In 1980, tritium in watches was commonplace so since this watch is Russian and from an unlikely era, I imagine that the luminescent material is highly more radioactive... and I like it. It looks like a pressure gauge from a nuclear power plant with its arrow indexes and crude hands. I am lucky enough to own the model with Poljot written in Cyrillic which, for sure, gives it power and makes this watch work as soon as I pick it up. It commands all eyes with its resemblance to a Tag Formula One from the same era. Its bakelite bezel and its typical shape of the fifties divers recalls the Blancpain except that my Полёт is not water resistant to fifty Phatoms and dates from the eighties. An automatic 2616.2H movement animates this improbable watch and it purrs. The strap provided with it, which is probably not the original one, is a leather strap that gives me a sado maso biker look... so I put a nato strap on it (Daniel Craig) to give me the appearance of a KGB agent infiltrating the English.

The Fifty Phatoms of the East

We would like such a beautiful watch to be automatic but Poljot equips almost all of its chronographs with the 3133 inspired by the famous Valjoux. Reliable and quite pretty, this movement allows this watch to be precise and relatively thin for the time, date, a chronograph and, a small manual function, a crown at 9 o'clock that turns a bezel with a second time zone under the sapphire crystal. It is a replica limited to 300 copies of a Russian naval officer's watch from the 80s.

I call this watch The Masked Clown because of the blue that cuts the dial and the red hands. I like it because it has the face of a Russian Speedmaster or the Universal Genève Compax Exotic that is impossible to have.

That's exactly what's good about the Poljot brand! Rare elegant watches that seem to be worth 20,000 bucks but that remain totally accessible.

For a sailor's watch, it could be waterproof to 30+ meters because its waterproofing keeps me from taking it to the beach and on adventures. The straps provided by Poljot are beautiful but of poor quality. If I could find a gray one, as beautiful but a little more resistant to time, that would be great.

The Russian watch for officers.

"Oh, my husband broke his hand doing some work and the watch withstood the shock." A Russian lady told me this when she saw me wearing the same Vostok. All my customers at the café wear Rolex GMTs and often this reference crudely nicknamed "Coke" Above all for its two-tone red and black bezel but maybe also secretly because those who wear them consume a lot of them in the offices;)

I swim with it and I find it really funny with its small 24-hour hand and its small second at 10 o'clock. At first glance, the screwing of the crown is not reassuring but when you know the Vostoks, you know that it is reliable. I received the watch with two bezels and I immediately put on the red and black one. So I have the same watch as the boss of my company but at the employee price. The matte black dial, the arrow hour hand make this watch very readable. The octagonal case gives it a very successful old school and modern touch, but it is especially its Oyster-type bracelet that I find very pleasant to wear and aesthetically perfect. The folding clasp is provided by a lock engraved with the B (V in Cyrillic) of Boctok. A watch that is water-resistant to 200 meters, automatic with 40 millimeters for less than 100 bucks, it is to take or take but do not leave.

Everyone must have at least one Russian watch in their collection, as much as it is fun.

La GMT Master slave

If every morning I swim at a depth of minus 500 meters for my daily relaxing apnea session, I never forget my warrior because I know that she can withstand extremely low temperatures but also the crazy pressure that even gives me a headache when I stay more than 15 minutes without breathing...

In reality, I admire her underwater with my swimming goggles when I do my breaststroke at the SPA hotel in Villars in Switzerland. At sea, she shines in the sand and shells and accompanies me as soon as I do stupid things in the mountains. The blue color of the Arctic oceans fascinates me and I know that when we return together to Alaska, she will attract the polar bears that I did not see during my first trip. This watch on its rice grain bracelet gives me confidence; On its braided perlon bracelet, I want to go to the marina and watch a regatta on a giant screen with a good whisky. One day I put a leather on it, the cow, it was superb and I imagined myself in a 79 Corvette Stingray, my arm on the door, my hair in the wind, the sun in its mouth.

This automatic chronograph is quite thick but gives confidence. It is a raw watch that can take on several aspects and which has proven useful in some of my adventures. The brushing of the hands, the compass bezel, the date and the quick adjustment, the color of the dial, the thickness of the sapphire, the technical specifications of the watch and the people who run the brand and who are its ambassadors, everything made me want to own one and play with it.

The Blue Adventurer of the Northern Seas.

