[4][5][6]

In 1952, Chistopol watch factory produced its first shock-resistant, dust- and waterproof Kama wristwatches. In 1962, the production of the factory was awarded the large gold medal at the Leipzig International Fair. Since 1965, the factory became the official supplier of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1965, it launched its iconic Komandirskie watches followed by Amfibia in 1967. Since 1969, the factory changed the name to Vostok (after the factory's first precision watch model) and all its models were subsequently branded as Vostok watches.^[5][7][8]

In the late Soviet period, Vostok watches became increasingly popular in Europe, the United States, and Japan.^[9] In 1991, the US military ordered a significant number of Komandirskie watches for the US forces participating in the international military operation in Iraq because of their robustness and low price. A significant volume of fake Vostok watches was produced by third parties in Western Europe and the US.^[8][10][11]

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the production of Vostok watches continued.^[8] The factory was privatized in 1993.^[9] The same year, it signed an exclusive distribution agreement for around 500,000 timepieces per year with a Swiss-based BN-Trading.^[12] The factory went bankrupt in 2010 and was reorganized as several smaller entities ultimately owned by the same Vostok Watch Factory LTD.^[5][13]

Like other Soviet watches, Vostok became pretty common in the movie industry prop kits due to low price and variety of designs that can fit any character and outfit.^[14]

Vostok was the first Soviet watch manufacturer to introduce luminous hands in its timepieces.^[8] Vostok also used an unusual two-part crown construction in its diver watch to prevent pressure damage to the movement. In 1980s, Vostok added an automatic rotor to its 24xx line of movements.^[4]

In the 2016 interview, the CEO of Vostok watch factory claimed that the watchmaker employed 450 people and produced around 15 to 18,000 timepieces per month.^[15]

The models produced are listed in the table below. Movement codes are based on the standard Soviet-era system.

• Amfibia
• Poljot
• Raketa
• Pobeda