This sugess (belongs to seagull) carries with it a lot of complications for a mini price. It is sure that it is not very fine, nor very well finished but it allows to have a poetic moon phase. The dial is quite readable despite all the information present. The "blued" hands look very artificial and are the only really low-end elements at first glance.

A moon phase date chrono for less than 200 euros

I didn't see myself wearing a gold world but the rose gold of this Certina convinced me otherwise. Its small second and the beginning of a Bambi patina finished convincing me. The transition to a midnight blue bracelet suits it perfectly. The indexes are just the index at 6 o'clock is the only negative note on the piece for me.

Bambi are you there?

An ideal watch for summer or to bring some sun in the middle of winter. The yellow dial is bright no matter the lighting. The integrated bracelet fits well with the case. The finishes could be a bit better, but for mass-produced watches it's okay. The crown is not easy to operate and I would have liked a version without a date or at least without a cyclops.

Simple and effective in short citizen

Everything has already been said about the speedmaster. So I would talk about the feeling when the first time you wear one on your wrist, and especially the first time it is ours and we start our story with it. The search for the right strap (the best is Joseph Bonnies' NASA), checking our car speedometer on the highway and the fact of perpetuating the story by spreading it around you. I started with something new wanting to try to keep this watch until the end of my life and for it to be part of my story.

One small step, one giant leap in the heart

An iconic watch brought up to date by its size and its bronze case. A pleasant mechanism to handle with its good-sized crown and a power reserve that can allow forgetting to wind it.
The bronze patina very well. The horns are long and allow the wearing of any type of bracelet.

Bronze at attention

Pretty vintage that attracted me by its patinated dial that goes towards purple and by the sunburst of the case. The shape of the case also changes with its slightly barrel shape. The dial seems very deep bringing a lot of relief to the whole. The CCCP also brings its bit of history on this manufacture coming from the east.

Made in CCCP

One of the few big watches that I like to wear thanks to its reduced horns. The ceramic makes it very soft to the touch. The readability is at the top day and night with this nightlum series. The integration of the date at 4 o'clock is great by taking the font size of the reference. The change of bracelet is simplified by the pierced horns.

When do we take off?

After getting past the round hands, we linger on the other subtleties of the watch. Its dial that goes from black to green with edges that go up towards the bezel. A very worked case that looks like it is in two parts. The openwork horns. In short, a lot of details for this microbrand.

Everything is going well

The watch that best fits the wrist with its shape, its absence of horn and its specific bracelet.
Its size is quite present for a vintage. Dial with a beautiful reflection and not "polluted" by a date that I find does not suit it. The second hand brings pep and makes it lively. The bracelet change system could be great if finding one was more economical.

Oval is the new round

The Russian watch brand Raketa, founded in 1961, has its roots in the Imperial Manufacture of Peterhof, established in 1721 by Tsar Peter the Great. This factory, located in Saint Petersburg, is the oldest in Russia still in operation. Initially specializing in cutting precious and semi-precious stones, it contributed to iconic works such as the 1924 Lenin Mausoleum and the Kremlin ruby ​​stars.
<h2 dir="ltr">The Beginnings of Watchmaking</h2>
After the Second World War, the Petrodvorets factory diversified its activities by launching into watchmaking. In 1945, it began assembling watches under the brands Zvezda ("Star") and Pobeda ("Victory"), the latter celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany.
<h2 dir="ltr">Birth of the Raketa Brand</h2>
In 1961, in homage to the first manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin, the "Raketa" brand (which means "rocket" in Russian) was created. This initiative reflects the spirit of innovation and space conquest of the Soviet era.
<h2 dir="ltr">Expansion et Production</h2>
At the peak of its production, in the 1970s, the factory employed around 8,000 people and produced up to 5 million mechanical watches per year. These watches were intended for civilians as well as soldiers, cosmonauts, polar explorers and Olympic athletes.
<h2 dir="ltr">Post-Soviet Challenges and Renaissance</h2>
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Raketa went through a difficult period, but was able to revive itself by modernizing its facilities and collaborating with international experts. Today, the manufacture produces its own movements in-house, including hairsprings and escapements, which is rare in the global watch industry.
<h2 dir="ltr">Iconic Models</h2>
Among Raketa's emblematic models, we find the "Polar", designed for polar explorers with a 24-hour dial, and the "Ba&iuml;konur", dedicated to cosmonauts. Raketa is one of the few global watch brands to entirely produce its own mechanical movements. Its range includes models such as the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/raketa/baikonur"> Raketa Baikonur</a>, the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/raketa/avant-garde"> Raketa Avant-Garde</a> or even the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/raketa/polar"> Raketa Polar</a>.
<h2 dir="ltr">How much does a Raketa watch cost?</h2>
The price of Raketa watches evolve and differ depending on the model. Most cost between 1,600 &euro; and 2,200 &euro; depending on the models and finishes. An Avant-Garde Raketa costs &euro;1,950, while a &ldquo;Sonar&rdquo; Raketa is priced at &euro;2,000. The second-hand and vintage markets are also an opportunity to find cheaper Soviet-era watches.
<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>
Raketa is owned by the Pobeda brand and produces around 7,000 watches per year, all models combined. To choose a Raketa that suits you best, Dialicious owners&rsquo; reviews are a valuable resource for evaluating each of the different models through real customer experience.
(Updated November 2024)

