That’s why I’m a fan of one-handed watches. They’re quirky looking, outdated and not the best at timekeeping.
It’s also why my favourite affordable single-handed replica luxury watches comes from an Eastern European factory. The design hasn’t been updated in more than half a century. But we can come back to that later.
Designed and built in Minsk, Belarus. Unchanged since its release in the 1950s.
It has a simple, uncluttered dial with one hand. There is no date window and the markers are labelled with the hours. The minute ring shows the time broken down into five-minute intervals. The larger lines show the quarter hours and the largest show the full hour.
There are variations of this model, with black or silver dials and with the logo and text in Cyrillic or English.
For me, this is the most authentic version – a white dial and Cyrillic text. Remember, Belarus was a part of the Soviet Union when this watch was created. I want it to maintain that utilitarian design that they were known for.
As a watch dealer, I’ve had hundreds of copies of this watch through my hands. And one of the first things I notice when I see this watch in the flesh is the size. It’s 38mm and slim in profile.
Although Luch produce watches for women, I’d suggest that this makes for a suitable unisex piece. 38mm is fine for a man and comfortable for most women too. The small Luch mechanical movement it uses was originally created for smaller women’s the best replica watches in the world.
It’s hand-winding, so if it’s the vintage aesthetic that appeals to you, you’ll love the ritual of winding the watch each morning.
Don’t underestimate the appeal of winding your mechanical watch. If, like me, your attraction to a one-handed watch stems from a desire to live slowly, then jump in. Take your time winding the watch. Enjoy the process.
Remember, this is an inexpensive watch that has been built to a budget. It was designed to be worn in the Soviet Union.
So although it does have a real leather strap, the case is brass with a chrome coating. It feels a bit cheap, but it isn’t a deal-breaker. It means that the watch is built the way that it always was – if anything it adds to the charm.
There are a few single-handed watches on the market, but nothing that delivers the value for money of the Luch. Let’s recap what you get for a little over $50.
Luch traces its history back to the creation of the Minsk Watch Plant by the Soviet Union in the early 1950s.
The plant trained staff at Minsk Polytechnic. They were then able to work on producing their own movements and replica watches for sale in usa. The early 1960s saw the development of three brands. Zarya, Minsk and the Russian designed Vympel models.
The factory began branding the watches as Luch, and to date has produced more than 1700 models. These include quartz and automatic watches. And of course, the handing-winding watches that they’re best known for.
