I have bought a Raketa Polar 2011-12 version (W-45-11-10-N042) for a while, that's basically the first reissue of Raketa Polar 1969 and in my opinion the design is closest to the original release of watch in 1969 with modern touch (Baltika 2623 vs Flat Russia 2623 movement).
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| Raketa Polar 1969 vs Raketa Polar 2011 |
I don't normally wear the watch, the reason being
Raketa stopped producing Flat Russia 2623 movement in 2014. The only way to find the spare parts is to buy another Raketa 2623 that produced during 201x period which can be costly.
The Iceland trip got me thinking, maybe it's time to put the watch to the place where it should be, the place that is not too far from North Pole, instead of having it struggling under the Sun in my home country - Malaysia. I decided to bring the watch to Iceland and see how well it performs.
The Raketa Polar watch (with original strap) followed me to everywhere I go, I won't be mentioning every single place here, basically I was just rounding the Iceland with a rented car.
This review has nothing to do with the technical aspect of the watch but rather a real life experience and how I feel when it is on my wrist.
Enough writing, and I will let the photos do the talking ;)
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| Raketa Polar in front of the "Dream Boat" |
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| The Sun Voyager |
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| Reykjavik |
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| Seljalandsfoss Waterfall |
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| Solheimasandur Plane Wreckage |
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| I am not a pilot |
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| Dyrholaey Seaside |
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| Reynisfjara Black Beach |
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| On the road |
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| Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon |
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| Diamond Beach |
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| Seydisfjordur Mountain |
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| The rain and snowing |
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| The Camouflage |
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| Lost and Found |
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| Kirkjufell Church Mountain |
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| Coolest black sheep in town |
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| The Black Church |
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| Raketa Polar and Polar bear reunion |
The journey of Iceland Ring Road, started from Reykjavik and ended at Reykjavik. We branched out to certain point of interests and the whole journey is around 2100 Kilometers.
Practical Review Summary
- Manual winding so you got to wind the watch almost every 2 days, I did it every morning so it becomes a habit. It runs good time though if you never forget to wind it ;)
- 24 hours watches, it will take a while for you to get familiar with the time reading since our brain is used to standard 12 hours indices.
- No moisture getting into the watch and definitely water resistance, raining is not an issue.
- Sustain below 0 degree temperature, so now I know it works in environment under -5 to 40 degree temperature.
- The original strap is comfortable to wear, but may change strap in future to keep it in good condition.
Thanks to my wife who has planned this wonderful trip and being the best chef as well, my role is just a driver with part time photographer job, cheers ;)
Here are the images found in Raketa 2011-2012 catalog -
Update (20210602)
Found this early blog post about the Raketa Polar N042 in Polar Circle ;)
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