My Poljot Aviator Chronograph came in the mail last week. Here's what I think so far...
"The time is 9:15 AM"
I bought this watch on eBay for $169. It came on a black leather strap that has some kind of cheesy alligator print. Other than that, the strap is good, though. It's comfy and looks tough enough to last a long time. I requested a steel bracelet for an extra $40 (no extra shipping costs) because they're useful in hot weather. The steel bracelet looked kind of crappy from the pictures on their website, but I figured I might as well get it anyway.
It took about 9 days for shipping, and there were no import duties... nice! It was packaged very securely, with foam all around the inner box and tons of packing tape; good shipping for 12 dollars. I've worn it for four days, and here's what I think so far.
THE DIAL
It's not supposed to be pretty
Some of those crazy Cyrillic characters
It's kind of plain, but in a good way. It looks like what a pilot's watch should look like and is quite readable. Even though the watch is 39 mm in diameter (small by Panerai standards), it looks bigger than most 39 mm watches because the dial is gigantic and the case is slab-thick.
The hands for the chronograph functions are painted red, and the seconds sub-dial has a white hand. The hour and minute hands are sword-shaped and have luminous material on them.
There's not a whole lot to say about the dial that can't be seen in the picture.
THE CASE
Thicker, please!
I love this case. It's big without being ridiculous, the crown is massive and solid, the back looks just as good as the front, and the finish is flawless.
If I could change anything about it, it would be to use a sapphire crystal on at least the front instead of mineral glass, because the crystal is freaking huge and the bezel doesn't protect it at all, so it's going to take some scratches eventually. An acrylic crystal would be OK too, because scratches can be polished out.
While I'm nitpicking, I'll add that I would not wear this in the shower (who the heck does that, anyway?) or submerge it. Rain and splashes should be fine. I'll wear my dive watch to go swimming.
THE STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET
Not bad for 40 bucks
What a nice surprise. On russiansouvenirs' website, this thing looks pretty crappy. In person, however, it's impressive. It has big, solid links and mates PERFECTLY to the case. It's also comfortable and doesn't pull hair - not that I'm that hairy anyway.
I actually prefer it to the stainless bracelet on my buddy's Rolex Submariner, which feels flimsy and light because of its hollow links.
The matte finish is holding up fine so far. It got a small scuff from some wood on Friday when I was breaking up a fight at the bar that I work at when I'm not at my other job or in school. It it ever gets scraped up badly, I'll just take my Dremel to it and give it a brushed finish.
Solid links - in your face, Rolex!
Signed clasp
THE MOVEMENT
The heart of the beast
CLICK FOR 1600x1200 PHOTO
Not much to complain about here.
This is Poljot's 3133 movement, based on the Valjoux 7734. It beats a leisurely 21600 times an hour, which should bode well for durablity. There is no jitter in the small seconds hand or the center sweep seconds hand of the chronograph.
As for the quality of the finish... it's not that bad. Considering the price of the watch, I'd say it's amazing. There are no marks on any of the screws. All machining is clean and free of rough edges. There is certainly no embellishment, but it has a look of solid, competent workmanship to it.
I haven't really had the opportunity to see how accurate it is, but right now it's about 20 seconds fast of the time I set it to 4 days ago. I'll see if that changes after it has been running for a while, but I'm very happy with that figure for now!
How durable is it? Only time will tell, but I hear these things can take a beating.
One problem is that the second hand on the chronograph usually jumps about 1/2 of a second when you start it. This doesn't seem to affect accuracy, as it just sits there until the movement catches up. I understand this is pretty common with modular chronograph movements. Also, it doesn't have a hacking feature on the seconds sub-dial, so it can't be synchronized exactly with a time signal.
For 169 bucks, I'd say those flaws are forgivable.
ON THE WRIST
White people look bad under fluorescent light
Sweet! It fits my 8" wrist nicely and doesn't bind or impede movement. So far, nobody's accused me of being a Communist for wearing a Russian watch. It hasn't attracted attention of any sort so far, actually. Other than the one buddy of mine who's into watches (he liked it a lot), the rest of the people I come into contact with in my daily life don't even know what a mechanical movement is, and consider a $75 watch to be extravagant. Oh well, greatness isn't always appreciated.
CONCLUSION
Nothing else I have bought lately has been this cool. For the price, I just can't really complain about much with this watch. Sure, a sapphire crystal would be nice, but at $221 shipped, with a stainless bracelet, a leather strap and a half-decent box, there's not much to criticize.
When I'm done engineering school and can afford something with more snob appeal, I'm sure I'll spring for a Swiss (or German) watch, but there's no way it will approach the price/performance ratio of this Poljot.
