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- Russian watchmaker Alexey Yakushik’s Yuri Gagarin – First in Space turns the cosmonaut’s historic 1961 mission into a miniature orbiting display.
- The 45 mm Grade 5 titanium watch features a rocket-shaped minute hand circling a blue Earth and is powered by a Miyota automatic movement.
- Just 130 will be made across two versions, priced at RUB 350,000 each (roughly AUD $6,200), with no confirmed Australian availability.
Didn’t we just see a tiny spaceship flying around a watch dial? Last week, Bell & Ross put one on its BR-03 Space Mission, and now we’ve stumbled across the Russian equivalent, with designer Alexey Yakushik taking the same wonderfully odd approach to telling the time. Only his spacecraft isn’t headed for some imagined future. As the name suggests, the Yuri Gagarin – First in Space harkens back to 12 April 1961, when the titular cosmonaut became the first human to orbit Earth.
His watch places a bright blue Earth at the centre of the dial, with a little rocket circling once an hour. It’s a minute hand, rather than a scale recreation of the flight. Gagarin’s Vostok 1 took roughly 89 minutes to complete its orbit, so the watch is running a slightly tighter schedule. True Russian ingenuity.
Moreover, it’s a fittingly Soviet-looking tribute to the space programme that put the first human into orbit during the 20th-century space race. The letters СССР (USSR) sit across four diagonal plates, while a red pointer picks out the hour on a separate display beneath the globe. While Bell & Ross imagines a world where futuristic spaceplanes might transport us around the world, Yakushik reminds us that the Soviets put the first human into orbit eight years before the Americans landed on the Moon.
A Little Russian Rocket For an Oversized Titanium Case
The case measures a substantial 45mm, although both the case and the integrated bracelet are made of Grade 5 titanium rather than heavier steel. A large domed sapphire crystal arches over the dial like a spacecraft window aboard the Vostok 1. Ironically, it also boasts 100 metres of water resistance, even though Gagarin parachuted onto dry land while America’s early Mercury astronauts splashed down in the ocean. The luminous detailing might help, though I’d imagine most owners will spend more time admiring that miniature orbit than taking it swimming in freezing waters.
Inside is a Japanese Miyota 8215 automatic movement fitted with Yakushik’s own AYW001.1 module to drive the unusual display. It’s not the most exotic base calibre for the money, but the custom mechanics and dial are clearly where this watch conjures its appeal.
The watch was first announced back in April to mark 65 years since Gagarin’s flight, with the first example presented to Moscow’s Museum of Cosmonautics. Yakushik says the project has the full support of Gagarin’s daughters as well as Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. To add to the splendour and celebrations, the watch also won two European Product Design Awards.
1/10Alexey Yakushik Yuri Gagarin – First in Space
- Case: 45 mm Grade 5 titanium
- Bracelet: Integrated Grade 5 titanium
- Crystal: Domed sapphire
- Movement: Miyota 8215 automatic with AYW001.1 custom module
- Display: Orbiting rocket minute hand with separate hour indicator
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Lume: Super-LumiNova BGW9
- Variants: Natural titanium and black PVD
- Limited Edition: 130 pieces (65 per variant)
- Price: RUB 350,000 (roughly AUD $6,200)
Both versions are listed on the brand’s Russian website, although there’s no confirmed Australian pricing or local availability.
It’s a big, unapologetically theatrical watch. But considering how many space watches look to the Moon, it’s nice to see one that remembers the bloke who got there first. “Na zdoróvye” (На здоровье)!
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