Kirovsky

Legendary watch from the 1940s

With the purchase of the Ansonia Clock Factory and Dueber Hampden Watch & Co., accompanied by 21 former employees, the First State Clock Factory was founded in Moscow in 1930. After the set-up and assembly work, the first Soviet pocket watches could be produced in a series of 50 pieces, with all individual parts being made in-house. In 1932, after initial difficulties, it was possible to produce according to plan. This was achieved not least through the personal commitment of the party member and Lenin’s comrade Sergey Kirov.

The factory was named after him in 1935: The First State Watch Factory with the name “Kirov”, or “1 G.CH.Z Kirov” for short. The watches produced there also got his name.
Legend has it that the Red Army urgently needed a wristwatch before the start of World War II. Even Stalin interfered in this matter. One day he called the management of the factory and set the task of presenting a wristwatch for the military within 3 days, even though he knew that the factory only produced pocket watches. After quite a long discussion and worrying, the engineers came up with a simple solution. An unusual and robust bracelet holder was welded to a pocket watch case. This is how the first official Soviet military watch was born!
The “Poljot-International” brand already launched such a limited replica of the 1940s for the 60th anniversary of production. In 2020 the time was ripe to present the second version of the replica and to commemorate the 80th anniversary accordingly. The new model was named “Kirovskie II”.