Mitka and I like to surprise each other with the odd watch here and there, and Mitka had something special in stock for me – a Russian Wolna calibre 2809. Probably one of the finest watches made in the USSR.
It’s a copy of the Zenith 135 movement, but with a couple of differences. A communist watches doesn’t need decorations, so those were left out, but it has the added feature of a central second hand instead of a sub-second hand. I’ll trade that any day!A tidy little movement, with a capped escape, fourth and third wheeel! 22 jewels and none less, and 5 stars on the click wheel. A serial number to top the list of features, and a regulator that is pretty funky!
A nice dial with a waffle structure on the outside dial, and stripes inside. The “4” is almost Bauhaus, and right up my street.
The bottom plate. I guess the scratchy surface counts as decoration π Note that only the escape wheel has a cap jewel on the bottom plate, but the fourth and third wheel don’t, even though they are capped on the top plate. I never knew that there was communist showmanship π
A lovely movement!Β Ouch – the barrel bridge is worn, and somebody has just punched marks into it on one side. This is where we scratch our heads in the workshop, and feel a bit ashamed for our colleagues. This isn’t a repair, but a monumental bodge.
When punching those marks, they didn’t even bother to support the bridge – they just bent the whole thing downwards.
The little intermediate setting wheel was put in the wrong way.
To repair the damage on the barrel bridge, I first have to reshape it and get the bend out of it.
Then I can fit a new bush and broach it to size.
The movement is put back together after cleaning, starting with the balance jewels.
Now I put in the gear train. Note the caps on the escape, fourth and third wheel.
Those stars on the click wheel need a bit of glory added! In the true spirit of the watch, only one colour can do the trick, and that has to be red!
Humbrol is my friend, and a nice communist red gives the wheel the extra touch.
The movement is coming back together.
Performance isn’t bad at all, but positional variation doesn’t make me jump with joy – a good 25s between positions…. This isn’t because the watch was badly made, but because various generations of repairers have added balance screw washers, filed off bits here and there, and generally made a huge mess of the poising of the balance. When I reach my retirement, I’ll get the watch out again, and spend 4 hours getting the poising right π
The bottom plate is back together.
A new winding stem rounds up my work.
Yes, I absolutely love those red stars!
With a new crystal, the watch is looking pretty good indeed. My guess is that this is one to collect, as Russian collectors will wake up to the fact that this is one of the best communist era movements, and a good looking watch on top! At 1/20 of the price of the Zenith original, that only has a sub-second hand…
I have a 2809 I am getting back together. I need a new winding stem. I see that you got a new one. Could you tell me where you got it?
I am in the USA and have not found anybody on this side of the pond that has one. Yeah, I know I am kinda late to the show here.
I got mine off ebay at the time.
Could you please tell me the lift angle for the 2809 movement?
Thank you for the wonderful post! I also have found one 2809, literally from my inherited stuff box and was really excited, when I found out what it is. Sadly it needs some work. Besides not going, it is also missing seconds hand and crystal. What type of crystal did you use? Was it a normal dome or a high dome acrylic? Where do you find hands (or winding stem in your case) for those movements? Thank you in advance.
Hi there,
Probably a high-dome. You can find generic hands at cousinsuk.com.
Best regards,
Christian
Good article, as always.
However, I really can’t understand why you start talking about relative prices and
“original” Zenith.
You never had a 135 in your hands did you?
The Zenith simply belongs to a different level.
As with other russian machines, Vostok chose for more loose movement on wheels, and “corrected” that with convex jewels.
Far, far away in precision from the Zenith, sorry.
As with Rolex 1530/70, etc, I prefer steel bushing for the barrel.
The red stars are a very nice touch.
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Nice to see another Soviet watch on here!
Fascinating I have one of these in my collection, thanks for sharing.
Wow, very cool! I imagine the added time to photograph and document the repairs you guys post is substantial!
Thank you for the time and effort,
Dan B.
this movement with the dial reading wostok precision was chronometer grade back then.movement was gold colour and better finished
A little soundtrack for those who are reading this blogpost;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06jlgpMtQs
Love the red stars.
What would be the thinking (not reasoning) for punching the marks into the barrel bridge?
The bridge was worn out, resulting in the barrel touching the plate and bridge, which in the end prevents the movement from working. These punch marks are all to often the “solution”, as it’s cheap and fast to do, and the customer never finds out (unless he gets a complete photo record of the repair as you get here). You save yourself the half an hour that re-bushing takes, and sleep less well at night.
…my hypothesis would be to ‘drive’ metal back toward the worn out bore for the barrel arbour?