One more revived affordable watch in my collection: a "tropicalized" (plastic sealed case) GDR-made "Ruhla" with UMF cal. 24-32 winding movement and a diver-style timing bezel. It was sitting forgotten in my old book storage cupboard for at least fifteen years, without bracelet, wrapped in a zip-lock bag with some silicagel, presumed broken, its stem and crown detached. After sorting out that minor issue, a couple of turns of the crown were enough to kick-start this old piece of Socialist machinery - what a surprise it was!
Web search didn't turn up with any specific year(s) of manufacture for this Ruhla model and - having a running and pretty accurate watch - I'm not willing to risk taking the movement out just to look for a week-year imprint or some tell-tale variations in the components. According to available sources, this simple movement was produced in tens of millions all the way from late 1960's to the late 1980's!
Knowing the watch has been used for some time, I've decided to get it serviced before it enters into my daily rotation, but very soon I ran into a brick wall: two experienced Belgrade (precisely Zemun) watchmakers declined to even take a look at the watch! The younger watchmaker made a jocular but close-to-truth remark about Tropicas back then being low-end watches sold at retail counters in East German stores literally side-by-side with sweets, razor blades and cigarette lighters, designed as a kind of Communist bloc predecessors to Swatch: maintenance-free, cheap, disposable units with movement plates riveted together... So at this moment I'm in doubt whether it's technically possible to take apart this pin-pallet movement for a maintenance, though there are some forum posts and seller ads on the Web claiming that regular servicing had been performed on UMF cal. 24...
If those claims are true, I've just fallen another victim to a "Swissophiliac xenophobe" mindset, apparently still going strong with watchmakers well into the 21st century (bizarrely, this is happening in a poor Southeast European country with an insignificant timepiece market and virtually non-existent educated watch collector community)... Similar thing happened to me last year when an idle New Belgrade watchmaker refused to take in my early 1960's Start for servicing, proudly replying that "he doesn't do Russian watches". I kindly apologized although he had nothing else to do but sit in front of his 70's-time-capsule shop, having a coffee and a chat with a fellow old-timer, probably daydreaming about some owner of a vintage Omega or Rolex chronograph dropping by... Of course I took my Start to another experienced watchmaker who was more than willing to do servicing and a minor repair on a Gagarin-era 2602 movement. This altogether is a long story and today I have a new toy on my desk - I'm getting get back to the main topic...
So after a decade and a half of sitting in a cupboard my Tropica still works and keeps fairly good time for a basic pin-pallet "dollar watch". Still it can't reach its full specified power reserve (28hrs), which is I guess due to wear and lack of maintenance. It also has poor isochronism (it usually runs slightly faster when fully wound and starts to lag behind when the mainspring becomes loose) but still averages under 30 secs/day, which isn't much when you learn that Ruhla's factory spec for this movement allowed +240/-120 seconds per day in normal operating conditions!
Web search didn't turn up with any specific year(s) of manufacture for this Ruhla model and - having a running and pretty accurate watch - I'm not willing to risk taking the movement out just to look for a week-year imprint or some tell-tale variations in the components. According to available sources, this simple movement was produced in tens of millions all the way from late 1960's to the late 1980's!
Knowing the watch has been used for some time, I've decided to get it serviced before it enters into my daily rotation, but very soon I ran into a brick wall: two experienced Belgrade (precisely Zemun) watchmakers declined to even take a look at the watch! The younger watchmaker made a jocular but close-to-truth remark about Tropicas back then being low-end watches sold at retail counters in East German stores literally side-by-side with sweets, razor blades and cigarette lighters, designed as a kind of Communist bloc predecessors to Swatch: maintenance-free, cheap, disposable units with movement plates riveted together... So at this moment I'm in doubt whether it's technically possible to take apart this pin-pallet movement for a maintenance, though there are some forum posts and seller ads on the Web claiming that regular servicing had been performed on UMF cal. 24...
If those claims are true, I've just fallen another victim to a "Swissophiliac xenophobe" mindset, apparently still going strong with watchmakers well into the 21st century (bizarrely, this is happening in a poor Southeast European country with an insignificant timepiece market and virtually non-existent educated watch collector community)... Similar thing happened to me last year when an idle New Belgrade watchmaker refused to take in my early 1960's Start for servicing, proudly replying that "he doesn't do Russian watches". I kindly apologized although he had nothing else to do but sit in front of his 70's-time-capsule shop, having a coffee and a chat with a fellow old-timer, probably daydreaming about some owner of a vintage Omega or Rolex chronograph dropping by... Of course I took my Start to another experienced watchmaker who was more than willing to do servicing and a minor repair on a Gagarin-era 2602 movement. This altogether is a long story and today I have a new toy on my desk - I'm getting get back to the main topic...
So after a decade and a half of sitting in a cupboard my Tropica still works and keeps fairly good time for a basic pin-pallet "dollar watch". Still it can't reach its full specified power reserve (28hrs), which is I guess due to wear and lack of maintenance. It also has poor isochronism (it usually runs slightly faster when fully wound and starts to lag behind when the mainspring becomes loose) but still averages under 30 secs/day, which isn't much when you learn that Ruhla's factory spec for this movement allowed +240/-120 seconds per day in normal operating conditions!
Tropica is bulky and sits rather high on the wrist, thanks to its massive plastic case and this NATO strap adds a couple of milimeters (the movement measures just 24x6 mm). I used to wear my other Tropica on its OEM perforated rally-style black resin strap which looked very cool indeed but inevitably deteriorated with age, became rigid and eventually cracked, so I had to replace it. Crystal (acrylic glass) is 31.5mm wide, slightly curved and sticking out of the bezel ring. There were some minor scuffs that were easy to buff out. Lug width is exactly 20mm.
Bezel ring ratcheting mechanism doesn't work (if there was any at all on this model) yet the ring can turn freely. Although misleadingly labelled as "waterprotected", Tropica isn't water resistant at all - not even splash-proof! I remember the occasional fogging isues with the other Tropica I had and - having taken it apart some years ago - I also know that water ingress is possible through the gap around the crystal and through the case tube: simply there are NO gaskets there! Sweat can do it no harm, but it's best to keep it away from rain and splashing water - hand washing included.
I'm not sure if this version was called "Glider" but from the images on the Web I've learned that there was also a "Hunter" (green case with imprint of a wild boar), a "Sailor" (blue case with a shark - or possibly a boat..?!) and many other similar variants.
Mysterious white plastic plug on the back of this Tropica hides a screw which - when partially loosened - permits the stem/crown to be detached in order to remove the movement. Movement removal is performed through the front of the watch, after the bezel ring is pryed off and crystal removed. There was also a version of Tropica having no release screw but a two-piece "snap stem" which had to be pulled out using some consistent (but considerable) force.
Classic Bond looks: a simple under-watch type strap (formerly 20mm NATO, modded by removing safety strap and two keeper rings). A gentle rub of silicone oil gives extra gloss and protection to the case. And since it's summer season, I've sealed the back plug with a dab of silicone grease to ensure full protection against sweat.
Tropica shown on YT video - note the loud ticking and a rough ratcheting noise while winding - nevertheless this is not the loudest mechanical watch that I own: vintage "Start" cal. 2602 (circa 1960) totally steals the thunder!
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