One of my first articles about watches was a short introduction to the Raketa Russian Code watch. At the time, I didn’t yet have my own website, nor was I particularly interested in writing about my impressions of watches. However, the idea of creating a watch in which all the hands run in the opposite direction of what we’re used to fascinated me so much that I decided to post a short introduction to that watch on our local forum. The article was later revised and published on my own website as well. If you're not familiar with the watch, I strongly recommend reading that revised article first before continuing with this one.
As you’ll see, despite the intriguing concept of a counterclockwise movement—which made this model quite unique—the watch had some serious design flaws. The biggest issue was with the hands, which looked cheap and plastic. The globe in the center of the dial had overly intense colors, and as if the dial wasn’t already crowded enough, a Zodiac map was printed around the globe.
All in all, the overall design of the watch left a poor first impression. The only thing that made it worth mentioning was, as already noted, the “wrong” direction of movement. I also mentioned that such a unique movement deserved to be fully revealed through a transparent caseback—just showing the balance wheel wasn’t nearly enough.
What has happened since then?
a) Well, I realized the watch was so ugly to me that I simply couldn’t bring myself to wear it—despite all the fun it provided when friends tried to read the time on it. So, about a year ago, I decided to sell it to a local collector of Russian watches.
b) Raketa updated the design in their next reissue, sometime around 2021 or 2022 (I’m not quite sure about the exact date). If you compare my original watch (on the left) with the reissued version (photo taken from Raketa’s official website, since I didn’t purchase this version), you’ll see that the hour and minute hands are completely different.
Still, just replacing the hands wasn’t enough of an improvement for me to consider buying this new version instead of the one I had already sold.
(A side note: this discussion about the hands only applies to the black dial version. The white dial version had different—better—hands right from the start.)
c) Three weeks ago, I received an email from Raketa announcing an all-new version of the Russian Code model. Of course, I clicked the link—and I was shocked! Had they been reading my article, or was I just a visionary?
The new version in front of me included all the changes I had suggested. And even more.
So, let's take a closer look at all the changes in detail.
1) The hands are the same as those used on the Sputnik watch. An interesting choice, especially considering that better hands than the original ones had already been introduced in the intermediate model.
And judging purely from the promotional photo, my first reaction was that the intermediate hands might actually be better—or at least more readable—than these ones borrowed from the Sputnik.
But I soon realized I was wrong. I’ll explain why later.
A side effect of this change is that the watch now offers some night-time visibility—the new hands have Luminova, whereas the original ones didn’t. The lume isn’t the best and fades fairly quickly, but still—better than nothing. I have no idea how good the Luminova was on the second-generation hands, so I can’t comment on that.
2) The case, crystal, and crown are now shared between the Sputnik, the new Russian Code, and some other models as well. This same platform was already used in the first edition of the Russian Code. The main difference is that the original case had a black PVD coating, which is no longer present.
So, from the side view, the watches look identical.
Therefore, I can’t add anything about the case, crystal, or other external components that hasn’t already been said in the original Russian Code introduction or the Sputnik review. The same goes for the movement.
3) The crucial difference lies in the complete redesign of the dial.
The new dial is much cleaner, more subtle, and far less aggressive.
a) The brightly colored globe has been replaced by a relief: the sea areas (light blue in the first version) now share the same base color as the rest of the dial, while the continents (originally yellow) are rendered in a slightly lighter shade of that same color.
b) The Zodiac map has been completely removed.
c) The sharp-edged hour numerals have been replaced with elegant, softer ones. I didn’t criticize the original numerals in my article, but I fully support this change. The new numerals are a significant improvement.
d) The red pointer that indicated the rotation of the hands (and Earth) has been removed. Instead, a barely noticeable marker has been placed between 0 and 1 on the small inner minute circle. Another welcome simplification—even though I didn’t originally mention it as a flaw, I completely agree with this change.
In the meantime, Raketa also changed the red pointer and the red logo to white, but that didn’t do much to improve the overall look. I’m glad to see that the Raketa logo is now red again, not white.
e) The "Sdelano v Rossii" inscription has been moved from the globe to a position much lower on the dial, and the "Limitirovannaja serija" marking has been removed entirely. Once again—a welcome cleanup.
f) The inner minute circle is now placed on a separate layer, adding a subtle 3D effect. It’s rendered in a lighter color than the rest of the dial—matching the tone used for the continental parts of the globe.
All the above-mentioned improvements have completely transformed the character of the watch. What was once a kitschy, childish, and exaggerated design—in many ways typical of former USSR-era watch aesthetics—has now become a very elegant dress watch. And in that context, the hands borrowed from the Sputnik are a better choice than those from the intermediate model. The overall composition of the new version is simply too refined for the more utilitarian hands of the earlier reissue.
And… there’s one more change.
4) The caseback that previously revealed only the balance wheel has been replaced by a fully open display back made of glass.
Unfortunately, the glass is mineral, not sapphire—but at least we can finally see the movement!
I’ve taken comparison photos of the Sputnik’s 2624 movement and the 2615R movement in the new Russian Code (the Code is on the left).
Sadly, the large main bridge covers most of the interesting elements that would reveal the technical solutions behind the reverse-running movement.
Compared to some other Raketa calibers, there wasn’t much effort put into decoration here (the same goes for the Sputnik). So in the end, the open caseback is a bit of a letdown.
Speaking of disappointments…
The first one is that only a single leather strap is included. This isn’t really a major flaw—I’m just a bit spoiled, since with all the Raketa models I’ve purchased recently, it was common to receive at least two different straps.
Also, this time the strap uses standard spring bars, unlike other models which came with quick-release lugs.
The biggest disappointment, however, is the packaging. It’s just Raketa’s basic standard box. A watch this special truly deserves special packaging—something “reverse” at least, to reflect the unique concept.
There are only two differences compared to the packaging of the old model.
The first is something that has now become standard across Raketa watches: a short note introducing one of the Raketa employees. This time, it’s Svetlana, who “attached the hairspring to the balance wheel.”
The second improvement is the absence of printed documents like the user guide or warranty booklet. Instead, the warranty card now includes a QR code that links to the documents on Raketa’s website. I appreciate this change.
The EU price for this watch is €1,800, and it is currently limited to 500 pieces.
However, based on the previous version, it’s clear that Raketa has a somewhat “USSR-style” interpretation of what limited means—so I’m not entirely convinced by this stated limitation.
The price is within the expected range, as most Raketa watches fall between €1,500 and €2,000.
It’s just slightly more expensive than the previous version, but the increase is well justified—because this version is so much better.
This is a watch you can actually wear on a daily basis!
And finally, to give you a better sense of what reverse running actually looks like, here’s a very short video.
Pay close attention to the seconds hand!
Oh, and just a heads-up: the time in the video is 06:18, not 05:42 :)
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