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

Undisturbed by evil magnetic forces

This Soviet watch appeared in the Raketa catalog in the mid-1970s and was nicknamed Jeans because of the resemblance of the texture of the dial in its blue color to these pants that were impossible to find in the USSR and therefore extremely desirable. But it also existed in brown and white. The watch is decorated with a Soviet quality mark that was affixed to each object whose qualities for the consumer exceeded anything available in the West (in any case, Soviet citizens were not allowed to make the comparison themselves and were very grateful that this quality mark was affixed). The 2609 NA mechanism did not particularly shine with the incomparable quality of its finish but its robustness and reliability were never questioned. If it says "shockproof" on the back, it is in fact "indestructible" that people read given the reputation of this movement. This watch is quite emblematic of what the Petrodvorets factory could produce in the 1970s, which stood out from other Soviet factories. Wearing it almost 50 years later on a contemporary leather strap is very pleasant. The ticking sound on 18,000 A/h is slow compared to today's calibers and less stressful. It is light and discreet (35mm in diameter) and recalls the great era of the Petrodvorets watch factory. The brown color is perfect for summer and tanned skin.

A summery and tanned watch


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,

A watch that is always readable, even if you can no longer read it

This little Raketa schoolgirl watch (489205) exudes the joy of the bell that rings at recess time. It is a small disc that recalls the classroom clock, the horns are invisible hidden behind so as to have this impression. The dial with the writing lines and the name of the watch are in the style of a school notebook, the double black numbering for the hours, blue for the minutes as well as the large black hands on white provide excellent readability. It is rather rare that a Raketa watch has its name written on the dial in script, a name that is moreover obvious, "schoolgirl". The Soviet logo of the quality mark is on the back of the watch, which is also not so common either, but fortunate because it does not distort the evocative magic of the dial. It also came in different colors: burgundy, pink, matte aluminum, chrome...
These are watches that were affordable, only 16 rubles, so that schoolchildren could buy them. The mechanism is a very classic 2609 NA.
The soundtrack for this piece would be "En sortir de l'école" by Yves Montand. A song tinged with the enthusiasm and overflowing imagination that we have in primary school. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlD0nBLvrcE ).
It is a watch that makes us dream by its evocative power, that brings back school memories buried deep inside each of us, even if it is perhaps not precisely the model that we wore then.

Adjective: Youthful, schoolgirl, educational, fresh, dreamlike, optimistic, simple, nostalgic

Yay it's recess time!

This is certainly one of the most prized Raketa watches by collectors, the "Goroda" (Cities in Russian, pronounced almost like "Garada" because the unstressed vowels are attenuated and there the accent is on the last syllable). It is nicknamed thus because of the large Louis Cottier-style universal time bezel. It is massive, since it is 43 mm in diameter (and even 45 mm if we count the crown) for 11 mm thick. The watch itself is on 12 hours, with the day and date - It is a caliber 2628N with 19 Jewels, double calendar, day and date. But there are white graduations on 24 hours in order to use the universal time bezel. It was first produced in the late 1970s for the Soviets, then in the late 1980s for the Italian market. The case is a type 313 in gold-plated brass on 10 or 1 micron depending on the version. There are also chrome versions. There are several dial colors, blue being the most common. The back is clipped in steel. The domed plexi glass gives an impression of cosmopolitan roundness.

