|
It would be great find for any collector
Up for sale is a genuinely historic, highly collectible, and rare example of Soviet horological militaria – the legendary Sturmanskie Chronograph wristwatch powered by the prestigious in-house Poljot 3133 movement. This is not just a watch; it's a piece of aviation history, manufactured in the USSR during the late 1970s or early 1980s specifically for the use of military pilots and flight crews.
The watch features the robust mechanical hand-winding chronograph movement, directly derived from the famous Swiss Valjoux 7734 design but enhanced by Soviet engineers with more jewels and a higher beat rate. The original dial displays two recessed subsidiary registers (30-minute counter and running seconds), a date function at 6 o'clock, and the iconic Sturmanskie wings emblem. The bidirectional internal bezel is rotated by the additional crown at 9 o'clock. The robust melchior (German silver) case retains its original chrome plating, showcasing honest vintage character. It comes paired with a premium, excellent quality black Romiks leather strap. The movement has been completely checked, serviced, and is running smoothly, with all chronograph functions operating correctly!
DEFECTS: Authentic time-earned wear and scratches on the chrome-plated case and case back, fully consistent with a 40+ year-old historic military timekeeper
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USSR (СССР)
MANUFACTURER: Poljot (1st Moscow Watch Factory)
OVERALL CONDITION (10-point scale): 8
CASE
Robust, classic Soviet military-style case made of melchior (German silver base) with original chrome plating. Bidirectional inner rotating pilot's bezel operated by the crown at 9 o'clock. Traditional pushers for chronograph functions.
Condition (10-point scale): 8
GLASS
Classic thick domed vintage acrylic crystal that complements the watch's historic aesthetic perfectly.
Material: Acrylic Glass
Condition (10-point scale): 8
DIAL
100% original, untouched Sturmanskie Swiss-style dial with applied hour indices, central sweep chronograph hand, and recessed sub-registers at 3 and 9 o'clock. Featuring the authentic Sturmanskie wings insignia.
Condition (10-point scale): 8-9
Inscriptions on the dial: STURMANSKIE / WINGS LOGO
BRACELET/STRAP
Premium quality vintage-style genuine leather strap manufactured by the reputable brand Romiks. Hand-selected for its durability and excellent craftsmanship, featuring clean tone-on-tone tactical stitching and a classic matte finish. It matches the military aesthetic of this Soviet air force chronograph perfectly, ensuring a secure and highly comfortable fit on the wrist.
Condition (10-point scale): 10 (Brand New / Very good Quality)
MOVEMENT
Mechanical: hand-winding chronograph
Inscriptions on the movement: 23 Jewels, 3133 (caliber), serial number and Poljot logo
Caliber: Poljot 3133: which itself is a modified Valjoux 7734
You can see comparison Poljot 3133 vs. Valjoux 7734
Features
manual-wind chronograph, 60s, 30min, cam switched
sub second
date: set by changing 23-24h
Data
14''', Dm= 31.0mm
H= 7.35mm
23 jewels
f = 21600 A/h
power reserve 51h
Mainspring / battery
Zf1337, 1.60 x 12.5 x 0.13 x 430mm
Hands
1.4 x 0.9 x 0.25 / 0.20 x 0.20mm
The Soviets introduced a new chronograph caliber in 1976 which was designated the 3133. It was based on the Valjoux 7734 for which the Soviets had purchased the machinery from the Swiss in 1974. The Soviets made a number of modifications to the 7734 (for example, the balance wheel was changed and the beat frequency was raised to improve accuracy), but many of the parts remain interchangeable.
The new chronograph calibre entered service in 1976 in the ОКЕАН (meaning Ocean), and was initially exclusively used by the Soviet Navy. Later, other official versions such as the Soviet Air Force Sturmanskie (meaning Navigator's) were introduced.
Constant seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock, with the chronograph minutes sub-dial at 3 o'clock - this records up to 30 minutes only.
