Molnija Pearl

A Molnija (read: MOL-nee-yah) pocket watch from my collection. 

I have it with an original paper box plus documents where it says that the date of production was some time in September 2001 but no chain to hook it to a trouser belt or something. And I bought it as new old stock (BNIB) some time in 2013.

This one is in a hunter case (with lid/duster) and the design is called Pearl.

I think you can see some pearl related motiffs. Though at first I didn't know that it was officially so called and thought it was related to something agricultural and mistook the "pearl" on the lid for some root vegetable.

The dial also continues to explore the Pearl theme, with the yellow circle at 12 o'clock also apparently representing a pearl and the dial in two shades of blue -- the color of the ocean.

And

 

On the back there's a generic Molnija ornament. 

 

Movements shots:

 

The cal. 3602 movement in its 2000s version -- yellow plates (brass?), no central stone, other simplifications, no decoration, rough machining. 

Watch collectors don't have much respect for the Molnija movements of this particular vintage believing them somehow to be inferior to Molnija movements of almost every other period but, whether true or not, I don't share this snobbery.

If anything, in this guise, they look even more like their Corterbert ancestors.  Compare.

Picture courtesy Internet

Picture courtesy Tourby watches 

Pobeda ZiM 2602 Railroad Dial x 2

Two Pobedas by ZiM (Zavod imeni Maslennikova - Maslennikov Factory) from my collection. Both have large dials which look somewhat like pocket-to-wristwatch conversions and are in fact a variation on railroad dials.

This one in particular wants to be a wrist strap Molnija.

There is one thing to be said about this style of hour and minute hands -- you won't be likely to confuse them, no matter how nasty your hangover is.

Dial readability is also very good, very large digits, good for the farsighted especially. This dial is definitely a railroad dial as it meets all the criteria of said dials typically found in pocket watches but also in some wristwatches. Railroad dials tend to be simple and readable. As you can see, the emphasis is on functionality and readability, even under adverse conditions, typically utilizing bold, black numerals on a white background.

And another ZiM Pobeda with the same railroad dial and with exactly the same case but different hands.

 A similar large and very readable face but different hands.

A movement shot. 

This one is a Pobeda 2602 movement which harkens back to the premium European (Swiss) movements of the early 20th century and as such has all the features of the premium European watches of the 1930-40s --  the Glucydur balance, the Breguet hairspring, and the visually appealing bridge shapes with a subsecond hand. But, of course, it is a much later derivation of the movement simplified in many ways though not in underlying design.

Poljot President 2940 Automatic Chronograph with ST1940 Movement

Ex-Collection Scarface3133 (i.e. me) comes this watch -- the Poljot President 2940 by TD Poljot, one of the splinter companies of the former 1st Moscow Watch Factory. Pictures are clickable.

This watch is actually my newest major acquisition to date; I have had it since October 2013. It is an automatic chronograph, with a seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock, a stopwatch central hand and a 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock. The watch is powered by the ST1940 Chinese automatic chronograph movement. In fact, I bought it specifically because of the movement; I just wanted to have this storied movement, derived as it is from the Venus 175, in a Russian watch and this Poljot President was the only watch currently available with the movement. Generally I am not much into government-themed watches as this watch (called President and featuring some state symbols of the Russian Federation both on the dial and the back) appears to be but I don't mind them too much.

More information on this Chinese chronograph movement can be found in an earlier post on this blog.

 

The generic little booklet accompanying the watch is not very forthcoming about the origin of the movement, just states that it is an automatic chronograph and that it is made in Russia which may or may not be true, but the parts are certainly all made in China. But there is a clue in the numerical designation - 2940 because the ST1940 is also, I believe, sometimes known as TY2940.

 

Why do I think the movement is an ST1940 movement? Simply put, there is no other option really, considering it is a chronograph and an automatic chronograph at that and the layout of its subdials, so only the ST1940 fits the description. There are also other indications -- the way pushers operate -- much softer than on the Poljot 3133, especially the reset button, consistent with the chronograph being a column wheel type of chronograph (I believe), a different type from that of the Poljot 3133 or the Valjoux 7750 for that matter. Yet another tell-tale sign is the rater noisy and rough sounding Sea-Gull auto-wind rotor that is has.

The watch has a nice enough dial even though not everyone will appreciate the heavy-laden Russian-government symbolism on this watch. One theory is that these President watches were given away as gifts to those awarded state medals or other decorations or titles of honor or just given as tokens of respect. Something like that. On earlier President models, it said on the back not "President" like here but "From the President".

In the picture above is the case back with the Russian state emblem -- the double-headed (Byzantine) eagle, symbolizing Russia's origin as the successor of the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire by Royal marriage and via the Byzantine Empire the successor of Ancient Rome itself... or so the story goes. More about the double-headed eagle is in this wikipedia entry.

I have to say I am not much into this type of strap though -- the way it attaches to the case -- there is probably a name for it but I don't know it (ETA Sept 25, 2014: I think it is known as LEONARDO / Curved Ends). I believe it will be difficult, or may be even impossible, to find a replacement strap or bracelet. The strap is a weak point -- it smells nasty like every Chinese leather (or "leather") strap seems to smell, even though the smell (I would call it "stink" if it were any stronger) is not as strong as in straps on some cheaper watches, care must have been taken to air it thoroughly, but it still is pretty unpleasant if you sniff at it closely (why would you do that?). What's more, it seems the glossy black finish was spray-painted on the strap as it has already started to come off revealing the dull bluish leather underneath (I still think it's leather and may even be genuine but you wouldn't say that on the evidence of the sense of smell alone).

The pushers of the watch are without bushings around them, they are very easy and comfortable to depress, very responsive. It is a thick(ish) watch but sits comfortably on the wrist because the strap forms a domed half-circle together with the case which is probably the only good thing about this way to attach the strap to the watch case but on the other hand you cannot lay this watch flat on the back.

The strap aside, I have been very pleased with this watch so far and think it is a good addition to my collection -- it brings in a new (to me) and great automatic chronograph movement (rare too as such automatic chronograph movements are) -- the ST1940, so what's not to like?

I measured its accuracy against reference time as I don't have a timograph or anything like that. I got +15 secs per 24 hours but it seems more accurate in day-to-day wear. The chronograph itself works flawlessly -- all functions -- start, stop and reset. 

The white hands on a white dial may not be the best combination in terms of readability which is affected in certain lighting and from certain angles. There is some lume on the hands but it's not very effective. 

Pobeda ZiM 2602 Flower Dial

From my collection is this later years Pobeda 2602 Grey Flower Dial made by ZiM (Zavod imeni Maslennikova - Maslennikov Factory, Samara). 

NOS and even BNIB

The flower's petals can actually serve as additional time markers, they are three per each hour (or for 5 minutes), meaning that the hour hand makes it from the tip of one petal to that of the next one in 30 minutes, while the minute hand does the same in 2.5 minutes.

Pobeda with the 2602 movement was the first Soviet truly mass produced watch -- people's watch, and probably the cheapest. Yet it was based on LIP's R-26 movement and as such had all the features of the premium European watches of the 1930-40s --  the screw balance, the Breguet hairspring, the long regulator arm and the visually appealing bridge construction with a subsecond hand and decoration stripes. Isn't it amazing?! ... But this one is a much later specimen, simplified in many ways though not in underlying construction.