"The time is 9:15 AM"
I bought this watch on eBay for $169. It came on a black leather strap that has some kind of cheesy alligator print. Other than that, the strap is good, though. It's comfy and looks tough enough to last a long time. I requested a steel bracelet for an extra $40 (no extra shipping costs) because they're useful in hot weather. The steel bracelet looked kind of crappy from the pictures on their website, but I figured I might as well get it anyway.
It took about 9 days for shipping, and there were no import duties... nice! It was packaged very securely, with foam all around the inner box and tons of packing tape; good shipping for 12 dollars. I've worn it for four days, and here's what I think so far.
THE DIAL
It's not supposed to be pretty
Some of those crazy Cyrillic characters
It's kind of plain, but in a good way. It looks like what a pilot's watch should look like and is quite readable. Even though the watch is 39 mm in diameter (small by Panerai standards), it looks bigger than most 39 mm watches because the dial is gigantic and the case is slab-thick.
The hands for the chronograph functions are painted red, and the seconds sub-dial has a white hand. The hour and minute hands are sword-shaped and have luminous material on them.
There's not a whole lot to say about the dial that can't be seen in the picture.
THE CASE
Thicker, please!
I love this case. It's big without being ridiculous, the crown is massive and solid, the back looks just as good as the front, and the finish is flawless.
If I could change anything about it, it would be to use a sapphire crystal on at least the front instead of mineral glass, because the crystal is freaking huge and the bezel doesn't protect it at all, so it's going to take some scratches eventually. An acrylic crystal would be OK too, because scratches can be polished out.
While I'm nitpicking, I'll add that I would not wear this in the shower (who the heck does that, anyway?) or submerge it. Rain and splashes should be fine. I'll wear my dive watch to go swimming.
THE STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET
Not bad for 40 bucks
What a nice surprise. On russiansouvenirs' website, this thing looks pretty crappy. In person, however, it's impressive. It has big, solid links and mates PERFECTLY to the case. It's also comfortable and doesn't pull hair - not that I'm that hairy anyway.
I actually prefer it to the stainless bracelet on my buddy's Rolex Submariner, which feels flimsy and light because of its hollow links.
The matte finish is holding up fine so far. It got a small scuff from some wood on Friday when I was breaking up a fight at the bar that I work at when I'm not at my other job or in school. It it ever gets scraped up badly, I'll just take my Dremel to it and give it a brushed finish.
Solid links - in your face, Rolex!
Signed clasp
THE MOVEMENT
The heart of the beast
CLICK FOR 1600x1200 PHOTO
Not much to complain about here.
This is Poljot's 3133 movement, based on the Valjoux 7734. It beats a leisurely 21600 times an hour, which should bode well for durablity. There is no jitter in the small seconds hand or the center sweep seconds hand of the chronograph.
As for the quality of the finish... it's not that bad. Considering the price of the watch, I'd say it's amazing. There are no marks on any of the screws. All machining is clean and free of rough edges. There is certainly no embellishment, but it has a look of solid, competent workmanship to it.
I haven't really had the opportunity to see how accurate it is, but right now it's about 20 seconds fast of the time I set it to 4 days ago. I'll see if that changes after it has been running for a while, but I'm very happy with that figure for now!
How durable is it? Only time will tell, but I hear these things can take a beating.
One problem is that the second hand on the chronograph usually jumps about 1/2 of a second when you start it. This doesn't seem to affect accuracy, as it just sits there until the movement catches up. I understand this is pretty common with modular chronograph movements. Also, it doesn't have a hacking feature on the seconds sub-dial, so it can't be synchronized exactly with a time signal.
For 169 bucks, I'd say those flaws are forgivable.
ON THE WRIST
White people look bad under fluorescent light
Sweet! It fits my 8" wrist nicely and doesn't bind or impede movement. So far, nobody's accused me of being a Communist for wearing a Russian watch. It hasn't attracted attention of any sort so far, actually. Other than the one buddy of mine who's into watches (he liked it a lot), the rest of the people I come into contact with in my daily life don't even know what a mechanical movement is, and consider a $75 watch to be extravagant. Oh well, greatness isn't always appreciated.
CONCLUSION
Nothing else I have bought lately has been this cool. For the price, I just can't really complain about much with this watch. Sure, a sapphire crystal would be nice, but at $221 shipped, with a stainless bracelet, a leather strap and a half-decent box, there's not much to criticize.
When I'm done engineering school and can afford something with more snob appeal, I'm sure I'll spring for a Swiss (or German) watch, but there's no way it will approach the price/performance ratio of this Poljot.