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT, FUNCTIONS
Width (Without crown) |
1.50 inch (38.0 mm) |
Width with crown |
1.77 inch (45.0 mm) |
Length (Lug to Lug) |
1.81 inch (46.0 mm) |
Depth (Thickness) |
0.55 inch (14.0 mm) |
Crystal Diameter |
1.42 inch (36.0 mm) |
Total Weight |
3.42 oz (97.0 g) |
Function |
Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph |
Dimensions of watches
HISTORY & LORE
Poljot (Russian: Полёт, literally meaning "flight"), is a brand of Soviet/Russian wristwatches, produced since 1964 by the First Moscow Watch Factory (Russian: Первый Московский Часовой Завод, ПМЧЗ, Perviy Moskovskiy Chasovoy Zavod). The flagship brand of the USSR's watch industry, Poljot produced numerous historical watches used in many important space missions, including the world's first space watch worn by Yuri Gagarin.
Founded in 1930 under orders from Joseph Stalin, the First State Watch Factory (Russian: Первый Государственный Часовой Завод - 1ГЧЗ) was the first large scale Soviet watch and mechanical movement manufacturer. Via its USA-based trading company Amtorg, the Soviet government bought the defunct Ansonia Clock Company of Brooklyn, New York in 1929, and the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio. It moved twenty-eight freight cars full of machinery and parts from the USA to Moscow in order to establish the factory. Twenty-one former Dueber-Hampden watchmakers, engravers and various other technicians helped to train the Russian workers in the art of watchmaking as part of the Soviet's First Five-Year Plan. Interestingly, the movements of very-early products were still stamped "Dueber-Hampden, Canton, Ohio, USA" (examples of these watches are very collectible today). In 1935 the factory was named after the murdered Soviet official Sergei Kirov.
As the Germans closed in on Moscow in 1941, the factory was hurriedly evacuated to Zlatoust (Russian: Златоу́ст). By 1943 the Germans were in retreat, and the factory moved back to Moscow, adopting the "First Moscow Watch Factory" name (Russian: Первый Московский Часовой Завод - 1МЧЗ).
In 1947 the first wrist watches under the brand name "Pobeda" and the first Marine Chronometers and Deck watches are produced. By 1951 the production of wrist watches increases to 1.1 million. In 1975 new machinery and equipment for manufacturing complex watches are partly imported from Switzerland. The first chronograph "Okean" (caliber 3133) is produced for the space station "Sojuz-23."
In 1990 production of watches and clocks reaches 5 million pieces and in 1991 the international award "Golden Trophy for Quality" is awarded in Madrid.
PMChZ watches in Space
On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. During his historic flight he wore a Sturmanskie pilots wristwatch (a transliteration of Штурманские which actually means "Navigator"). This watch was not specially commissioned for the flight, they were standard issue to all air force pilots at the time. The success of the mission however lead to the factory being awarded the Poljot (Russian: Полет) name in 1964.
In 1965 cosmonaut Alexei Leonov wore a FMWF Strela (transliteration of СТРЕЛА, which actually means "Arrow") chronograph during his historic first space walk, thus cementing Poljot's place in space history. As with Gagarin's first flight, Leonov's watch was not specially commissioned. The Strela replaced the Shturmanskie as the standard issue pilots watch. In the late 1970s, the Strela itself was replaced by a new breed of chronographs based around the (then new) 3133 movement (an original Russian movement similar in functionality to the Swiss Valjoux 7734, but with higher number of jewels 23 vs 17 and lever movement operating at 21,600 bph vs 18,000 bph). Poljot 3133-based watches continued where their predecessors left off and were taken into space by cosmonauts from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. On the wrist of cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, a Poljot 3133-based watch set a space record for the longest space flight in history.
Current status
During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also Raketa watches, were marketed in the United Kingdom under the brand "Sekonda". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches. At the turn of the 21st century, the First Moscow Watch Factory began reproducing many of their most famous models as limited edition commemorative pieces. Replicas were made of the famous 1960s Shturmanskie worn by Yuri Gagarin, the 1940s Kirova pilots chronograph, and the 1970s Ocean (Океан) chronograph. All of the replicas became sought-after collectibles.
In late 2003, rumors predicting the demise of the Poljot brand circulated on the Internet. According to the rumors, the First Moscow Watch Factory was to cease producing their own models and become a source of inexpensive movements for other European watch brands. These rumors never came to fruition. Instead, in the late 2000s, the company was bought by the businessman Sergeï Pugachev, becoming one of the companies of his new luxury group, including: Hédiard, and the channel Luxe TV. The physical remnants of First Moscow Watch Factory were purchased by a group of former Poljot employees, forming the basis for a new company, Volmax. Volmax marketed watches under the Aviator, Buran, and Shturmanskie brands using movements produced by another russian firm, MakTime.
