The Vostok Amphibia has been around since 1967. The design principles and factory in Chistopol, Russia remained the same through the decades, delivering a true in-house product with rich history at a modest price point.

The case features a lot of convex shapes! While the base looks quite chunky, it blends in nicely forming a pyramidical shape. Due to this shape it wears much thinner and fits nicely under any sleeve. It looks a little bit like a U-Boat or space station that has a window (which is the dial looking outwards). Cushion shape cases seem bigger than they are, lug to lug of 46mm is fairly conservative – wearable even for baby wristed humans like me.

The dial style shares similarities with the better known Panerais. Its simple with good contrast and the gold accents make it more dressy. I am really glad that they went for Russian text on the dial. I would like to see more watches with dial text on their resp. languages. E.g. “Hergestellt in Deutschland”

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature…
The caseback of the Vostok Amphibia features a 2-piece construction with a very wide gasket. The backplate itself does not thread but is pressed by a threaded ring. This makes for an easier and safer gasket install and ensures that no lateral forces distort the gasket.

The “wobbly crown” and stem assembly uses a clutch, which is coupled only when the crown is pulled away from the stem. This eliminates the pressures on the keyless works, and the “wobble” prevents the stem from getting bent.

Why acrylic? When submerged, the increasing water pressure will flatten the crystal, increasing its circumference, which increases the effectiveness of the seal between crystal – case.

Good: looks, construction, history, heritage. To avoid false expectations, when looking at fit and finish, QC the price point should be considered.
Bad: lume not on par with Seiko divers.
Ugly: You tell me!