Tiny jewels - mechanical watches at digital prices
By James Grahame
I sometimes often take a wrong turn on the web and find myself browsing items I'll never be able to afford. More often than not, this involves Swiss timepieces. Since I don't have thousands to blow on a 1964 Tag Heuer Carrera automatic, I'm forced to consider more reasonable wristwatches. You know, the kind with rubber straps.
Fortunately, the First Moscow Watch Factory offers a plethora of affordable mechanical timepieces, made in Russia. They feature 17 to 31 jewel mechanisms in hefty metal cases, with steel or leather straps. The Poljot Aviator pictured here retails for $117 -- a rare bargain these days. I wonder if they use horrifically radioactive paint to make the hands glow in the dark?


