Creating specialized watches for extreme professions is a tradition at the Raketa Watch Factory and now they have just presented a new version of its popular Pilot model.
The history of aviator watches dates back to the early 20th century when aviation and wrist watches evolved side by side. The first aviator watches were built as professional tools, eschewing decorations in favor of durability, reliability and readability. They had a strict and minimalistic design: a round case, a high-contrast dial, wide hands and large numerals. Everything you need to make note of the passage of time while controlling a warbird and flying upside down.
KISS- Keep It Simple Soviet!
In designing its new Pilot model, Raketa tried to recreate the spirit of early aviator watches following the principle of “nothing superfluous”.
Designed in a classic style but with Raketa’s recognizable identity, the new case with its clean facets combines a glossy polish and a satin finish. This look is harmoniously continued with the stainless steel bracelet, which emphasizes the masculine character of the timepiece.
A genuine leather strap is also included in the set. The movement is protected by a screw-in crown which provides a water resistance of up to 200 meters.
Several features ensure easy readability in all lighting conditions. Super-LumiNova coating is applied to the markers and large numerals of the dial, but also to the hour and minute hands. Contrast is created through color combinations- all the hands including the bright yellow second hand perfectly stand out against the matte black dial stylized in the same manner as a precision aircraft dashboard instrument gauge.
A double-sided anti-reflective coating on the sapphire crystal provides additional assurance of accurate readings.
The heart of the Raketa Pilot is its automatic movement manufactured from A to Z at the Raketa Watch Factory in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Price
The cost is 1950 EUR (including VAT)/ $3,110 CAD at time of posting. For the comfort of customers, Raketa watches are delivered worldwide free of charge by DHL directly to your front door. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
The “Russian Code”, one of Raketa’s most recognizable models with a counterclockwise movement, is finally launched as part of Raketa’s main collection. The watch is crafted in an all-new case: a combination of sharp facets and rounded curves are enhanced by a mix of satin-brushed finishing with polished edges, while the sapphire glass has a more complex domed shape. A synthetic ruby is yet another update of the case: it glows behind Raketa factory’s logo carved on the side of the crown.
The centre of the dial displays the constellations over St. Petersburg on the morning of April 12, 1961, when Yuri Gagarin made history by becoming the first man to fly into space. Textured polished indexes with two types of coatings (light rhodium on even and dark on odd numerals) convey an extra 3-dimensional aspect to the already multilayered dial.
Behind the elegant design lies the revolutionary concept that time should move in harmony with the natural counterclockwise movement of the planets in our Solar System. Therefore, just like the planets around the Sun, the hands of the Raketa “Russian Code” rotate in a counterclockwise direction around the dial. The case back reveals a beautifully decorated automatic movement entirely manufactured and assembled at the Raketa Watch Factory in Saint-Petersburg. Are you ready to move on to the new generation of watches that tick to the beat of the Universe?
A watch that invites you to be different
To wear this watch, you will have to break free from the most fundamental rule of time-reading — the clockwise movement of time that was taught to us from ancestral times. Indeed, early people read the time with sundials by observing the clockwise movement of the sun in the sky (from left to right) and of the corresponding shade on the dial (from right to left). When our ancestors finally invented the concept of hands (instead of shade) moving around a dial, they naturally decided to keep this clockwise movement that they observed in nature
However, there is a serious flaw in this decision: the Sun doesn’t move clockwise in the sky. It’s an illusion — it actually doesn’t move at all. It is the Earth that moves in a counterclockwise direction around the Sun!
The sun follows a clockwise movement in the sky when it is seen from the Earth’s northern hemisphere: in the southern hemisphere, it goes in the opposite direction. The reason why early watchmakers decided to replicate on dials the clockwise movement as seen in the northern hemisphere is simply because this is where they always lived (and as a matter of fact where 90% of the world population has always lived).
The Raketa Watch Factory corrected this mistake by designing a watch where the movement of time follows the natural movement in the Universe. This watch is certainly not for the faint-hearted but rather for people who are willing to stand out from the crowd and be different!
A watch that is true to Raketa’s DNA
By following the movement in the Solar System, this watch underlines the link between Raketa and the Cosmos: the brand Raketa (which means “Space Rocket” in Russian) was created in 1961 in honour of the first manned space flight by the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Since then, Raketa’s designers and engineers were always inspired by space and regularly made watches for cosmonauts and watches celebrating the Solar System.
A watch with a very special movement
The counterclockwise movement of the hands is powered by a very special Raketa automatic movement (2615R). The engineers of the Raketa Watch Factory inverted the movement of the hands by changing the construction of the 2 most important parts of the mechanical movement: the mainspring barrel and the anchor module! This engineering feat could only be accomplished because Raketa produces in-house 100% of these parts.
Price
The watch costs 1950 Euros (VAT included)/ $2,865 cad. All Raketa watches are delivered worldwide by DHL free of charge.
Specifications Factory: Raketa Watch Factory (Saint-Petersburg) Movement:
Calibre: 2615 CR Functions: Automatic with reverse direction of hands Number of jewels: 24 Testing positions: 4 Average rate (s/d): -10+20 Average running time (h): 40 Frequency/hour: 18.000 / 2.5Hz Bi-directional automatic winding: Yes Stopper of self-winding unit activated during manual winding: Yes Decoration: Nanocoating Neva waves Print
Case:
Material: Stainless steel Diameter: 39,5 mm Front glass: Sapphire Back glass: Mineral Crown: Synthetic ruby stone inside the crown Water resistance: 5 ATM Hands: Superluminova
Strap/bracelet:
Material: Genuine leather Width: 22 mm Sex: Unisex
