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No, this watch is not really called “Aviator Mamba”. That is the name I gave it after taking this picture. This watch’s real name is a much more mundane “Aviator 2623/1225556-45” which is really too bad considering how beautiful this watch really is. In particular, the soft but clear contrast of the green markings and the white dial is both extremely clear and very pleasant. The super-luminova on this watch might well be the largest and brightest I have ever seen on any watch. The overall “readability” of the dial is outstanding in both day and night (the watch’s 45mm size definitely helps here).
The mechanism inside this watch is the highly dependable Poljot 2623 (Antishock. Frequency: 21600 vph. Daily rate from -20 to +40 s/day. Power reserve minimum: 40 h). One special feature of this model is the small magnifying glass which makes the date easily readable. The overall “feel” of this watch is one of strength, power and elegance, hence my choice of a Green Mamba as its model (I could never have taken a close-up picture of this extremely dangerous snake without the help of my friend Carl Barden, Director of the Medtoxin Venom Laboratories and the absolutely amazing Reptile Discovery Center in Deland, FL. Thanks Carl!). This “Aviator Mamba” is both so functional and elegant that it can be worn on any occasion and I have made it my everyday carry (EDC) watch. |
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| This was my first Russian, as opposed to pre-1991 “Soviet”, watch. As in the case of the Aviator Military, this watch has an extremely well designed dial. The main difference between these two watches is that this one has all the hours indicated, but only 6, 12, 18 and 24 are in large markings. For somebody already used to 24 hour dials this is probably the best dial imaginable, but for a newcomer to these watches the more conventional dial of the Aviator Military would probably be easier to read. The contrast between the black PVD case and dial, the bright white markings and the red seconds hand creates a very powerful contrast and a highly readable and, frankly, beautiful watch. I should add that the super luminova on these bright white markings on this watch are absolutely as strong as the yellow-greenish ones on the Aviator Military. |
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| Keeping up with the latest trends, Volmax has built this Aviator model in a large, 45mm, size. The watch is pleasantly heavy and large and comes with a one of the best leather straps I have ever seen. The design of this watch is very original: each number on the dial is surrounded by a small transparent but reflective square which, from a little distance, is supposed to look like the carburetors around the engines of early 19th century airplanes. Well, I am not sure that this is what one would immediately see, but the result is extremely original. The other, frankly counter-intuitive, feature of this watch is that while the hour hand is shorter than the minute hand, the minute scale is inside the hour scale. So you have to project the axis of the hours across the minute scale to read the hours, but you have to estimate which minute the minute hand is covering. This is a little strange and the opposite of the layout of most 24 hour watches. This is a “you hate it or you love it” watch. When I first got it, I frankly pretty much hated it. But after a while getting used to this highly original design, I ended up liking it a lot, in fact. |
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| This Aviator model has what is arguably the best dial ever designed for any 24 hours watch: it is simple, highly functional, uncluttered and very easily readable. The Swiss watchmaker Fortis made a similar watch, the Flieger, but with a poorer dial design. Keep in mind that the basic Flieger costs about 800 dollars, the same watch with a PVD case cost about 1’800 dollars while the PVD version of this Aviator only costs about 220 dollars. That is just one example of the stunning value you get with Russian watches. The watch comes with an excellent quality leather strap, but it would probably also look very good with a metal PVD bracelet. It is rated at 5ATM of water resistance. The super-luninova hand and dial marks are very bright and are well visible even after 8 hours. All in all, a truly exceptional watch. |  |
