This project is dedicated to hardcore Russian modern watches.
Let's start at the end.

WHAT IS A WATCH?

Watch = mechanical wristwatch. Not quartz and not a "smart watch".

Quartz "watch" is a motor with a battery and hands. This is not a watch. There is no human genius and manual labor invested in it. It is unlikely that you will pass on a quartz watch to your children, and even more so to your grandchildren. Most likely, such batteries will simply cease to be produced!

"Smart watch" is not a watch either. This is a gadget. Consumer electronics like a smartphone, but small and without a SIM card. They are also not for passing on to future generations — it's good if they last 2-4 years. But with real — that is, mechanical — watches, this is what often happens — they are literally passed down from generation to generation!

OR

Modern watches are watches made in the 21st century.
Because we live in it.

Yes, these watches were made in the XXI century, by our contemporaries — but this does not mean that this is what is called the offensive word "remake". You might just as well call an antique/vintage watch "old junk"! Both are needed and interesting in their own way (probably to different people).

Watches that now fall under the definition of antique or vintage were also new in their time. Someone bought them in a store, where they (most likely) were easily available to any willing paying customer... If they had not been bought, they would not have reached us! And in the absence of demand, manufacturers would have stopped producing them! So, we are creating the demand for modern Russian watches — so that they are produced, that is, so that they ARE! And buying/collecting old watches will only lead to the fact that... old watches will simply be in the country. And no one will make new ones — there is no demand!

And we look into the future and want that despite everything (the "wild nineties", the collapse of the watch industry, the absence of about everything that is needed for the production of watches, the notorious investment climate and corruption, sanctions, the general mood "it's time to emigrate"...) watchmaking was being restored and developed.

In this country. Here. Here, where "we, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common fate on our land…" and further in the text [the beginning of the Constitution of the Russian Federation]. Where nothing contributes to this, and everything hinders. Here and now, as well as in the future. Buying old battered pre-revolutionary Russian and Soviet watches or new wonderful works of the Swiss watch industry (made, however, mostly still in China) will definitely not help this. Although it will support speculators of old watch vintage/antiques and dealers of modern Swiss-Chinese watch industry.

But, um... with all due respect to these wonderful people... we need them — why, exactly?

It is important to understand that Russian is not Soviet, although it is confused abroad, and even in Soviet times, everything Soviet was still called Russian. Including watches. But we understand the difference... There is no longer such country, and we look not into the past, but into the future. Collecting the Soviet past is certainly a fascinating and instructive occupation... But doing this means looking into the past.

WHY

?

RUSSIAN

Why Russian watches? Because we live in Russia, and we want it to be good here, and not in Switzerland, Japan and China. Or Germany. It's good there already! There is no shortage of watch collectors of Swiss, Japanese and Chinese (or German) timepieces, to put it mildly.

Also in such timepieces themselves (who will be surprised by the next, 100500th watch with the ETA, Miyota or Seagull movement?). Another thing is Russian watches and Russian movements. It's a challenge! It is no secret that in the 90s the Russian watch industry (and not just it...) was practically destroyed.

There is no longer that legendary Soviet Chasprom (=watch industry), factories, equipment, personnel, schools, technologies... Those who are restoring all this now deserve all praise and support! And who, if not we — the Russians — will support them? It is unlikely that it will be Swiss, Chinese and Japanese watch fans.

We are ready and want to create demand for modern high-quality Russian watches — and this is what will create modern high-quality Russian watches! But the lack of demand will definitely not create them.

This is the fourth way (after watches with Swiss, Japanese and Chinese movements). Well, or the fifth, if you count the few German movements. Yes, in Russia now there are not so many domestic manufacturers of mechanical wristwatch movements. Actually, there are exactly four — Vostok, Raketa, Molnija and Konstantin Chaykin.

But... you now what? This is exactly four (or infinite times) more than in the USA, France, Great Britain, Italy and India combined! (And also, in the rest of the world, excluding the four countries mentioned above — Switzerland, China, Japan and Germany). So, we have nothing to be ashamed of! And there is something to be proud of. We have saved what we could and are creating the future in the ruins.

But what about the Belarusian watches? They exist! And the Belarusians nailed it! Minsk "Luch"... They still produce watch movements themselves, completely, including the balance spiral (do many Swiss manufacturers make it themselves? NO!) And in the context of this project (see "Alternative Watch History"), we count Minsk watches as "Russian", although, of course, Belarus is a separate independent country.
Вut! common Soviet watchmaking past, movements, technologies, training school... as well as Russian as the official language and one of the two most widespread in the republic, plus the "Union State of Russia and Belarus"! So, for our purpose — they are also "Russian" watches. And this project can be called "Russian/Belarusian watches".

WHY

?

Because in real Russian watches everything is Russian/domestic.

First of all, the movement — the heart and, at the same time, the soul of a mechanical watch.

And then — all the external design elements of the of the watch, including the strap and buckle! (We can make an exception for sapphire glass, which is practically not produced in Russia in forms and quantities convenient for small watchmaking).

