The Colibrica Design Studio was formed in Uglich, where 10,000 of the city’s 30,000 inhabitants worked at the Chaika watch factory.

Our mothers and fathers worked in the watch industry, but until 2000 I didn’t think that I would be involved in watches, although I started working at the factory back in 1993.

2000
I returned to the Chaika Watch Factory as an engraver in the design department, where my future wife also worked.
Ode to Russian Winter: on the dial with a subtle mother-of-pearl effect, the second hand rotates in the shape of a snowflake. The atmosphere is enhanced by the bluish hue of the mirror-polished titanium case.
2007
I accepted the offer from designer Maxim Nazarov and started building the production base for his watch brand.
In 3 years, we managed to organize a small, strong team, acquire some equipment, and elevate the brand's watches to a new level. However, by that time, the brand owners had lost interest in the watches and shut the project down.

A team of 5 people decided to continue the work they had started

Sergey Volkov
Developer and senior project leader, manual operations.
Viktor Vasiliev
Tooling and metalworking
Maxim Kisin
Electrical Engineering & Electromechanics, CNC
Nikita Toropov
Finishing and micro-machining work
Konstantin Guskov
Watchmaker

We borrowed money for the project, and in 2011, we bought all the equipment from the owners. Until 2015, the atelier fulfilled external orders for making dials and hands for watch companies (‘Konstantin Chaykin’, ‘Nika’) and private clients. In 2015, the first model of the atelier, the Indicator, was released – a titanium ‘single-hand’ wristwatch. Initially, only 4 pieces were planned, one for each team member. After gathering feedback from Swiss colleagues and market experts on the design and prototype, and getting the opinion of the watch community through social media, the decision was made to create a limited edition of the Indicator watches.

This marked the beginning of a new chapter in the watchmaking history of Uglich. The Indicator not only brought the city back into the national history of horology, but also placed it on the global watchmaking map.