The story of Laika, the first dog in space, is a tragic one. I will not write about it here as you can easily Google the story for the official version and the various other ones including those with insights and assessments of the situation. Instead, I feature a commemorative watch that I first thought was Made in the USSR but from some research revealed to be French or Swiss Made given some of the features of the watch including the movement.
 |
Wrist shot the first time I got the watch back in 2018. The watch came with a leather nato strap.
|
 |
The watch features numeric hour indices, syringe hands and a sub dial.
|
 |
Another wrist shot
|
 |
Close-up of the textured dial showing the sub-dial and the logo of a dog (Laika). There is no indication on the dial if this was Swiss Made or Made in the USSR.
|
 |
Inside the watch is a AS Cal. 1130 movement that runs at 18,000 beats per hour and has a potential 41-hour power reserve. The caliber dates the watch to the 1960s. I was actually surprised about this because I expected a Soviet caliber movement inside as this was a commemorative watch for their space program. I assume that the movement has been changed while retaining the case and dial.
|
 |
The back also bears the likeness of the dog and even has a serial number.
|
This is basically a novelty in as far as watches go. The caliber is one you will find in many inexpensive watches from the time and even now. It has a nice dial and runs well so it is a keeper for now.
-
No comments:
Post a Comment