The New Laco Augsburg 42 & Aachen 42 Polar Limited Editions

The German watch brand Laco from Pforzheim was established in 1925, and in the 1940s, it was one of the five companies licensed to produce the B-Uhren, observation watches used by the pilots. The legendary designs, the Type A and the Type B from that era, different only in the dial configuration, continue to inspire creators of the modern Laco collections. A year ago, the company introduced nice Augsburg Oliv 39 and Aachen Oliv 39 entry-level references in stainless steel cases with a bronze-coloured coating and olive dials, two faithful interpretations of the original Beobachtunsuhren designs. Today Laco unveils Augsburg and Aachen Polar watches measuring 42mm with new dial colours to please those favouring a classic pilot’s watch with a fashionable interpretation.

The Laco Augsburg Polar and Aachen Polar models come in 42mm stainless steel cases with a brushed finish, a height of 12mm and sapphire crystals front and back. If it were not for the matte white dials with blue indices, these models would pass for a regular no-frills pilot watch. The Augsburg Polar replicates the design of the classic and super-legible type A dial with large Arabic numerals positioned next to the hour markers 1 to 11 and the pilot’s triangle at 12. The Aachen Polar features a type B dial of historical B-Uhren, with the hour circle inside and the minute track with large numerals positioned with 5-minute intervals on the outside.

Again, the 12 o’clock mark is indicated differently, with an arrow. The digits are treated with Super-LumiNova and look light green in daylight, perfectly outlined with thin blue contours. We also find blue on the outline of the luminous hands, and all the shades of colours we see on the dial should remind us of the arctic landscapes, hence the name Polar. To continue with the icy theme, the lume emits a turquoise blue glow in the dark, like the glow of the arctic night.

Both the Augsburg Polar and Aachen Polar watches run on the Miyota 82S0-based automatic Laco 2S calibre, with an option to upgrade to the Laco 31, based on the Miyota 8315 with a 60-hour power reserve, up 20 hours from the Laco 2S. Another on-demand upgrade includes a double anti-reflective coating for the sapphire crystal. A brown calfskin strap, with decorative rivets on each side, accentuates the pilot’s watch look.

The Laco Augsburg Polar and Aachen Polar will come as limited editions of 250 pieces each and will be available starting mid-February. The price is set at EUR 440; with the movement upgrade, it increases to EUR 495.

For more information, please visit www.laco-watches.com.