Explore Raketa

Raketa is a Russian watchmaker with a taste for dials that make you look twice. The name means “rocket,” adopted in 1961 to mark Yuri Gagarin’s spaceflight. Its roots run much deeper: the factory at Peterhof began as a stone-cutting works in 1721, long before it turned to watches. That unusual journey helps explain a brand whose industrial character has never required restrained design.

The Big Zero is the clearest expression of that personality: oversized numerals, triangular markers, and a zero where twelve normally sits. It is graphic without being complicated. The Copernicus takes a different route, using circular hour and minute hands that turn the dial into a small astronomical composition. Both designs reward familiarity; their oddness soon starts to feel entirely natural.

Raketa’s 24-hour watches have a more practical origin, serving wearers for whom daylight was an unreliable guide. The Polar carries that idea forward. Modern automatic models use the manufacture’s 2615 caliber, keeping movement production central to the factory’s identity.