Raketa “Polar” 0270 Watch Review | aBlogtoWatch

roadwarrior

Grand Tyme Master
Founding Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
64,643
35mm case/18mm lugs

88145817_10157350924428143_3370143777837547520_o.jpg



Mar 26, 2020

aBlogtoWatch

Ariel Adams of aBlogtoWatch reviews the Raketa “Polar” 0270 watch (Ref. W-09-11-10-0270), a re-edition of a watch made in small quantities in 1970 for the USSR's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. The 35mm stainless steel case houses Raketa’s in-house, manually-wound Caliber 2623 that operates at 2.5Hz with a power reserve of 42 hours. The dial features lumed 24-hour markers, and a box-style acrylic crystal tops off the package. Pricing is 1,400 EUR.

88237731_10157364299783143_476595100449767424_o.png

Founded in 1721 by a decree of the Emperor Peter the Great, the Petrodvorets Watch Factory has always been linked to the great names and great achievements of Russian history. For example, the “Raketa” brand name was created in 1961 in honor of the first cosmonaut in the world Yuri Gagarin. With its moving parts all produced in the Factory, and with a design marked by the DNA of three centuries of Russian history, the Russian brand “Raketa” acquired a strong reputation amongst worldwide collectors.
The “Raketa” Watch Factory is actually proud of its unique production, it is one of the rarest manufactures, producing own watch mechanisms from A to Z, including hair spring and balance.
To discover more visit http://raketa.com/en/
??
Основанный по указу Петра I в 1721 году, Петродворцовый Часовой Завод неразрывно связан с великими именами и достижениями страны. Так, в 1961 году был создан бренд “Ракета”, названный в честь первого космонавта Земли — Юрия Гагарина. Благодаря механизмам собственного производства и дизайну, в ДНК которых заложена 300-летняя история страны, русский бренд “Ракета” завоевал признание во всем мире.
Это одна из редких мировых мануфактур, производящих собственные часовые механизмы от А до Я, включая спираль и баланс.
Узнать больше на http://raketa.com/

:banghead: One more overpriced Russian Watch

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – RAKETA POLAR WATCH REISSUE

Case: 35mm diameter - stainless steel case, gold-plated - acrylic glass, box-shaped - screwed stainless steel caseback - 200ft water-resistant
Dial: sunray-brushed grey dial, black applied blocks for the hours, with Super-Luminova - black painted hands with Super-Luminova
Movement: Calibre Raketa 2623, in-house, made in Russia - hand-wound - 16 jewels - 18,000 vibrations/hours - 42h power reserve - adjusted in 4 positions, accuracy within ±10 sec/day - 24h indication, hours, minutes, seconds
Strap: 18mm black leather strap with red stitchings, red leather lining - gold-plated steel pin buckle - additional fabric NATO strap in beige included
Reference: W-09-11-10-0270
Availability: Limited to 200 pieces
Deliveries expected end of March 2020
Price: EUR 1,120 (pre-order price)
EUR 1,400 (retail)

88998911_10157386458768143_8725774155485544448_o.jpg

poster-header.jpg

h.gif




A watch for Soviet polar explorers


In 1969, the Raketa Watch Factory was asked to design and produce a special watch for the polar explorers of the 16th Soviet Antarctic expedition. Since this freezing continent is in perpetual daylight or darkness during consecutive periods of 6 months, this watch needed not only to be robust but also needed a special 24 hour movement that would allow to tell the time without knowing if it was day or night.

old.jpg

old2.jpg

old3.jpg
The design was approved by professionals


The designers of the Raketa Watch Factory used a case with an extremely bold design: the horns had a very unusual inverted triangular shape and the bezel was unusually thin! This was a complicated 4 piece construction case with a very special system to hold the organic glass. The dial indicated a 24 hour time scale and represented the 2 poles. This design was officially approved & signed on 10 December 1969 by V.M. Rogachev, second-in-command of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition, who also stamped it with the official seal of the USSR “Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute”.

