Vostok Amphibia SE 090B38 Antimagnetic
In Spring 2018 Meranom released three new Vostok “Antimagnetic” watch models for sale, all in the 090 tonneau style case. I don’t believe there were that many original Vostok Antimagnetic models and I think they were mostly made in the 1980s and 1990s and produced using mainly the 470 octagonal, 320 and 020 case shapes. Vostok Antimagnetic watches usually feature the cyrilic Антимагнитных (antimagnetic) on the dial, although not always. I guess these new releases are an homage to some these old antimagnetic Vostoks, although perhaps it would have been interesting to see these in the 670 case type (to my eye, the most similar modern Vostok case to the 470). However, the 090, closely followed by the 710 ministry case, is my favourite Vostok case, so I am not really complaining.
What is the point of an antimagnetic watch? Put simply they are mechanical watches that can operate with little or no timing deviation around strong magnetic fields. The sort if magnetic fields that many scientists, engineers and other work with. All the small components in mechanical watch movements can become magnetised if they are ferrous. The delicate balance spring is the most likely to be affected, it can sometimes stick to itself, effectively shortening it, causing it to oscillate quicker therefore making a watch run fast.
Antimagnetic watches have been around for longer than you might think. Vacherin Constantin was experimenting with the production of antimagnetic pocket watches in the 1840s. The earliest method of making antimagnetic watches was to make the watch parts out of non ferrous metals such as palladium, gold or soft iron (which does not stay magnetised like stainless steel). Watchmaker Breguet even experimented with glass parts. Today hairsprings are most often made from a beryllium-bronze alloy called Glucydur or, more commonly, from Nivarox a iron–nickel–chromium–titanium–beryllium alloy which has good magnetic resistance (and is more resistant to thermal influence). The second method of protecting the movement from magnetic fields is to shield it from them. This is effectively done by encasing the movement in a highly magnetically conductive material, which creates a Faraday Cage, often soft iron. This reflects magnetic energy away from the delicate components of the movement.
Back in the days of pocket watches there wasn’t really a big need for antimagnetic watches. With the development of engines and various other machines (trains, planes and automobiles – a good film) which generate magnetic fields, came the development of the antimagnetic wristwatch. One of the earliest antimagnetic wristwatches was the IWC Mark XI Pilot’s watch which was created at the behest of the Royal Air Force in 1948 for their pilots who would be sitting pretty close to a large aircraft engine. Perhaps, one of the most famous antimagnetic watches is the Rolex Milgauss which was created in 1954 for scientists working at CERN who were working with large magnetic fields (with a re-issue in 2007). It is so called because it can withstand a magnetic flux density of 1,000 gauss, the unit of a magnetic field. Today just about all of us are subject to magnetic fields with our array of modern gadgets (phones, laptops, tablets, speakers, microwaves, even fridges), they are not that strong but they can still affect watch movements. The good news is that if a watch does become magnetised, it is pretty easy to fix.
Vostok Amphibia SE 090B38 Antimagnetic
There were three Vostok Amphibia SE Antimagnetic watches released in 2018. Two models, three configurations:
SE 090B38 – black “sniper” dial sold with a solid stainless steel bracelet
SE 090B38 – black “sniper” dial sold a silicon watch strap – the watch reviewed here
SE 090B37 – white “sniper” dial sold with stainless steel mesh strap
I am not going to go into too much detail, but all three watches feature the same brushed stainless steel 090 tonneau style case which measures 41 mm across without crown, 48 mm lug to lug, 15 mm deep and with a 22 mm lug width). All three are fitted with one of the new Vostok bezels (Bezel 02/15/30/45 in black) which has a smart matt black anodised aluminium bezel insert (similar to the one in my last review on the Vostok Amphibia SE 020B33). The bezel here features 60 minute divisions, numerals at 15, 30 and 45 and a superluminova lume pip at 12 o’clock. The bezel is bi-directional. In my opinion these bezels look really good, I really like the matt finish, I think it looks very smart and would recommend them for anyone wanting to make a simple mod. There are currently two different styles available from Meranom, both in black, blue, red, yellow, green and silver. I don’t know if they will be permanently available, I hope so.
This classic Vostok”sniper” dial has a good looking matt black finish which ties in nicely with the bezel insert. The dial features the words Boctok and Антимагнитных (antimagnetic) below the 12 o’clock and 31 jewels (it is fitted with a Vostok 2415 movement), Автоматический (automatic) and 200m above the 6 o’clock and сделано в России (made in Russia at the bottom of the dial). There are 60 simple minute divisions around the outside of the dial with a lume pip every 5 minutes. There are silver looking raised indices – numerals 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 7, 10 and 11 and a solid bar at 3, 6, 9 and 12. The crown is stainless steel and is signed with the Boctok ‘B’ type logo. The hands are a nice upgrade. They are made from nickel (perhaps nickel plated, I’m not sure) and look like the standard Amphibia “arrow” set but they are the are all noticeably longer and wider than a standard Amphibia set. This means not only do they have more lume than the standard arrow set but they also reach towards the outside of the dial, in particular the minute and seconds hands, which I think it nice design improvement.
The case back is the Amphibia Cosmonaut type case back which features a raised image of a Cosmonaut, wearing a CCCP space helmet surrounded by cyrilic which translates as “Special Series” and “Made in Chistopol”. I decided to take the back off to have a better look at it and it is lined with a different colour metal compared to the standard case back. I weighed both, a standard Amphibia case back weighs 9g and the antimagnetic case, with the integrated shielding, weighs 11g. I think I am right in saying that the old Vostok Antimagnetic watches were fitted with a removable shield with three tabs which sat inside of the case back. I also noticed, when I had the back off, that the watch is fitted with a metal movement and not plastic like those in modern Amphibias.
I would really like to know, and I am not going to take the watch apart to find out, if there is any extra antimagnetic shielding behind the dial or whether the dial is made out a different material than usual to add antimagnetic shielding to the front of the watch – does anyone else know? Please let me know if you do.
Price at purchase $140.00, March 2018.
