Here is may next attempt, paid nothing for it but liked the diamond design on dial and case. Strangely enough it is an excellent timekeeper, I guess it's 60's ish but really have no idea. Perhaps someone can give a steer

Best wishes

Case back

mvmnt

Looks to be a half decent watch Terry, but without my books here to help, it could be anything from a Poljot to a Seconda.

Are there any trade marks or names anywhere?

I've a vague recollection of being told that the Russian watch industry bought up old Swiss production machinery when their factories upgraded kit.
Would go some way to explaining their similarities to Swiss watches of the period.

I'd take a stab at the date of it being earlier than 60's though, as there doesn't appear to be any shock protection on the balance endstone. (Incabloc / Kif etc).
Certainly appears to be a bit 'Deco' period!

Best regards

John

Hi John

It does seem a nice watch, however, although the finishing is not what we are used to with Swiss movements. Everything 'fits' well, sturdy build and it certainly keeps good time, better than - 10 secs per day, but the general finish is what I would describe as being 'in the grey'. It has damaskeening to the plates (nickel plated) which I am hoping will clean up nicely as it's very dirty at present. When I have the wherewithal I am definately going to buy me an American RR watch, it's a must have but I guess that's another subject. Case is .900 silver which I believe is just a tad under what we would term 'sterling'. The dial is silvered with that wonderful diamond pattern which is replicated on the case back. I am hoping to clean the dial but will tread carefully cos I am told dial cleaning (unless enamel) is a no no. So will treat this very carefully. BTW dial is marked 'Tellus', does that ring any bells with you ?. I bought it as a 'practice' watch, paid the square root of bugger all for it but have to admit might shelve the balance investigation for another day as I would hate not get this one back to a clean and functional condition.

Will post pics with any further info that may unfold when dismantle further. Another question, will I ever get to the stage when I can control the perspiration and hand shaking. had some moments with the last watch, I can tell you, birdsnest out of a hairspring , I'm your man . Would have taken some photos but camera shake made them unreadable BUT overcame it and learned an aweful lot in the process

Take care

Terry,
I use a product called 'Silver Dip' for cleaning dials and cases.
It can leave well tarnished cases looking a tad dull, but a good silver polish and soft cloth puts the final sheen on them a treat, the dip shifts the worst of the crud with ease.

As regards dials, the 'Dip' product works exceptionally well, and seems not to affect painted on numerals, it also clean gilt raised numerals well too.
I've also cleaned solid gold items with it although it isn't supposed to be for this purpose!

I generally dip the dials in and out of the fluid so that the fluid and any crud washes off when lifted out.
I then rinse gently under warm running water then dab dry gently with soft tissue - loo rolls are very handy!
A gentle buffing up with a soft cloth brings them up beautifully. (Haggerty Jewellery cloths are excellent for this).
I've never lost a painted numeral doing this yet on scores of antique dials!

As usual though, cauton needs to be excercised so as not to overdo it, taking care to look closely at any degeneration of the paint.

If you take a look at the last Hebdomas posting of mine, that gorgeous silver dial was cleaned using the stuff!

I buy it on eBay, around a tenner a bottle including UK shipping.
Type 'silver cleaner' into the search box, and look for 'Goddards' products.

Best regards

John

Thanks John, will gve it a try, if it works half as well as it did on your Hebdomas I'll be over the moon.

Best 12 bucks I ever spent

Take care and all the best

Good Day Terry,

What You have shown on the images is a Soviet (USSR) PW made in Chastopol, Molnia, calibre 3602A, a 16 ligne 15 jewel sub-second 3.5 mm high. Date code should be stamped on the train bridge in the form of "15 камнеи 4-65" e.g. 15 jewels made in April 1965.

The images are are of rather low resolution and I could not read it from the movement image.

There are several variations of the base calibre, like the older movement 3602 that is 16 ligne 4.5 mm high and has 18 jewels. There is a 3603 which is 16 ligne 4.5 mm high 18 jewels with shock protection and the calibre 3608 that is 16 ligne central second 16 jewels and is 5.26 mm high.

Here is the parts list for the Molnia cal. 3602A

All of these calibres are still in production.

Cheers

Dushan

Molnia_Calibre_3602A.pdf (215 Kb, 217 downloads) Molnia cal. 3602A Parts List