THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST MOSCOW WATCH FACTORY
turmanskie Gagarin Retro by Poljot / Credit: Poljot24.de
When people think Russian watches, the mind often turns to Yuri Gagarin and the Sturmanskie he had on when he became the first person in space. That or Fortis’ Official Cosmonaut Chronograph. Little is it known that Russia, like East Germany, had a nationalized watchmaking company in the 20th century. However, Russia’s First Moscow Watch Factory existed as early as 1930. And yes, Stalin had a hand in its inception.
The First Moscow Watch Factory was developed as part of the Soviet Union’s first 5-year plan. As with many things in Soviet Russia, just because the resolution was passed does not exactly mean that it was followed. In fact, it took 3 years since the resolution was passed in 1927 for the plant to enter into operations. The factory quickly became productive, releasing cockpit watches for pilots, stopwatches, pocket watches and wristwatches; producing nearly 3 million by 1941. The factory produced watches for government employees, including the army and was supplied with equipment by the acquisition of Dueber-Hampden, an American watch company.
In 1946, after WWII, the well-known ‘Victory’ was released, a watch whose name and design were personally approved by Stalin. Three years later, the First Moscow Watch Factory started to produce ‘Sturmanskie’ branded watches, the very same that Comrade Gagarin wore on his first flight in space in 1961. Throughout the 1950s the factory continued to develop new watches, releasing their first automatic movement in 1956 and the first Soviet alarm wristwatch in 1959. Some of their watches were even renowned internationally, the Vympel, for example, received a Gold Medal and Diploma at an international fair in Leipzig, Germany, in the early 1960s.
By: Andres Ibarguen