Petrodvortsovy Watch Factory

Categories / Economy/Industry
PETRODVORTSOVY WATCH FACTORY (Peterhof, 60 Sankt-Peterburgsky Avenue), originated from a marble workshop opened in 1721 and reorganised into a lapidary factory in 1801 to make handcrafted articles of precious and semi-precious stones. The factory performed orders for decorating the Winter Palace, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Church of Resurrection of Christ, and Peterhof's fountains. After the October of 1917, factory workers also took part in decorating Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow, manufacturing ruby stars for the towers of the Moscow Kremlin and the Socialism Industry mosaic stone map for the World Fair in Paris in 1937, etc. It was renamed into State Union Factory No. 1 of Fine Technical Stones, TTK-1 in short, in 1932. After the factory started making stones for the watch industry in 1935, it was no longer necessary to buy stones abroad by 1940. After the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 the factory was evacuated to Uglich and Kusa, its restoration started in 1946. Transformed into a watch factory in 1954, it started manufacturing Raketa men's watches in 1960 and become popular internationally. The first robot-operated watch assembly line in the country was put into operation in 1974. The factory produced up to 5 million watches per year in the 1970-80s, about 40% of its produce were exported to more than 30 countries. It became the parent enterprise of an association of companies under the same name in 1980 and an open joint-stock company in 1991. A drop in production, staff layoffs, and an increase in arrears drove the factory to the verge of bankruptcy. Medtekhnika and Granilnaya (Lapidary) Factory separated from the company as independent enterprises, and the Raketa trademark now belongs to TEM Watch Company. There is a stele erected on the territory of the factory in 1970 in memory of the employees who died during the Great Patriotic War.

References: Сверяя время: Очерки истории ленингр. об-ния "Петродворцовый часовой завод". Л., 1986.

V. G. Avdeev. Lenin (real name Ulyanov) Vladimir Ilyich
Sankt-Peterburgsky Avenue/Peterhoff, town, house 60
Сверяя время: Очерки истории ленингр. об-ния "Петродворцовый часовой завод". Л., 1986 Winter Palace
St. Isaac's Cathedral
Holy Resurrection Cathedral, (Spas-na-Krovi)