At first glance, we tend to focus on the ostentatious aspect of the brand and the material. The thirty-six millimeters of diameter, the nine millimeters of thickness of the case and the finesse of the Gay Frères bracelet of this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Day-Date from 1984 allow me to wear it with a hooded sweater and dirty sneakers or a fitted shirt on special occasions. It could even pass for a small gold Casio and that's what makes me laugh. It is the moon phase that gives the "owl", its nickname, the final touch of elegance. Since it is important to be in phase with the moon, I set it every time I wear the watch. It is the Caliber 2825, movement 289721, a base from Jaeger-Lecoultre that makes this jewel purr. I had a preconception about yellow gold that I no longer have since this piece was bequeathed to me. No need to talk about the iconic Grande Tapisserie champagne-colored dial, the baton hands without tritium insert and the old typography of the brand that make it a relatively rare piece.

The Golden Owl

I received this Komandirskie K-65 as a Christmas gift, it is with this watch that I discovered the brand, and it is "already" my fourth self-winding watch.

For me, it is a real favorite. If I had seen it on a display in a store, nothing could have stopped me from buying it. I am delighted that my brother chose this model, he is more of an Apple Watch person, but surely by a clever mix of good taste and the work of the saleswoman, here is my gift.

I appreciate the octagonal-shaped case, rough cut with an axe with a brushed finish. The contrast brought by the shine of the bezel, the red second hand flying over its black dial, all topped with a domed mineral glass reinforce the presence of the object on the wrist. And the little extra for me, I love watches with a date, even more so when it is at 6 o'clock (12 o'clock on this dial, haha) because the symmetry is not disturbed.

The bracelet is rather convincing, especially considering the price of the set. It is very comfortable and does not give the impression of being fragile or of low quality, as one might expect given the price of this watch. I find this truly remarkable, especially since with 20 mm between the lugs, we have a multitude of choices to dress the watch according to our desires.

Finally, the major asset lies in the dial and its hour hand which makes the complete turn in 24 hours, with a disconcerting number of different indexes that must be integrated. Don't count on me to tell you the time in the dark yet, haha.

As a conclusion, one word comes to mind spontaneously to describe it: disconcerting. The bidirectional bezel without a click (but which holds its position well, to be seen over time) and the crown, if my brother had not repeated to me what the saleswoman had said, would have seemed broken or faulty to me. You have to find the right position for manual winding, and the position to set the time has a distinctive click in one direction when you pull the crown, but not really when you return in the other direction. However, it seems to be a quasi-signature of the brand.

In any case, it contrasts well with the robust appearance of the watch. You have to be careful with each manipulation, and I even find that it gives an intimate side to the manipulation of the crown once unscrewed. Everything becomes a call for vigilance and delicacy once in this vulnerable position. It is an intriguing aspect that, in a way, adds a special dimension to the experience of interacting with this watch.

This Komandirskie K-65 turned out to be much more than a simple Christmas gift. It is a watch jewel that captured my admiration from the first glance. The combination of its unique design (for me, being a beginner I do not know if other 24H models exist elsewhere), the quality of its manufacture and its distinctive features make it an exceptional piece in my eyes. My brother made a wise choice, and I am delighted to own this watch.

A nice surprise under the tree

I present to you my Vostok Komandirskie ISS, in fact this Russian watch has a history that can be easily verified on the internet... This is the Vostok Komandirskie of the Russian military space forces. This watch was worn in the ISS, the badge visible in the upper part of the dial of the watch is that of the launch teams of the space forces of Baikonur in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk in Russia. It has a Vostok Caliber 2414A with 17 jewels and its diameter is 40mm it has a screw-down crown and a power reserve of 36 hours and the bezel is bi-directional, I really like this special and space watch it is my only Vostok watch and I will never part with it it was delivered to me with a blue nato but I alternate with a Milanese mesh.

My Vostok Komandirskie iss Russian and space watch...

This is one of the first models of Komandirskie, po Zakaz MO SSSR.
This small watch (35mm diameter) from the late 60s early 70s has a design that I like a lot. It is a production of the Chistopol factory on order of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. It is therefore a watch that was used and distributed in the army. Afterwards, it was not necessarily soldiers who wore them because many were sold in stores reserved for the military, the stocks left very quickly, in just a few hours and served as a currency to have other products or services, so that indirectly everyone could get it. Moreover, the following generations of this watch will be called ministry, because that is what was required to be offered to the officials of the ministry when we met them. This watch has a 2234 movement with the date (in red) and the stop-second function that allows you to set the time to the nearest second, it has a 38-hour power reserve. It has a luminescent coating (radium) on the indexes and hands. I can't say that I wear it often but I like it a lot. The gray star as a sign of mourning and the inscription Chistopol remind us that this city is known for its watch factory but also for its prison where many political opponents, especially Ukrainians, have been and that Anatoly Marchenko, the first winner of the Sakharov Prize, the European prize for freedom of thought, died there in a last fight against the Soviet dictatorship. The publication of "My testimony", an autobiographical work in 1966 and his incarceration after the repression of the Prague Spring in 1968 are contemporary with this watch. His death occurred in Chistopol in 1986 and his posthumous victory in 1987 when the first secretary of the party granted his request for the release of political prisoners. He received the Sakharov Prize in 1988. As if freedom of spirit is stronger than the totalitarian oppressive machine, torture or death.

