Poljot: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Poljot-Aviator-3133.jpg|thumb|180px|Poljot Aviator caliber 3133 [[chronograph]]]] |
[[File:Poljot-Aviator-3133.jpg|thumb|180px|Poljot Aviator caliber 3133 [[chronograph]]]] |
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Founded in 1930 under orders from [[Joseph Stalin]], the First State Watch Factory ({{lang-ru|Первый Государственный Часовой Завод - 1ГЧЗ}}) was the first large scale Soviet watch and mechanical movement manufacturer. Via its USA-based trading company [[Amtorg]], the Soviet government bought the defunct [[Ansonia Clock Company]] of [[Brooklyn, New York]] in 1929, and the [[Dueber-Hampden Watch Company]] of [[Canton, Ohio]]. |
Founded in 1930 under orders from [[Joseph Stalin]], the First State Watch Factory ({{lang-ru|Первый Государственный Часовой Завод - 1ГЧЗ}}) was the first large scale Soviet watch and mechanical movement manufacturer. Via its USA-based trading company [[Amtorg]], the Soviet government bought the defunct [[Ansonia Clock Company]] of [[Brooklyn, New York]] in 1929, and the [[Dueber-Hampden Watch Company]] of [[Canton, Ohio]]. As part of the Soviet's [[first five-year plan]], twenty-eight freight cars worth of machinery and parts were moved from the USA to Moscow in order to establish the factory; further, twenty-one former [[Dueber-Hampden Watch Company|Dueber-Hampden]] technicians trained Russian workers in the art of watchmaking. The movements of very-early products were still stamped "Dueber-Hampden, Canton, Ohio, USA" (examples of these watches are highly collectible today). In 1935, the factory was named after the assassinated Soviet official [[Sergei Kirov]]. |
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As the [[Operation Barbarossa|Germans |
As the [[Operation Barbarossa|Germans advanced on Moscow]] in 1941, the factory was evacuated to [[Zlatoust]] ({{lang-ru|Златоу́ст}}). By 1943, the tide of the war was turned and the Germans were in retreat, and subsequently, the factory moved back to Moscow. At this point, it adopted the "First Moscow Watch Factory" name ({{lang-ru|Первый Московский Часовой Завод - 1МЧЗ}}). |
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In 1947 the first wristwatches under the brand name "Pobeda" and the first [[marine chronometer]]s and [[hack watch]]es or deck watches were produced. By 1951 the production of wristwatches had increased to 1.1 million. In 1975 new machinery and equipment for manufacturing complex watches was imported from Switzerland. |
In 1947 the first wristwatches under the brand name "Pobeda" and the first [[marine chronometer]]s and [[hack watch]]es or deck watches were produced. By 1951 the production of wristwatches had increased to 1.1 million. In 1975 new machinery and equipment for manufacturing complex watches was imported from Switzerland. The first chronograph "Okean" (caliber 3133) was produced for the space station "Sojuz-23." |
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In 1990 production of watches and clocks reached 5 million pieces, and in 1991 the international award "Golden Trophy for Quality" was awarded in Madrid{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}. |
In 1990 production of watches and clocks reached 5 million pieces, and in 1991 the international award "Golden Trophy for Quality" was awarded in Madrid{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}. |
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===Gagarin's flight=== |
===Gagarin's flight=== |
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On 12 April 1961 [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first man in space. The watch Gagarin wore was made by the First Moscow Watch Company under the name Sturmanskie, which translates to "Navigator's". Today's owner of the brand, Volmax (based in both Moscow and Switzerland), is the only authorized company allowed to use Gagarin's name and likeness in watch production. Gagarin received his 17-jewel watch with a manual-wind Poljot movement when he graduated from the Soviet air force flight school in 1957. The original watches were built exclusively for the Soviet Air Force and not available to the public. Publicly available versions of the model were not released until years later. |
On 12 April 1961 [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first man in space. The watch Gagarin wore was made by the First Moscow Watch Company under the name Sturmanskie, which translates to "Navigator's". Today's owner of the brand, Volmax (based in both Moscow and Switzerland), is the only authorized company allowed to use Gagarin's name and likeness in watch production. Gagarin received his 17-jewel watch with a manual-wind Poljot movement when he graduated from the Soviet air force flight school in 1957. The original watches were built exclusively for the Soviet Air Force and not available to the public. Publicly available versions of the model were not released until years later. With a diameter of 33 mm, the original watch was small by today's standards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wornandwound.com/watches-space-yuri-gagarin/|title=Watches in Space: Yuri Gagarin - Worn & Wound|date=15 January 2015|publisher=}}</ref> The watch performed flawlessly in space and is currently on display at the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics. Commemorative editions produced today are 40 mm and have a 17-jewel Poljot movement.<ref>https://watchalfavit.ru/articles/chasy-dlya-kosmosa/</ref> |
