Laco Watches
Laco watches are incredible timepieces with a rich history. Laco is a German watchmaker that started business as Lacher & Company in 1925. The company first gained fame in the early 1940s with its Pilot watch, which was used by the German armed forces. Today, Laco still produces the Pilot watch as it was designed over 60 years ago. Its line of Navy watches can also trace its lineage to the days of World War II. More recently, Laco introduced a third type of watch, the Squad watch, which has been used by German Special Forces. In North America, the single authorized retailer of Laco brand watches is Time Quest of Laguna Niguel, California. To learn more about Laco watches, read on.
Pilot Watches
Laco Pilot watches are available with your choice of two dial designs and four movement options. The two dial designs are only distinguished by their numbering systems, which, for the buyer, only presents a question of taste. The available movements include a 42 millimeter quartz version, a 42 millimeter Swiss 2824 automatic version, a 42 millimeter Swiss 2801 hand winding version, and a 45 millimeter Swiss 2801 hand winding version. Prices for the Pilot watch reflect the chosen movement, with the quartz movement at the inexpensive end of the scale and the 45 millimeter Swiss movement at the expensive end.
Pilot watch cases are sand-blasted stainless steel, fitted with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal dome. The wrist straps are exactly as they were in the original watches, with a thick, layered design featuring a sturdy buckle and brass rivets. Indeed, in its original use, the Pilot watch was strapped tightly above the pilot’s wrist, over his flight jacket. Sand-blasted stainless steel bracelets are also available for the Pilot watch.
Navy Watches
In its classic design, the Navy watch features a 42 millimeter stainless steel case and a double-curved sapphire crystal on the watch face. On the watch back, the Navy is equipped with a second crystal for display purposes. Two movement options are available, either a Swiss automatic 2824-2 movement or a Miyota automatic 821A movement. At the time of this writing, the Navy watch is unavailable for sale in North America.
Squad Watches
The Laco Squad watch has a somewhat more modern design than either the Pilot or the Navy watch. In this watch, the crown is located at the 12 o’clock position, snugly situated inside a cut-away in the watch strap. There are several models in the Squad line of watches. At the time of this writing, only the black model is available in North America. This model features a coated stainless steel case, with a sapphire crystal top and a screw-down mineral crystal backing. It has a rotating timing bezel, luminescent numerals and watch hands, and an inset date dial. It also features a Swiss 2824-2 automatic movement.
Other Squad watch models under production include two silver models with Swiss quartz movements. One features a rubber wrist strap, while the other is fitted with a stainless steel bracelet. A high performance model is also available with several enhancements, including waterproofing to 1000 meters, super-luminescent coatings, and a double-curved sapphire crystal top with an antireflective coating.
