Russian Watch Award 2025: Prize-winners

Swiss Not Alone: Moscow Selects Russia's Top Watches of the Year

During the Moscow Watch Expo, the Russian Watch Award contest announced its results: records broken, new names emerging, and six special awards presented.

The fourth annual contest, informally known as "Best Russian Watches," concluded during the country's main watch exhibition, the Moscow Watch Expo. This season proved to be truly significant, setting new records: 82 models were presented to the jury and the general public, and the public vote on the updated website attracted 45,000 participants. This unprecedented figure demonstrates the growing interest in the domestic watch industry.

Winners were recognized across 11 categories, and an additional 6 companies received special organizer prizes.

Special Awards of the Contest

"Russkoe Vremya" was honored with the Award for Contribution to the Preservation of Traditions for its initiative to create the museum of the First Moscow Watch Factory "Polyot" and its contribution to watch promotion.

The Chistopol Watch Factory "Vostok" received a Special Award for preserving industrial heritage and the full production cycle of watches.

The highest number of votes from the jury (comprised of watch store executives) went to the "Kosmos" 80th Anniversary of Victory timepiece, which received the Retailer's Choice Award.

The Morzo "Art Object. Model No. 2" watch, featuring a hand-painted acrylic miniature on the dial and a decorated movement, was the recipient of the other jury prize, the Media Choice Award.

For an accurate and original interpretation of the Victory anniversary (1945–2025), the "V Boy Idut Odni Stariki" (Only Old Men Are Going to Battle) watch by Alexei Yakushik was marked with The Era of Victory Award.

The People's Choice Award went to the "Olympiada 1980" model from the Uglich Watch Factory: this watch secured an absolute majority of votes among all contest models. Its dial is designed in the shape of a stadium arena with hour markers on raised "stands," and the central natural wood insert serves as a reminder of the Krylatskoye cycling track.

Transparency and Updates

To ensure the fairness of the voting process, the organizers completely overhauled the website and significantly improved anti-cheat protection. The contest jury expanded to 42 experts, making their evaluations more balanced and objective, though the contest rules maintained the priority of the public vote.

Winners in Main Categories

"Heritage"

The winner in "Heritage" is the W. Gabus "Transmatik Power Reserve". This piece is a continuation of a pre-revolutionary brand's collection, featuring a toboggan-shaped case and is equipped with a Swiss La Joux-Perret 3513 calibre, yet it was designed and assembled in Moscow.

"Russian Mechanical Watch"

The award in "Russian Mechanical Watch" goes to the Slava "Hedgehog". This model is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the animated film “Hedgehog in the Fog,” styled after the iconic cartoon: a snail (hours) and an oak leaf (minutes) move around the main character. This was a joint project by Slava and AllTime.

"Men's Watch"

The winner in "Men's Watch" is the MII "Radius Klassika" from Ivan Ivanovich's Workshop. This is the workshop’s signature one-and-a-half-hand watch with a central second hand and a large date display. The watch was designed and manufactured at the company's in-house manufacture.

"Ladies' Watch"

The "Ladies' Watch" category was won by the Indicator Colibrica single-hand watch from the Uglich-based atelier Colibrica Design. This is a mechanical "hummingbird" in the watch world (25 x 8.3 mm), beating with a mechanical heart featuring manual finishing ("Chaika 1601A").

"Sports Watch"

The "Sports Watch" award went to the Molniya Hyron. This is a bold, brutal watch created in collaboration with the globally renowned watch designer Jorg Hysek (who has also designed watches for TAG Heuer and Breguet in addition to his own brand).

"Craftsmanship and Ideas"

The winner in "Craftsmanship and Ideas" is the Uglich Watch Factory's "Gardens of the Emperor". This watch features a hot enamel dial technique, created in tribute to Chinese artworks from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

"Independent Watchmakers"

The winner in "Independent Watchmakers" is 10.10. This project by Oleg Skvortsov, a photographer and enthusiast of black-and-white photography, emphasizes the interplay of texture and light.

"Russian Project"

The "Russian Project" award went to MorPribor's "Periscope" from the "Balaklava K-825" collection. It features a marine bronze case and was developed in partnership with the Balaklava Underground Museum Complex.

"Unique Watch"

The winner in "Unique Watch" is the AGAT Zlatoust Watch Factory's "Russian Bogatyr". This piece features a miniature Zlatoust engraving of an epic warrior inside a large cupronickel case with 750m water resistance.

"Interior Clock"

The "Interior Clock" category was awarded to Neptune's "5-ChM Admiral Nakhimov". It was created to commemorate the return to sea after modernization of the eponymous nuclear cruiser, featuring the ship on the dial, anchor-shaped hands, and a small seconds counter resembling a radar.

"Precious Metal Watch"

The winner in "Precious Metal Watch" is Dmitry Chugunov's "Russian Ballet"—a tribute to the Russian ballet school, showcasing a silver ballerina against an aventurine background within an egg-shaped case.

New Names and Expanding Geography

The contest once again confirmed its status as a launchpad for new talent. This year, Alexei Yakushik, Andrey Melnikov, Ksenia Popova, Mikhail Mironov, Oleg Skvortsov, Sergey Lapusta, as well as the "Rubin" and L’Terrias projects, participated for the first time. The geography of the exhibition and contest participants also expanded: in addition to our regular participants from Belarus, watches from Georgia—by Gachava Goderdzi—were presented for the first time.

The 4th "Russian Watch Award" contest has once again demonstrated that the domestic watch industry is alive, dynamically developing, and continues to delight enthusiasts with true masterpieces.

We look forward to seeing you again next year for the milestone fifth contest!

About the Russian Watch Award

The Russian Watch Award contest has been held annually since 2022 with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. Each year, dozens of companies and independent watchmakers participate, and the contest website attracts over 60,000 visitors.

For more information, please visit watchaward.ru