Before World War II, during a period of rapid industrialization in the Soviet Union, the Soviet government sought international funding and expertise to develop a domestic watchmaking industry. Eventually, the French watch manufacturer LIP was chosen. In 1936, technical director Fred Lipmann signed a deal with the USSR to export technology and parts.
In 1935, the Third State Watch Factory was established in Penza, utilizing equipment acquired from LIP. LIP engineers supervised the installation of all equipment and trained Russian engineers.
On May 5, 1940, the People’s Commissariat of General Mechanical Engineering ordered the formation of the Penza Third State Watch Factory, focusing on small-sized ladies’ movements and the production of tools for the watchmaking industry. However, with the escalation of the war, the factory shifted to producing military equipment.
After the war, in 1945, the factory was renamed Penza Watch Factory and resumed civilian watch production, particularly the Zvezda and Pobeda models. In 1949, the factory was directed to focus exclusively on ladies’ watches and began developing a new small-sized caliber, branded as Zaria.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the factory produced various brands, but in 1964 consolidated all brands under the Zaria name. In 1968, the factory began producing pedometers, and by the 1980s had produced one hundred million watches. Today, the Penza Watch Factory is still in operation, with an average annual production of about 500,000 watches.