One of the first Komandirskie

This VOSTOK watch is of unparalleled simplicity. Its chrome-plated brass case, its dial with affixed numbers, the famous red star in place of the noon, the hand-wound movement from the Russian manufacturer and cut with a billhook, give the watch a crazy charm. A charm of yesteryear but so current with its vintage spirit.
The 40 mm case and the chrome bezel give it ideal dimensions. On the other hand, its 18 mm wide strap in "very" bad leather deserves to be replaced. I did it with a black nato which reinforces its military aspect. In addition, the engraved case back is of the most beautiful effect. The same is true for its domed acrylic glass so vintage. Despite its screw-down crown and its ingenious system of compression of the case back gasket which crushes the gasket without stretching it, it is only slightly waterproof.
For 38 euros, its purchase price at the time, I do not regret this watch. Certainly old-fashioned but full of charm.

An outdated look but so current...

La marque SYE [Start Your Engine] a &eacute;t&eacute; cr&eacute;&eacute;e en 2020 par Arnaud Pezeron &agrave; c&ocirc;t&eacute; de Paris en France. La marque inaugure le Sport Tailoring au poignet. Elle propose des montres sport-chic de caract&egrave;re, fiables, ludiques et abordables inspir&eacute;es de l'univers de la m&eacute;canique auto-moto. La gamme comprend deux mod&egrave;les distincts, la <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/sye/mot1on_automatic_24">SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 </a>et la <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/sye/mot1on_chronograph">SYE MOT1ON Chronograph</a>.
Cette marque embarque une innovation sur le changement du bracelet disponible en acier ou en cuir. La montre n'offre aucun espace entre le bracelet et la boite d&ucirc; &agrave; l&rsquo;absence de cornes, ce qui am&eacute;liore son confort et sa portabilit&eacute;.
<h2 class="p1">Combien co&ucirc;te une montre&nbsp;SYE&nbsp;?</h2>
La gamme SYE comporte deux mod&egrave;les disponibles sur le site de la marque : La SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 est propos&eacute;e &agrave; partir de 750&euro;. La SYE MOT1ON Chronograph est propos&eacute;e &agrave; partir de 599 &euro;.
SYE est ind&eacute;pendante et produit plusieurs centaines montres par an tous mod&egrave;les confondus. Pour choisir une SYE qui vous correspond le mieux, les avis clients Dialicious sont une pr&eacute;cieuse ressource pour &eacute;valuer chacun des diff&eacute;rents mod&egrave;les &agrave; travers l'exp&eacute;rience r&eacute;elle des clients.
Consultez le <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/top/les_meilleures_marques_de_montres_francaises">Classement des meilleures marques de montres fran&ccedil;aises</a> dont SYE fait partie.
(Mise &agrave; jour Novembre 2023)

The brand SYE [Start Your Engine] was created in 2020 by Arnaud Pezeron near Paris in France. The brand is introducing Sport Tailoring on the wrist. It offers sporty-chic watches with character, reliability, fun and affordability inspired by the world of car and motorcycle mechanics. The range includes two distinct models, the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/sye/mot1on_automatic_24"> SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24</a> and the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/sye/mot1on_chronograph"> SYE MOT1ON Chronograph</a>.
This brand has an innovation in changing the bracelet available in steel or leather. The watch offers no space between the bracelet and the case due to the absence of lugs, which improves its comfort and portability.
<h2 dir="ltr">How much does a SYE watch cost?</h2>
The SYE range includes two models available on the brand's website: The SYE MOT1ON Automatic 24 is offered from &euro; 750. The SYE MOT1ON Chronograph is offered from &euro; 599.
SYE is independent and produces several hundred watches per year, all models combined. To choose an SYE that best suits you, the Dialicious owners' reviews are a valuable resource for evaluating each of the different models through real customer experience.
Check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/top/the_best_french_watch_brands">Ranking of the best French watch brands</a>, including SYE.
(Updated November 2023)

Vostok Komandirskie Owner Review : Virile, cool and timeless

La GMT Master slave

Pros & Cons for this watch

Other reviews published by Leo Flyback

Poljot

Poljot

Ollech & Wajs
Astrochron
Blue

Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak Day Date

Other Vostok Komandirskie owners' reviews