HISTORY

Luch plant

www.luch.by/en/

1953. History of Open Joint Stock Company "Minsk Watch Plant" has started in 1953, when it was decided to build the plant. It was then the beginning of the development of the watch industry of the Republic of Belarus.

1955. Released the first ladies wristwatch "Zaria" This small ladies watch of caliber 18 mm on 16 ruby jewels. The movement consists of 80 parts and 25 units. Many dimensions of watch parts do not exceed 1 mm.

1959. Training of watchmakers has begun. In 1959 at the request of the administration MWP Minsk Polytechnic has opened the evening department for training among factory workers. In 1963 was the first issue of the department "Production of timing devices"

1960. Development of watch "Minsk" has began. In 1960 the development of a new caliber of watch has began and the construction of watch was created with movement with diameter of 13 mm and height of 3.4 mm. In the design of the watch movement and in external design of the watch the experience with the watch "Zaria" was taken into account. In 1961 a pilot batch of watch "Minsk" (Luch 1300) was released. But in 1962, the development of this watch was suspended, and the plant has switched to the development of men's watches "Vympel".

1962. Production of men watch Luch 2209 is mastered. The Ministry of Industry together with the plant have decided to manufacture particularly flat men watch "Vympel" , produced by the 1st Moscow Watch Plant , which gave the technical documentation for it . This watch has received the trade mark "Luch 2209"

1963. Production Association “Luch”. In September 1963 the Production Association “Luch” was created that united Minsk Watch Plant and Vitebsk factory of watch parts - branch. Union leadership was entrusted to the management team MWP. In mid-1966 watch Production Association "Luch" was eliminated. Minsk Watch Plant and Vitebsk factory of watch parts (VFWP) became independent enterprises with subordination to Glavchasprom.

1965. Completion of construction and the outcome of the work. By 1965, the construction and installation work at the Minsk Watch Plant were mostly finished. At the head company 1850 units of equipment were installed, including 1120 units of technological equipment. Number of the personnel was 4374 persons. In 1965 1,265,773 watches were manufactured.

1973. Launched production of car clocks. In 1973 the production of car clocks, transferred from Chistopolsky Watch Plant was fully mastered. For the first year 15 thousand of car clocks ACHJ-1 were released. In 1976 orders were received for the supply of special equipment, car clocks for Lada cars - ACHJ-1 for 200 000 pieces. In 1977 they are produced with state "quality mark".

1974. Rewards. At the Leipzig fair ladies watch "Luch 1816" with automatic winding and calendar was marked by gold medal. In January 1977 the provision was approved of diploma by Trade Unions and the USSR State Standard - "For the best results for the output of a state" quality mark. In 1978 MWP was named after the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party of Belarus. In honor of the 25th anniversary the plant was awarded by the Order of the Red Banner. In 081 the watch Luch - 1956 was awarded by the "Grand Gold Medal" at the International Fair in Plovdiv (Bulgaria).

1980. 25th anniversary of the plant. November 24, 1980 marks 25 years since the entry of MWP into operation enterprises. Over the years, the plant has grown into one of the largest enterprises in the watch industry. The plant employs more than eight thousand people - 5,253 of them were awarded the honorary title of "Shock worker of Communist labour". Over the 25-year period the team of Minsk Watch Plant has produced more than 56 million watches. Theses ladies watch "Luch 1900, 1809, 1814, 1816" men's watch "Luch 2209". Also the plant produces electronic and mechanical watch " Luch 3055" and watch "ACHJ-1" for "Lada" cars . In the plant there are 32 feature-based assembly lines, 17 automatic production lines and 1205 units of automatic and semi-automatic equipment, 7 mechanized and 2 automated workshops.

2010. Arrival of foreign investor to the plant. Franck Muller Company acquires 52% of shares in OJSC "Minsk Watch Plant". It was signed a Presidential Decree (№ 109 from 01.03.2010). June 29, 2010 an Investment Agreement was signed to modernize Minsk Watch Plant between investing company and the Government of Belarus. Currently, the state's share in the authorized capital of MWP - 19.97%, the investor's share - 80%, individuals - 0.03%

2012. Opening a flagship store "Luch". November 24, 2012 Minsk Watch Plant has opened the first store of the new sample. Flagship store "Luch" symbolizes plant modernization and renewal of the range of products and should be the first in a network of similar stores. At the opening the Managing Director " Franck Muller" Vartan Sirmakes and the First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko were present. The store is located in Minsk, at 18, Nezavisimosti avenue.

2013. Watches with diamond light coating Beginning from 2013 O.J.-S.C. "Minsk watch plant" mastered industrial production of watches with diamond light coating. Case parts with this coating produced by O.J.-S.C. "Minsk watch plant" are comparable in quality with the best foreign analogues manufacturers such as Rolex, Messina Jewelers, Citizen, Panerai, Audemars Piguet and others. No one produces such watch cases in the CIS countries, although such products are manufactured by leading manufacturers for a long time. Coating is biologically indifferent, i.e. does not chemically react with the biological tissues (including skin). This coating has been used for over 20 years in many other fields, in particular for the manufacture of heart valves, aircraft and Formula-1.

