Vostok Amphibia Classic 710

This is a recent acquisition from Ebay. It came to me with a black leather strap and a standard Vostok Amphibia bezel (see below). I decided to replace both. This Vostok Amphibia Classic is the 710 model which has the cushion-type case. For me this, along with the 090 tonneau-style case seems to be the best size for my nearly 8 inch wrist. It is also known as the “Ministry Case”. The 6 digit number, 710405, refers to the case (710) and the dial (405).

Vostok Amphibia 710405 Before

I am a member of Watchuseek forums and hang around on the Russian Watches Forum, or F10, as it is colloquially known. There is a lot of discussion there about modding Vostok Amphibia watches, changing straps and bezels etc. In fact, almost everyone seems to change the strap as soon as they get it. As you can see, I have swapped the leather strap for a canvas NATO style strap, anathema to some, I know. This NATO watch strap, whilst green and yellow, is not an exact match for the dial, but it is close enough for me. I call this watch “The Springbok” because it reminds me of the South African rugby team’s playing colours.

The bezel is bought from my favourite suppliers of Vostok watches, Meranom. I guess you might call it the Vostok compass bezel for obvious reasons – it is also known as Bezel 71 at the Meranom website. Whilst the bodies of Vostok Amphibia watched are stainless steel, the bezels are made from chromed brass and it is quite easy to strip the chrome off these. This can be removed with scouring pads, steel wool or emery paper. The bare brass bezel can then be given some colour or patina via various methods. For example, the brass bezel can be put in a sealed plastic bag with a smashed up hard boiled egg – the sulphur from the egg reacts with the brass to make it darker. Some have tried vinegar and salt. I have tried leaving the stripped brass bezels in foam oven cleaner for about half an hour, this gave some interesting darkness and character to them. There is more discussion of this here and here. There are now also a few third parties making custom bezels for Vostok Amphibias, most of these will take a Seiko SKX007 bezel insert and there are quite a lot of different designs for these. Take a look at Dagaz’s Website, this greatly increases modding options!

The Vostok Amphibia is a real workhorse of a watch. They are quite rugged, diver’s watches, waterproof to 200m and fitted with Vostok’s 2416B automatic movement. This one has a central second hand and a date window at 3 o’clock.

Not one of my first Russian watches, but my first blog post!