As of 2012, the status of the Poljot brand is unclear, though the brand appears to be moribund. MakTime, the company utilizing old Poljot equipment to manufacture mechanical movements, went bankrupt, and Volmax, the successor company to First Moscow Watch Factory relocated to Switzerland. Present models from the Volmax company are Swiss-made, using design cues from vintage Russian models.
RECOMMENDATIONS
All Antique and vintage watches are mechanical. Repairs require precision, so please handle this historical artifact with care.
- Vintage mechanical watches should not be beaten or dropped - shocks can damage the balance staff.
- Vintage watches are generally NOT waterproof. Protect your timekeeper from direct contact with water, heavy rain, or high humidity.
- If your watch becomes wet it should be dried off quickly. Carefully open all covers and use a hair drier to blow dry the movement, dial, covers, crown. This will reduce the amount of rust.
- If your watch becomes wet with any kind of salt water you should immediately immerse or spray your watch with fresh (no-salt) water to remove all the salt from the works before drying the watch completely. Any salt left in the watch will combine with moisture in the air to rust metal components of the movement, case etc.
- Winding any mechanical watch tight may break the mainspring. Stop winding as soon as you feel the natural resistance tightening up.
- When adjusting the hands of your watch, move them in a clockwise direction only to prevent stress on the gear train.
- If you must adjust counter-clockwise make it for small adjustments only (i.e. for minutes, NOT hours).
- Be careful and gentle when adjusting the movement speed (faster or slower). Don't make sharp movements, and don't touch other components in the movement especially the pendulum mechanism.
- Every 2-3 years it is recommended to service, clean, and oil vintage watches to keep them running accurately for decades to come.
- IF the watch is dirty - allow the watch to run down, don't wind it again until you have it serviced by a qualified watch repair expert. Dust will absorb and remove important lubricants and cause the movement pieces to wear down.
- To clean the case, dial and crystal you should use a cloth that does NOT leave fibers as these may get caught up in the movement. Check with your Watch repair expert to get an appropriate cloth.
- Keep your watch away from strong magnetic fields (large speakers, modern computers, magnets) since magnetic exposure can alter the balance spring performance.
- Most Cases and Covers are fine components and will not handle abuse well. The watch should not be shaken, beaten, or stressed.
- Vintage mechanical watches naturally experience a daily deviation error of up to a few minutes. An accuracy of +/- 3 to 5 minutes a day is considered excellent for a classic timepiece.
- Mechanical watch is not recommended to use for engage in extreme sports, and expose them to excessive vibration loads. Recoil force, which take on the clock, affect their reliability and precision. No matter how perfect was not anti-shock mechanism, there is always the chance of excessive load that details of the mechanism can not survive.
PAYMENT
- Total amount due includes the final item price plus Shipping.
- Shipping charges are determined based upon the destination address. Please note that buyers are responsible for any applicable local customs procedures.
SHIPPING
We ship worldwide! This item will be securely packed and dispatched to you from Europe (Ukraine) via registered international airmail, complete with a tracking number and insurance coverage. Shipments are processed within 1-3 business days after payment clears.
Typical Delivery Timeframes:
-
European Countries: approximately 7-10 days;
-
USA, Canada, Japan & others: approximately 10-14 days.
NOTE: Actual delivery speeds depend heavily on your local customs handling and postal services. Rest assured, we pack all items with extreme care to guarantee they reach your doorstep in perfect condition!
RETURNS/REFUNDS
We accept returns in compliance with standard platform terms. Items must be returned in their original vintage condition as received. Return shipping costs are to be covered by the Buyer.
FEEDBACK
We strive for 100% customer satisfaction and look forward to earning your positive feedback! If you experience any issues or have any doubts upon receiving your parcel, please contact us immediately *before* leaving neutral or negative marks. We are always here to help resolve any issues amicably.
Thank you for your interest in our vintage treasures!
Please let us know if you have any questions. Good luck!
|
