elton hodinarska a.s
The Terroir of Time

The Terroir of Time: The Czech Republic

Today, we explore the Czech Republic's horological history and the intersection of industry, innovation, and aesthetics.

By Rhonda Riche
Editor-At-Large

The Czech Republic, a.k.a. Czechia, is a fascinating place, historically and geopolitically.

Although landlocked, the country’s gentle hills and temperate climate have made it a key passageway between Eastern and Western and Northern and Southern cultures. Moreover, because it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast, it has enjoyed the exchange of ideas and goods with its neighbors for centuries.

However, Czechia is more than a way station. Before World War II, it was a world-class center for art, design, and industry. Today, Czech watchmakers are drawing upon that history to build something connected to its past but completely new.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Our visit to the Czech Republic, formerly known as Bohemia, was sponsored by Robot Watches, an independent brand I first encountered at Time to Watches in Geneva in 2024 and was taken by the bold design choices of this young company.

Still, despite having Czech in-laws, I wasn’t very aware of the country’s watchmaking scene. So, when the brand invited me to visit its manufacture in Nové Město nad Metují, I had to check it out.
 

On the first day, our host Josef Zajíček, Robot’s founder, invited us for dinner at Vila Čapek, a cozy manor near the picturesque village of Branžež. While there’s no actual watchmaking happening here, our visit allowed us to learn more about Robot’s founder, his ties to industry, and his love for Czech culture. This informal visit served as a sort of mis en place for the rest of our explorations.

A passionate car enthusiast and chairman of the board for Autodrom Most, Zajíček was formerly the owner of an auto parts business based in Mladá Boleslav, the birthplace of the Škoda. However, apart from his affinity for cars, Zajíček is also a watch fan and decided to start Robot during the pandemic after 22 years of supplying plastic and carbon parts to various manufacturers.
 

Zajíček is also a big fan of promoting his country’s culture. (Fun Fact: The word “robot” was coined in 1920 by the Czech playwright, novelist, and journalist Karel Čapek.)
 

Bohemia has also long been celebrated for its art glass and jewelry-making prowess. So, when he decided to start a watch brand, Zajíček knew he wanted to bring all these interests to the table.

Prim and Proper

Czechia also has a history of watchmaking. An hour and a half outside of Prague is the watchmaking town of Nové Město nad Metují. The old town sits on top of a rocky promontory where you can take in insanely beautiful Renaissance and Baroque-era architecture (and the occasional group of teens sneaking out for a smoke unaware that you can see them from above).

Three watch companies are centered in this small town: Prim, Robot, and JVD (a more fashion-forward, family-owned, financially accessible company established in 1993). The best-known of these brands is Prim.
 

Initially founded in 1949 as a wristwatch-producing subsidiary of clockmaker Chronotechna Šternberk, the “Prim” brand name was registered in 1956, making Czechoslovakia one of only twelve countries in the world capable of producing wristwatches at that time.

Most people picture Cold War design as bleak and brutalist, but PRIM’s designers couldn’t help but be inspired by the beauty of their surroundings. By the time of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Prim was producing half a million watches annually. The brand was so ubiquitous in Czechoslovakia that wristwatches were colloquially known as “primky” (a mashup of PRIM and “hodinky,” which is the Czech word for watch).
 

However, their rarity beyond the Iron Curtain made them appealing to collectors looking for military models like the Orlík (which means “Eagle”) or more eccentric 1970s designs, like the Television.

The fall of the Soviet Union led to Prim's privatization and contentious split. The name still exists today but as two separate manufacturers: Elton and MPM-Quality.

The more wristwatch-focused of the two, the Elton-backed Prim Manufacture 1949, was recently modernized but switched to producing small batch, manual, and automatic watches. Almost every part, including the watch case, is made in-house.

We Are the Robots

Originally called “Bohematic” and established by Josef Zajíček, Michal Froněk, and Jan Němeček from the design studio Olgoj Chorchoj, microbrand Robot is focused on marrying the precision of Swiss movements with a unique, design-forward style, with diversity of design the Robot signature.