All Antique watches are mechanical. Many repairs will not be cheap, as most likely they will require replacement of non-standard parts (unlike most late model watches).

• Antique watches should not be beaten or dropped - because repairs may be expensive.
• Antique watches are generally NOT waterproof. This is because waterproofing was not in general production until the middle of the 20th century for most watches. Therefore you should protect your antique watch from exposure to moisture.
• If your watch becomes wet it should be dried off quickly. Carefully open all covers and use a hair drier to blow dry the movement, dial, covers, crown. This will reduce the amount of rust.
• If your watch becomes wet with any kind of salt water you should immediately immerse or spray your watch with fresh (no-salt) water to remove all the salt from the works before drying the watch completely. Any salt left in the watch will combine with moisture in the air to rust metal components of the movement, case etc.
• Winding any mechanical watch tight may break the mainspring. If you can avoid it do not wind the watch hard.
• When adjusting the hands of your watch, move them in a clockwise direction only. Counter-clockwise adjustments may damage the movement. It is desirable to adjust the hands of your watch at the same time every day. An automatic or self-winding watch should be worn for at least 8 hours a day. It is a mechanical watch in which the mainspring is wound automatically as a result of natural motion of the wearer's arm, to provide energy to run the watch, making manual winding unnecessary.
• If you must adjust counter-clockwise make it for small adjustments only (i.e. for minutes, NOT hours).
• Be careful and gentle when adjusting the movement speed (faster or slower). Don't make sharp movements, and don't touch other components in the movement especially the pendulum mechanism.
• Every 2-3 years it is necessary to service and oil vintage watches. If the course of your watches is worsening and the accuracy of the reduction in the duration of the clock (autonomy) from one fully wound spring - it need a service.
• IF the watch is dirty - allow the watch to run down, don't wind it again until you have it serviced by a qualified watch repair expert. Dust will absorb and remove important lubricants and cause the movement pieces to wear down.
• To clean the case, dial and crystal you should use a cloth that does NOT leave fibers as these may get caught up in the movement. Check with your Watch repair expert to get an appropriate cloth.
• Keep your antiques watch away from magnets. Strong magnetic fields may affect the accuracy of your watch since some vintage watches were made with iron based components in the movement.
• Most Cases and Covers are fine components and will not handle abuse well. The watch should not be shaken, beaten, or stressed.
• Antique watches generally experience an error of up to 5-7 minutes a day. Any accuracy of +- 5 minutes is very good.
• Mechanical watch is not recommended to use for engage in extreme sports, and expose them to excessive vibration loads. Recoil force, which take on the clock, affect their reliability and precision. No matter how perfect was not anti-shock mechanism, there is always the chance of excessive load that details of the mechanism can not survive.
• Watch with calendar. It is not recommended to adjust, the date between 20.00 and 06.00, because at this time involved a mechanism for automatic adjustment date. Translation pointers calendars manually in this position arrows may damage the mechanism. Date changes should be made, relegating pre-clockwise to lower sector of the dial (for example, to position 6 (18.00) hours).
• Chronograph watches. In most cases, these watches contain the "start/stop" button and "reset" button. It is strongly recommended not to press the "reset" if the chronograph is running. Before you use the "Reset" button need to stop the chronograph by button "start/stop". Using the "reset" when running chronograph can damage the mechanism of most models of watches.

We ship to any country. This item will be shipped to you from Europe (Ukraine) via registered airmail with tracking number and insurance within 7-14 days (except for the weekends and holidays) after the payment is fully received.

Typical Delivery Time

• European Countries: about 7-10 days;
• USA, Japan & other: about 10-14 days.

NOTE: Delivery time may increase because of postal services and/or customs. Please, don't worry and check location of your parcel using provided tracking number. In spite of delays all our previous lots have been successfully delivered!

The item will be packed very carefully!

WARNING!!!

List of countries to which we can send expedited international shipping (UPS express):

United States of America, Canada, Australia, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Republic of), Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova (Republic of), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Korea (Republic of), Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Viet Nam

1. You have 3 days to contact us and 5 days to return it from the date it was received. If this item is in your possession more than 3 days, it is considered used and we will not issue you a refund or replacement. There are no exceptions!
2. All returned items must be in the original packaging and you must provide us with the shipping tracking number, specific reason for the return, and your eBay ID.
3. We will refund your full winning bid amount, upon receipt of the item in its original condition and packaging with all components and accessories included, after both Buyer and Seller cancel the transaction from eBay or you may choose to have a replacement.
4. Return shipping is to be paid by the Buyer.

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