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_9.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_10.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_11.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_1.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_2.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_3.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_4.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_5.jpg

Raketa_Factory_retro_photo_6.jpg

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

‹›
old4.jpg
Conquest of the Antarctic continent!


The first watches were produced in 1970 in time for the departure by boat from Leningrad (former Soviet name of Saint-Petersburg) of the 16th Soviet Antarctic expedition. The Polar explorers reached the southern continent in December 1970, in time to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian polar explorers in 1820: this was indeed a breathtaking historic event because it was the last unknown continent to have been discovered by mankind!
A “Collector” watch


This watch model was mainly dedicated to Soviet polar explorers and was hardly ever sold to ordinary Soviet comrades. It was therefore produced in small quantities until its production was eventually discontinued. This is the reason why there are so few pieces available today. This very unusual and historic watch is today considered by many watch collectors worldwide as one of the rarest Soviet watch models!

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

Raketa_Ant14.jpg

Raketa_Ant15.jpg

Raketa_Ant1.jpg

Raketa_Ant2.jpg

Raketa_Ant3.jpg

Raketa_Ant4.jpg

Raketa_Ant5.jpg

svg%3E

svg%3E

‹›THE 24-HOUR MOVEMENT

0263-3.jpg

0263-4.jpg

0263-1.jpg

0263-2.jpg

0263-3.jpg

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

‹›
The development of the new Raketa 24-hour manual movement No. “2623” was finalized, but unfortunately not quite in time to be fitted in the first series of Raketa Polar watches. The first Polar watch cases were therefore assembled in 1970 with the manual movement “Russia” in which the 24-hour complication had been added specially for this project. The “Russia” calibre (nicknamed “Baltika”) was the movement produced by the Raketa Watch Factory until it gradually switched to the now famous Raketa movement (between 1968-70). The next production series of the Raketa Polar Watch were then fitted with the now famous Raketa 24-hour manual movement “2623”.

24_hours.jpg

Since that time, the Raketa Watch Factory has become very famous for its mechanisms making the hour hand turn in 24 hours (instead of the usual 12 hours). Its use was later extended to Soviet submariners and cosmonauts, professions also working in extreme conditions where a 24-hour watch is needed to help them distinguish day from night.

Voynik.jpg

Ludmilla Y. Voinik was part of the Soviet team of engineers who developed the 24 hour complication in 1968-69. 50 years later, she is still working at the Raketa Watch Factory, heading the “construction bureau” in charge of re-launching the production of 200 manual movements “2623” specially for the limited re-edition of this Raketa Polar watch. Indeed, the production of Raketa manual movements was discontinued in 2014 when all Raketa watches switched to Raketa Avtomat movements.
PRODUCTION

svg%3E

9_4.jpg

9_5.jpg

9_1.jpg

9_2.jpg

9_3.jpg

9_4.jpg

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

‹›Step 1


We found the original watercolor design drawing and the original technical drawings in the archives of the Raketa Watch Factory. The first step was to convert them into modern 2D and 3D digital drawings in June 2019.

10-4.jpg

10-5.jpg

10-6.jpg

10-1.jpg

10-2.jpg

10-3.jpg

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

svg%3E

‹›Step 2

The next step was to bring the construction of this watch closer to modern quality standards. For this purpose, we slightly changed the width and the shape of the organic glass and also changed the construction of the crown and of the case back. None of these changes significantly affected the visual aesthetics of the watch.

‹›Step 3

We were then ready to produce 5 samples of this watch. 50 years since the first production of the original samples, the Raketa Watch Factory has relaunched for the first time the production of this historic watch model. After a few adjustments, all samples successfully passed our control quality controls in October 2019.

Final step

The Raketa Watch Factory is now in the final step of this adventure: the limited edition of 200 watches is now under production using “old school” manufacturing processes. It is currently under production and should come out beginning of April 2020.


