Tested: Vostok Amphibia, The Least Expensive (Real) Diver's Watch in the World

This new no-date model was a no brainer for me as my main frustration with previous Amphibia models has been the lack of quick set date.  This one also looks military inspired and is very legible.  

As some of you may know, I'm a college student.  Granted, my studies are non-traditional and though I am helped along the way by the GI Bill, I am unsurprisingly not wealthy.  My dives are never to beautiful tropical locations.  I share a hatchback with my wife and seldom "make it rain".  Also, for some reason I've not been sent the new Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 for evaluation and testing (hard to believe).  Until that obviously inevitable day, I'm a lower cost diver's watch oriented guy.  With makers like Seiko, Citizen, and Casio producing fantastic diver's watches for little coin, I don't even feel like I'm missing out.  I'm here to put another maker and watch on your radar, the Russian-made Vostok Amphibia.

If they were diving with a watch, it would be a Vostok.  At least I'd like to think so.

Unbelievable affordability and distinctive aesthetics have created something of a following for the small Russian brand founded in Chistopol in 1942.  The brand produced watches for the Soviet military since the 1960's, a fact which lends still more legitimacy to the dependability and durability of their pieces.  The fact that Vostok keeps all of their production in house and keeps their movements and design fairly simple maintains their low cost.  Vostok has become somewhat of a watch collector's darling from their association with Steve Zissou (brilliantly portrayed by Bill Murray) in the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) wherein Zissou sported an extremely nautical looking diver's watch throughout the film.

The biggest reason for Vostok's status amongst collectors is that you can, for quite a bit less than $100 (mine, model number 120811, was $70), put a stainless steel, 200m rated, automatic, diver's watch with an in-house movement on your wrist or in your dive bag.  Let's take a moment here and do some math.  Actually, let's not.  It's unnecessary.  It's incredible.  For less than the cost of an Isofrane strap you can buy a brand new, highly capable watch which looks pretty badass as well. All a watch at this price point would have to do is more or less function and not leak and it would represent a shocking value.  Sure, you could have a G-Shock (which are awesome) for less but for a real, automatic watch, designed for diving, you can do no better.

Though the watch came on an acceptable silicone diver's strap, I quickly switched that out for the security and style of a high quality 18mm NATO.  

The Amphibia is more than just a good value.  It works well.  Good size, time keeping, durability, legibility, combine to make a very legitimate diving tool.  I've tested it over the course of several surface supplied training dives both in training tanks and in the mighty Pacific Ocean and found the watch to highly capable.  When used as a dive timer, the Amphibia punches way over its weight class and provides exactly the same level of service as many a highly priced Swiss competitor.

Things to do whilst wearing a Vostok...

 Having been roughly worn for a variety of dives completing a variety of projects with a multitude of tools, the Vostok still looks like new.  I think some of this is due to the watch's low profile height and relatively small 38mm width which keeps it out of the way while working underwater.  The time keeping of the in house 31 jewel(!) movement is somewhere around +10 seconds a day which is very respectable considering the cost of ownership.  Though not Seiko like, the lume is even fairly bright on this new no-date model, a trait which previous Amphibia I've owned could not have claimed.

Diving with the Vostok Amphibia and the Kirby Morgan KM97, two serious pieces of gear.  

In summary, for the money you can't go anywhere near wrong with this watch.  If you're a diver and interested in a backup dive timer, the Amphibia will more than fulfill your needs for less than the cost of your unnecessarily tactical looking dive mask.  If you're a watch nerd intrigued by the complete in house watchmaking process, you still score.  All in all, it's hard to beat.