Watches from the Soviet Union - along with Seiko - are well-known "gateway drugs" to the watch affliction most of us (likely all of us) suffer from.
Representing an affordable entry into vintage watches, examples from Soviet-era watch companies (like the well-known Raketa watch company) - like the art deco-style 1980s Soviet Raketa mechanical dress watch here - are a fantastic "bang for the buck." Of note, we only source the Raketa examples we sell from the Ukraine.
Raketa, also known as Paketa, started making watches in its St. Petersburg, Russia, Petrodvorets Watch Factory in1961. Petrodvorets is Russia’s oldest factory, and was founded by Peter the Great in 1721, and its watches were produced for the Red Army, the Soviet Navy, as well as for civilians.
Raketa acquired its namesake from Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin inaugural flight into outer space, the first for mankind. In honor of the flight, Petrodvorets named its watches “rocket,” or Raketa in Russian. Mechanical Raketa watches produced in Petrodvorets were exported to many Eastern Bloc and communist countries and were considered one of the most durable and reliable movements there – the Ak-47 of watches at the time, if you will.
This Raketa comes on a leather strap, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, and springbar tool.
1980s Soviet Raketa Mechanical Dress Watch
DIAL: Detailed steel-grey light starburst-textured Raketa-signed dial, with fantastic art deco-era Arabic numerals and no patina evident. Matching hour, minute, and subdial second hands.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 35.5mm x 41mm case, with original caseback inscribed with "Shockproof" in Cyrillic script.
CRYSTAL: Domed acrylic crystal is scratch and crack-free.
BAND: This Raketa comes on a light brown leather strap, as well as a red, white, and blue (of course!) nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: Raketa 2603 manual mechanical movement. We have performed a full service on this watch.
CROWN: Stainless-steel unsigned crown.