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===First space walk=== |
===First space walk=== |
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During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also [[Raketa]] watches, were marketed in the [[United Kingdom]] under the brand "[[Sekonda]]". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches. |
During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also [[Raketa]] watches, were marketed in the [[United Kingdom]] under the brand "[[Sekonda]]". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches. |
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At the turn of the 21st century, the First Moscow Watch Factory began reproducing many of their most famous models as limited edition commemorative pieces. |
At the turn of the 21st century, the First Moscow Watch Factory began reproducing many of their most famous models as limited edition commemorative pieces. Replicas were made of the famous 1960s Sturmanskie worn by [[Yuri Gagarin]], the 1940s Kirova pilots chronograph, and the 1970s Ocean ({{lang|ru|Океан}}) chronograph. All of the replicas became collectible. |
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In late 2003, |
In late 2003, rumors predicting the formal shuttering of the Poljot brand circulated on the Internet. According to the rumors, the First Moscow Watch Factory was to cease producing their own models and become a source of inexpensive movements for other European watch brands. These rumours never came to fruition. Instead, in the late 2000s, the company was bought by the businessman [[Sergey Pugachyov|Sergeï Pugachev]], becoming one of the companies of his new luxury group, including: [[Hédiard]], and the channel [[Luxe TV]]. The physical remnants of First Moscow Watch Factory were purchased by a group of former Poljot employees, forming the basis for a new company, Volmax. Volmax marketed watches under the Aviator, Buran and Shturmanskie brands using movements produced by another Russian firm, MakTime.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.russianwatchguide.com/volmax.htm|title=Volmax Watches|website=www.russianwatchguide.com}}</ref> |
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As of 2012, the status of the Poljot brand is unclear, though the brand appears to be moribund. |
As of 2012, the status of the Poljot brand is unclear, though the brand appears to be moribund. MakTime, the company utilizing old Poljot equipment to manufacture mechanical movements, went bankrupt,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://forums.watchuseek.com/f10/no-more-poljot-movements-654408.html|title=No more Poljot movements}}</ref> and Volmax, the successor company to First Moscow Watch Factory relocated to [[Switzerland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviatorwatch.ch/retailers/|title=Aviator watches - Swiss made|website=АVIATOR}}</ref> Present models from the Volmax company are Swiss-made, using design cues from vintage Russian models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviatorwatch.ch/brand/|title=Aviator watches - Swiss made|website=АVIATOR}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 15:46, 25 December 2021
Poljot (Template:Lang-ru, literally meaning "flight"), is a brand of Soviet/Russian wristwatches, produced since 1964 by the First Moscow Watch Factory (Template:Lang-ru, Perviy Moskovskiy Chasovoy Zavod). The flagship brand of the USSR's watch industry, Poljot produced numerous historical watches used in many important space missions, including the world's first space watch worn by Yuri Gagarin.
History
Founded in 1930 under orders from Joseph Stalin, the First State Watch Factory (Template:Lang-ru) was the first large scale Soviet watch and mechanical movement manufacturer. Via its USA-based trading company Amtorg, the Soviet government bought the defunct Ansonia Clock Company of Brooklyn, New York in 1929, and the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio. As part of the Soviet's first five-year plan, twenty-eight freight cars worth of machinery and parts were moved from the USA to Moscow in order to establish the factory; further, twenty-one former Dueber-Hampden technicians trained Russian workers in the art of watchmaking. The movements of very-early products were still stamped "Dueber-Hampden, Canton, Ohio, USA" (examples of these watches are highly collectible today). In 1935, the factory was named after the assassinated Soviet official Sergei Kirov.
As the Germans advanced on Moscow in 1941, the factory was evacuated to Zlatoust (Template:Lang-ru). By 1943, the tide of the war was turned and the Germans were in retreat, and subsequently, the factory moved back to Moscow. At this point, it adopted the "First Moscow Watch Factory" name (Template:Lang-ru).
