The Petrodvorets Watch Factory () is one of the oldest factories in Russia. Founded by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

in 1721 as the Peterhof Lapidary Works, to make

hardstone carving Hardstone carving, in art history and archaeology, is the artistic carving of semi-precious stones (and sometimes gemstones), such as jade, rock crystal (clear quartz), agate, onyx, jasper, serpentinite, or carnelian, and for objects made in this ...

s, since 1945 the factory manufactures the Soviet Pobeda watches and since 1961 it has manufactured the Soviet

Raketa Raketa ( rus, Ракета, p=rɐˈkʲɛtə, "Rocket") is a brand of wristwatches that have been manufactured since 1961 by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Saint Petersburg. The Petrodvorets Watch Factory is Russia's oldest factory, founded by ...

watches. In almost 300 years of history, the factory has changed name several times.

Petrodvorets Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The town hosts one of two campuses of Sai ...

is located in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

History

Founded in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great in 1721 as the Peterhof Lapidary Works, to make hardstone carvings; the factory produced luxury objects in semi-precious and precious stones for the palaces of the Tsars. In the Soviet era, the plant continued to work on precious stones. During the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

, the factory was destroyed by Nazi troops. It was rebuilt from 1944 at the liberation of the city. In 1945

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

—who wanted to reduce USSR's dependence on imports from the West—gave the order to the factory to manufacture watches. The first watches were produced in the factory under the brand Pobeda and Zvezda. In its glory years after the war, the plant employed 8,000 people, produced 4.5 million watches per year for Soviet citizens and the needs of the Red Army. The plant was equipped with two atomic bunkers that could accommodate 8,000 people in case of a western nuclear attack. After 1991 the plant dramatically cut production following the troubled years of privatization and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tourism

Today, the factory—that was considered as strategic, and closed to visitors during Soviet times—is opened to tourism. Peterhof has an average of three millions visitors per year, the factory has become a popular tour. Guides show around the production facility that gives a feeling of traveling back to the USSR, but also to learn about clock manufacturing.

Brands

From Soviet time

- luxury brand, fully manufactured in-house. The factory's high end production, Raketa was created in 1961 in honor of Yuri Gagarin's flight to space. One of the rare watch brands in the world producing its movements in-house from A to Z, Raketa is famous for its watches made for cosmonauts, polar expeditions, pilots and military. Pobeda - affordable, loaded with history. Founded by Stalin himself in 1945, Pobeda is probably Russia's most popular brand for the last 100 years. First watch to have been in space in 1961, Pobeda has always been a popular and affordable Russian brand.

From Tsarist times

Talberg is a watch brand owned by the factory since before the Revolution. Imperial Lapidary Work of Peterhof. This is how the factory was named before 1917.

Names used by the factory

* Since 1949, Petrodvorets Watсh Factory or - Petrodvorets Watch Factory "Raketa" or - Peterhof Watch Factory

References

* Sukhorukova A. E. / Watches: The Case of a Masters, Publisher: Det. USSR 1983. 108 pages; * Tioutenkova A. G. / To Make the Time, Publisher: Lenizdat, USSR 1986, 181 pages. {{Purveyors to the Russian imperial family Manufacturing companies based in Saint Petersburg Companies established in 1721 Watch manufacturing companies of Russia Hardstone carving Watch manufacturing companies of the Soviet Union Watch movement manufacturers 1721 establishments in Russia Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union Petergof Ministry of Instrument Making (Soviet Union)