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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Movement record · Soviet Union (Chelyabinsk)

Molnija 3602

Partially verified

A Soviet pocket-watch calibre derived from the Cortébert 616 design, produced in very large quantity at Chelyabinsk and widely used in both plain and presentation pocket watches.

Technical specifications

Diameter
Approx. 36 mm
Height
Approx. 4.5 mm
Jewels
18
Frequency
18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve
Approx. 40 hours
Winding
Hand wind
Setting
Pull-out crown
Escapement
Swiss-type lever
Balance
Monometallic balance, shock protection on later production
Complications
Subsidiary seconds

Identification features

  • Cyrillic factory markings and jewel count on the movement
  • Plate and bridge outline closely following the Cortébert design
  • Often found today in later skeletonised or re-cased forms made for the export market

Known variants

  • Plain 3602
  • Skeletonised export versions
  • Related Molnija calibres

Servicing notes

Mechanically simple and forgiving, which is why these movements are often recommended as practice pieces; genuine factory parts are still obtainable second-hand.

General guidance only. Antique movements should be serviced by a qualified watchmaker.

Historical significance

The most numerous mechanical pocket watch movement of the later twentieth century, and for many collectors the most accessible entry point into pocket watches.

Diagram

top plate or bridgespillar platebalance and cockwheel train between the plates
Schematic: plate and bridge layout. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. Soviet watch factory catalogues and collector reference compilations
  2. Production totals are not reliably published; no figure is given here.

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.