What do you look for when buying a watch? Beyond telling you the time, I have few requirements. What I do look for though is ruggedness, durability and ease of use. I have been testing out a watch from Russian watchmaker Vostok-Europe and I have been nothing short of blown away. Named after the fastest submarine ever built, this watch lives up to it's namesake. Waterproof down to 1000 feet, it will handle Mother Nature's worst.
Pictures don't do this thing justice. First of all the face is huge, at 48.5 millimeters it qualifies as monstrous, but in a good way. It's all titanium case is surprisingly light and tough as nails. The Seiko automatic movement inside keeps impeccable time and will never need a battery, EVER! The one directional rotating bezel is solid and smooth and is clearly marked for easy reading in low visibility situations. The screw down crown secures tightly and is easy to operate.
Beyond murky water, the Anchar literally shines at night. The tritium tubes at each hour location as well as on the hour and minute hands glow like they are plugged into a light socket. Tritium is actually a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which gives off light as it decays. It is completely safe, unless you were to crush up say 100 watches and eat them for dinner for the next year, in which case I'd say you have bigger issues.
It would be hard for many of us to drop serious coin on a watch that is just for "play time". This is where the Anchar redefines customizable. It comes in a Pelican style case, so you can take the whole package anywhere and keep it safe. Inside the bomber little box are two additional straps and two star bit wrenches for changing them out. Each watch comes with two silicone straps (mine are black and red, to match the face) plus a black leather strap with red contrast stitching. It takes me about 5 minutes to go from a board room savvy stunner to a world class diver, all right at my kitchen table. No stop at the jeweler for help... NICE!
The folks over at Russia2All are your best bet for getting your hands on one of these here in the U.S. They just teamed up with our buddies the Shasta Boyz for some more extreme testing as well. If these can survive a kayak ride off a waterfall, they can handle anything we're gonna throw at them.
Available at Russia2All for $649.00
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