How Waterproof is Vostok Amfibia Dive Watch? Deep Sea Chamber test!

How deep can you really dive with a soviet Vostok Amfibia dive watch from Amazon? How about oil filled quartz watch send by our viewer? We are going to use our deep sea / pressure chamber and test two diver's watch for their maximum depth / pressure! Our deep sea chamber goes all the way to 300 bars that equals 3 kilometers or 2 miles of depth so we can simulate conditions on bottom of the ocean in this experiment.

[Beyondthepress]

It's the exactly same classic Vostok model seen on the video made by the official supplier of the Defense Department of the Soviet Union and modern Russian Army.

[jantschierschky]

Good to know there is a watch for my next 3000m free dive

[Junior-rwjm]

800 Meters for an $80 Dive Watch rated for 200 meters is pretty good 💯🤘🏽

[villepulkkinen]

This test changed my life. Pulsar is the way to go! No more broken watches when free diving to beyond 2000 meters! Thank you Lauri & Anni :D

[johnreese]

Deeper groove at 2 miles

Nice reference

[BeardyBaldyBob]

I have to admit, if I ever found myself 3000m under the ocean, I'm pretty sure my main concern wouldn't be, "Shit, I hope my watch is OK!" 😳😂

[WoodworkerDon]

The slow propagation of the cracks in the Lucite plastic "crystal" was weirdly, and almost organically, beautiful.

[microwaveoven]

Back in the 70's, while most diving watches used brute structural strength to counter the increased water pressure of deep diving, this Russian creation was famous for using the water pressure itself as a mechanism for sealing the watch the deeper you sank.

[theflyingsloth]

I have exactly that Vostok watch and I love the thing, considering getting a new bezel but other than that, I love that it's not pretty and it just does what it promises. They make no claims about exotic materials or finishing and the claims they do make are more than backed up by real world tests. Love Vostok watches, really.

[dyingbreed]

As a watch collector this was a great intersection of two of my favorite YouTube subjects. Watches and things being crushed via hydraulic press by the Finnish

[jamesharding]

I think Vostok needs to change its slogan to “It does what we say it does. And then some.”

[Alias_Anybody]

It basically confirmed what we suspected: The Amphibia is amazing and punches far above its weight, well and you basically can't kill a well made oil filled watch.

[DALapygin]

Vostok watch from test - this is new design of old model. Designed in Russia after 2007. Base model was created in USSR at 1967 by order of USSR Military Navy. First name is НВЧ-30 - (naruchniye vodolaznyye chasy) - handheld watch for deep diver and waterproof by 300 meter (approved in tryouts and have military quality control "5"). At 1975 one of modification was used in USSR space research program as base model for spacewalking (work outside ship).

[havvacuppa]

You have no idea how long I've wanted somebody to do this, I've not even watched the video yet but THANK YOU!!!

[adrianshephard]

The reason why Pulsar is doing much better is because essentially the quartz movement is just so smaller and there is a lot of room around the casing before it can reach the movement, however Amphibia is an mechanical-automatic watch. It's fairly packed inside the case and the mechanical watch is way more sensitive compared to electronic movements. And that's the reason why we love Amphibia. You get a nice watch with some real achievements for a fraction of the price. If that isn't a steal I don't know what IS.

[inglebybhoy]

I’m a big Amphibia fanboy and I’ve waited a long time for this. I think it put on a great show. Innovative engineering back in the 1960s and still admirable in the 2010s. Brilliant design. Seeing the crystal deform like that was just great.
The oil filled watch was interesting, but it really isn’t a practical mod for a watch. Though the principle works so well. Thanks!

[Landini]

I’ve got two Vostok watches that I’ve had since the mid 90s. They’ve been tough reliable watches that keep great time. I really like mine. It nice to know just how tough they are!

[ironspike]

No Sovjet Engineer has been harmed after this test - as the watch didnt fail its specs😂

[anderskohkoinen]

Kiitos! Very interesting!

Failure point seems to be the caseback, it bent inwards pressing the movement forward against the crystal. The watch stopped running just when the second hand hub jammed into the center of the lucite crystal (The hub looked light red compared to the rest of the second hand when it contacted).

I think that the fracture pattern of the crystal indicates that it cracked from the inside out - the failing caseback pushed the watch innards into the lucite, cracking it. I think that the easy fix of making the caseback thicker would have had the watch happily ticking along much deeper. Nothing else in the design failed - no water ingress because of failing seals etc.

[oldhand]

Thank you! Vostok - is the best! Respect from Russia! Thank you for learning of our legendary Vostok watch. Many interesting technical solutions are used in this watch (if you are interested, see my review in Russian). Sometimes the quality is not the best. But it mostly refers to the build quality. For example, before using in water, it is sometimes necessary to check that the back cover is fully screwed on. At this price, there is no other fully manufactured watch with its glorious history and original designs on the world market!