When the wife and I planned a trip to St. Petersburg, one goal I had was to come home with a Russian timepiece. Initially, I salivated at the prospect of acquiring a Strela CO32CYW. I thought it would be the perfect compliment to my Apollo 15 Speedmaster!

Fast forward two weeks later, when in some Russian watch store, I came across the Sturmanskie Retro Gararin Titanium (from here on referred to as "SRGT"). As far away as it is design wise from the Strela, it just seemed to be the perfect watch to take home with me from Mother Russia! In fact, it sits on my wrist as I write this review.



OVERVIEW
There seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion on WHAT BRAND of watch ol' Yuri wore during his venture into space in 1961, with Sturmanskie, Pobeda, Poljet, or Rodina listed all over the place. Honestly, it gives me something of a headache. Most seem to support the Sturmanskie as the brand of the wristwatch that he took to orbit (although the Moscow Museum of Cosmonauts gives the nod to the Pobeda - pass me the Advil!). It's also the one that 3707131 seems to be modeled after.

With the case being 40mm in diameter, the SRGT is considerably larger than the original's 33mm size. It also lacks the original's sword hands that taper to needles, and I doubt the original had such a nice brown leather strap with red stitching. From there, the obvious differences seem to stop. Both are simple three-handed watches with a cream dial that has stylized winged-bomb with red star and the 1st Moscow Watch Factory logos plus "STURMANSKIE" in Russian Cyrillic on it.

Oh yes. There's that engraved caseback on the modern rendition that the original didn't have either.

The SRGT (and it's variations) appear to have been manufactured at a limited run of 2,000 pieces, and generally retail for approx $400-$500 USD. They can be had new for $300-$350 with some research (mine was $375).

IMPRESSIONS
Ok. this first part is highly suggestive (not to mention just plain weird considering I BOUGHT this watch!) , but I actually don't consider the SRGT as being "beautiful". But that was part of the appeal. Having served in the Navy back when the Cold War was still in effect, I remember the Soviet Union's military as being largely "Russian" - utilitarian in appearance, functional to the task designed for, and generally built like a tank. The SRGT just exuded those qualities - I looked at it and it just screamed "Russian" at me. And that's what swayed me!

The titanium case, not to mention that stylized bomb wings give it that military look, but that's only part of the love equation for me. The SRGT is wonderfully old school, with the design of the numbers on the light cream dial and the domed mineral glass definitely hearkening back to the era that this watch honors. And while it has never seen the vacuum of space, it did go up there in a capsule! Space Pedigree - CHECK!

Legibility is not an issue. The hour and minute hands have a slightly blued finish to them, and the second hand (non-hackable) is all red. At a glance, it is instantly clear what time it is. The hour/minute hands and all the numbers are coated in Superluminova. It might be me, but it seems that the coating on the hands are stronger than what's on the numbers; perhaps it's because the numbers are also done in cream while the hands are in white. At any rate, reading the watch at night is no more a hassle than when I do so on my Speedy.

Then there's the movement. The Poljot 2609 winds much easier than my Speedmaster, although that's like because of the larger and more-exposed crown. I have yet to discover my SRGT's true power reserve, but it seems to run +15 sec/day fast. Lastly, while I have to put my Speedmaster up to my ear to hear the Omega 1863 tick it's thing, I can plainly hear the Poljot 2609 ticking away from 12 inches away.

As for wearability, I'm extremely happy. At 11.2mm thick, the SRGT is currently the thinnest watch in my stable, and at 55gr also the lightest. Translated, it wears incredibly well on my wrist. Honestly, there are times that I could forget that I have it on, something I can't say about my Speedy (to be fair, my Speedy DOES sport a bracelet though). This final note is less a complaint and just a note for those considering this watch - My wrists being the tiny things that they are (5' 8", 150 lbs, and I don't work out - I'll let you all figure out what size my wrists are), the supplied leather strap BARELY fit. I ended up swapping it for a cordura strap.

Hope this helps someone out. More pictures to follow.

 

Cool watch, great write-up!

 

This is what I call a commemorative homage using a well known 2609 Poljot movement. The original Russian Air force watch movements used at first what is now known today as a
type 1 : Pobeda 15 jewel movenent
(non water proof non shock proof )
The following variant was much improved and very likely used used by Yuri Gagarin
Type 2 : Sportivnie 17 jewel movenent
(waterproof, shockproof, and hacking)
Both used a movement inspired by a French LIP movement design .

 

LIP R26 caliber was the movement or starting point.