The new Laco Köln is serious watch that will appeal to lovers of the Germanic pilot watch aesthetic but want added functionality and capabilities. But does it take itself a little too seriously and is it distinct enough to differentiate itself from the rest of the Laco catalogue?
About Laco
Founded by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel in 1925 as Lacher & Co, German brand Laco celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, a remarkable feat considering its somewhat turbulent history. The brand’s founders parted company within its first decade of trading, only to be reunited when Laco fitted Hummel’s watch movements (brand name Durowe) to its pilot watches after it became one of only five manufacturers approved to make Flieger watches for the German Luftwaffe. The watchmaking town of Pforzheim where Laco was based, was subsequently bombed during the Second World War, with infrastructure and manufacturing facilities later being rebuilt. Laco has changed hands several times since the 1950s, including a period of being owned by Timex (along with Durowe), but the watches have endured and since 2010 Laco has been independently owned, and run by CEO Uwe Rücker. Laco still produces its iconic traditional pilot watches and to this day, if you were to ask watch enthusiasts what Laco is known for, my guess is that 99 out of 100 would say it will be the Fliegers! However, the range of watches Laco make is more diverse now than at any time in the company’s century-long history, spanning 11 collections ranging from traditional pilot watches to dive watches and even Bauhaus-style dress watches.
The Laco Köln: Collection Overview
The Köln is the newest watch to join the Laco stable under what the brand refers to as ‘Pilot Watches Special Models’, which sits somewhere between the purist Pilot watches and the more dressier Classics collection. The Köln takes the spirit and simple Type A dial layout of the traditional Pilot watch as its starting point, but adds a diver’s style bezel, switches the crown position from 3 o’clock to four, downsizes the case to 41mm and bumps the water resistance up to 200 metres. The result is a utilitarian watch that’s kind of a pilot watch/dive watch/sport watch hybrid.
This German-made watch with Swiss movement comes with a two-year warranty and is priced between €1190 and €1270, placing it mid-tier within the wider Laco collection. Two distinct case finishes are available. The brushed stainless steel variant has a more contemporary, fresh look, whilst the dark sandblasted Grau (Grey) variant is more reminiscent of Laco’s original pilot watches. The matt surface reduces reflections and enhances the tool watch character.
The Case, Straps and Wearing Experience
The 316L stainless steel case is smaller and more conventional that the straight lugged Pilots.Measuring 41mm in diameter with a 49.5mm lug-to-lug and a 12mm thickness, the watch weighs in at 159 grammes on the bracelet (sized for my 7.25 inch wrist) and 86 grammes on the FiberTech strap.Laco pitches it as a unisex watch, but in reality I think the percentage of female buyers (or indeed anybody with smaller wrists) will be few and far between as whilst the Köln is not huge, it’s still got considerable wrist presence.
The case shape is pretty simple with little in the way of adornment, fuss or finish. This means that any QC issues have nowhere to hide. Thankfully the case finish is perfection, particularly on the Grau variant. I looked intensely to find fault but couldn’t! What’s more its ultra-smooth tactile finish, similar to that of Damasko, is lovely to handle. The 60-click unidirectional bezel features a ceramic countdown insert engraved with fully graduated markings from zero to 15 minutes, Arabic numerals for 20, 30, 40, 50 and simple hash marks for every five between. Bezel markings are all filled with Super-LumiNova C1 which glows green at night to help with low light legibility. The bezel edge has what I’d describe as brutalist-style wide, spaced-out teeth rather than knurling and overhangs the watch case, which as far as I’m concerned is the right approach for this watch. In fact, it’s something that I wish all manufacturers would adopt as it really helps in terms of bezel grip, something that’s crucial for the few who purchase a watch to truly be a tool watch. The double-domed sapphire crystal sits semi-flush to the bezel and features an anti-reflective (AR) coating to the inside, with a double AR coating option available at extra cost.
The lugs flow seamlessly from the case and curve downwards helping the watch conform to the wrist and aid comfort. The underside of the lugs are swept up at an angle, a nice subtle touch. At four o’clock the case steps out for the well-executed crown guards which protect the branded and deeply knurled 7mm onion-shaped, screw-down crown. I’m a big fan of the four o’clock crown as it aids comfort and the crown can’t dig onto your wrist, so this gets my seal of approval. I love the fact that the crown guards sit so close to the crown which demonstrates tight tolerance levels for engineering, and the crown itself is just a sublime take on the onion crown. The screw-down caseback is engraved with key specifications and there is a sapphire exhibition window at the centre, through which you can view the movement.
There are two strap options available for the Koln. The brushed stainless steel version of the watch is available either on a matching three-link bracelet (given the designation ‘Köln MB’) or a black water-resistant FiberTech two-piece strap with matching buckle. The dark grey sandblasted watch can only be bought with the FiberTech strap, although of course the Köln’s 20mm lug width makes it very easy to find alternative straps. The FiberTech strap is backed with leather and tapers down to 18mm at the buckle. It’s lovely quality and more supple than most similar straps I’ve tried, although it is a bit on the long side, so might not be suitable for small wrists (my wrists are 7.25 inches and even I was on the second to last hole). To me, the FiberTech strap seems to skew the watch more towards dive watch territory than pilot watch, so I tried it on a double stitch leather for more of a universal look and it worked well. I think it’d also look cool on a traditional riveted leather strap or even a bund if you’ve got large wrists. I wasn’t overly impressed with the stainless steel bracelet. It’s reasonable quality for the most part, but although it has the appearance of being a three-link bracelet, the three links are actually one single link made to look like a triple link, as the individual sections don’t articulate independently. This makes it feel a bit cheap and if I was being cynical, it comes across as a bit of a cost-cutting approach, especially as it seems to be the same bracelet supplied with other Laco’s that are a quarter of the price of the Köln. The clasp is also only average, with some slightly sharp edges and no on-the-fly micro-adjustment or quick release, although there is a pull-out diver’s extension.