This great classic of the Raketa collections always makes me think of a Russian rock classic, "nobody writes to the colonel" by Bi-2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u7WN2zBEDc
First of all because the song begins like the name of the watch that we slowly count down "Bolchìe Gorodà". Because it is a song about time that passes differently depending on where we are and who we are. Inspired by the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez who lived in Mexico at the time and wrote about Colombia. It is a song about emigration and solitude.
It was composed in a big city on the other side of the world, in Melbourne, it became emblematic of the 2000s because the director Alexei Balabanov gave it the central place in the film Brat 2. It must be said that it was not his initial choice, he had preferred a song about the war crimes in Afghanistan that forged the cultural universe of the killers of the 90s. But the singer had categorically refused in view of the project of a cinematic ode to ultraviolent organized crime and primary nationalism that it conveyed diametrically opposed to the humanist commitment that animated the composition of the song. This is how the hit of Bi-2 came into play. The club scene shot in Saint Petersburg, is supposed to take place in Chicago. It's the whole scope that we shoot, Colombia, Australia, Ingria, Illinois, Pennsylvania... In short, all the time zones are there or almost. "Big cities,
Empty trains,
There is no shore, no bottom
We have to start all over again from scratch."

The song must also be suitable, I guess for the Big Zero special edition "Brat 2". But hey, there are other reasons to love this song or this good little planet and all these time zones besides a blissful admiration for the international organized crime. You can look at your telescope to see what time it is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the Tokyo Institute of Technology rather than Brighton Beach or Marbella. You can love the song apart from what it has become through its passage to the silver screen.

Adjectives: imposing, global, universal, terrestrial, traveling, brilliant, cosmopolitan, amazing


Universal Time: We Are All on the Same Planet

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


A Baker from the first batches

This model is not very fashionable and yet it has many advantages, it is equipped with the robust 2609NA movement, has a textured dial with metallic reflections and especially a clear railway with "oversize" numbers which are very appreciable for the old people who see their eyesight decline, without going as far as the watch for the visually impaired that is the big zero, or even the tactile watch for the blind. Raketa knows how to make watches adapted to people with reduced visual abilities. The font of the numbers is captivating, it gives the impression that the numbers are hammered, that the hours fall inevitably like a powerful and rhythmic mass, whether it is our own rhythm that we imprint on our life or the one that inevitably falls on us: the rhythm of worries and problems of all kinds. This duodecimal string of numbers that tick away makes us think of the twelve hours of the half-day but also of the twelve months of the year where life and its string of worries take place. 
That's why I think when wearing it of the very rhythmic title of Elysium, "all year long" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uXM2bUjtew ). A captivating song of despair and hope mixed together. 
The chrome-plated brass case, type 621, with a clipped steel case back. The scaled bracelet suits it well but the organic glass is a little fragile when you're too active or clumsy. 
Adjectives: readable, punctuated, classy, reliable, caring

To mark the hour, carried away by the torrent, the year passes

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.

The memory of the sun on the wrist

Square watches combine energy and unrivaled presence, but this one has its rounded corners and particularly curved Arabic numerals. It is powered by a Raketa 2614H caliber with 19 jewels indicating the date. The case is made of chrome-plated brass, type 141 with a clipped steel back. It is a 32 mm square with rounded corners.
The light gray railroad is not very visible, it is more of a shadow on the edges that brings volume, the black hands and numbers on a white background stand out very well, giving it excellent readability in all circumstances. This watch is nothing special and yet it is very endearing, full of energy and softness at the same time. Its simplicity seems obvious and its energy is simply incredible.
It reminds me of the album "obvious and incredible" by the St. Petersburg musical ensemble Radar ( https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRRvmwIJKo&si=0oLLpdRSUWCGxNOr ).
Adjectives: obvious, incredible, square, rounded, soft, energetic

