Why customers love Raketa?

This antique men's watch (small size 22mm in diameter for the dial and the 28x28mm case) has a dial all in stone, in green jasper. It exudes elegance and simplicity. Indeed there is only an inscription indicating the brand and the 23 rubies, but on my model the white paint is almost gone, only the first "a" of Raketa remains. There are no indexes on the dial only on the imitation bezel. The brass dial looks good, it allows to enlarge the watch a little and to combine the circular shape with the square. The hands refer to the brass and the square of the dial, while contrasting well with the green of the stone. The design is a real invitation to travel because of its very simple appearance, it combines opposing elements. The natural patterns of the stone are also reminiscent of a lively landscape with the dark upper part and the green lower part and including a spot centered at six o'clock. We can also see a rough sea and a central island. The movement is a bit special, it is a Record-2209 with 23 jewels, it is one of the rare unreliable and difficult to repair movements of the Petrodvoretz factory, it was developed informally in the late 50s and early 60s by engineers of the factory, Starkov and Kisselev, starting from a blank sheet and without copying Western models. It is equipped with an anti-shock axis device. The steel case back also bears the mark of the globe with the inscription anti-shock. The stone quadrants have a particular importance, even if they are not common, for this factory because historically it is a factory of cut stones then of mechanism rubies. This watch reminds me of Paul Lay's album Odyssey released in the fall of 2024. If the stone with its natural patterns represents Ulysses' journey, the stain is the island of Ithaca, this haunting and unattainable central point. Paul Lay's Album lets us hear with his trio (Piano, Double Bass, Drums) Ulysses' journey with so many twists and turns to his native country, and his inner journey from the moment he says he is "nobody" in front of the Cyclops until he finds himself and appeases Poseidon's anger. Adjectives: mineral, simple, original, traveling, epic, dreamy, oneiric

Commemorative watches were not uncommon in the USSR. Celebrating the glorious past and recalling it on a watch dial was even customary and yet this watch stands out. Because it is not about celebrating an anniversary of the coup d'état of November 17, or that of the end of the hot war in 1945, no it is about celebrating the anniversary of the watch factory which finds its history in the cut stone factory in Petergof (finally Petrodvoretz at that time). In addition to the factory, it is the imperial past that is evoked. The factory and the imperial palace, this little Versailles overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Which has also become the symbol of "the window open on Europe", this forced modernization of Russia and its opening to European civilization. The golden case and bracelet further reinforce the imperial side. The guilloche (and gold) dial brings a real luxurious aspect in a Soviet Union that was really drawing to a close. Because 270 years after 1721, this brings us to 1991, the moment when the wind of change was blowing over Europe. A time when we were looking for other tutelary figures than the founding fathers of Marxism and real Socialism. I am not a big fan of gold watches, but I think it suits him very well, there are much more sober versions of the same commemoration, Dmitri Brodnikovsky presents a whole bunch of them on his YouTube channel, but ultimately, it is always the same 2609 NA movement, the same case (if not the gold plating), the same black hands, the same organic glass, the same steel case back as there are for millions of other watches that came out of the Factory. Luxury in sobriety, grandeur in decadence, this watch expresses in my eyes all the strength of this era of great change and historical continuity. The following anniversaries have produced remarkable watches, for the 290th anniversary, 2011, the commemorative watch of Gagarin's flight and the magnificent space watches that followed, for the 300th anniversary, 2021, the impressive “Imperial Peterhof Factory” line making a stone ring the central element of the wristwatch and unfortunately also becoming the symbol of the imperialist bloodbath that followed in 2022. And then 2021, it's the spotlight on the Gelendzhik Palace, the Peterhof of today's empire, which is nothing more than a sad murder hole open to Europe. For the 310th anniversary, we don't know yet, 2031 is still a long way off. In short, you will have understood that commemorative watches are invitations to compare different eras, to innovate while being part of a long tradition to imagine a more serene future. But if the watch can become the symbol of its era, it is not it that builds history, it is rather the one who wears it, for better or for worse. The adjectives that describe it are contradictory because this watch is an oxymoron, it is sumptuous and simple.

