The SC Ordered A Watch From The Luch Plant For A Huge Sum Of Money
- 10.03.2026, 13:52
At $800 apiece.
The Central Office of the Investigative Committee of Belarus purchased 20 men's mechanical wristwatches in a gift box for the amount of Br48,480 (about $16 thousand) at the end of 2025. Thus, the cost of one copy amounted to Br2,424 - about $800. This is reported by "Svaboda" with reference to the tender data on the site of public procurement.
The purchase was financed from the state budget. The documents do not specify who exactly the watch is intended for. However, their price is almost comparable to the average salary in Belarus for 2025, which, according to the National Statistics Committee, amounted to Br2693.
The contract for the production of watches was signed by the Investigative Committee on November 13 with Minsk Watch Factory "Luch. The products were to be delivered by December 22, 2025.
According to the terms of reference, the watch should be men's, with the movement "Luch 2616M", which is specified in the documentation as a Swiss movement SW200-1A. Also provided are a strap made of genuine leather, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the front, case back made of mineral glass and the presence of a calendar. A wooden gift box with engraving should be made for the watch.
A former employee of the Luch factory told Svaboda that such characteristics correspond to the company's premium collection called Sirius. According to him, this is the most expensive line of watches of the plant.
"When I worked there, they were cheaper - about 400 dollars, but now the prices have increased. This model actually comes from China: the Swiss mechanism is used there, and only the assembly takes place at Lucha," he said.
The official website of the enterprise does present several models from the Sirius collection costing about $800.
According to a former employee of the plant, government agencies have ordered such watches before. However, it was the Sirius collection that was usually purchased for the top management.
He noted that sometimes agencies purchased ordinary watches for employees as souvenirs, and separately ordered several of the most expensive models - including those from the Sirius collection - for executives.
This is not the only such purchase by the Investigative Committee. According to the state procurement portal, last year the central office of the agency purchased about 168 souvenir wristwatches for a total of about 161,000 rubles (about $53,000).