The square of the guitar, the roundness of the trumpet

Since 2025 is a centered octagonal year, it's time to wear an 8-sided watch.
This watch is nicknamed "The Star Wars" or "the Star Wars" in reference, not to the wars waged by the residents of the Moscow palace topped with a red star, but its shape recalls the American film series "Star Wars", some star fighters having a central cockpit window in the shape of an octagon.
The watch also has another more common name used for example by Alexander Brodnikovsky, Grobik, the little coffin because the octagonal shape of the glass evoked a glass coffin in front of which everyone went to see a mummy on Red Square and that also at the beginning of the 1980s the USSR was marked by the parade of coffins, those of the first secretaries of the party who often died until the arrival of Gorbachev and then the returns from Afghanistan of all the "loads 200", code name of the coffins of soldiers returning home. The coffins were omnipresent in the consciences. And yet, if you look closely, none of them really have an octagonal shape, they are simple quadrilaterals with right angles, chests, the glass coffin of the mausoleum, it has a flared shape but rectangular and inverted compared to the glass of the watch, the upper part being wider than the lower part. As if the associations of ideas work strangely. 
It is a dress watch because the octagonal organic glass is rather rare and difficult to change if it is damaged so you have to be careful. The two inserts in the upper and lower parts of the watch are made of black-coated brass ("black chrome" they said at the factory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYc2Rte-fUk), in keeping with the hands. It has survived much less well than the chrome plating of the case. The four screws are perhaps a tribute to Gerald Genta, but depending on the angle from which you look at them, they are not very visible. 
The dial is textured, silver in color with large indexes and the RAKETA brand in chrome. Depending on the angle, the inscription is displayed in a luminous chrome or a mourning black.
The movement is a 2628 N with 19 Jewels with the day/date function which is set by setting the date by pulling the crown while the day must be set by scrolling the hours.
In the 1990s, control parts with illustrated dials will give a lighter atmosphere to this somewhat macabre model.
It is a classy but serious dress watch that invariably brings to mind the dead by the nickname it has been given. We can attribute to it the song by the group Grajdanskaïa Oborona (Grob for short) "the dead" with a simple and joyful melody, childish in a word and with a serious and deep text, punk on a church organ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeQAaWGpg_Y ). The dead are not alive, this seems to be a trivial evidence and yet...

adjectives: serious, elegant, octagonal, mortal, memorial, historical, worked, accomplished

The dead do not see the passing of time

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,

Why keep it simple when you can make it complicated?

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.

A window open on Europe

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

An Odyssey that fits in your hand

2025 is a perfect square, it's forty-five squared and it's also a concentric octagonal number. In short, you have to wear a square or octagonal watch in 2025, when most watches on wrists have a circular profile. So let's stand out. I suggest starting with this square Raketa 2209/913139 with a 19.5 micron gilded brass case. It's a 2209.I "Russia" movement, very thin but unreliable, with 17 jewels, a fairly scratched organic glass. Fitting an analog watch that runs smoothly into a square case is not normal, we can see right away that something is wrong with those who designed such a case. It's stupid, it's nonconformist, it creates four unoccupied corners, the movements are made to fit into round cases, it's a useless waste of metal (it's only gilded brass, but still). In short, to wear such a watch you have to be optimistic at all costs, an optimism from the beginning of the year, an optimism of a lover who wakes up with a smile on his lips ready to climb the most perilous peaks. Someone who would listen in the morning to "Wake up boo" by the Boo Radleys or "l'Alpiniste" by the Cosmo-rock band Elysium from Nizhny Novgorod. 
This is my personal interpretation, because basically it's a watch from the early or mid-1970s and it's not at all the kind of music of that time, so let's suggest Larisa Mondrous' hit - "Prosnis i poï!" (wake up and sing!) which somewhere comes from the same delirious optimism.
We can also see the design as a copy of what Swiss watches could offer, Zenith for example.
It is a badly made watch, but beautiful and with impertinent optimism that breathes the sweet bourgeois perfume of the rotting West.
Adjectives: absurd, optimistic, impertinent, golden, square, bourgeois

