I’m quite sure that the vast majority of you who are not from Russia have never heard of the Tsedro watch company. And even though I’ve been collecting Soviet and Russian watches for quite a while now, I wasn’t familiar with this brand until recently either.
Tsedro was established in 2005 by Dimitrij Cedro (Tsedro). The company specializes in the production of highly decorated, handmade watches—each one essentially unique. For their cases, they use titanium, silver, or gold. In the beginning, almost their entire production was based on the Poljot (later Maktime) 3105 hand-wound movement (essentially the famous 3133 chronograph movement without the chrono module), but nowadays, their collection is primarily built around Swiss movements.
With that in mind, you can probably imagine that their watches are quite distinctive, unconventional, and rather expensive. While browsing their collection, I have to admit that the decoration of the dials often walks the fine line of my personal taste and what I consider good design. Some of their dials are just too kitschy for me... But—as you know—you can’t judge someone else’s taste. What’s ugly to me might be beautiful to someone else, and vice versa.
You can check all the details about the company and their current collections on their website www.tsedro.ru
Well, I was able to find a watch that falls within my acceptable price range, showcases all the craftsmanship on the dial, and—although still a bit extravagant—is not too kitschy. On top of that, it also carries an interesting historical homage. Since it uses the Poljot 3105 movement rather than one of the Swiss ones, that’s another plus for me—it fits perfectly into my collection of Russian watches.
The watch in question is called Tank, from the Revolver III series.
The watch has a diameter of 44 mm, and the case is made of titanium. Knowing that it uses the Poljot 3105 movement, you’d normally expect a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock—but in this model, the second hand is deliberately omitted (although other watches from the Revolver III series generally do feature the small seconds).
At first glance, the watch—or rather, the dial—doesn’t look particularly special. It’s a kind of partially transparent dial that reveals some of the main movement components. And that’s precisely what I like about it. Only upon closer inspection do you realize that the dial is fully engraved by hand.
As mentioned, the model is named Tank. If you look closely, you’ll notice the silhouette of a tank between 2 and 3 o’clock. In my opinion, this watch is dedicated to the famous Soviet tank T-34 from World War II—one of the central players in the largest tank battle in history: the Battle of Kursk.
Now, it’s time for some close-up shots of the dial.
Even more interesting is the back side of the watch, which is richly decorated. In fact, most of the decoration is found on the back, not the front—which, at least for me, is a good thing. It’s highly decorated, but not in a way that shows off to the world. A kind of discreet craftsmanship.
But even on the back, the decoration isn’t immediately obvious. At first glance, from a “normal” viewing distance, you wouldn’t necessarily notice anything unusual.
So once again—let’s take a closer look.
The most obvious—and also the most controversial—decoration is found inside the wheel: a sickle and hammer within a five-pointed star, classic emblems of the former Soviet Union. I understand that these symbols might be offensive to some, but in this case, they’re not meant to glorify communism itself, but rather to commemorate the "Great Victory" in World War II.
The T-34 tank also appears on the back—this time clearly depicted in action, advancing through tank barriers in a spruce forest. And to support the tank’s penetration behind enemy lines, there are also three airplanes—most likely, in my opinion, Lavochkin La-7 models.
Of course, a watch is still primarily a watch, not just a piece of art. So it’s important that it wears well on the wrist. At 44 mm, the size is perfect for my wrist, though I believe a 42 mm version would make the watch even more attractive for a wider audience. The titanium case adds to the comfort thanks to its low weight. The 3105 movement is robust, but it does have its limitations when it comes to precision. However, I don’t think the standard leather strap—designed in a kind of racing style—suits the overall character of the watch. I plan to replace it soon with something more classic, probably a leather strap in a more traditional style. I’ll also need to figure out the right color—black doesn’t seem like the best choice in this case.
The watch comes in a nicely crafted wooden box.
You might be wondering what a watch like this actually costs. I was able to get mine from www.smirs.com (an official Tsedro retailer, and once again very helpful—they provided additional photos of this and other Tsedro watches I was interested in) for 60,000 RUB (approximately 660 EUR). Of course, I also had to pay import taxes.
To be quite honest—compared to current prices of Russian watches and considering all the manual craftsmanship involved—it’s really not that much.
It’s definitely not a watch I’d buy for everyday use, and if I weren’t focused on building my Russian collection, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. But at the end of the day, I’m quite satisfied with the purchase, and it will certainly make its way into my regular rotation.
Still, the most fascinating thing about this watch is what happens when you take a magnifying glass and start exploring all the intricate details on both sides of the case.
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