5/5 David C. 6 years ago on Google • 202 reviews
The
Petrodvorets
factory
is
the
oldest
factory
in
Russia
still
in
operation.
It
was
founded
by
Peter
the
Great
in
1721
as
the
Peterhof
Lapidary
Works
and
originally
focused
on
producing
marble
components
for
churches,
fountains,
and
palaces.
In
the
middle
of
the
20th
century,
it
converted
to
watch
production.
The
factory
barely
survived
the
breakup
of
the
Soviet
Union
in
the
1990s,
going
from
8,000
employees
to
fewer
than
150
at
present,
but
the
company
is
doing
well
and
is
now
one
of
the
premiere
Russian
brands.
Raketa
watches
were
quite
popular
in
Russia
in
the
1960s-1980s.
They
have
recently
re-positioned
themselves
at
a
higher
price
point
in
the
market,
and
compete
with
mid-range
offerings
from
some
of
the
top
brands
in
Switzerland
and
Japan.
In
fact,
it
now
exports
watch
components
for
use
by
other
European
watchmakers.
The
factory
produces
two
brands:
Pobeda
("victory",
inspired
by
the
end
of
the
Great
Patriotic
War
beginning
in
1945)
and
Raketa
("rocket",
inspired
by
cosmonaut
Yuri
Gagarin
beginning
in
1961).
The
company
is
one
of
just
four
manufacturers
in
the
world
that
produce
hairsprings
for
timepieces
(the
most
delicate
component,
now
a
closely-guarded
proprietary
process),
as
well
as
one
of
the
only
brands
that
produces
its
entire
watch
mechanism
completely
in-house.
So,
this
factory
is
watch-geek
heaven,
and
it
offers
an
unprecedented
level
of
access
to
anyone
who
is
interested
in
learning
more
about
how
automatic
watch
mechanisms
are
made.
The
factory
includes
a
small
museum
and
offers
tours
of
the
shop
floor,
but
it
could
not
be
further
off
the
tourist
trail.
Although
it's
a
short
walk
from
one
of
St.
Petersburg's
top
tourist
destinations
(Peterhof
Palace),
few
people
make
the
effort
to
visit
here
or
are
even
aware
of
it.
One
of
the
first
things
the
staff
asked
me
when
we
arrived
was
how
we
had
heard
about
the
museum
and
factory
tour.
The
factory
was
hard
to
find.
I
knew
the
basic
location
of
where
we
were
going
after
some
internet
research,
but
the
taxi
driver
couldn't
find
an
entrance
so
he
let
us
out
on
the
street.
After
walking
in
circles
for
10
minutes,
I
asked
some
nearby
landscapers
for
help
and
they
delivered
us
to
a
nearby
watch
repair
shop
(not
where
we
wanted
to
be).
I
then
called
the
factory
and
they
sent
me
a
map,
which
provided
enough
information
to
find
exactly
where
we
needed
to
go.
There
were
no
signs
anywhere
and
we
ended
up
at
a
basically
unmarked
building,
behind
a
gate
and
through
an
unmanned
security
checkpoint.
Once
we
were
buzzed
in
through
the
entrance
(which
does
have
a
sign,
but
it
is
hard
to
see
unless
you're
standing
right
in
front
of
it),
we
climbed
to
the
third
floor
(still
not
seeing
any
signs
to
confirm
that
we
were
in
fact
in
the
correct
place).
It
was
definitely
the
most
challenging
place
I've
tried
to
find
in
Russia.
The
museum
manager
was
fluent
in
English,
and
as
we
were
the
only
visitors
for
most
of
our
time
there,
she
gave
us
a
private
tour.
She
first
discussed
the
history
of
the
factory,
showed
us
pictures
of
some
of
their
18th
century
work,
let
us
inspect
all
the
watch
models
that
have
been
made
during
the
last
60
years,
reviewed
the
different
components
that
go
into
a
modern
mechanical
wristwatch,
and
then
took
us
onto
the
shop
floor
to
see
the
component
manufacturing
and
assembly
process
at
work.
This
wasn't
a
factory
tour
where
you
peer
through
a
window
or
stand
behind
a
rope;
we
were
in
the
middle
of
things
standing
right
next
to
busy
employees
hard
at
work.
It
was
amazing
to
see
the
range
of
equipment
(some
modern
and
state-of-the-art,
others
decades
old)
that
is
used
to
produce
tiny
metal
springs,
gears,
and
plates
with
such
precision.
Some
steps
in
the
manufacturing
process
are
computerized
but
many
components
are
still
created
by
hand.
It
was
awesome
to
see
in
great
detail
how
the
watches
are
made.
So,
at
the
end
of
the
tour
we
purchased
three
watches:
a
quartz
Pobeda
for
my
wife
and
two
mechanical
Raketa
watches
for
me.
These
watches
are
both
among
my
nicest
timepieces
and
I
expect
them
to
make
frequent
appearances
on
my
wrist
for
decades
to
come.
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