At first glance, every watch in the collection looks very different. Moreover, because production is small-scale, there are also opportunities for client customization. For example, when we visited the manufacture, our hosts showed us a minute hand formed in the silhouette of the Czech-made, aerodynamic cult car, the Tatra.
 

The Robot team is small, with a handful of designers and watchmakers working to dream up, craft, assemble, finish, and test each timepiece. Most of the crew came from Prim.

What unifies Robot’s catalog is the story behind each item. There are many nods to cars, like the dial of the Robot Aerodynamic, which pays homage to the ribbed surface of the Tatra 77.
 

Another example is the Minor’s perforated dial, which is a tribute to the story of the Czech racing car Aero Minor Sport. The car won the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans race after the team drilled holes into its body to prevent it from overheating.
 

The Albatros pilot’s watch is another of Robot’s need for speed offerings. This timepiece is inspired by the technical excellence of Aviation legend the L-39 Albatros. It features an eight-day power reserve, water resistance to 100 meters, and unique details such as a dial inspired by the aircraft’s dashboard or an engraved drawing of the Albatros.
 

Prague Rock

Of course, most visitors’ first taste of Czechia is Prague, the country’s capital and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, if not the world. Even in the off-season, the city center is bustling with tourists following their tour guides' brightly beribboned sticks as they navigate its cobblestone streets.

Well, no tour of the city is complete without a stop at the Prague astronomical clock or Pražský orloj.
 

I have to say: As a time tourist who has made pilgrimages to London’s Big Ben (and I know that “Big Ben” refers to the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster) and the modern steam-powered clock in Vancouver’s Gastown, the Prague Orloj takes the cake.

As part of the trip, our friends at Robot arranged a private behind-the-scenes tour of this medieval wonder. The Orloj displays astronomical information, such as the positions of the sun, moon, and stars, and tells the time. It also indicates the phases of the moon, planetary movements, and the sky visible at a given time.
 

Over time, it has also been decorated with icons representing the Sun, Moon, Zodiac, and 12 apostles.

The astronomical clock truly has everything. The mechanism also automates four figurines depicting the greatest worries of the time: Greed, Vanity, Pagan Invasion, and Death. When the skeleton (death) rings a bell every hour, the other figures shake their heads from side to side. A golden rooster was added in 1882.

The oldest part of the Orloj was built in 1410. We can only assume that people were much smaller in the Gothic era because the staircase leading up to the clockworks was incredibly claustrophobic.
 

Our guide for this excursion was a member of a family that has cared for the clock for five generations. It is mind-blowing that the clock still stands today (and is generally accurate within one minute each day), especially since the clock was extensively repaired after WWII. The intricate winding system was replaced with an electric mechanism in 1948, but many of its cogs and gears are still original.

It is humbling to have the opportunity to climb inside such a historic machine. Such visits are usually limited to watchmaking students, but after such an experience, the influence of the Pražský orloj must surely be instilled deep into their bones.

Collector Connections

What Prague lacks in watch brands, it more than makes up for with an avid collector community. The city is spotted with vintage hodinky shops (for those who want to pick up a Communist-era Prim as a souvenir).

Meanwhile, the area around the city’s most prestigious shopping district, Pařížská Street, has many jewelry and watch boutiques featuring brands from Rolex to Tiffany. Robot’s chill showroom is also just around the corner.
 

Unfortunately, we just missed a RedBar meetup when we visited in September. However, in December 2024, the city drew fans from all over Mitteleuropa (and brands from all over the world) to the Micro Praha Festival.

Held in the Hotel Kings Court, a Neo-Renaissance building that sits on the site of a 14th-century palace commissioned by King Wenceslas, the Micro Praha Festival was organized by enthusiast and photographer Ondrej Vislocky and Bhanu Chopra, the former editor-in-chief of Revolution USA and a former senior editor of the online forum WatchUSeek.
 

Finally, the current collector scene surrounding Czech watchmaking is clearly flavored by small-scale operators. Microbrands are becoming more desirable among collectors, and meetups like Micro Praha are influential because they allow buyers to experience watches that are usually only available online in person.

After all, what could be nicer than finishing off your horological feast than sitting down for a few pilsners with fellow fanatics?

(Front image © ELTON hodinářská, a.s.)

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