The Poljot reviewed here is a 'nostalgic reminder' rather than a replica of the Junghans
Fliegerchronograph of yesteryear. It uses a Russian version of the
Valjoux 7736, the kal 3133 for which the Russians bought the tooling from the
Swiss. Apparently the 3133 runs at 6 beats per second and not the 7736's
5 beats. It is hand wound. The watch was purchased from Daniel Schulthess in Zurich and he can be contacted at www.poljot.ch. The cost was $270 US and included delivery to the UK. The watch was packed in an imitation green croc skin box with the POLJOT logo inside the lid. Transparent plastic foils were attached to the face and back to protect from scratches. A 20mm black leather strap was fitted and this was immeditealy replaced with a black Hirsch 18mm strap. The lugs are set for 18mm strap. |
The CASE is completely stainless steel with a very well executed polish. The only satin finish
is on the rotating bezel around the dial and around the logo on the back.
The Case diameter across bezel is 38mm and thickness 13.5mm, with lug point
to lug point 46mm. The screw back carries the following Stamped / engraved
information : Poljot name and Logo WATER RESISTANT 5 ATM STAINLESS STEEL CASE Serial number The Bezel is not ratcheted and rotates either way. It is reasonably stiff to move.
Since this is not a dive watch then the bezel is not so critical. |
The Winding Crown is large and well knurled and the winding action is very smooth, with a loud ratchet
in the reverse and hardly any felt in the forward wind. The Chrono Pushers are quite heavy but very positive and the Reset button is well blocked against being used unless the Stop button is pressed first. |
The DIAL appears large at 32mm due to the slender bezel. It is very dark grey rather than
pure black due to the satin finish. The Seconds indices and markers are white as
are the subdial markings and logo. The Hour numerals are a pale green as are
the Hands impressed material. This is a 'lumibrite' type rather then
Tritium. The dark glow performance is not great, lasting for around 2 -
3 hours. The hands are difficult to see in the dark due to the fineness
of the impressed material. All the Hands are a polished silver and apart from the subdial hands, could benefit from being a little longer. The Date window is too small for my eyesight and is not magnified. The Date is fine black print on a white ground. All of this is behind a flat Mineral Glass which is very slightly below the inner rim of the Bezel. The Bezel is slightly dished, thus the glass is almost 1mm below the outer rim. |
The kal 3133 is a 30 minute chronograph with 23 jewels and is hand wound. The claimed reserve
is 40 hours (not verified here). The movement is unfinished in terms
of the cosmetics often applied to such work. The Balance is shock protected
and runs at 6 beats / second (not verified here). The case is well filled
with this movement and there is a very confident tick from behind the eleven o'clock
position. The positional performance has not been checked and the only data available so far is an loss of around 2 seconds in 48 hours worn constantly on wrist. Perhaps the camera/light angle flatters the image here as the metal work is a bit rough cosmetically - you could say a rugged expression behind which is an amazing mechanical device ! |
I am very impressed with this watch. I am told that it can be had cheaper elsewhere
but I still regard it as exceptional value. It sits high on the wrist and although not a large watch it shouts out 'here I am'. With strap it weighs about 80 grams and is thus quite a lightweight - deceptively. If you want a nostalgic example of watch history then this is it. |
Rev 2 |