Only such watches are hardcore! And there are a lot of their manufacturers:

Chistopol watchmakers Vostok — classic ("Soviet") models;

Zlatoust Watch Factory ­— legendary diving watches. This is generally the most hardcore Russian watch in every sense of the word! First, size and charisma! The smallest ones have a case diameter of 46 mm, the main and historical size is 60 mm! Secondly, in Zlatoust divers, everything is fundamentally done in Russia, down to the metal for the case, and also (a unique case!) — sapphire crystal (made in the town of Elektrostal);

Konstantin Chaykin manufactory (Moscow) — part of watches, or all, if we count basic foreign movements with serious Russian manufactory revision (modules, more than 60% of the cost must be created in Russia) as Russian movements. In any case, this is the most expensive and complex Russian wristwatches (as well as table clocks) in history;

Sergey Volkov's watch atelier Colibrica design (Uglich brand) — all watches;

watch atelier MII (Alexander Belousov, Moscow) — all watches;

Alexander Nesterenko (St. Petersburg), Maxim Sushkov (St. Petersburg), watch atelier HoD Russia (Moscow), Tsedro by Dmitry Tsedro (Moscow) — part of projects based on domestic movements;

German Polosin's studio PG — KOPF watch (a serious in-house modification of the basic ETA movement, everything else is done in Moscow);

we hope in the future — wristwatches by Anton Suhanov, Kirill Chernetskiy, Rashid Tsoroev and other talented masters.

THE SECOND CATEGORY

Petrodvorets watch factory Raketa — all mechanical watches;

modern models of Vostok, including the famous limited and special editions of Meranom;

Chelyabinsk watch factory Molnija — models with the manufactory movement 3603;

Volmax (Moscow) — part of the watches of the Sturmanskie, Spetsnaz and Buran brands;

Trading House Slava (Moscow) — models with Russian or stock Soviet movements;

DenissovWatches (Moscow) — the same;

Luch (Minsk) — watches with manufactory movements (yes, these are Belarusian watches, we remember, but see about that above);

Anton Yaitsky (Samara) — all projects;

Sergey Trifonov's watch atelier (Cheboksary) ­— projects based on Vostok movements and cases;

various forum (the largest Russian watch forum watch.ru) limited series — for example, Scout's Kirovskie, Kronstadt and so on.

of Russian (but already conditionally) watches is those where the external design elements (case, dial, hands, crown...) can be (including partially) imported, but a Russian produced / NOS (new old stock) Soviet movement is used.

And also, assembly, idea and design, service, marketing, brand — these all must be Russian, too.

This is the most common version of "Russian watches" on the market today. And one cannot do without them in the modern realities of globalization. Manufacturing and selling these watches help Russian watch companies accumulate capital and experience, as well as master technologies. So, they will also be presented on our website for now. This category includes companies:

THE THIRD CATEGORY

Poljot-Chronos (Moscow) — projects where exterior design elements are made in Russia;

independent watchmakers — Alexander Nesterenko, Maxim Sushkov, HoD Russia, Rashid Tsoroev and others — most of the projects;

Tsedro — most of the projects;

Labrador V.G. (Kaliningrad);

Moscow Mint ­— but alas, their watch project Gryphon has been closed;

other jewelry brands — Sokolov, Nika, Platinor...;

"marriages" of pocket watches — if everything is made in Russia, except for the movement (this does not happen often, but it happens, for example, in the projects of German Polosin).

(already very conditionally) of Russian watches is those where all the external design elements are Russian (an exception is possible for sapphire crystal), as well as assembly, idea and design, service, marketing, brand. But the movement (without serious manufacturing revision) is imported — Swiss, Japanese, Chinese... Such watches are the majority in the world now.

There are quite a few examples of companies in this category in Russia:

THE REST ARE

NOT

RUSSIAN

WATCHES

No matter what is written on them, and no matter how their pseudo-Russian origin and brand history are used in advertising...

Although, according to the legislation, they often may have the right to the inscription "Made in Russia", since formally everything that is assembled in Russia = "made in Russia".

They can be quite good watches. But we do not deal with them within the framework of this project, since their help to revive watchmaking in Russia is a little more than nothing — money is not invested in Russia, experience is not accumulated, equipment is not bought, and so on. It makes no sense to name them here, so as not to advertise them once again, but... it's just everything that is not listed above!

All our watches will be mainly in the first category. We allow the second category for individual special projects and the third one if the project concept requires it.

For example, if the goal is to revive old pre-revolutionary Russian watch brands, and Russian movements for the implementation of the chosen concept simply do not exist (perpetual or annual calendar, repeater, tourbillon, chronograph, jacquemarts, retrograde hands movements, power reserve...).

Old Russian watch companies used imported (mostly Swiss) movements anyway, but some made cases in Russia, and almost all the largest companies assembled watches in Russia before the 1917 Revolution (at least in the format of a so called "watch depot"). Therefore, it is logical to revive such brands in the similar way — on the basis of Swiss movements.