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Digital watches of far greater accuracy are available in a blister pack on a peg in the supermarket for $5.

When the Red Army invaded Germany, the number 1 looted object was wristwatches. Soldiers would have a row of them affixed to their forearms. In multiple books I've read, they were always looking for wristwatches.

My father (B-17 crew) was issued a wristwatch, but I've been unable to find it among his stuff. Timekeeping was essential for coordinated military operations.

> have achieved something in uplifting backwards feudal empires towards something resembling modernity

The USSR was described as 3rd world country with a 1st world military. The PRC launched their economy by abandoning Marxism and embracing free markets. Cuba is a mess as it still tries to hang on to Marxism.

I did read the Soviet watch article when it was here - most interesting!



Cheap digital watches lack the aesthetic charm of mechanical, not to mention are dependent upon battery power.

> The USSR was described as 3rd world country with a 1st world military.

And yet, tsarist Russia was even poorer and had worse standards of living. Pointing out that a change in state led to a difference in quality is not a moral judgment, nor does it necessitate an endorsement of that change.




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