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Russia is not a country well known for watchmaking. This is mostly because it was very late onto the scene with its first watch production facilities being built in 1927. Whilst Switzerland and Britain had been making watches on an industrial scale some 100 years before this, Russia was already at a relative disadvantage.
In 1927 the Soviet Union commissioned the building of the Moscow watch factory which was responsible for making Soviet military watches for commanders and various other notable professions. These included Russian pilot watches and Russian dive watches. This is because if you were a diver or a pilot during this period, a watch was essential equipment for your job. A Russian conscript would not be top of the list for receiving any kind of watch at all.
The 1960s was a great decade for Russian watches. Yuri Gagarin wore a Sturmanskie, which were the first man and watch in space respectively. Not only this, but the Soviet Union began to open up a little and offer its watches as exports to foreign countries. Typically Russian mechanical watches were unaffordable for the average Russian, so this business relationship allowed the Soviets to sell surplus watches abroad and become more prosperous.
Due to the insular nature of Russia at this time, the quartz crisis did not have a big effect on the country compared to the rest of the world. An even bigger shake-up happened in 1991 with the fall of the Iron curtain. This allowed private companies to take over previously state-owned factories and produce watches with the pure purpose of profit rather than bureaucracy.
In modern-day, many Russian brands have gone bankrupt, been sold to foreign investors, or moved out of Russia completely. There are however still a handful of Russian watch brands still being produced in both Russia and Ukraine. Brands such as Vostok still regularly produce new models and make some of the best Russian watches you can buy.
Horology enthusiasts have a real affinity for Russian wristwatches since they are very cheap, robust, and unique compared to more western brands. This has helped solidify Russia as being a rather obscure yet collectible country to buy watches from.
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Are Soviet Watches Good Quality?
If there were just two words to describe Russian watches, they would be reliable and durable. Russian watches can take a real beating and are very well made. There is nothing particularly sophisticated about the movements or materials used to make Russian watches – as they certainly are not luxury (although this has begun to change in more recent years).
With that being said vintage Russian watches have lasted for a very long time and are real workhorses. The closest thing you will find to them today in terms of build quality and movement are Seiko & Citizen entry-level watches. These are not fantastic watches, but are super reliable and won’t let you down.
Are Russian Watches Worth Anything?
Russian watches are not really worth a lot of money compared to their Swiss counterparts. This is because they have historically always been built from cheaper materials and use more crude and less precise movements. Due to Russia being a communist country until 1991, luxury watches were not created since there was no market for them. Oligarchs and corrupt politicians would be able to afford Swiss watches, but a Russian factory would not have been able to sell sophisticated watch models.
Additionally, Russian watches were mass-produced in industrial factories. This means that there is a massive supply of watches and not too much modern demand. The only exceptions will be very rare or limited edition models given to celebrities and/or war heroes. However, these models would be very hard to get hold of in the west.
What Watches Do Russian Soldiers Wear?
Currently, there are is no official watch issued to Russian soldiers. Whilst the Ratnik brand is often associated with Russian soldiers, it is not anti-magnetic nor waterproof enough to be a standard issue.
In the past, Russian soldiers have been seen wearing “Elektronika” watches, which was a digital watchmaking Russian brand that simply copied Casio. If you were to remove the cyrillic lettering from the front of the watch you would be forgiven for thinking it was a Casio.
Other than this, regular watches such as the Zakaz Komandirskie watch have also been sighted in the past. With all of this being said, watches were often an unaffordable luxury for red army troops who are paid nowhere near as much as their American counterparts.
Why Are Russian Watches So Cheap?
Firstly, Russian watches are a lot cheaper than those made in Switzerland (and even Japan) due to the weak Russian ruble and the low wages of Russian workers. It costs a lot more to employ a factory worker or even a highly skilled watchmaker in Switzerland than it does in Russia.
Secondly, Russian watch brands typically do not use high quality materials. Depending on the brand, some cheaper models use chrome plated brass rather than stainless steel which you will typically see across all reputable fashion brands. It is also rare for Russian brands to use sapphire crystal, which is another saving passed on to the consumer.
