Now as a quick point of clarification, I did do some freelance work for Raketa previously and as such felt that it was not appropriate to post anything other than "just the facts". But as they are now a former client, I can finally opine sincerely about my personal feelings. And spoiler alert - they are all positive!
I did purchase one of the Polar anniversary watches last year, and spoiler alert number 2? I paid full price. I do like this anniversary take on the Polar very, very much and I truly enjoy wearing it, and it will definitely remain in the Henki personal collection. But the one that I now have my eye on now that I am a "civilian" would be this one -
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| Courtesy of Raketa |
Now a perhaps not so well known Henki factoid - I was obsessed with the Soviet Union for years (late 70s right up until 91/92). And not obsessed in a "spy vs spy"/us vs them dynamic. No, I simply found the differences rather intriguing. I often wondered, what were Soviets really like? I watched Gorky Park endlessly and was gutted when I found out that a lot of it was filmed in Helsinki, Finland. I had unwittingly walked past what stood in for the Moscow Militia headquarters on more than one class break between teaching at the Finnish Parliament building and Nokia ; ) As a Northern Youth growing up in a tiny, fairly provincial Ohio town, I often imagined traveling to the USSR, and possibly Poland, and other Warsaw Pact countries. I was perhaps the counter to the main protagonist from Gorky Park - Chief Inspector Arkady Renko:
"I always wanted to meet an American. You are so, so different. Forgive me for staring." At any rate, I sometimes wonder what watch might Renko have worn?
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| Courtesy of Raketa |
I suspect it might have been this one, the Big Zero.Hours, minutes and seconds - unapologetically basic, but not simple.
As most readers will know, Raketa makes their own movements, making them a manufacturer. And when we get down to bang for the buck (or Ruble), it represents a very great value for a (comparatively) very reasonable price. More than that, I honestly think that this is one of the few brands that takes the charm of the past, and successfully reanimates it in a modern, high quality timekeeper.
I do not think that there is a Raketa retail partner yet in North America, but you can order direct from the source in St. Petersburg. And this, my personal favorite Raketa retails for 750€ within the EU, and 625€ for those of us in North America. MANUFACTURE
Manufacture
Raketa Watch Factory (Saint-Petersburg)
MOVEMENT
Average rate (s/d)
-10+20
Average running time (h)
40
Frequency/hour
18.000 / 2.5Hz
Stopper of self-winding unit activated during manual winding
Yes
Decoration
Laser engraving
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