The Vostok Amphibia "Zizzou."
This arrived shortly before my birthday, this year, just before the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, I might add; and was actually sent from "Mother Russia," just short of the embargo. My smart-ass friends thought the "Zizzou" particularly appropriate, given my penchant for a few days of beard growth, at any given time, and a lifelong fondness for watch caps.
The "Амфибия" was strangely smaller than I had anticipated (at under 40 mm in diameter) though a bit more sophisticated than many other inexpensive watches on the market, in being self-winding. It keeps relatively good time, provided that it is constantly worn; though, setting the date was a bit of a joke that involves advancing the watch hands, for the calendar to spin. That took a little while.
The "crystal" is an odd, bulging acrylic bubble, set on a flat gasket, that is meant to compress with depth and tighten the seal; and from what I have heard, is effective, though it is only rated to 200 meters (which is just about the minimum depth rating to even be considered a dive watch). Most of my watches over the years were rated to 500 or even a 1000 meters. I did go diving with it, just for kicks, the other day, to about 35 meters, and it is still functioning -- yea.
The bezel, too, is a bit of an afterthought and more of a decoration, since it doesn't even possess numbers or ratchet at all, and far too easily moves in either direction -- design fail, there, comrade. The original bracelet was a loud, jangly p.o.s. and was immediately replaced by a nato band (no irony there) that I had hanging around . . .
