Rocket or Raketa collectible mechanical wristwatch made in the USSR. 1970s

Gold plated case

Working

Raketa (Russian: Ракета, IPA: [rɐˈkʲɛtə], "Rocket") wristwatches, have been manufactured since 1961 by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Saint Petersburg. The Petrodvorets Watch Factory is Russia's oldest factory, founded by Peter the Great in 1721.

Raketa watches have been produced for the Red Army, the Soviet Navy, and for North Pole expeditions, as well as for civilians. Today, Raketa is one of a handful of global watch brands that produces its own movements from start to finish.

On 13 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin made the first manned flight in outer space on the rocket, Vostok 1. In honour of this achievement,
the Petrodvorets Watch Factory named its watches "Rocket"; Raketa in Russian.

However, at the height of the Cold War the name "Raketa" was perceived negatively in the West, as the word was associated with the latest generation of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles, the R-16.

 During Soviet times it became one of the most produced watch brands in the world. In the 1970s, the factory produced about five million mechanical watches per year.

The Petrodvorets Watchmaking School
Being one of the few watch brands in the world producing its own movements,

the factory has created its own watchmaking school, the Petrodvorets Watchmaking School, to ensure the transmission of watchmaking expertise to future generations.
The only one left in the schooling program has been established in collaboration with the Saint Petersburg Technical institute