Raketa (Ракета)
Raketa, meaning "rocket" in Russian, is a watch brand established in 1961 by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Saint Petersburg to honor Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight. Founded by Peter the Great in 1721, the factory is Russia's oldest and has produced Raketa watches for the Red Army, Soviet Navy, polar expeditions, and civilians. In the 1970s, it reached a peak production of about five million hand-wound watches annually. Today, Raketa is among the few global watch brands that manufactures its own movements entirely in-house.
Raketa cal. 2609.HA (c. 1975)
The Raketa 2609.HA is a manual-wind watch movement produced by the Petrodvorets Watch Factory, featuring a central sweep second hand, shock protection, and a Breguet hairspring. This movement was widely used in various Raketa timepieces during the Soviet era, including the Poljot brand. Other variants of the movement are the "2609", "2609.A","2609.H", "2609.I", "2609.B", and more.
Technical Information
Ligne/Size
11 1/2'''
Jewels
19
Frequency
18000
Power Reserve
45 hours
Lift Angle
49° (manual measured)
Shock
Incabloc
Mainspring
1.5 / 0.15 / 10.5 / 330mm
(Raketa 2609, part 770)
Parts List
Made in
USSR
Restoration Notes
This particular USSR-made movement was one of the better ones I have restored, in terms of how the parts are laid out and interact with each other and how easy disassembly and reassembly are. The quality and precision of the movement is surprisingly good as well!
Cleaning and Polishing
Troubleshooting
Replacing the Watch Glass
The dial glass was broken and loose. I replaced it with the the HW Sternkreuz 35.2. This was a perfect fit!
Making a Thicker Balance Cock Shim
The balance cock was shimmed to begin with, but on reassembly the balance was stopping when screwed down. So, I made a thicker shim to address this issue.
Replacing Hands
The minute hand and seconds hands were missing, so I sourced replacements to match the hour hand. The sizes are 1.60 x 1.04 x 0.18mm
Reassembly and Lubrication
Moebius D5 on barrel, 2nd and 3rd wheel pivots; Moebius 9010 on 4th and 5th wheel pivots ; Moebius 9010 on balance jewel; Fix-o-Drop Epilame on escape wheel and pallet jewels; Moebius 9415 on pallet exit stone; Moebius 9501 for cannon pinion and keyless works.
Regulation
Timegrapher readings at full wind, across five positions - DU, DD, CU, CD, and CL:
Delta Rate: __ s/d
Mean Rate: __ s/d
Amplitude Range: __° to __°
Mean Amplitude: __°
Beat Error Range: __ to __ ms
After one full wind, the watch worked for a total of __ hours.