Another point to add is that Russian watches do not have elaborate design budgets for new designs. If you look at a typical Russian watch for sale, it looks like it was made in the Soviet Union 60 years ago. This is likely because the design has changed very little since then. In addition to this, Russian brands do not heavily spend on advertising. You will never see a Poljot commercial at a tennis or racing event, but you will see a plethora of western European brands.
The Best Russian Watches By Brand
Raketa
Raketa makes some of the best Soviet watches you can buy. Not only this, but they are one of the only Russian watch brands producing legitimate luxury-level watches. This is because Raketa is one of the few “real” watch brands in the world. Everything is made in-house from the very start, in fact, Raketa has their own watchmaking school where they train future employees.
The brand has a very long history in terms of Russian watches, having been started in 1961 making watches for various branches of the red army and polar expeditions. In modern day the brand specializes in making top-quality Russian movements. Raketa is truly independent and does not even source its hairsprings (which most watchmakers do).
Luch
Luch creates very affordable hand-wound mechanical watches with an extremely unique design. The method of telling the time by a single hand is pretty much exclusive to Luch and precisely what they are known for. It may be tricky to tell the time at first, but it doesn’t take long to get used to using a different method.
In terms of value for money, Luch is very inexpensive and produces decent watches. Due to the brands manufacturing facilities being headquartered in Belarus, Luch are able to produce watches very cheaply. The only real drawback of the brand is if you don’t like the style of using one hand.
Sturmanskie
Sturmanskie are a brand that has a deep Russian history having been manufactured in the Moscow watch factory. Older models made by the brand are particularly sought after, having been worn by members of Russian high society, as well as the first cosmonaut in space, Yuri Gagarin.
Today Sturmanskie watches are a bit of a mixed bag. You are still able to find some older models floating around on eBay in varying conditions, whereas newer models really depend on the specifications they are made with. Some of the cheaper Sturmanskie watches are merely gimmicks that are trying to capitalize on old Soviet achievements.
Vostok
Arguably the most well known watch brand in Russia. Vostok produces a huge variety of automatic Russian watches at a very affordable price point. The movements Vostok use are not known for being super accurate, but they are very reliable and durable, thus will never break on you.
Vostok are best known for producing a wide variety of dive watches which are mostly pressure and water resistant up to 200 meters, which is not as much as western brands, but then again those cost well more than $100. Overall the brand is great value for money.
Pobeda
A true Soviet brand, Pobeda has been around since 1945 when communist leader Joseph Stalin chose the name for this state-run company. Although the brand has been through various locations, it is now run out of the famous Petrodvorets watch factory in St Petersburg. Pobeda is well known for producing its own mechanical movements which are also used by other Russian watch brands such as Raketa.
Originally given as gifts to high ranking officials and used by Russian pilots, Pobeda are a brand that is synonymous with Russian military history. You can still pick up these watches fairly cheaply given the history behind them.
Sekonda
What was once a reasonably expensive Russian brand is now headquartered in Hong Kong. You can tell by the name of the brand that Sekonda is Russian, although in modern day it doesn’t really have any relationship with Russia at all.
The difference between the old and new Sekonda models is night and day. Vintage Russian Sekonda watches used mechanical movements made by Poljot and Slava, whereas the modern day quartz Sekonda watches use simple Miyota movements. Overall, if you want a true Russian Sekonda watch, make sure you buy a used mechanical watch, rather than a brand new quartz model.
Slava
Slava is an interesting brand as it is a watch with no association to the Russian military, in fact, Slava watches were made purely for the civilian population of the Soviet Union. Despite being so popular amongst the Russian public, the brand has somewhat declined with its original factory now being demolished.
Currently, Slava watches are still produced in Russia, using both Russian automatic and Miyota movements. They are somewhat difficult to get hold of through distributors so are best purchased through eBay or the official Slava website found here.
