Type-1 with a Silver Dial!

[Militarywatchdude]

I am very happy to add this to my collection. Can anybody date it? It is one of those 1MWF movements that are not marked with a date.

The dial is either solid silver or silvered. I cannot tell.

[richheddy]

Don't know the date, but it appears to be a Hampden movement from when they sold to the Soviets.

[richheddy]

Hampden sold to Russia in 1927. It could be as old as that.

[Militarywatchdude]

Yes, but these Type-1 watches were made starting in 1936. I recall that unmarked movements indicate watches that were made from 1936-1939 but I may be incorrect.

[richheddy]

I'm not sure.

[Militarywatchdude]

I call upon the aid of Mark Gordan!

[Chascomm]

I am very happy to add this to my collection. Can anybody date it? It is one of those 1MWF movements that are not marked with a date.

The dial is either solid silver or silvered. I cannot tell.

The crest says "1GChZ Moskva" so it is prior to 1945. The finish looks too good to be a wartime model either so probably made before the 1941 evac. Beyond that, I'd say we need Mark's expertise.

[Mark Gordon]

The crest says "1GChZ Moskva" so it is prior to 1945. The finish looks too good to be a wartime model either so probably made before the 1941 evac. Beyond that, I'd say we need Mark's expertise.

First... Type-1 watches have been produced in the Soviet Union since 1930. From 1930 to 1935 movements and dials were signed 'First State Watch Factory'. After 1935, they were signed 'First Moscow Watch Factory - Kirov". (A photo of one of the early FSWF dials is attached. There are several other styles and variations. To see them, visit my website and click on the pre-defined search for <First State Watch Factory>.)

Second... Based on the signature on the movement, this watch was produced between 1936 and 1938.

For all you history fans, the name of the factory was changed to 'First Moscow Watch Factory - Kirov' after the death of the highly popular Revolutionary hero and Bolshevik Party leader, Sergey Mironovich Kirov.

In the 1930s, Stalin became increasingly worried about Kirov's growing popularity. At the 1934 Party Congress, when the vote for a new Central Committee was held, Kirov received only three negative votes, the fewest of any candidate, while Stalin received 292 negative votes, the highest of any candidate.

Kirov was assassinated on 01 December 1934, probably on orders from Stalin. (By the way, the death of Kirov triggered Stalin's great purge aimed at supporters of Trotsky and other suspected enemies of the state.)

Stalin publicly portrayed Kirov's death as a tragedy and buried him in the Kremlin Wall with a full State funeral. Many cities, streets and factories took his name, including the cities of Kirov (formerly Vyatka), Kirovograd (Kirovohrad in Ukrainian), and Kirovakan (today Vanadzor, Armenia), the station Kirovskaya of the Moscow Metro (now Chistiye Prudy) and the massive Kirov industrial plant in Saint Petersburg (Kirovskiy Zavod); also, of course, The First Moscow Watch Factory - Kirov.

Hope this helps.
-- Mark

[Militarywatchdude]

Thanks fo clearing this up. Are silver (or silvered) dials rare? Also, the case that the dial is currently housed in covers up the minute markers on the outside of dial. I did not even know they were there untill I opened up the watch. Is this normal?

[Mark Gordon]

Thanks fo clearing this up. Are silver (or silvered) dials rare? Also, the case that the dial is currently housed in covers up the minute markers on the outside of dial. I did not even know they were there untill I opened up the watch. Is this normal?

To be honest, the dial and movement are obviously not in their original case. Currently, your watch is in a military-style 'coffee-can' case that was most commonly used from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Such a case would never have housed this kind of face. It is hard to say with certainty how the movement and face were originally housed, but most probably a silvered face would have been displayed in a pocket watch case.

Silvered faces were regularly produced by the First Moscow Watch Factory in the mid-1930s. While uncommon, they crop up regularly. I have several that can be viewed on my website.

-- Mark