The bourgeois elegance of the golden square

La marque Ollech &amp; Wajs a &eacute;t&eacute; cr&eacute;&eacute;e en 1956 par Joseph Ollech et Albert Wajs &agrave; Zurich en Suisse. Albert &eacute;tait charg&eacute; de la conception, de l&rsquo;ing&eacute;nierie et de la fabrication des montres, tandis que Joseph s&rsquo;occupait du marketing et de la vente au d&eacute;tail. Avant de cr&eacute;er leur propre montres sous la marque Ollech &amp; Wajs, ils ont commenc&eacute; leur activit&eacute; en 1954 en fabriquant des bracelets en acier pour d&rsquo;autres marques.
La marque est connue pour avoir distribu&eacute; des montres &agrave; des unit&eacute;s de l&rsquo;arm&eacute;e am&eacute;ricaine pendant la guerre du Vietnam et pour avoir gagn&eacute; sa renomm&eacute;e aupr&egrave;s des plongeurs et pilotes du monde entier.
Apr&egrave;s 12 ans de n&eacute;gociation et apr&egrave;s avoir &eacute;t&eacute; son distributeur pour le march&eacute; fran&ccedil;ais, en 2017, Charles Le Menestrel, un passionn&eacute; d&rsquo;horlogerie, rach&egrave;te la marque. La gamme actuelle comprend des mod&egrave;les comme la Ollech &amp; Wajs P-101 et la <a title="Page Ollech &amp; Wajs P-104" href="https://www.dialicious.com/ollech_&amp;_wajs/p-104">Ollech &amp; Wajs P-104</a>, la <a title="Page Ollech &amp; Wajs C-1000" href="https://www.dialicious.com/ollech_&amp;_wajs/c-1000">Ollech &amp; Wajs C-1000</a>, la <a title="Page Ollech &amp; Wajs Ocean Graph" href="https://www.dialicious.com/ollech_&amp;_wajs/ocean_graph">Ollech &amp; Wajs Ocean Graph</a> et la Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron.
<h2>Combien co&ucirc;te une montre Ollech &amp; Wajs ?</h2>
Les prix des montres Ollech &amp; Wajs &eacute;voluent et diff&egrave;rent selon les mod&egrave;les. La plupart co&ucirc;tent entre CHF 1,500 et CHF 2,000 selon les mod&egrave;les et les finitions. Comptez CHF 1,456 pour une Ollech &amp; Wajs 350CI et pr&egrave;s de CHF 2,300 pour une Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron Chronographe. Le march&eacute; de l'occasion est &eacute;galement une opportunit&eacute; &agrave; regarder pour acheter une Ollech &amp; Wajs moins ch&egrave;re. Les mod&egrave;les Vintage notamment les Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron et&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/ollech_&amp;_wajs/astrochron">Ollech &amp; Wajs Astrochron</a>, sont tr&egrave;s pris&eacute;es des collectionneurs et ils convient de bien se renseigner sur le vendeur avant de franchir le pas de l'acquisition d'une vintage.
Ollech &amp; Wajs est une marque de montres ind&eacute;pendante et produit plusieurs centaines de montres par an, tous mod&egrave;les confondus. Pour choisir une Ollech &amp; Wajs qui vous correspond le mieux,&nbsp;les avis clients Dialicious sont une pr&eacute;cieuse ressource pour &eacute;valuer chacun des diff&eacute;rents mod&egrave;les &agrave; travers l'exp&eacute;rience r&eacute;elle des clients.
Consultez le <a href="https://www.dialicious.com/top/les_meilleures_marques_de_montres_suisses">Classement des meilleures marques de montres suisses</a> dont Ollech &amp; Wajs fait partie.
(Mise &agrave; jour Octobre 2024)

The brand Ollech &amp; Wajs was created in 1956 by Joseph Ollech and Albert Wajs in Zurich, Switzerland. Albert was responsible for the design, engineering and manufacturing of the watches, while Joseph handled marketing and retail sales. Before creating their own watches under the brand Ollech &amp; Wajs, they started their business in 1954 making steel bracelets for other brands.
The brand is known for distributing watches to units of the American army during the Vietnam War and for having earned its reputation among divers and pilots around the world.
After 12 years of negotiations and after having been its distributor for the French market, in 2017, Charles Le Menestrel, a watchmaking enthusiast, bought the brand. The current range includes models like the Ollech &amp; Wajs P-101 and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/ollech_&amp;_wajs/p-104">Ollech &amp; Wajs P-104</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/ollech_&amp;_wajs/c-1000">Ollech &amp; Wajs C-1000</a>, the<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/ollech_&amp;_wajs/ocean_graph"> Ollech &amp; Wajs Ocean Graph</a> and the Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron.
<h2 dir="ltr">How much does an Ollech &amp; Wajs watch cost?</h2>
The prices of Ollech &amp; Wajs watches change and differ depending on the model. Most cost between CHF 1,500 and CHF 2,000 depending on the models and finishes. Expect to pay CHF 1,456 for an Ollech &amp; Wajs 350CI and close to CHF 2,300 for an Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron Chronograph. The second-hand market is also an opportunity to look at to buy a cheaper Ollech &amp; Wajs. Vintage models including the Ollech &amp; Wajs Navichron and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/ollech_&amp;_wajs/astrochron">Ollech &amp; Wajs Astrochron</a>, are very popular with collectors and they should find out about the seller before taking the step of purchasing a vintage one.
Ollech &amp; Wajs is an independent watch brand and produces several hundred watches per year, all models combined. To choose an Ollech &amp; Wajs that best suits you, Dialicious owners' reviews are a valuable resource for evaluating each of the different models through real owner experience.
Consult the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dialicious.com/en/top/the_best_swiss_watch_brands">Ranking of the best Swiss watch brands</a> of which Ollech &amp; Wajs is part.
(Updated October 2024)

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