Raketa_Polar_design-1.jpg

Raketa_Polar_design-5.jpg

Raketa_Polar_design-6.jpg

Raketa_Polar_design-8.jpg

Raketa_Polar_design-10.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_5_.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_6_.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_7_.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_7_1.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_8_.jpg

w-09-11-10-0270_14.jpg


1,120 Euro equals
1,228.93 United States Dollar


Raketa “Polar” 0270

Reference: W-09-11-10-0270
2623.png
35mm.png

delivery_car.png
DHL Express delivery from EU
€1.400 €1.120
20% discount for pre-order
This item is available for pre-order.Pre-order
Limited re-edition of the iconic Soviet Raketa watch model “Polar”, in testimony of the 50th anniversary of its first production.


In testimony of the 50th anniversary of the production of the legendary Raketa Polar watch and of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic continent by Russian Polar explorers, the Raketa Watch Factory re-produces this historic watch model. This re-edition, limited to 200 watches, is based on the original design and technical drawings that were kept in the archives of the Factory.

In 1969, the Raketa Watch Factory was asked to design and produce a special watch for the polar explorers of the 16th Soviet Antarctic expedition. Since this freezing continent is in perpetual daylight or darkness during consecutive periods of 6 months, this watch needed to be not only robust but also needed a special 24 hour movement that would allow to tell the time without knowing if it was day or night. The Raketa Watch Factory delivered this watch in 1970 in time for the departure of the Soviet expedition. This Soviet watch, with an extremely bold design, quickly became very famous amongst watch collectors worldwide.

It is currently under production at the Raketa Watch Factory (in Saint-Petersburg) using “old school” manufacturing processes. It is currently under production and should come out beginning of April 2020. Stay tuned!

Learn more about the history of this watch.


Manufacture

Manufacture
Raketa Watch Factory (Saint-Petersburg)

Brand
Rocket


Movement

Calibre
2623

Functions
Manual winding 24 hours

Number of jewels
16

Testing positions
4

Average rate (s/d)
-10+20

Average running time (h)
42

Frequency/hour
18.000 / 2.5Hz

Case

Material
Stainless steel

Size
35 mm

Front glass
Organic

Water resistance
Water-resistant

Hands
Superluminova

Dial
Sunray Superluminova

Brand
Rocket

Gender
Unisex

Strap

Material
Genuine leather + additional textile strap included with watch

Width
18 mm

https://monochrome-watches.com/raket...-review-price/

A MOVEMENT MADE IN RUSSIA, IN AN ATYPICAL FACTORY

One of the key elements of this watch is its movement, produced internally by Raketa, in Saint Petersburg – and by that, I mean entirely produced there. We had the chance to visit the Petrodvorets Watch Factory… It was an experience and it certainly is miles away from the clinical environment found in most modern Swiss manufactures. But no less fascinating.

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-10.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-15.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-11.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-14.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-7.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-9.jpg

Raketa still produces its movement in a factory that is about 500m away from the historic Petrodvorets building, on the same machines used in the 1960s, with the same methods and with (partially) the same watchmakers. While we’re used to seeing the quiet and clean assembly lines of the Swiss Jura mountains, Raketa’s processes are much more rudimentary, requiring a great deal of manual work. You won’t find computer-controlled machines or automated production lines here. Everything is done the way it was done back in the 1960s. This is an extraordinary time capsule (if ever you travel to Russia, go there… it’s worth seeing).
Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-16.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-5.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-3.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-2.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-4.jpg

Almost the entire movement is produced in-house, from the wheels to the bridges, the main plates, the pinions and even the hairspring – it is extremely rare to see this in a manufacture, even in Switzerland. The movements are then assembled and tested, before being cased.
Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-17.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-8.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-6.jpg

Raketa-manufacture-Saint-petersburg-Russia-1.jpg

In order to recreate the movement of the Raketa Polar Watch, the brand was able to count on its archives but also on some old employees who actually worked on the development of the original Polar watch. For instance, this includes Ludmilla Y., an old but valiant lady who was part of the Soviet team of engineers who developed this watch model, and in particular its 24-hour movement. Fifty years later, she is still working at the Raketa Watch Factory and was in charge of this limited re-edition. She supervised the production relaunch of the 24-hour movement.
 
Back
Top Bottom