Laco Augsburg 'Blue Stunde' 42mm Type A dial Flieger Pilots Watch
I seem to have caught the 'Flieger bug' :-)
After buying, wearing and enjoying the Laco Aachen type ‘B’ dial flieger so much, I thought it would be nice to have a type ‘A’ one as well, so went again for another Laco, this time the blue sunburst dialled Augsburg.
Just arrived and initial impressions are that the watch itself is absolutely gorgeous, but the supplied NATO strap is really cheap and not really worthy of this watch - especially when you consider the high quality strap supplied on the Laco Aachen I already have, so it won't be staying on this strap for long! Anyway, full review in 5 days or so. But first of all, some pictures for the gallery - and yes a change of strap!
As soon as I opened the case I was immediately struck by how wonderfully understated the watch was, but at the same time really handsome to look at. The case has a beautifully appearance with its silky matt sandblasted finish in direct contrast to its vibrant blue sunburst dial. This dial runs the whole gamut of appearances from almost black, to plain dark blue, to vivacious sunburst depending on the light and how it hits the watch face – stunning. However, a departure from the true flieger heritage which is of course inherent in the Laco DNA, but who wants a totally historically correct timepiece? Of course if you do Laco can certainly supply one to meet your needs and it is a pleasure to browse their website seeing the range on offer. As with my review of the Aachen this watch has the same deviations from a true flieger – apart from its size & I’m far more comfortable with this 42mm diameter than I would be with an original 55mm;
The strap is also a bit of an anathema, just feel really cheap on such a wonderful watch, especially for the hardware use and after a few days mine was showing signs of wear with fraying on edges and distortion of the holes & although this is minimal it doesn’t bode well for the longevity of the strap. It now lives on a quality grey leather strap, much more in keeping with the style of the watch.
In many ways this review going forward will just be a repeat of the Aachen one as they are essentially so similar:
Personally I would have like the sandblasted case finish to be the default finish over the brushed one as it just looks so so nice and although the Laco brushed finish is wonderful on my Aachen, I just find the silky looking matt finish adds a level of distinction to the overall appearance of the watch!
So still addicted to Laco fliegers? Well very much so and hope I can get one of the Aachen Taupe limited edition ‘B’ dialled ones if possible, then again the Laco Valencia from their Navy range with the fully lumed dial looks very appealing, even though it has a date window and exhibition case back! But I will probably have move some other watches on first and I seem to be adding to my ‘want to buy’ list, far faster than I can remove items from it.
One of the things I really like about Laco besides being one of the original authorised Flieger suppliers, is the fact that they seem to be the only one willing to satisfy most people’s budgets - from reasonably affordable to the more exclusive (costly) price points. Yes these affordable ones do have some compromises’ but you still feel as though you’re getting something with a history and tradition behind it.
So that’s two great watches from Laco as far as I’m concerned and the only downside for the blue dial variant is the awful NATO strap, but the wonderfully finished sandblasted case makes up for that – just wish it came on a Laco leather strap!
After buying, wearing and enjoying the Laco Aachen type ‘B’ dial flieger so much, I thought it would be nice to have a type ‘A’ one as well, so went again for another Laco, this time the blue sunburst dialled Augsburg.
Just arrived and initial impressions are that the watch itself is absolutely gorgeous, but the supplied NATO strap is really cheap and not really worthy of this watch - especially when you consider the high quality strap supplied on the Laco Aachen I already have, so it won't be staying on this strap for long! Anyway, full review in 5 days or so. But first of all, some pictures for the gallery - and yes a change of strap!
As soon as I opened the case I was immediately struck by how wonderfully understated the watch was, but at the same time really handsome to look at. The case has a beautifully appearance with its silky matt sandblasted finish in direct contrast to its vibrant blue sunburst dial. This dial runs the whole gamut of appearances from almost black, to plain dark blue, to vivacious sunburst depending on the light and how it hits the watch face – stunning. However, a departure from the true flieger heritage which is of course inherent in the Laco DNA, but who wants a totally historically correct timepiece? Of course if you do Laco can certainly supply one to meet your needs and it is a pleasure to browse their website seeing the range on offer. As with my review of the Aachen this watch has the same deviations from a true flieger – apart from its size & I’m far more comfortable with this 42mm diameter than I would be with an original 55mm;
- Non-hacking (ability to stop the second hand) movement, when originally a hacking movement would have been an intrinsic requirement to setting the time to the second.
- The dial would have been fully sterile with no text on the face at all as this would have been totally unnecessary; this watch dial has the Laco brand name and ‘Made in Germany’.
- The case would have had engraved on the side with the flieger designation FL23883 and the case back would have been engraved with all the relevant details of the watch itself, due to the sterile dial – here the Augsburg has a rather pointless exhibition case-back, showing the basic Miyota based movement, however the rotor has been changed to say "Laco Watches - Made in Germany".
The strap is also a bit of an anathema, just feel really cheap on such a wonderful watch, especially for the hardware use and after a few days mine was showing signs of wear with fraying on edges and distortion of the holes & although this is minimal it doesn’t bode well for the longevity of the strap. It now lives on a quality grey leather strap, much more in keeping with the style of the watch.
In many ways this review going forward will just be a repeat of the Aachen one as they are essentially so similar:
- Wonderful semi-onion style crown – check.
- Stunning lume (including the length of the second hand) – check.
- Keeping great time – check.
- Wears large, but fits the wrist well – check.
- Case shape, style & finish, impeccable – check.
- Flat Sapphire crystal – check (no AR coating is mentioned on either of the specs for these watches and I see no indication of it being applied, however the watch face and hands seem to be very legible in all light conditions).
Personally I would have like the sandblasted case finish to be the default finish over the brushed one as it just looks so so nice and although the Laco brushed finish is wonderful on my Aachen, I just find the silky looking matt finish adds a level of distinction to the overall appearance of the watch!
So still addicted to Laco fliegers? Well very much so and hope I can get one of the Aachen Taupe limited edition ‘B’ dialled ones if possible, then again the Laco Valencia from their Navy range with the fully lumed dial looks very appealing, even though it has a date window and exhibition case back! But I will probably have move some other watches on first and I seem to be adding to my ‘want to buy’ list, far faster than I can remove items from it.
One of the things I really like about Laco besides being one of the original authorised Flieger suppliers, is the fact that they seem to be the only one willing to satisfy most people’s budgets - from reasonably affordable to the more exclusive (costly) price points. Yes these affordable ones do have some compromises’ but you still feel as though you’re getting something with a history and tradition behind it.
So that’s two great watches from Laco as far as I’m concerned and the only downside for the blue dial variant is the awful NATO strap, but the wonderfully finished sandblasted case makes up for that – just wish it came on a Laco leather strap!
Actually a quick comparison of some NATO's I have. In the picture here the top NATO cost £1.60 and is on a par with the Laco OEM one in the middle, perhaps even a shade better. The one on the bottom cost me just under £5, but usually retails for about twice that, it is however superior to the Laco one in every way, hardware, material, finish....Ok so the Laco one has a tiny logo engraved on it and the hardware has been bead/sand blasted, but even so this is such a poor quality strap to be supplied with the watch - very disappointing. Now toying with the idea of getting a genuine Leather strap from Laco at just under 35€.