FORTIS AND ROSCOSMOS
Fortis Official Cosmonaut Chronograph / Credit: Monochrome
While Americans get most of the glory when it comes to space watches (much like with the actual Space Race), the Russians also had a say.
Enter Poljot, the Russian watchmaker founded in the 1930s that manufactured the Poljot Strela. The Strela was standard issue for Russian cosmonauts in the 1960s, and became the first watch worn in space when Alexei Leonov wore it for his famous space walk on June 12th, 1965.
Russian Cosmonaut Anna Kikina / Credit: NDTV
Then there was Fortis, the Swiss watchmaker founded in 1912 by Walter Vogt. Fortis originally made its first space dedicated timepiece, the Spacematic AR, for NASA’s Gemini missions from 1961 to 1966, but eventually shifted its focus to the Soviet Union in 1994 when they became the official supplier of Roscosmos. Their watch was designated the official training watch of the Star City Training Center and as basic equipment for cosmonauts. Fortis also supplied the Official Cosmonaut Chronograph to the Soyuz TM-19 mission crew, who wore it on the Mir space station, and supplied watches for subsequent missions, like the Euromir series in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
It just goes to show that Russian watchmaking history is surprisingly rich. It includes massive Soviet-era watch factories, Russian cosmonaut equipment, and even the first watch worn in space.
By: Andres Ibarguen