From A Soviet Workshop To Modern Manufacture with Raketa's David Henderson-Stewart

A forgotten factory. Old machines humming. A movement that comes back to life after being frozen in Antarctic ice. That’s the energy behind our conversation with David Henderson-Stewart, the lawyer-turned-restorer who picked up Raketa when it was on the floor and made it tick again.

We talk about why he refused the easy route—outsourcing movements, buying CNC, copying Swiss design—and instead doubled down on authenticity. David walked every line, learned every machine, and built trust with master specialists who could hit micron tolerances by hand. He opened a watchmaking school to train a new generation, credited makers by name in every box, and set a quality bar that could stand next to Switzerland while preserving a uniquely Russian character.

Design is where Raketa’s DNA glows. Born in 1961 to honor Yuri Gagarin, the brand leans into space heritage and real tool needs: 24-hour dials for polar stations and submarines, counterclockwise displays, bold legibility that serves survival over fashion. These are watches worn in the ISS, tested in South Pole conditions, and shaped by archives of watercolor concepts that still feel shockingly modern. We dig into why Raketa avoids fragile showpieces like tourbillons, how in-house movement making defines identity, and why robust engineering, not gimmicks, earns trust.

We also explore the business reality: growing from roughly 7,000 pieces a year without letting quality slip, navigating global markets through word of mouth and transparency, and planning future launches—from astronaut models to wild archival revivals—without losing the soul that makes the brand stand out. If you care about watchmaking, culture, and the craft that turns steel into time, this one will stick with you.

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Checkout Raketa Watches:

https://world.raketa.com/

https://www.instagram.com/raketawatches

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