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Slava / Слава

After World War II, the reinstated Second Watch Factory shifted to focus more heavily on wristwatch production. ​In 1958, the factory name and logo were updated to Second Moscow Watch Factory, and in 1964, the factory was rebranded yet again to Slava (Слава, meaning “glory”). All subsequently-produced watches would bear this name on the dial.

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Unlike watches produced at other factories in the USSR, Slava watches were always meant for civilian consumption, without military or aerospace pretensions. In the 1950s and early 1960s, production was limited to ladies calibers and rare semi-experimental designs, such as the Slava Transistor (an electronic movements using tuning fork and quartz systems, for which the factory was given a gold medal at the Leipzig Trade Fair in 1964). However, to remain competitive and satisfy growing demand for men's watches, the factory used a unique approach in which small movements were placed in larger cases, secured by a spacer. These men's watches powered by ladies-watch calibers would serve as a stopgap until the Slava Watch Factory could manufacture its own larger calibers in-house.

 

This in-house production of men's calibers would begin in 1966, when Slava designed its own line of caliber 24xx mechanical movements. The main feature of these movements was two mainspring barrels coupled together with an idler gear, which was designed to release energy from the mainsprings more evenly as the springs unwound. The base movement was modified over time to include multiple complications:

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1966 – Calibers 2409 and 2414 launched

1973 – Calibers 2427 and 2428 launched

1989 – Caliber 2416 launched

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While the base 24xx movement design was unique in execution and enormously successful, these calibers are generally considered less reliable and more prone to failure than movement designs from other Soviet watch factories. This may be one reason the Slava Watch Factory was quick to adapt to quartz calibers when they came into mass production in the 1980s. Slava also produced a number of stopwatches, pocket watches, alarm clocks, table clocks, and wall clocks,.

 

From the 1950s through the 1980s, the Slava Watch Factory exported up to 50% of its products to various countries around the globe. In 1955, international sales began with exports to six countries; by 1965, this had increased to 36 countries; and by 1979, Slava watches were being exported to 72 countries all continents. A special partnership was developed with Italy, wherein specialty watches were produced for the Italian market with unique designs and case-backs stamped "CCCP". 

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The Slava brand suffered extensively during the rocky period of privatization following the collapse of the USSR. In order to stay afloat in the 1990s, many movements were exported to China and Hong Kong, where they were used to make cheap counterfeits. This blatant trademark infringement was extremely detrimental to Slava's reputation, making the brand synonymous with "cheap, fake, Chinese junk" in the eyes of many consumers.

 

Today, a company named Slava Trade House is leasing exclusive rights for the production of Slava watches, movements, and parts. The manufacturing facility is located in Ulgich, Russia at the factory that used to produced Chaika-branded watches. As of 2011, the original Slava Watch Factory building has been demolished to make space for new real estate projects.

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(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

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