Spartak watch prototypes

The Spartak prototypes belong to the beginnings of Czechoslovak wristwatch manufacture, and examples form part of the museum's PRIM exhibition. Development took place at a factory established in Nové Město nad Metují in 1949. The designers used the French LIP R25 movement as their starting point, producing their own calculations and technical drawings. Twelve prototypes were made in 1954, and a ministerial commission approved the project on 26 November.

Before series production began, workers, technicians and office staff tested the watches for a year. Their task was to assess everyday performance away from the designer's workbench. Series production started in 1957, and the PRIM brand was chosen at the end of that year. The first watches reached customers in 1958, after several years of development and testing. A naming competition held in 1956 attracted over a thousand suggestions. The finalists included Nomesa, Novena, Metuna and Vesna, but factory management preferred Spartak. Eventually, the watches adopted the PRIM brand, previously used for alarm clocks and wall clocks.