There is a lot of mystery and speculation surrounding the watch brand called “SEKONDA”. One version of the history of the watch is that 'Sekonda' is a British company that sourced its watches from the former USSR until the early 1990s when the Soviet Union broke up. Established in 1966, Sekonda watches were originally produced in the Soviet Union, at the First Moscow Watch Factory in Moscow and the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Leningrad. Many Soviet-era Sekonda watches exported to the West were re-badged Poljot and Raketa watches. The 'Sekonda' brand was created by ChasProm in 1966 for the export of the best watches from all the USSR's watch factories, including Slava. The names of factories that built Sekonda watches (re-relabeling their regular brands) were:
Additional historical data of the watch’s history is that Sekonda had been a brand of “Time Products Ltd.” who are now based in Leicester in the UK. From 1966 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sekonda sourced watches from the USSR. Indeed spares for Sekonda watches in the UK were provided by Southern Watch and Clock Supplies Ltd, Precista House, 48-46 High Street , Orpington, Kent. As mentioned earlier, there is speculation that the 'Sekonda' brand was originally created by ChasProm (the Soviet timepiece industry agency) in partnership with a British company. Sekonda 'paddle-hand Strela' chronographs were given as official gifts several months before the 1966 launch of the brand in Britain. It was within 18 months of the end of the USSR that Sekonda UK stopped sourcing any watches from Russia or Belarus. 'Sekonda'-branded Russian watches have continued to be available in Russia, from Poljot and Slava, right up until recently. The stamp on the movement shows it is a Poljot Russian type of movement. Internet sources of various Sekonda Movement Identification Manuals coming from London watch retailers dating from the 1970s showsnot only Poljot & Raketa, but Luch, Chaika, Slava, Vostok, Zaria, Agat & Molnia, all branded Sekonda for the UK market. So, Sekonda were definitely using Soviet movements during the 60s 70s. Here's a quote from the Poljot page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poljot: "During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also Raketa watches, were marketed in the United Kingdom under the brand "Sekonda". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches." Comments are closed.
|
Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
Archives
September 2018
|