Russian/Soviet Watches
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:40 am
I recently discovered the fascinating history of Russian watchmaking. I never thought that at one time, the USSR was a major producer of some of the best watches in the world, but they were. The history of these watches and the watches themselves are fascinating for many of the same reasons that Mosin-Nagant rifles are fascinating. I think many people here could find interest in Russian watches.
I won't recite the history the history of Russian watchmaking in detail here because it's just a quick internet search away if you want to read about it, but the gist of it is Russia had no real ability to make their own clocks or watches prior to the revolution. The new soviet government realized they needed timekeeping devices in order to build and run a modern industrial economy, so they bought a bankrupt U.S. watch factory and moved it's equipment, workers, and all, to Moscow. That factory was the seed that sprouted into several other watch factories that became a thriving industry after WWII which flourished until the hard economic times of the 1980's and 90's. However, most of the factories survived and are now finding new success.
Early Soviet watch movements were initially slightly reworked copies of French or Swiss designs, but the Soviets soon started tweaking, perfecting, and designing their own movements, many of which were truly world-class and easily rivaled Swiss movements for quality and precision. Soviet watches, like most Russian things, are known for rugged and simplistic reliability. They just work and never stop. They were not fancy...you won't often see automatic winding mechanisms or day/date functions. They were, for the most part, simple hand-wind movements in watches that just told the time and nothing else. But, the quality was all there and they had some nice style with neat, unique features. The watch companies within the Soviet system felt no desire to over-complicate, over-sell, gimmick, or falsely advertise their products. They are just good, solid, dependable watches.
I bought two that interested me from a reputable seller in Ukraine.
The best part is, I paid only about $100 each and they keep remarkably good time for mechanical movements. It'll take a few days of daily wearing and recording the data to get a good average, but so far I know for certain that both watches run within 30 seconds per day, possibly even half that. That is very good for anything but a chronometer grade movement.
I won't recite the history the history of Russian watchmaking in detail here because it's just a quick internet search away if you want to read about it, but the gist of it is Russia had no real ability to make their own clocks or watches prior to the revolution. The new soviet government realized they needed timekeeping devices in order to build and run a modern industrial economy, so they bought a bankrupt U.S. watch factory and moved it's equipment, workers, and all, to Moscow. That factory was the seed that sprouted into several other watch factories that became a thriving industry after WWII which flourished until the hard economic times of the 1980's and 90's. However, most of the factories survived and are now finding new success.
Early Soviet watch movements were initially slightly reworked copies of French or Swiss designs, but the Soviets soon started tweaking, perfecting, and designing their own movements, many of which were truly world-class and easily rivaled Swiss movements for quality and precision. Soviet watches, like most Russian things, are known for rugged and simplistic reliability. They just work and never stop. They were not fancy...you won't often see automatic winding mechanisms or day/date functions. They were, for the most part, simple hand-wind movements in watches that just told the time and nothing else. But, the quality was all there and they had some nice style with neat, unique features. The watch companies within the Soviet system felt no desire to over-complicate, over-sell, gimmick, or falsely advertise their products. They are just good, solid, dependable watches.
I bought two that interested me from a reputable seller in Ukraine.
The best part is, I paid only about $100 each and they keep remarkably good time for mechanical movements. It'll take a few days of daily wearing and recording the data to get a good average, but so far I know for certain that both watches run within 30 seconds per day, possibly even half that. That is very good for anything but a chronometer grade movement.