I am not a Soviet clock expert. But you probably have a First Moscow Watch Factory chess clock from the post WW 2 period, This design was produced for three or four decades from the 1930s to 1960s. The clock was a copy of an old German clock from the 1920s. The early versions of the Soviet clock were identical to this but had 4ac 2 3-d MockBa written on the face below the centre. I don't have a cyrillic keyboard so don't confuse what I have written as numbers. What that said was Has 2 Factory. Moscow or Moscow Clock Factory Number 2. Not sure if Number 2 was a model number or if it came from a factory Number 2. The design was condensed into the diamond logo after the war. I believe a later design of the logo was a checker board with a knight sitting in the middle of it, I hope someone with much greater knowledge than I have comes along to answer your question with greater precision.
Soviet clock manufacturer question
Thank you for the information! I didn't stop to consider that the logo might have changed over time. Most of the examples I have seen have the factory number on them, but I haven't seen many clocks with this particular logo. When the clock arrives, I'm hoping that there will be more clues on the bottom.
I seem to vaguely recall that someone has a website that identified various logos from chess companies that also included clocks, but I haven't been able to find it again.
I found this on a Watch collectors' forum and thought that it might be useful.
Moscow/Zlatoust/Chelyabinsk
1ГЧЗ = 1SWF (1st State Watch Factory, 1-й Государственной Часовой Завод)
ТТМ = TTM (Trust of Precision Mechanics, Треста Точной Механики)
1ГЧЗ им.Кирова = 1SWF named after Kirov
1МЧЗ = 1MWF (1st Moscow Watch Factory, 1-й Московский Часовой Завод)
ПОЛЕТ = Poljot (Flight)
ЗЧЗ (Златоустовский) = ZChZ (Zlatoust Watch Factory, Златоустовский Часовой Завод)
Агат, Агат = Agat (Agate)
ЧЧЗ = ChChZ (Chelyabinsk Watch Factory, Челябинский Часовой Завод)
МОЛНИЯ = Molnija (Lightning)
Moscow/Chistopol
МЭМЗ = MEMZ (Moscow ElectroMechanical Factory, Московского ЭлектроМеханического Завода)
2МЗ = 2nd Mechanical Factory (2-й Механические Завод)
2МЧЗ = 2nd Moscow Watch Factory
5З = 5th Factory (5-й Завод)
СЛАВА = Slava (Glory)
ЧЧЗ (Чистопольский) = Chistopol Watch Factory (Чистопольский Часовой Завод)
ВОСТОК = Vostok (East)
Penza
ЗИФ = ZIF (Factory named after Frunze, Завод имени М. В. Фрунзе)
3ГЧЗ = 3rd State Watch Factory
ПЧЗ (Пензенский) = PChZ (Пензенский часовой завод)
ЗАРЯ = Zarja (Dawn)
St.Petersbourg
ТТК-1 = TTK-1 (Precision Technical Jewels, Точных Технических Камней)
ПЧЗ = PChZ (Petrodvorets Watch Factory, Петродворцовый Часовой Завод)
РАКЕТА = Raketa (Rocket)
ЭЧЛ = EChL (Electrical Clocks Leningrad, Электрические Часы Ленинграда)
Uglich
ТТК-2 = TTK-2
УЧЗ = UChZ (Uglich Watch Factory, Угличский Часовой Завод)
ЧАЙКА = Chaika (Seagull)
Samara
ЗИМ = ZIM (Factory named after Maslennikov, Завод имени Масленникова)
Serdobsk
СЧЗ = SChZ (Serdobsk Watch Factory, Сердобский Часовой Завод)
Маяк = Majak (Lighthouse)
Orel (Oryol)
ОЧЗ = OChZ (Orel Watch Factory, Орловский Часовой Завод)
Янтарь = Jantar (Amber)
Yerevan (Armenia)
ЕЧЗ = EChZ (Yerevan Watch Factory, Ереванский Часовой Завод)
Minsk (Belarus)
Луч = Luch (Ray)
Sorry for the delay in my response. I took a break from this forum and social media in general for a while.
The news on the clock that I ordered from Russian was not good, unfortunately. It arrived in 3 or more pieces. The Russian post office was not quite gentle when I used to live there a long time ago and they don't appear to have changed over the years. I've been putting it back together as best that I can but the wood body is crushed in and I don't think that I can fully repair it. The internals are working somewhat, although they would need some professional attention if I wanted to use the clock for more than just show. Once the pandemic is over I may try to find someone to make repairs, but for now it is just sitting on a shelf.
I am sorry to hear about the Russian clock. I had wondered how it worked out for you. There are now so many packages in transit around the world, you would think a national postal service of a large country would have cleaned up its act by now. I have occasionally thought about getting a similar era clock myself, as they are not too expensive, but I know of no one who would appreciate it or want to use it. I also admire the better quality European analog clocks that were popular until the digital revolution. But hearing your story reminds me there is risk. And I am at a stage in my life when culling a mountain of stuff in my household is becoming imperative. Good luck with the restoration if you decide to do so.
Can anyone give me any information on this chess clock that I have found? In perfect working order and barely a scratch on it. I reckon it is 1950s, Moscow clock factory no.3, but haven't seen this logo elsewhere and I wonder what it might be worth. My intuition is that it was used in a tournament and gathered dust afterwards, due to lack of wear and tear.
This is a close up of the logo...
Great find! The "made in USSR" on the clock face is especially interesting. I don't think I've seen that before on one of these clocks. I assume it was made for export. The watch factory no.3 label was used from 1956 onwards. See also this great video by Kalash chess addict. And this article outlining the history of this factory.
I have no idea what it's worth would be, but there aren't many of these clocks around in this good a condition - certainly not from the 50s. Soviet chess equipment was made to be used.
Hi Everyone,
Although I swore that I would not buy any more chess equipment, here we go again. I finally gave in to temptation and ordered a Soviet era wood analog clock from Russia. While I'm waiting for it to arrive, I was trying to do some research but our information seems limited. I was wondering if anyone would be able to identify the manufacturer from this photo:
Thanks,
Mike