Its name may be scary, Raketa Sniper (or Military or Aviator depending on the context), Raketa means missile or rocket in Russian and Sniper, sniper in English, we can still imagine a new precision ballistic missile, or an ultra-precise cruise missile capable of destroying a children's hospital thousands of kilometers away without a hitch. But don't be alarmed, it's a watch from the 80s, a time when Raketa was mainly for civilian use. In reality, the name refers to the dial's sight which resembles that of a sniper's scope. It is not a watch specifically designed for snipers, just like Yema's Superman is essentially sold to normal human beings, not immigrants from Krypton. It uses the codes of diving watches, like those of the Superman, but it is not one, there is no bezel, it is not waterproof. It has the luminescent coating and the indexes in the shape of a sight, but its case is for the surface. It is an excellent compromise for everyday life, where you do not need to dive and withstand enormous pressure, but where readability is appreciable. We therefore have a completely classic 511 case. It is a model dating from 1981 which combines the 511 case in 38mm diameter in chromed brass with the hands of the Amphibia model. The back is in stainless steel with a serial number. It is one of the rare models in a military style from the Petrodvoretz factory of that time. The caliber is a classic 2609NA (its power reserve 36 to 42 hours). It is a robust and reliable mechanism very widespread, easily repairable. It is not so common and yet very endearing. Adjectives: Readable, efficient, light, military, sporty, adapted, civil

This watch is named after a British merchant who visited the Petrodvoretz factory in 1974 and placed a large order for this type of watch. It is also called "screen" or "televisor" in reference to its rectangular shape which was unusual. The British name and this shape must have given it an exotic appeal which ensured its success for a good fifteen years. The model was notably declined with the day/date complication as well and various decorative elements on the case or dial. This one is the most common brass case with vertical grooves at the top and bottom. The dial is squared with 3D indexes and the Raketa brand in Latin letters. The readability is excellent. According to Alexandre Brodnikovski, it is one of the first models produced. This copy has lived well, but as always I have fewer qualms about wearing a watch that is not in perfect condition because at least I don't think that I could damage a museum piece and in moments of boredom I can dream about what its life was like before in the wild steppes lost beyond the Urals or in the hectic life of a Soviet megalopolis to count the number of hours spent in queues of all kinds. Watches beat time, but do not speak and do not tell what they have lived, we are left to imagine it. I mounted it on a NATO strap which gives a slightly sporty look, but above all for practicality to change it easily, on a faceted steel bracelet it would have a more retro-futuristic look from the 1970s. adjectives: vintage, rectangular, iconic, exotic, robust

If there is one drawback to wearing a mechanical watch, it is that it is sensitive to magnetic fields; if the hairspring becomes magnetized, it will lose precision. Magnetic fields are invisible, but very common. We don't think about it, but all these magnets for closing or easy storage are omnipresent in the office or at home. If they come into contact with the watch, it must be demagnetized. The alternative is to wear a quartz watch, or an anti-magnetic watch, which is not sensitive and keeps its independent beat no matter what. This Raketa 2610 is precisely protected by an antimagnetic casing and a special 2610 caliber. At the time in the Soviet Union of Brezhnev there were not all these closures of iPad, smartphone or in-ear headphones, there were not many quartz watches either, but some professions were exposed to strong magnetic fields that could disrupt their time, hence the development of several resistant models. This one has a clear guilloche dial, a massive railroad, a robust 6 and 12, and clearly visible hands. The result is a great readability and apparent simplicity despite a very worked dial. The case is dedicated to anti-magnetics but still made of chromed brass, it is two discs and a ring of anti-magnetic materials housed inside that ensure resistance to the fields and not the case itself. Adjective: Free, readable, resistant, futuristic, metallic, clear, invisible

The case with double crown and rotating internal bezel, used in the World timer and the Rose des sables is also present in this "Collège" which allows to display the days of the month for the current year. It is quite clever, and it recalls the same device that is on the Japanese Orient watches. It is called Collège because it was popular among students (In post-Soviet Russia the word refers to technical higher education, but the name may come from the Anglo-Saxon world where the College is a general higher education, I do not know when this name dates from). But it is also called Millennium or simply Orient, because it is a watch homage to the Orients made for the European market a decade or two earlier. The mechanism is a 2628N with the day and date. The system, of course, is outdated because it is easier to take out your smartphone if you want the calendar of the month, you can also write down your appointments or reminders. On the other hand, it allows us to understand how stupid and unnatural the current calendar with 12 months is. It would be enough to have 13 months of 28 days in the year to not need a calendar in front of us when planning, the days of the week would always fall on the same date. It would simply be enough to have an intercalary day (or two in leap years) to fall back on the year of 365 or 366 days. Months that do not have the same number of days and that are not multiples of 7, you really have to try to complicate your life to choose that. And yet that's what everyone uses. It's probably to better follow the moon which is not 28 days but 29.5, or quite simply that since the Babylonians or the Sumerians we have been used to counting in base twelve. Even the revolutionaries of 1789 wanted to keep 12 months in the Republican calendar, when 13 would be more practical. Aside from these reflections that this necessarily inspires, the hands are very thin, the dial is loaded, the crown of the internal bezel to select the days and the year is slightly shorter than the main crown (although not on the first models). We are really dealing with an intellectual's watch, a hair-splitter, which is why it is well named a student's watch, College. Adjectives: intellectual, complicated, complex, clever, homage, commercial, calendar,

