Soviet Watch Museum

Description

Shturmanskie Type-1 number 00016! During Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight on April 12, 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut wore a Sturmanskie watch produced by the First Moscow Watch Factory. This however was a later version of the watch, known as the Type-2. Both Type-1 and Type-2 were not sold in stores. They were developed by special order of the Ministry of Defence for pilots and navigators of the Soviet Air Force. Gagarin received his Sturmanskie watch after graduating from military aviation school. This particular example comes from the first production run in Q3 1949. The movement number is 00016 which makes it the 16th Shturmaskie ever made. While in general the watch is not rare, this particular example is a highlight of my collection because of the early number. Rumor has it that an example with number 00012 surfaced some years ago but I wasn't able to track it down.