Nostalgia for the 80s and 90s: Montana watches

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Retro style comes back into fashion from time to time. Therefore, we are happy to listen to music, the rhythms of which excited the youth 20-30 years ago, put on makeup “a la the 20s” and build hairstyles on our heads in the same style. And if you have a good friend or male relative aged thirty-five and older, he will soon have a celebration, and you are rushing about in search of an original surprise gift - do not philosophize slyly, but look for a rarity that has become a kind of symbol of his childhood and youth.

Why this watch?

As you know, a watch is an excellent gift for a man of any age, profession and social status. The difference may be in the brand, cost, functionality. However, in comparison with all modern brands, Montana watches, which appeared at the end of the USSR era as the first signs “from there”, as an element of “beautiful life”, have practically no competitors. And the point here is not at all in excellent quality or a lot of “bells and whistles”, “coolness” and style of the subject. It's just that for those whose childhood, youth or youth fell on the last two decades of the last century, they personified a kind of technical miracle.

It was prestigious to have a Montana watch: it was considered an indicator of “advancement”, a special chic among teenagers and men. And in fact, where was the Soviet production of watch factories in Belarus or the Moscow region to keep up with them! Mechanical or electronic watches of domestic production seemed pitiful compared to foreign ones, which had an original and unusual design. A backlight, a stopwatch, a set of melodies that could be listened to just like that, or set as an alarm clock (Montana watches also had this function!), A logo in a foreign language, a metal bracelet and other details on teenagers of those times made the same impression strong, as on the current ones - the latest models of iPhones, iPods, etc. Modern fans of vintage and techno styles will gladly decorate their wrists with these antiques, thereby creating competition for the older generation.

One more look into the past

When buying this or that thing, we pay attention to the country of origin, because often this factor becomes the key to the quality of the product. It is impossible to say unequivocally where and who produced Montana watches: the country, the developers, the place of production of serial batches - everything was unknown, inaccurate. Some models were made in the same China, others in Hong Kong. The main thing is that everyone on the case, on the back cover, was engraved: “USA”. It was enough toan inexperienced Soviet buyer sincerely believed: he was buying really imported products, which means they were of high quality! And it was not easy to buy a Montana watch, like any scarce and, therefore, worthwhile product. They cost affordable for someone, but for someone a little expensive - from 60 to 70 rubles. But it's not even about the price. Watches did not appear in free trade - they were hunted for commissions, bought by hand. Naturally, the inhabitants of the province had to go to the district or regional centers for scarce goods or turn to friends for help. But how much pride and joy appeared in the eyes of the one who finally flaunted "Montana" on his hand, a dream watch!

Some technical data

"Montana" is a brand of men's watches, but women also wore them with pleasure. The case was made of steel or plastic, the dial was covered with plexiglass. So that it would not be scratched, a protective film was glued to the glass, many did not remove it when wearing the watch. The first models were with 7 and 8 melodies, later ones with 16. The most famous are Montan's models from Kessel. In their arsenal, in addition to the scoreboard with hours and minutes, there was a stopwatch, a calendar indicating the day of the week, of course, an alarm clock. The "Hourly Signal" function could be turned off - otherwise, sound callsigns worked every 60 minutes. Naturally, the watch had a backlight - it should have been turned on by pressing a button on the edge of the case. On the dial of the models flaunted a clear font, similar togothic, magical inscription-logo with an eagle pattern: "Montana".