The Terroir of Time: The Czech Republic

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.

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.

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.

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.