Poljot
Poljot (
History
Founded in 1930 under orders from
As the Germans advanced on Moscow in 1941, the factory was evacuated to Zlatoust (Russian: 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 (Russian: Первый Московский Часовой Завод - 1МЧЗ).
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.
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 Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. Commemorative editions produced today are 40 mm and have a 17-jewel Poljot movement.[2]
First space walk
In 1965
Current status
In the late 2000s, the company was bought by the businessman
See also
Notes
- ^ "Watches in Space: Yuri Gagarin - Worn & Wound". 15 January 2015.
- ^ "Часы для космоса". 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Volmax Watches". www.russianwatchguide.com.
- ^ "No more Poljot movements".
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)