Overall, the Köln is a comfortable watch with well-balanced proportions, taking a wide, but flat stance on the wrist. The overhanging narrow bezel and clean, expansive dial does mean that it looks fractionally bigger on wrist than its 41mm diameter would suggest, but hey, it suits this style of watch, so that’s fine. The case is simple but well-designed and well executed. The bezel action is snappy and has a nice mechanical feeling, and I think the crown and case geometry around the crown guards is thing of beauty. The only downsides for me here are the AR coating, which could be improved, and the fact that there is no matching bracelet option available for the Grau version. In the absence of a bracelet option, I think it’d be nice if Laco sold the Grau as a two-strap package so at least you could change up the style.
The Laco Köln Movement
The Laco Köln is fitted with the Elaboré grade of the reliable Swiss-made Sellita SW200 automatic movement, which is regulated in-house by Laco to within 0 to +14 seconds per day and in three positions. The Sellita is a mainstay for many brands due to its reliability, availability and relative ease of servicing. It’s hacking, hand-winding, has Incabloc shock protection, gilded nickel balance wheel, Nivarox 2 hairspring and beats at 28,800 vph, giving a nice smooth sweep to the seconds hand. For an additional €100 you can opt for a decorated version of the Elaboré. If you want to go even more premium for an extra €130 you can choose to opt for the Top Grade version of the movement which brings an improved accuracy of 0 to +8 seconds per day tested in five positions, as well as a Glycydur balance wheel, Nivarox 1 hairspring. Finally, spend €230 extra and you get the Top Grade movement with a higher level of decoration.
The Dial and Handset
There are no surprises here, as the matt black Type A dial design is ubiquitous; it is what it is. It comprises a simple printed outer minute track, comprising short hash marks for every minute and longer hash marks denoting every five minutes/seconds. Inwards of this, Arabic numerals are used for all hour markers except for 12 o’clock where the iconic pilot watch triangle and dots replace numerals. A greyed-out logo sits between the 12 o’clock hour marker and the central pinion and ‘made in Germany’ is printed in white at the base of the dial between the 5 and 7 o’clock markers. Other than that, nothing else adorns the dial, except of course for the arrow-shaped hour and minute handset and simple white seconds hands. The only flourish comes by way of the thermally blued frame around the hour and minute hands. What is nice though is that the hands and every single marker on the dial and the bezel is filled with Super-LumiNova C1 which gives a lovely display for lume-lovers at night. My only gripe here is that I wish the hour and minute hands were broader as whilst legibility is good, I feel this is a watch that deserves bolder hands.
I’m not obsessive about AR coating per se, but on true tool watches with simple printed dials I’m of the opinion that anti-reflective coating needs to be absolutely top notch for the ultimate legibility, and sadly on the Laco Köln it’s not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not bad, but if it were me, I’d choose the double AR option, which adds another €100 to the purchase price. Of course this does come with its own downside though in that, whilst reasonably hardy, outer AR gets scratched more easily than the bare sapphire crystal.
Final Thoughts on the Laco Köln
To a certain extent you know what you’re getting with Laco; a solid, understated and reliable watch from a storied brand, that quietly gets on with the job at hand. And that’s exactly what you’re getting here with the Köln. It’s not a watch that’s going to set the world alight, but I think Laco has hit its brief here in that, for the most part, the Köln does indeed fall somewhere between the Pilot watch and Sport watch. I’m particularly fond of the Grau version as I just love that silky-smooth matt finish and darker case colour. I also think the crown and crown guard design is beautiful and distinctive. However, maybe the Köln (in both guises) is a bit too sterile and sombre, not veering away from its heritage Pilot watches quite enough. Yes, it’s got the four o’clock crown. And yes, it’s got the diver’s style rotating bezel. But I’d like to see just a subtle dash of colour somewhere to inject more personality and distance itself from other offerings in the Laco lineup. From a purely subjective point of view, I’d like to see the hands made broader as them seem a bit dainty for this type of watch, especially when the blued surrounds go into ‘camo mode’ when they aren’t lit up by strong light.
Other than style, which is of course subjective, I could only come up with two negatives. Firstly, the anti-reflective coating on the sapphire crystal could be improved. Secondly, the strap options are limited. The supplied bracelet on the brushed stainless steel variant is a bit of a letdown and there is no bracelet option at all for the Grau, which is a real shame as if I was buying the Köln for myself, the Grau with a matching bracelet would be the ultimate combo!
I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Laco Köln. The wearing experience is good and it should certainly prove tough and versatile. The case finishing is excellent, and it’s truly a well-engineered tool watch with excellent water resistance, useful rotating bezel, simple legible dial, and great lume. A huge selling point is the fact that you can ‘spec-it-up’ by opting for the decorated Top Grade version of the movement and/or have a double AR coating applied to the sapphire crystal, which would negate one of my complaints above. Although doing both would up the price by €330, bringing the total cost to €1600, which of course brings in added competition from other watch brands!
