About Probeda Watches

In1954, by decree of the government, the First State Precision Jewel Factory(ТТК-1) was formally renamed “Petrodvorets Watch Factory.” The brand name was chosen by Stalin himself.  He gave the order that the first watches be ready for the 1st year of Victory celebration. The first prototype came out of the Penza factory by the end of 1945, and the first model for the public came out of the Kirov Watch Factory in March 1946.  Probeda was one of the several brand powered by Petrodvoret Cal 2603 movements. throughout the 1950s.  This is why most of the old Soviet watched look pretty much the same.

And that gets to the crux of the matter: the watches of the USSR were almost never ostentatious. Somewhat lacking in finishing or frivolous complications, they were first and foremost time-telling tools, built to be robust and reliable. After all, wouldn't anything else just be an affront to the Soviet ideal of utilitarianism?


About this Watch

Because they are all kind of the same, I am not a huge Soviet watch fan.  When you have seen one, you have seen them all.  

But I do love personalized folk art. These watches came from Ukraine. I know nothing about the artist. I do not prentend to know exactly when or where they were painted-- though after consuting with a stateside Russian artist, I believe the art is vintage. That someone sat and painted these dials in Eastern Europe is pretty special to me. I see "production" hand painted watch dials all the time.  I have never see one like this.

The watch itself has been serviced and is running well.  It has a new leather band.  It is ready to wear.  It even comes with a little cardboard gift box.  It is certainly a fine conversation piece!

About me

I buy and sell a few old watches from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s.  I like Hamilton and the occasional Bulova.  Sometimes I will venture into British watches (e.g., Ingersoll).  I deal in mechanical and automatics.  Like a tracker pipe organ (also an interest of mine) they are a combination of history, architecture, and machine: little art works.  I confess to owning a Citizen for work use, but I generally eschew battery powered appliances.


If the items in my collection seem similar, it is because I like a particular style and function.  I prefer real numbers on a watch face and need to tell time at a glance while speaking.  I typically wear these watches for weeks, months, or years before selling them—ahh— to make sure everything works as it should.  I am not just an eBay flipper.  If I tell you a watch runs and keeps time: it runs and keeps time.  When I make a buying mistake (oh, it happens) the watch goes to off to a professional watchmaker to be rebuilt and restored and, after my recovering some cost by wearing it, offered as such at a premium.


All the watches I sell are intended to be ready to wear and giftable.