Think big - wear big - Marriage watches offer great style at an affordable price
So, what are 'Marriage Watches'? Probably one of the best kept secrets in watches!
How many times have you picked up a pocket watch at a collector's fair and liked the attractive dial but wished it was a wristwatch? Well, you are not alone. And there is a solution..
In the early 2000's, an industry started in Eastern Europe in the conversion of old pocket watches to wrist watches, a clever concept called 'Marriage Watches.' You basically take a pocket watch moment and in some cases the dial and case and either solder on new watch strap lugs, rotate the face 90 degrees and you have a large wristwatch. Great idea.
Often, these watches have 43mm+ diameter watch crystals, giving you that easy to read 'big watch' look dials but are not in most cases, 'heavy' to wear on the wrist.
Cases are typically around 45mm+ and up to 60mm+ in the largest 'clocks' but typically I have found around 45-50mm diameter excluding the crown. Typically a 22mm wide strap is used which looks right for the case size.
These Marriage Watches have hand wound movements, but don't forget that even some very exclusive modern and expensive big name exclusive Swiss mechanical watch movements are hand wound, not all are automatic watches as you may think.
Molinja - one of the favoured bases for Marriage watch conversions
The Soviet Union produced many quality watches for Military and Transport use, even producing pocket watches into the late 1980s and beyond, the Molnija factory (meaning 'lightning' in Russian) produced this style really until the end of the Soviet state and beyond. It like other makes such as Raketa, Pobeda, Zim and others kept people in jobs in the Communist era even though Quartz watches took over the Western market and killed the Swiss mechanical market for everyday watches.
A Rolex enhanced 3602 movement improved by Molnija
Often based on Swiss movements like the Rolex 624, meant that the hard work of development was already mostly done, making for quality and accurate movements.
A lovely retro style Molnija dial Marriage Watch with Gothic style numerals
The Soviet era produced some great retro looking dials too, whether based on Gothic numerals, block markers or unusual combinations of numerals and block markers in the bauhaus style of form and function. Perhaps the Soviet Union being behind the West in some ways created what we now call 'Retro' looking pieces.
Repurposed Swiss Longines watch from the 1920's
The availability of pocket watches in great numbers and the relative scarcity of their wristwatch equivalent counterparts in the Swiss makes for example market, created an obvious avenue for a new market.
A Swiss Longines converted Marriage Watch might be sat £200 or $275 USD, against say £1300 or $1600 USD for an original vintage wristwatch version. Plus,the Marriage Watch is easier to read, the originals often having smaller dials.
An Omega repurposed is an obviously striking time piece
Obviously, with a Swiss name and a large dial on your wrist, there is an obvious 'wow' factor going on. However, the mysteriousness of a Russian Cyrillic name on the dial also invokes curiosity and the in many cases retro look and unknown watch face also starts conversations.
Roman Miller - A Soviet Molnija based piece comparable to a 1920's Jaeger -
fashioned from a batch of unused Molnija 'Rolex' origin movements
Whilst a converted Yuri Gagarin picture dial watch has its own appeal as a bit of fun, there is the old adage of you get what you pay for and for me, these Molnija Marriage Watches tick many boxes - they don't break the bank, are stylish, reliable and interesting - many are unique and one off dial designs too. The Retro appeal is there too, whether as a 1920's style or a Bauhaus looking piece.
There is always going to be that snobbery in watch collecting as in many other collecting fields, your repurposed Omega may be frowned upon by some, but at least conversion saves many from being left in drawers or worse, broken for the scrap value of the silver cases and the moan of ' no one wants pocket watches'.
From a collecting point of view, I think the Soviet ones have their following and are appreciated for what they are, stylish, fun and reliable. Under the glass you may often be getting a Swiss origin watch movement too.
For Swiss movements like the Omega and Longines, it allows you to own one for a reasonable price that is often a unique creation if the dial has been created specially.
So should you buy? For the price and the style, I would say yes, plus the fact that they are at this time not expensive to buy.
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