The "Big Bang! The Birth of the First Czechoslovak Wristwatches" exhibition at National Technical Museum Prague commemorates a pivotal industrial milestone. It celebrates 70 years since Czechoslovakia pioneered mechanical wristwatch production. Visitors explore the development of the iconic SPARTAK watch under the PRIM brand and its historical significance. The exhibit showcases historic timepieces, production instruments, and valuable documentation.
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This exhibition commemorates the 70th anniversary of Czechoslovakia becoming the eighth country globally to industrially produce mechanical wristwatches. It highlights the development of the first Czechoslovak wristwatch, the SPARTAK, under the PRIM brand, and its broader historical, political, and social impact.
The exhibition "Big Bang! The Birth of the First Czechoslovak Wristwatches" marks the 70th anniversary of a significant milestone for Czechoslovakia: becoming one of the world's few nations capable of industrial mechanical wristwatch production. It delves into the extraordinary success of the domestic industry, focusing on the creation of the prototype for the first Czechoslovak wristwatch, named SPARTAK, and its subsequent launch into industrial production by the PRIM brand in Nové Město nad Metují. This achievement had far-reaching implications for domestic industry, extending beyond fine mechanics and watchmaking, and the exhibition aims to shed light on its broader historical, political, and social significance. In a remarkably short postwar period, Czechoslovak technicians successfully developed prototypes of high-quality wristwatches by the end of 1954, comparable to advanced Western products. Within three years, these watches were available as an industrial product through the national enterprise Klenoty and eventually to consumers. The exhibition features the watches themselves, including several iconic models, with the SPARTAK prototype, on loan from the Technical Museum in Brno, being a central highlight. Additionally, various instruments and devices used in production are displayed. Valuable, previously unpublished technical documentation, loaned by ELTON hodinářská, a.s. (the successor to PRIM watch production), offers further insight. Visitors can also explore the structural, manufacturing, and material characteristics of mechanical wristwatch movements through interactive 3D technologies.
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