Watches are generally designed to work even if they are damaged by a shock (anti-shock device or even G-shock), or if the ambient conditions deteriorate (luminescent paint to go down deep, away from the sun's rays), but they do not anticipate that the owner's abilities will diminish. Now whether it is the Raketa Big Zero or this tactile watch, they anticipate the case where the owner's eyesight deteriorates significantly, or even disappears completely. This watch, the Raketa Braille, or Raketa for the blind, therefore has a glass that can be opened, like a washing machine by pressing the button on the crown and tactile indexes, 12,3,6 and 9 being doubled indexes to help you find your way around. There are, however, numbers and a railroad in black on a cream background, for the sighted. So it is not a watch reserved for the blind, but is perfectly suited to those who are afraid of becoming blind, or those who sometimes have their eyes occupied elsewhere and are not against a tactile experience. I appreciate its readability although it is small (34mm). It has a chrome case and a 2601 movement. The musician Ray Charles wore one, there were probably few tactile watches on the market at that time, the watch was released in 1966. (https://youtu.be/8uhsJMmdKFg?si=AiseBf5-YJdpuW5k). Obviously with such a music monster as its illustrious owner, this model can only make you dream. Adjective: accessible, respectful, inclusive, musical, magical, tactile, readable, clever,

The case of the world timer that I listed previously was also used for another rather unusual watch. This time on a 12-hour movement and the internal bezel serving as a compass by rotating the directions. To use it, you have to remove the watch, hold it horizontally, point the hour hand towards the direction of the sun, or at least its horizontal projection, and turn the red arrow on the internal bezel to half the distance between the small hand and 12 o'clock, all thanks to the crown placed at 4 o'clock, because the south is on the bisector between the angle of the sun and noon. So of course you must not be on legal time, because otherwise it doesn't work. Legal time is a totally artificial concept that the sun has never managed to get used to. Since June 22, 1940 in France, we say that German time is our legal time. But the sun doesn't care, for it we stayed on the Greenwich meridian. Likewise in summer we legally shift one hour more, but the sun, not to mention the equation of time, or the imprecision of the bisector... Which shows that it's better to have a GPS or a compass. Nevertheless, the compass rose and the internal bezel have a crazy charm. The movement is a 2609 NP with manual winding. The readability is not extraordinary with thin black hands on a dial printed with a red and black compass rose. But the idea of the watch is to have sun and to be more or less on solar time and in these conditions the readability is excellent, and if the sun is not there, it is the sun that we regret rather than the design of the watch. We miss a ray of sunshine and the world is so gray, only this watch bears witness to sunny days and it is this unquantifiable poetry that delights us.

Raketa is known for its 24-hour movements. This one is a bit special since it is associated with an inner bezel on which the main time zones are represented. But the language used is English and the city for CET is neither Berlin nor Paris but Geneva. In addition, on a lower circle are represented the Antarctic bases, the Antarctic continent having all the time zones, even if on some no bases are built. What I really like, besides this internal crown of universal time, is the night version which gives an extreme delicacy. Often the Raketa models were offered in two versions, day (white dial) and night (black dial). The thin white hands moving on the black dial always give me an impression of hushed delicacy. Added to this is the caseback number 333 that the seller from the far north assured was a message from the archangel Gabriel, a message of joy, peace and love, even if I don't know if this number is original, it doesn't hurt to wear such a number. The dial only represents the indexes of even hours and indicates odd hours with 24-minute sub-indexes (1/60 of the turn of the small hand) and 1/60 of the turn of the large hand which turns in one hour and therefore each sub-index for the large hand corresponds to one minute like all watches). Midnight being at the top of the dial and noon at the bottom. This may seem unusual as a way of doing things but in fact it is very practical to use. The case is made of chrome-plated brass with a diameter of 38mm and a stainless steel caseback. The movement is a 2623N 24 Hours which is known to be robust and reliable. In the end it's a watch that I really appreciate Adjectives: Delicate, cosmopolitan, universal, soft, celestial, planetary, elegant, extreme, angelic, practical

Old mechanical raketa with two-tone background given to me by my godmother in 1988. A Russian friend translated the texts for me. It says rocket, around the world. The other texts all other text is an invitation to exhibition of artists in the Palace of Arts. I have never met anyone with a similar watch