Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Vostok Amphibia 'Radio Room', 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Vostok (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991060
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991060)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Vostok Amphibia 'Radio Room' (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991060), this is a wristwatch by Vostok, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
Though westerners tend to concentrate on Swiss, American, German, and Japanese-made watches, eastern-made timepieces are gaining ground as a niche collecting space. Russian watchmaker Vostok, which was founded — believe it or not — during World War II, has been making affordable watches for decades. Something of a novelty in the West, their wares aren’t known for, shall we say, chronometric precision , but rather for the charm they exude: Colorful dials, mechanical movements — it’s all here. This particular watch, a ‘Radio Room’ dating to the 1970s, features an interesting dial design mimicking the clocks once used in ships’ radio rooms: Four separate bands in red demarcate 3-minute periods during which all non-distress signals were banned from use, so that ships in duress would have better chances of their distress signals being received. Housed in a 42mm stainless steel case with an acrylic crystal, an unsigned crown, and a painted black and red timing bezel, it features a matte black Tritium ‘radio room’ exotic dial with printed 'Arabic' indices, a matching ‘broad arrow’ handset, and an anchor symbol at 5:00. Powered by the manually wound Vostok 2409A movement, it includes its Cyrilic information pamphlet. A sufficiently interesting watch on its own merit, this particular example also happens to date from the period of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A cool piece of history, indeed!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Related records
Wristwatches · 1970s–1980s
Wristwatch by Vostok, Russia, 1970s–1980s
Työväenmuseo Werstas
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by Heno, Switzerland, 1970
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · 1970s
Wristwatch, plastic, by Gucci; Italy, 1970s.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wristwatches · 1978
Calculator wristwatch by Suwa Seikosha Co. Limited, Japan, 1978
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1980
Wristwatch, 1980 (no. 71413)
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · 1980
Wristwatch, 1980 (no. 91477)
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · 1980–1982
Wristwatch, Space Shuttle; plastic, Japan, 1970-1979?
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wristwatches · 1949–1992
Timex `Electric' wristwatch, with electrically operated balance wheel mechanism, United States, 1949–1992
Science Museum Group, London