# Russian Pocket Watch.



## AlanJohn

I have one Russian pocket watch, a Molija. 15 jewels. Runs well, keeps good time. I wondered if any members have Russian pocket watches?



molija by velocipede228822, on Flickr

It is from around the 1950's I believe. It is small, around size 16 and very slim.


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## Shangas

In Sovyet Raaasha, watch pockets you!

I believe there are one or two members here with rather extensive collections of Russian pocketwatches.

I'm not one of them, though.


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## Roger the Dodger

Julian Latham's the guy to talk to.......


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## AlanJohn

Roger the Dodger said:


> Julian Latham's the guy to talk to.......


I've been talking to Julian now, and he has told me some interesting things about fakes etc.


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## AlanJohn

Some of my latest additions. All from the Molnija factory I believe.



W.Oriosa USSR by velocipede228822, on Flickr



W.Oriosa inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr



W.Jean cardot by velocipede228822, on Flickr



W.Jean Cordot inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr



W.Ingersoll ussr by velocipede228822, on Flickr



W.Ingersoll inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr


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## AlanJohn

Railroad back by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back of the three new watches all have the same back.Railroad.


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## AlanJohn

molnija face. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new Molnija hunter to my Russian collection.



M.hunter cover. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The cover of the same hunter.



M.hunter back. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back of same.



M.hunter inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr

And the inner.


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## Roger the Dodger

That latest one is gorgeous, Alan....well done...I love the maroon dial, numbers, 24 hr chapter ring, sub dial at 9, etc, etc........lovely! :thumbsup:


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## AlanJohn

Thanks roger. They are all 18 jewel, and I think that the Russians made some pretty good watches. It's thanks to Julian Latham for puttin me on to them. Or maybe I shouldn't be thanking him, I'll be broke at this rate :lookaround:

I've also clelaned up the train watch since I took this photoe, It sparkles now,I should have done that before I took the snap, but I was too eager to show off :man_in_love:


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## AlanJohn

AlanJohn said:


> Thanks roger. They are all 18 jewel, and I think that the Russians made some pretty good watches. It's thanks to Julian Latham for puttin me on to them. Or maybe I shouldn't be thanking him, I'll be broke at this rate :lookaround:
> 
> I've also clelaned up the train watch since I took this photoe, It sparkles now,I should have done that before I took the snap, but I was too eager to show off :man_in_love:


I should have said, most of them are 18 jewel, one is 15 and one is 17 jewel. But all work well and keep good time.


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## AlanJohn

W.Molnija,new. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

New Molnija open face.17 jewel.



W. Molnijka T. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Railroad back, I put it back upside down, dare not take it back off, as I had such a job getting it back on.


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## AlanJohn

WNew molnija by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new one to the collection, a hunter again.Molnija,



W.Reverse by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The front of the hunter.



W.Molnija back. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

And the other side.


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## ian1

A great collection, I love the trains on the back


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## AlanJohn

I have got two with trains on and they are a mat colour. I have one coming with a frigate on the back and another coming with human figure on the back, refered to as Ural Legend, and yet another with Siberian wolved on the reverse side. Also I am expecting a Raketa, another Russian pocket watch.


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## AlanJohn

Wolf watch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new addition to the collection.



W.Wolf watch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

It has as you can see, a wolf scene on the back.18 jewels.


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## Rotundus

some nice watches there.

what kind of accuracy should we expect from these then?

to be honest i need a minute a day or better, much as i like pocket watches i need a collection to work for a living.


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## AlanJohn

desmondus rotundus said:


> some nice watches there.
> 
> what kind of accuracy should we expect from these then?
> 
> to be honest i need a minute a day or better, much as i like pocket watches i need a collection to work for a living.


Well, I have never been bothered about a minute here and there, but I will keep an eye on them and let you know Desmond.


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## AlanJohn

ship watch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new Molnija pocket watch.



shipback by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back of the watch.


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## Roger the Dodger

Good grief, Alan...you'll soon have a bigger collection of Molnijas than Julian...are these all from t'bay? They're very nice.


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## AlanJohn

Roger the Dodger said:


> Good grief, Alan...you'll soon have a bigger collection of Molnijas than Julian...are these all from t'bay? They're very nice.


Yes Roger, I have had most of them from ebay and some from Julian. Most come form the Ukrain or Bulgaria. Usually only takes about a week from there for the post to reach me, but America can take a month.

