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Baikonur
Baikonur

Baikonur

It's been 65 years since Yuri Gagarin made the first flight into space. This achievement led to the creation of the watch brand Raketa (meaning in Russian “space-rocket”), which is also celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. To mark the date, Raketa is launching its Baikonur watch, a unique model designed for cosmonauts. Aboard the International Space Station, it is more convenient for cosmonauts to track time in 24-hour cycles, so the key design feature of this watch is its 24-hour dial with contrasting black and white sections to easily distinguish day from night. An additional crown sets a second time zone, enabling cosmonauts to keep track of both Greenwich Mean Time, used on the ISS, and the local time of their family on Earth.

In zero gravity, the conditions are not ideal for a self-winding movements, so it's better for cosmonauts to wind their watches manually. However, manual winding over a long period of time causes wear on the self-winding module. To avoid this, Raketa movements have a unique function that disconnects the self-winding module during manual winding to protect it from premature wear throughout the space travel. The solar compass, located on a rotating bezel around the dial, completes and complements the watch's functionality. This tool will help cosmonauts to find their bearings and survive in case they have landed in the wrong place, such as for example the taiga, and their electronic compass has failed.

A fabric strap, secured with Velcro for quick adjustment and removal, will allow the cosmonaut to easily adjust the strap on his spacesuit. The set also includes a classic leather strap. The heart of this watch is the automatic movement, manufactured from A to Z at the Raketa Watch Factory in Saint-Petersburg, one of the few manufactures in the world that still produce in-house movements. The open case back cover reveals the movement and the rotor decorated with an image of constellations.