Clock of the day (5)

From Soviet Russia comes the VESNA. The letters BECHA are Russian equivalents of VESNA. This clock is interesting for highlighting the methods used in the Eastern bloc countries. There is a mixture of qualities. The painted dial with the unique old Slavic numerals is beautiful, as are the slender steel hands. The 14 day timepiece movement is brass with a steel going barrel, and there is a platform lever escapement. Russian watch factories got the second hand machinery from Swiss watch factories and they produce top quality stuff. Russian factories have produced top quality movements for military aircraft clocks as well as watches to rival anything from Switzerland at a fraction of the price. Here, the Vesna is doing well. However, the case is dire. Roughly sawn from plywood with next to no smoothing of the rough edges, it is obvious that production costs were being kept to a minimum. The movement housing is a plastic drum with a fake wood-like finish. However, the overall appearance is not unpleasing and the clock keeps excellent time. The die cast metal winding key (also used for time-setting) is stored inside the case on a small mount near the top. The platform lever escapement is protected by a soft plastic cover.

Another interesting fact is that front and rear plates are identical. The arrows and lettering on the backplate are also found on the inside of the frontplate. The saving of costs has led to some very ingenious measures.

Click my photos to see them bigger!