Vostok Rocket N1

Vostok. Vostok Station is a Russian research station located near the South Pole, at the center of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Vostok-Europe is a Russian watchmaker which builds mechanical automatic watches. Maybe in tribute to the Vostok Station, many of the Vostok watches have a GMT function or day night indicator. That is a pretty useful function to have in the South Pole, where often the sun is down the whole day, and on other days, well it just does not set.

Vostok Rocket N1. The Vostok Rocket N1 is a dual time watch named after the former Soviet Unions N1 Rocket. This was the worlds largest rocket. The Rocket N1 is not the largest watch in the world, but its 42mm diameter case is fairly hefty. The Rocket N1 is the pro typical GMT watch, with four hand, a 12-hour hand, minute hand, seconds hand and a 24-hour hand. It has a rotating bezel is marked 1 to 24, which is used in conjunction with the 24-hour. The 24-hour hand can be set independently of the 12-hour hand. The watch also features a date display at the 6 o'clock position.

The watch is available in fourteen different configurations, including an all stainless steel, stainless steel with a leather strap, or black PVD covered with a choice of a black bracelet or leather strap. Fit and finish was very good. My only gripe was the clasp on the leather bracelet was thin and the edge felt sharp. Not enough to cut skin or anything, but maybe something Vostok-Europe can address in the future.

Movement. The Rocket N1 is powered by a Vostok 2426 movement, which produces an odd, but unimpressive 19800 vibrations per hour. Still the seconds hand moves in a reasonably smooth manner. The power reserve at 31 hours is a bit below par and the promised -10 to +30 seconds per day mean daily rate is below par. The movement, which is surprisingly attractive, is visible through a mineral glass clear case back. All in all, for a watch with a manufacturers suggested retail price of US$275 to US$335, it is a good deal and makes for a pretty good poor mans Rolex GMT.

Limited Edition? When you buy a Vostok watch, the dealer will tell you each Vostok watch is individually numbered and a limited edition. At the back of the watch you will find a engraving telling you it is one of 3,000 watches. What I could not clarify was whether the entire Rocket N1 was limited to a run of 3,000 watches or wether there were 3,000 watches of each configuration, meaning that the Vostok Rocket N1's production will be limited to 42,000 watches. Either way, it does not matter much to me. It is a very good watch for the price.