I have aquired a display cabinet and have put a picture it on the site today.


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## AlanJohn

W.Molnija Ural. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Yet another Molnija watch.



W.Ural Legend by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back of the watch depicting the legendary Russian hero, Ural, who, when he died,it is said, a cairn was built over his grave and this grew into the Ural mountains.


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## AlanJohn

AlanJohn said:


> W.Molnija Ural. by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> Yet another Molnija watch.
> 
> 
> 
> W.Ural Legend by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> The back of the watch depicting the legendary Russian hero, Ural, who, when he died,it is said, a cairn was built over his grave and this grew into the Ural mountains.


Unfortunately, this new watch of mine,is not keeping good time and is stopping. And it was supposed to have been serviced before selling it to me,so now it is off the the watch repairers.


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## AlanJohn

W.Raketa by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new addition. A Russian Raketa.



W.Raketa inner. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The inner.


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## mach 0.0013137

Here`s one I think I got off Julian a few years back which you might want to look out for...

*Services, (Molnija 3602) 18 Jewels,(made in USSR) circa 1970s?*










It has the locomotive on the case back B)


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## AlanJohn

mach 0.0013137 said:


> Here`s one I think I got off Julian a few years back which you might want to look out for...
> 
> *Services, (Molnija 3602) 18 Jewels,(made in USSR) circa 1970s?*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It has the locomotive on the case back B)


I've got three with locamotives on the back, but not with services on the front. The are great watches, keep good time and mostly 18 jewels.


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## AlanJohn

AlanJohn said:


> AlanJohn said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> W.Molnija Ural. by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> Yet another Molnija watch.
> 
> 
> 
> W.Ural Legend by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> The back of the watch depicting the legendary Russian hero, Ural, who, when he died,it is said, a cairn was built over his grave and this grew into the Ural mountains.
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately, this new watch of mine,is not keeping good time and is stopping. And it was supposed to have been serviced before selling it to me,so now it is off the the watch repairers.
Click to expand...

An update on this watch is, that the watchmaker has told me he has to make a new ballance staff for it, so the cost of repair and service has gone up to Â£60. It turned out to be not a cheap watch. No wonder they call it the bay of thieves.


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## AlanJohn

Here is a Russian Stop watch I recently aquired. Can anyone tell me what the small button is for? It doesn't seem to do anything?



W.stopwatch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

I have also put this watch in the section displaying my latest additions.


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## martinzx

AlanJohn said:


> Here is a Russian Stop watch I recently aquired. Can anyone tell me what the small button is for? It doesn't seem to do anything?
> 
> [IMG alt="5794153428_c428b3240e.jpg...ickr.com/5186/5794153428_c428b3240e.jpg[/IMG]
> 
> W.stopwatch by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> I have also put this watch in the section displaying my latest additions.


AFAIK 1 start & reset 2 Stop

Cheers Martin


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## AlanJohn

W. Raketa new. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new Raketa (Rocket) USSR pocket watch made in the Petrodvorets military factory started in 1962.



W.Raketa back. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back of the Raketa.



W.Raketa USSR. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Another very nice new Raketa with the date and sweep second hand.


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## Shangas

I swear, Alan, you buy the weirdest pocketwatches I have ever seen...


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## AlanJohn

Shangas said:


> I swear, Alan, you buy the weirdest pocketwatches I have ever seen...


What's weird about them?


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## sam.

Picked this one up last year,a very reliable time keeper. 

I still have the original chain.


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## AlanJohn

I have a similar one Sam, it was made by the Molnija Military factory in Chelyabrinsk near the southern end of the Ural mountains in Russia. Mine is 18 jewels. The made them for the foreign market, and this one was made for Seconda, I have one for Ingersoll and another for Jean Cardot.


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## sam.

AlanJohn said:


> I have a similar one Sam, it was made by the Molnija Military factory in Chelyabrinsk near the southern end of the Ural mountains in Russia. Mine is 18 jewels. The made them for the foreign market, and this one was made for Seconda, I have one for Ingersoll and another for Jean Cardot.


Thanks Alan,extra information is always very welcome,and gratefully received. :rltb:


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## Julian Latham

One of the quirkier Molnija 3602's in my collection is from their world's religions range.

Not only are the hour markings in Hebrew but, just to add to the confusion, the hands rotate counter clockwise !




























Time shown is just after twenty to five.

The web has numerous articles on counter clockwise movements which are interesting and informative. Google 'jewish town hall prague' to see a very historic example.

