The Great Invention of The Soviet Watchmakers - Sturmanskie

The first models of the watches "Sturmanskie" were released in 1949. The devices for the time calculation were intended for the Air Force of the Soviet Union and they were not available for the mass sale. The precise and reliable chronographs were issued to the crews of the flying units, the graduates of the military flight and navigational schools. The professional tools allowed the crew to synchronize the readout of the chronographs, and during the flight to perform a concerted joint action. Watch "Sturmanskie" overcame gravity and demonstrated the excellent work in the conditions of the weightlessness.

These are the first measures of the time, stood in the space test, because Yuri Gagarin took this watch with him to the orbit in 1961. The important part of the astronauts equipment is the wrist watches, because of their accuracy and the undisturbed operation depends the result of many research projects. The choice of the watches “Sturmanskie” was due to the quality of the movement, which was created during several decades. The caliber was complicated with the functions which were needed for the aviation watches. The models “Sturmanskie” were equipped with the second hand, the chronograph function, which allowed to synchronize the time. The great invention of the Soviet watchmakers gave impetus to the aerospace branch of the watch industry.

In 2000 the company “Volmax” resumed the production of the legendary watches under the brand name “Sturmanskie”. In the same year the brand was officially registered in Russia and in Europe. The watches “Sturmanskie” are launched as parts of limited editions and are set aside for the collectors. They are assembled by hand. After the assembling all time measures pass the strict quality control and are tested.

Nowadays, the watches “Sturmanskie” are available in several theme series. “Strela”, “Ocean” and “Artic” are devoted to the historical models of the watches, “Gagarin”, “Sputnik” and “Open Space” to the history of the space exploration. Sturmanskie watches are available at selected retailers and Red Army Watches boutiques.

STURMANSKIE collections sharing below;

1. Sputnik
2012 Volmax launched the “Sputnik” line of Commemorative Watches, dedicated to the world’s first artificial satellite, the case is made in a unique, classic design and fits the wrist perfectly, with a map of The Earth etched on the dial, the rotating disc that replaces the standard central second hand symbolizes Sputnik’s orbit around the globe.

2: Open Space
March 18, 1965 “VOSKHOD-2” Spaceship was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, crew consisting of the Captain P.I. Belyaev and Co-pilot A.A.Leonov, opened the new chapter in Space Exploration, at 11.32 Belyaev opened the hatch of the ship. Alexei Leonov was in the space vacuum for 12 minutes and then returned to the airlock chamber, during ship landing due to the failure of on-board navigation systems of Palel Belyaev had to become the first in the world to have manually-orientate the ship towards the sun and switched on the brake engine. On Belyaev’s wrist there had been specially manufactured watch in memory of which “Open Space” series was created.

3. Strela
The design of the model is based on the classic chronograph series “Strela”, launched in 1959. The “Strela”, which means "Arrow" in Russian, became a legend in Soviet space history when worn on the wrist of Alexei Leonov during the first walk in space in 1965. The case and dial of the reissue were made as close as possible to the prototype, with differences being in case size and the use of modern methods of manufacture and finishing.

For more information about Sturmanskie, do visit www.aviatorwatch.ru