In April, 1935, the Third State Watch Factory was formed in Penza, a city 625 kilometres southeast of Moscow. This factory was reconstructed from the remnants of the Frunze Bicycle Plant using newly-acquired tooling from LIP. LIP engineers and technicians were also responsible for supervising the installation of all equipment and for training Russian engineers. (See also: ZIF)

The factory was renamed Penza Watch Factory in the year 1940. This factory focused primarily on small-sized ladies movements, and throughout the 1950s a number of different brands were produced, including Aurora, Junost, Kometa, Lux, Lyra, Mechta, Sura, Vesna, and Zvezda. 

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The Kometa brand (Комета, meaning "comet") was a short-lived brand of ladies watches produced until the early-1960s. The brand name originated from the Space Race, when cosmic-themed watch names were growing in popularity. Kometa watches were powered by a relatively uncommon caliber 2002 movement with 16 jewels. The brand was retired around 1964, when all watches produced at Penza Watch Factory were consolidated under a single trademark: Zaria.