Buran Special Edition Soviet Space Shuttle Quartz - A Cheap Watch But A Workhorse Nonetheless

In 1988, the Soviet Union built its own version of the space shuttle called “Buran”. Launched in the same year, it was its first and last flight. To commemorate the event, a quartz watch was made with the figure and name of the spacecraft on the dial complete with the colour of the Soviet Union.

The dimensions of this watch is approximately 38 mm wide and 40 mm long (lug to lug). It has a tonneau shape which does make it look handsome. The leather strap is in red and matches perfectly with the colour of the dial. Lug width is 20 mm.

As the watch is relatively old, a nice patina has developed on the casing as well as the dial. From the photo above, it does appear that the hands are lumed but due to age the chemicals have lost their power to retain the light energy.

The buckle on the strap is simple and elegant.

The crown is a simple push-in crown.

The case-back is is a snap-on and painted on it is the brand as well as the type of movement used as well as the water rating which in this case is stated at 3 ATM or 30 meters.

Using a generic Japanese quartz movement, this watch lay dormant for more than a decade. However, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, a simple change of the battery breath back life into the watch. In all honesty, I didn’t expect it to move. This goes to show the quality of Japanese quartz movements.

The case looks rough but considering it’s 25 years old and no TLC given since it was manufactured, it looks good for its age. The strap looks frayed and I need to replace that. Otherwise, a functioning watch.

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The first and only launch of the Buran space shuttle.

Battery

For this watch, the battery used is the SR626SW.

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