I just received an appraisal request for a pocket watch apparently quite old. Here is the email:

Passed down to me from my grandfather. Tried researching in the intenet but couldn’t find much since the pocket watch has Russian charcters.

After doing my research, I realized first at the bottom of the watch that it was made in the USSR which we all know was the era of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from (1922 – 1991). I recognize that the watch is fairly old due to the scribing of the Watch Name font. The first character is easily can be made out to be an “M”. So I did my research for Russian watches that begin with the “M” character and found the watchmaker “Molnija” to be a match. The Russian characters are “??????”

This watch maker is pretty famous in Russia and dates back to November 17, 1947 which the company was opened. The main customer was the USSR Department of Defense. The companies main watch is the pocket watch and from this appraisal request, it is a Molnija watch. The year of the watch is unknown, but from looking at the font it does not seem too modern and the pocket watch does appear to be silver.

The Molnija watch has several collections: Nature”, “Classics”, “Victory”, “Sport”, “History”, “Who is who” and “Religions”.

I’m not sure which collection this falls under but it is a classic and dates back to an important era in Russia.
Here is a similar Molnija watch from the Internet Encyclopedia

I know the last few of my watch collections I’ve had consecutive Swatch Watches, but because its my favorite thats what you’re going to see In one of my trips overseas during my university days I had the chance to go to the Czech Republic which was AWESOME! There in Prague we stumbled by a Swatch Store of course and I was actually shopping for a watch at the moment and came across a fairly unique Swatch watch.

The colors and the coded encryption caught my eyes. The name of the swatch “Swatch Decoder” was red and black themed. I because I’m a big fan of James Bond 007 I wanted to feel like a Secret Agent so I decided to buy the watch! The details of the watch are peculiar in that there are NO numbers! It is in Greek and because I was in my first years in a Sorority this watch had even more meaning for me. In all fraternities, the origin and names are all Greek and before becoming inducted you have to learn the Greek Alphabets!

So the watch band is made of plastic and contains different colors on each end, black and red. The swatch band has black holders with white font in Greek Alphabets. If you turn the watch over on the backside there are more symbols and decoding as well. The face of the watch is white with a red trim and inside the outer trim of the dial is the normal alphabet (A-Z); direction clockwise.

Just below, there is another round trim in black with the Greek Alphabet. The hands of the watch contain circles so that you can decode the hour in Greek and minute hand in Western Alphabets. Its very peculiar as I mentioned before and I’m not sure how many were sold but I’m very happy that I purchased it abroad. In the middle of the dial there is a red circle with the name of the watch model: Swatch Decoder.

When you turn the watch over, the back is transparent as most plastic swatch watches and the clockwork is excellent. I’ve changed the battery twice since 1997! Imagine, the watch just keeps ticking and ticking and ticking!  Gotta love Swatch

Year: 1996
Battery: 1.55v
Water Resistance

Father’s Day is right around the corner and if you didn’t know already a watch is one of the easiest gifts to give a spouse or father. Watches are practical and everyone notices a good watch. If you’ve been thinking about buying a fathers day watch I’ll give you my top picks and brand names. Right now there are some fathers day sales and coupons out at various stores. I’ll mention that towards the end of the post.

First you should think what type of father you are shopping for.

• Active: If he is active, a sports watch or similar would be perfect.
• Collectors: Always know their favorite watch brand
• Artist: Look out for something different. These don’t actually have to be the same brand name each time
• Aviator: Everything aviation if its their type there is a watch.

…click here to read more