Soviet wristwatches are one of the highest quality in the world. They had high strength, and in terms of aesthetic properties they were not inferior to the best analogs from Western countries. Special attention has always been paid to the production of watches in the USSR; there are many models released in limited editions for certain events. These watches currently have a high collection value.
History of Soviet watches
At first, there were no good watch factories in the Soviet Union. All the owners of watch factories left the country after the revolution, so it took a long time to establish the production of high-quality chronographs. Diplomats negotiated with Swiss factories, but only the purchase of two bankrupt watch factories in the United States in 1929 helped to solve the problem. After that, watch factories appeared in the USSR.
In the 1930s, there were two watch factories in Moscow, they were called Plants of Precise Technical Stones, or TTK. TTK-1 was engaged in the production of watches and stones for the watch industry, and TTK-2 made electric watches for the industry and alarm clocks.
During the Great Patriotic War, watches were of the first importance for supporting combat operations. In Tatarstan, a watch factory "Chistopol" was opened on an emergency basis, which made watches especially for the military.
After the victory over Germany, the watch industry received special attention. A special mechanical watch K-26 "Pobeda" was produced. The first watch models, including "Pobeda", were personally approved by Stalin. For Pobeda, he reviewed and approved the design and specifications.
Anniversary watch
After the successful experience of producing watches dedicated to the victory in the war, Soviet watch factories began to make special watches after a variety of events. For example, very famous models on the space theme, such as "Shturmanskie-Gagarin", made in honor of the first flight into space, "Strela" - these watches were on the hand of Alexei Leonov and withstood being in outer space. The Poljot watches, which were made especially for pilots, have a very good reputation.
Certain watch models were produced in a strictly limited edition: "Strela" was produced only for the command staff of the Soviet flight forces.
Mechanism features
The so-called Soviet diving watch is a popular fake today. Watches are made in violation of technology, so they break under water. Sometimes modern products are even supplied with a fake registration certificate of 70-80 g.
The quality of Soviet watches was based on special technologies. For example, journal bearings, which are usually made of metal and therefore wear out quickly, were made using rubies in Soviet watches. The stones are practically not erased, therefore such watches are distinguished by special longevity. The more rubies there were in the watch mechanism, the longer it worked. Some of the older clocks still run fine. The highest quality mechanisms consisted of up to 30 rubies.
