191

191-ЧС ВМФ Водолазом/Navy Diver: A Milestone in Russian Horology

The Златоустовский Часы Завод/Zlatoustovski Watch Factory (ЗЧЗ), in Zlatousт,

Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, was created from the industrial awakening of the Soviet

Union. The city of Zlatoust was founded in 1754 in support of the ironworks plant

located near the Ay River, 160 kilometers west of Chelyabinsk. By the early 19th

century, Zlatoust was known for it's production of bulat steel sabers carried by cavalry

and military officers of all Imperial services, as well as the earliest steel cannon's and

artillery indigenously produced for the Imperial Army.

The Soviets gained control over Zlatoust in 1918, and transformed the city into a center

for metallurgy, mechanical engineering, tool-making, and other industries. Because of it's

industrial prowess, Zlatoust became the site of the relocated First Moscow Watch Factory

(1МЧЗ) in 1941. After the 1МЧЗ moved back to Moscow in 1943, the Zlatoustovski

Watch Factory continued production of Type-1 based wrist and pocket watches.

Beginning sometime in the 1950's (and ending sometime in the 1960's), production began

on the Водолаз/Vodolaz (Diver) - also known as the Тритон/Triton (Merman).

Commissioned by the Special Design Bureau of Timing Mechanisms, which was

established for the development of new designs of special instruments of time, program

time and other devices, the Triton was the preliminary dive watch produced in the Soviet

Union, and used exclusively by hard hat divers.

With a diameter of 60mm and height of 20mm, the piece is very large and meant to be

worn outside a pressurized divers suit, as shown in the image below:

The watch is very stark and plainly configured with a textured black dial with luminous

numbers and markers. The "Cathedral" hands were also luminous. Early versions used

radium paint, but in the 1960's, tritium was used.

This is one of the earliest Triton, and has been dated to the fourth quarter of 1955. The

radium painted Cathedral hands are in two segment form:

This original design was slightly revised, probably during or immediately after 1958, to

the more familiar three segment hands as seen below:

The heavy 260g one-piece stainless steel case was mated to a screw-down bezel which

holds the crystal sandwiched between rubber gaskets:

Because of this top-loading case design, the dial is affixed to the movement from the top,

rather than from the underside of the top plate (two screws just above the 10 and 4 hour

markers). Likewise, the winding stem retaining screw is accessed from the dial side via

an access hole below the three-o'clock position:

A gasketed canteen-style screw-down crown cover is employed to ensure pressure

integrity at depth. Several variations exist, including the gasket systems employed as seen

in these two variations below:

The only marking on the case will be the serial number, which on original pieces is

stamped on the case back, generally perpendicular to the winding stem. Here is the 1955

casing which shows the very low serial number, as well as the deeply angled case back

bevel:

On this rare variation, the case back bevel is very slightly milled in a curved profile, with

the serial number stamped in-line with the crown. Also of particular interest is the use of

very course threads on the collar. This case also uses a different sealing system in the

crown collar and may represent an intermediate production - and is quite possibly a

design prototype:

On this post-1958 revision, the case back beveling is again turned in a more rounded

profile, but at a deeper angled inset reminiscent of the 1955 case back above:

Movement

The movement for these pieces was based on the tried and true 15-jewel Type-1

movement made famous by the 1МЧЗ, but produced at Zlatoust, and bears the "ЗЧЗ"

factory symbol on the train bridge/bottom plate. Updated with a mono-metallic balance

wheel, Bregeut overcoil and brass wheel train, the 191-ЧС is a very robust and accurate

movement.

1955 191-ЧС:

1955 191-ЧС with keyless works and motion works visible:

Later in the production cycle, the 191-ЧС was slightly revised to include a unified escape

wheel/fourth wheel cock:

Dive Kit The Triton was issued along with several other pieces of equipment necessary for hard

hat diving; the diver's kit included an underwater compass, a depth gauge, and a knife and

scabbard (not shown):

The Г-5 depth gauge is capable of measuring up to 50m:

The КНМ compass has a small air bubble to prevent pressure mounting when in use. The

bubble is also used to level the compass by directing the bubble to the circle drawn on the

top of the compass:

Reissues, Fakes, and Frauds Because of it's massive proportions, it's military pedigree, and its relative rarity in the

marketplace, it has become not only a desired addition to any collection, but the subject

of myth and legend.

It has also become the subject of many homages, fakes, and frauds.

Unlike these various fakes, frauds and homage pieces, the originals were never adorned

with:

• A metal grill

• Markings on the dial, such as logos, frogmen, or inscriptions

• A second hand, either central or at 9 o'clock

• Any case back embossing/bas-relief or etching apart from the stamped serial

number, which is generally perpendicular to the crown

• A chrome plated brass case

It appears that at some point, the Zlatoust factory produced "tourist" pieces for sale.

These are very close to the originals, having been produced on the same equipment as the

originals, but lacked the stainless steel case in favor of chrome-plated brass. These

factory "reissues" usually contained a Молния or Агат movement, but are otherwise

faithful reproductions, and are typically accompanied by documentation indicating

manufacture in 1976.

Later tourist pieces became more derivative, adding the aforementioned grills,

inscriptions, and case embellishments.

A number of "Russian Divers" have made their way into the market from Invicta. These

are usually smaller than the originals (and other fakes), and are configured with different

complications not found in the original.

One of the more interesting aspects of the Invicta "Russian Diver", is the claimed

pedigree of the line. It has been claimed by Invicta (and promoted by those with a vested

interest in Invicta sales), that it was in fact Invicta that originally produce the watch at the

request of the Soviet Union in 1959.

After some poking and prodding, Invicta supporters now claim that the watches were

indeed originally produced by the Zlatoust factory in the Soviet Union, but that "the

Russian Navy came to Invicta and asked them to make a Swiss Made version (the first

non-Russian version) of their existing Russian Diver design. Invicta did, and only made

100 to be given by the Russian government to the officers exclusively."

While this is a slightly more believable story, it has - like its predecessor, no supporting

evidence.

There are no published bills of purchase/manifests for ebauches from Unitas (a

movement supplier for Invicta at that time), no export documentation from Switzerland to

the USSR, no purchase orders, no evidence of importation, no list of serial numbers, no

manufacturing dates, no original images of the watches, no cost estimates or figures from

the production run, and most ominously, no examples in any private collection to date.

There are no examples of an original Invicta Russian Diver extant anywhere outside the

one "family heirloom" passed down to Invicta CEO Eyal Lalo from his grandmother that

is claimed as "proof" that Invicta did indeed produce these watches for the Soviet Navy in

1959. The image below shows the alleged "1959 Invicta Russian Diver" on ShopNBC

during a sales pitch by Eyal Lalo, in a blatant effort to give much-needed credibility to

his line of fake Russian watches:

The watch is of course a modern "tourist" piece.

Close examination reveals that the mounting screws for the dial are located just above the

2, and just below the 8, contrary to the legitimate pieces. In fact, the watch shown above

is like this one, available on eBay regularly:

Lucidor, roo7, and [k] collaborated on this article