Slava Russian Roulette 'Ruletka' Automatic 1900201/300-NH05

General information

The Slava Russian Roulette (in Russ.: "Рулетка") is an absolutely unique and outstanding watch. At first sight, it might seem loud and scandalous but when taking a closer look the watch is a masterpiece of watchmaking with a fascinating story and a patented construction.
Throwback: the term "Russian Roulette" is a type of gambling that is attributed to Russian army members during the 1. World War. Unfortunately, there is no solid evidence that this game of luck has originated within the Russian army. However, the claim for its Russian origin came from the USA - the country that supplied revolvers to the Russians from the 1870s on.

Luckily, the development of the watch is documented detailed. The whole process took more than 3 years and resulted in dozens of challenges on the way to market maturity.
The back of the watch is a specially designed rotating disc that evokes a drum of a revolver. A "bullet" is included on the disc which is a key feature of the Russian roulette myth. One of the crucial questions of the brand was: How can we design a rotating disc that will always stop with the bullet exactly in one of the six chambers? After many experiments 16 small but powerful neodym magnets were built-in. The first watch prototype with a smooth running drum and a quartz movement was initially created. But the developers didn't like the idea of the use of a battery-powered movement in a watch that includes a representation of something strictly mechanical like a revolver drum. Slava started looking for the right movement and found the SII NH05 automatic caliber. Watch critics will present the argument that the NH05 is a very tiny and inconspicuous movement and they are absolutely right. This movement is one of the few fully automatic movements on the market at this size. It’s very precise, reliable and ensures the right fit into a case that won't have to be disproportionately wide. But the use of a mechanical movement and 16 high performance magnets in close proximity are not the best fit. Therefore, Slava designed a metal joint for the back cover which includes a Permalloy layer to shield the movement from magnetism.
Now the final problem resulted in the inconvenience of taking the watch off the wrist to see the result of the drum spin. To counter this, the case was re-designed from scratch and a shutter was added. By pressing the pusher at 12h the mechanical membrane, consisting of about 40 individual parts, will reveal the "muzzle of the revolver", thus, showing the carrier his/her luck or fate.

Each watch comes with an original pre-mounted Slava leather strap in a beautiful wooden gift box.

• Manufacturer: Slava
• Brand: Slava
• Country of origin: Russia
• Limited edition