Julian (L)


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## AlanJohn

Hi Julian. Thsnks for the pictures, I was reading about just such a watch just yesterday. That would be really confusing, with the hands going backwards. Nice looking watch though. I guess it would be quite pricey?


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## sam.

Well i've never seen anything like that before,really unusual and interesting Julian.


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## AlanJohn

W.ussr watch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

My latest Russian USSR pocket watch, commemorating their part in the 2nd world war.It is a skeleton hunter.



W.ussr watch by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The front.



W.ussr back by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back.


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## Shangas

Interesting watch A/J. I find it curious that the Russians don't commemorate ALL of their involvement in WWII...


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## Julian Latham

Shangas said:


> Interesting watch A/J. I find it curious that the Russians don't commemorate ALL of their involvement in WWII...


The Russians commemorate The Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945 commencing with the German attack on the USSR. They lost some 10 million military personnel and over 25 million civilians - probably the highest number of war casualties in human history.


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## Julian Latham

AlanJohn said:


> My latest Russian USSR pocket watch, commemorating their part in the 2nd world war.It is a skeleton hunter.


There are a lot of (ostensibly) Russian hunter cased watches on the market at the moment emanating from China. With the demise of much of Russia's watch industry the Chinese seem to have stepped in to fill the niche market for soviet style commemorative watches.

I'd be happy to be proved wrong but I suspect the the heart of this watch will be a standard 17 jewel wrist watch movement.


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## AlanJohn

Julian Latham said:


> AlanJohn said:
> 
> 
> 
> My latest Russian USSR pocket watch, commemorating their part in the 2nd world war.It is a skeleton hunter.
> 
> 
> 
> There are a lot of (ostensibly) Russian hunter cased watches on the market at the moment emanating from China. With the demise of much of Russia's watch industry the Chinese seem to have stepped in to fill the niche market for soviet style commemorative watches.
> 
> I'd be happy to be proved wrong but I suspect the the heart of this watch will be a standard 17 jewel wrist watch movement.
Click to expand...

You may well be right Julian,I had it from Hong Kong, for just the price of the postage on ebay. Just something to add to my Russian collection. I like it though,.


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## AlanJohn

W.Ingersoll Molnija. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

My latest addition to my Russian USSR collection. A Monija made for Ingersoll.



W.Ingersoll Molnija back. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The back.


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## no8yogi

AlanJohn said:


> Some of my latest additions. All from the Molnija factory I believe.
> 
> 
> 
> W.Oriosa USSR by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> W.Oriosa inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> W.Jean cardot by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> W.Jean Cordot inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> W.Ingersoll ussr by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> W.Ingersoll inner by velocipede228822, on Flickr


I have just purchased a watch off the bay which is nearly identical to the top one here except there is no makers name and it has made in Russia on it, the movement too looks the same with the numbers 3603 and 543691 on it but no SU like the one in the picture I would imagine this is a newer watch made after the fall of the ussr? (my guess) it keeps amazing time it has lost less than a minute in 24 hours! I would love some info on my purchase, it also has the same train picture on the back.

first post please be gentle


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## Julian Latham

Towards the end of production at the Molnija factory they added 'shock protection' to the balance. The model designation changed from 3602 - 36mm movement no anti-shock - to 3603 - 36mm movement with shock protection.

You will occasionally find 3603's in Molnija pocket watches but most were supplied, as bare movements, to Levenburg and others who 'improved' their finish and used them in wristwatches with display backs.

Early examples of the movement, from a Moscow Watch Factory, were finished to a good standard. These were 15 jewel movements and are also sought by modders for use in wristwatch conversions. When production transferred to Chelyabinsk the quality of finish went into steady decline.

As far as serial numbers go I don't think anybody has been able to link the numbers to date of manufacture.

Julian (L)


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## Julian Latham

Too late to edit previous post - for clarity ......

As far as serial numbers go I don't think anybody has been able to link the Chelyabisk serial numbers to date of manufacture . Moscow models used a simple code which shows the year and quarter, e.g. 3-55 would be third quarter of 1955.

Julian (L)


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## no8yogi

watch1 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr



watch2 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr



watch3 by Jorrit and Hillary, on Flickr

Here are some pictures for you, I take it this is definitely a post 1989 watch. I like it though. Thank you for the info Julian, was going to start my horological exploits by taking this one apart but think I will start on the Service one instead as this one runs so well!


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