Every watch has a story: This story dates back to November 1989 shortly after the wall came down and the two Germanys were united.
In the following months of November 1989 when the former East German "Democratic Republic" deteriorated at a dramatic pace, in (former East-) Berlin the Russian soldiers sold their equipment to get convertible currency. Guns in the backyard, uniforms and equipment in yard sales and flea markets. Being a soldier myself at that time it was quite peculiar to see the Russian soldiers selling their stuff to the arch enemy. They even sold night vision goggles - amazing stuff.
I was in Berlin at that time in November and bought three watches from Russian soldiers. One quartz, one windup (submarine commander) and one automatic (KGB). I could still kick my butt that I only bought three, but at that time I was young and needed the money (still need the money, though). IIRC they cost me about 10-20 DM each. Today it may not seem much, since that is roughly 5-10 Euro but the buying power of the Deutsche Mark was way better in the late 80ies. To the Russians it was obscenely much money.
This one is a quartz watch. The soldier claimed that this watch he'd been given as a reward for good services in the army. It has the crown at 5 which I found very unusual at that time. Bezel is fully unidirectional. It is 40mm wide, about 10mm high. No lume. Bezel insert looks like resin. The bracelet is very cheap and flimsy, you'd nearly expect that of a USSR watch. The dictionary calls the material "sheet of iron" but this feels so flimsy, the tin of a pea soup can is way thicker than that. The clasp is quite unusual, it is embossed with a moon and several stars (top left) and that peculiar russian sun bird (to the right).
I may have to add that I also bought a bright red army T-Shirt with CCCP on it in fat yellow type on the chest that went well along with the watch. However I didn't wear that watch (or even combo) often because I received a lot of negative feedback. People thought I wanted to make a statement - and politically I am rather the opposite. Talk about being too naive but actually I just liked the colors.
I presume the watch isn't really worth a lot. But to me it is quite special.
Thank you for reading.
In the following months of November 1989 when the former East German "Democratic Republic" deteriorated at a dramatic pace, in (former East-) Berlin the Russian soldiers sold their equipment to get convertible currency. Guns in the backyard, uniforms and equipment in yard sales and flea markets. Being a soldier myself at that time it was quite peculiar to see the Russian soldiers selling their stuff to the arch enemy. They even sold night vision goggles - amazing stuff.
I was in Berlin at that time in November and bought three watches from Russian soldiers. One quartz, one windup (submarine commander) and one automatic (KGB). I could still kick my butt that I only bought three, but at that time I was young and needed the money (still need the money, though). IIRC they cost me about 10-20 DM each. Today it may not seem much, since that is roughly 5-10 Euro but the buying power of the Deutsche Mark was way better in the late 80ies. To the Russians it was obscenely much money.
This one is a quartz watch. The soldier claimed that this watch he'd been given as a reward for good services in the army. It has the crown at 5 which I found very unusual at that time. Bezel is fully unidirectional. It is 40mm wide, about 10mm high. No lume. Bezel insert looks like resin. The bracelet is very cheap and flimsy, you'd nearly expect that of a USSR watch. The dictionary calls the material "sheet of iron" but this feels so flimsy, the tin of a pea soup can is way thicker than that. The clasp is quite unusual, it is embossed with a moon and several stars (top left) and that peculiar russian sun bird (to the right).
I may have to add that I also bought a bright red army T-Shirt with CCCP on it in fat yellow type on the chest that went well along with the watch. However I didn't wear that watch (or even combo) often because I received a lot of negative feedback. People thought I wanted to make a statement - and politically I am rather the opposite. Talk about being too naive but actually I just liked the colors.
I presume the watch isn't really worth a lot. But to me it is quite special.
Thank you for reading.
