Laco Augsburg 42mm

For starters, I would like to note that Laco is one of my favourite watchmakers out there. They have a truly rich and interesting history, they can be listed amongst the high and luxury watchmakers such as Lange or IWC due to producing the same products for the same buyer in the same historical timeline, which is awfully cool in my opinion, and they remained true to their origins, selling affordably priced watches to cover the needs of many watch consumer types.

With that being said, and with acknowledging that Laco offers true German fliegers with great brand history behind them for affordable prices (something that is not very common but very much needed and appreciated) it has to be noted for the interest of the consumer that their basic lineup is not that great, and it is not at all priced accordingly.

The design

The strongest selling point of these watches is the historically accurate and very eye-catching WW2 flieger style design, that besides its heritage values has many pragmatic benefits for the wearer. This design, no matter A or B style, is highly legible, easy to read, symmetrical and generally pleasing for the eyes and it balances perfectly between sporty and dressy, making it a very versatile watch theoretically. But is it a versatile watch?

Specifications:

The Laco Augsburg models can be found in different sizes, so no one is left out of the picture. My experience is with their 42mm Augsburg Polar version, a Limited edition of 250 pieces, and it has to be said that the wearing experience is quite nice, although the 42mm case size suggests a large watch, especially with the big, white dial, but it wears smaller than that due to the thin case and manageable lug-to-lug distance.

Staying with the versatility aspect, the watch comes with generously lumed hands and indices, which last through the night, making in-dark legibility a non-issue.

Where the watch lacks the most however, and what made me sell it eventually, is the lack of water resistance. 50 meters from a push-pull crown is okay for a dress watch, but for a watch with sporty capabilities it is pitifully low. The crown itself is not secure at all, it doesn't provide any reassuring tactile quality traits one would hope for, and it can indeed come loose, get pulled out, especially if one pairs the watch with an accessory, such as a bracelet.

The movement

All Laco basic automatic models come with the Miyota 82S0 movement, which is a hacking, hand-winding movement with its power reserve in the ballpark of 40 hours. Utilizing a Japanese movement in a traditionally German wristwatch, especially for one that is produced in Germany (as it is proudly stated on the dial and other places) is in on itself not very desirable, but it is understandable considering the price range of the watch. Don't get me wrong, the Miyota 82S0 is an OK movement, but it does not belong in an otherwise German heritage watch.

The choice of the movement is not great either. A big disadvantage of the Miyota movement over a Seiko NH movement, for example, is the unidirectional rotor, which only winds the mainspring in one direction. When the rotor tilts to the non-winding direction, it spins freely, making a loud and frankly annoying sound, that can be heard even when the wearer is in a crowded, noisy place and has his wrist hanging down to the hips. This noisy feature is very devastating for the perceived quality of the watch, and when it is paired with the underwhelming crown action... well, that is just a deal breaker, especially for me.

It is a shame, because the watch is otherwise a great product, boasting a nicely finished case, beautiful onion crown, a flat piece of sapphire, gorgeous blued hands, tons of lume, good ergonomics and very nice packaging.

The issue therefore is with the asking price mainly: All the negative features could be accepted for a lower price, but at the asking price of 370–400 EUR, Laco should be able to do better. Let's not forget that with a quick shop on Aliexpress or any other similar site we can find similarly looking, far better spec'd pilot watches at lower, much lower prices, and this fact is exactly where I'm getting my conclusion from, which is that Laco can indeed do much better, either with quality or affordability.