In 1947 the first wristwatches under the brand name "Pobeda" and the first marine chronometers and hack watches or deck watches were produced. By 1951 the production of wristwatches had increased to 1.1 million. In 1975 new machinery and equipment for manufacturing complex watches was imported from Switzerland. The first chronograph "Okean" (caliber 3133) was produced for the space station "Sojuz-23."
In 1990 production of watches and clocks reached 5 million pieces, and in 1991 the international award "Golden Trophy for Quality" was awarded in Madrid[citation needed].
PMChZ watches in Space
Gagarin's flight
On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The watch Gagarin wore was made by the First Moscow Watch Company under the name Sturmanskie, which translates to "Navigator's". Today's owner of the brand, Volmax (based in both Moscow and Switzerland), is the only authorized company allowed to use Gagarin's name and likeness in watch production. Gagarin received his 17-jewel watch with a manual-wind Poljot movement when he graduated from the Soviet air force flight school in 1957. The original watches were built exclusively for the Soviet Air Force and not available to the public. Publicly available versions of the model were not released until years later. With a diameter of 33 mm, the original watch was small by today's standards.[1] The watch performed flawlessly in space and is currently on display at the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics. Commemorative editions produced today are 40 mm and have a 17-jewel Poljot movement.[2]
First space walk
In 1965 cosmonaut Alexei Leonov wore an FMWF Strela (transliteration of СТРЕЛА, which actually means "Arrow") chronograph during his historic first space walk, thus cementing Poljot's place in space history. As with Gagarin's first flight, Leonov's watch was not specially commissioned. The Strela replaced the Shturmanskie as the standard issue pilots watch. In the late 1970s, the Strela itself was replaced by a new breed of chronographs based around the (then new) 3133 movement (an original Russian movement similar in functionality to the Swiss Valjoux 7734, but with higher number of jewels 23 vs 17 and lever movement operating at 21,600 bph vs 18,000 bph). Poljot 3133-based watches continued where their predecessors left off and were taken into space by cosmonauts from Russia, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany and Ukraine. On the wrist of cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, a Poljot 3133-based watch set a space record for the longest space flight in history.
Current status
During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also Raketa watches, were marketed in the United Kingdom under the brand "Sekonda". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches. At the turn of the 21st century, the First Moscow Watch Factory began reproducing many of their most famous models as limited edition commemorative pieces. Replicas were made of the famous 1960s Sturmanskie worn by Yuri Gagarin, the 1940s Kirova pilots chronograph, and the 1970s Ocean (Океан) chronograph. All of the replicas became collectible.
In late 2003, rumors predicting the formal shuttering of the Poljot brand circulated on the Internet. According to the rumors, the First Moscow Watch Factory was to cease producing their own models and become a source of inexpensive movements for other European watch brands. These rumours never came to fruition. Instead, in the late 2000s, the company was bought by the businessman Sergeï Pugachev, becoming one of the companies of his new luxury group, including: Hédiard, and the channel Luxe TV. The physical remnants of First Moscow Watch Factory were purchased by a group of former Poljot employees, forming the basis for a new company, Volmax. Volmax marketed watches under the Aviator, Buran and Shturmanskie brands using movements produced by another Russian firm, MakTime.[3]
As of 2012, the status of the Poljot brand is unclear, though the brand appears to be moribund. MakTime, the company utilizing old Poljot equipment to manufacture mechanical movements, went bankrupt,[4] and Volmax, the successor company to First Moscow Watch Factory relocated to Switzerland.[5] Present models from the Volmax company are Swiss-made, using design cues from vintage Russian models.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Watches in Space: Yuri Gagarin - Worn & Wound". 15 January 2015.
- ^ https://watchalfavit.ru/articles/chasy-dlya-kosmosa/
- ^ "Volmax Watches". www.russianwatchguide.com.
- ^ "No more Poljot movements".
- ^ "Aviator watches - Swiss made". АVIATOR.
- ^ "Aviator watches - Swiss made". АVIATOR.
External links
- Documentary: "The History of a Russian Watch Factory" (in English and Russian)
- Web story by Alan Garratt: "The Birth of Soviet Watchmaking" (in English)