Laco Beobachtungsuhr (B-Uhr) review
Discussion
As requested by CaptainSlow - a brief review of my latest aquisition.
Apologies to those who knew all the information below already!
A quick review of my new Laco B-Uhr (Beobachtungsuhr).
Firstly, a very brief bit of history. This style of watch is from WW2, where they were issued to Luftwaffe air crew. There were 3 styles, Type A is a simple watch face, Type B (like mine) has the seconds on the outside of the dial and the hours in the middle, Type C is a chrono version of an A.
They were made by five companies: IWC, Stowa, A. Lange u. Söhne, Wempe and Lacher und Company (LaCo). The originals were massive, 55mm, with long leather bands so they could be worn over a flying jacket cuff or over the thigh.
Originals do come up – I´ve seem them sell for €2100 (used Laco) and advertized for €22900 (a mint Lange u. Söhne).
There are loads of companies making knock-offs of the B-Uhr, and of the five original manufacturers Lange are the only one that doesn´t currently make a reproduction. LaCo have gone after their heritage with this design in a big way and produce a remarkable number of variations on this style of watch, from ultra modern to distressed faux-vintage, ranging in size from 38mm to 45mm.
Mine came with a receipt for €389, I paid €175 and the watch had not been worn.
The (very nice) 18mm leather strap was unfortunately only just long enough for my chubby wrist so it´s currently on a cheap olive-green Nato.
The watch has been well regulated at the factory (they´re based in Pforzheim, between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe) and it keeps excellent time (+2 secs/day).
Original B-Uhrs obviously needed good lume, this reproduction is pretty nuclear but doesn´t last for long.
Laco use a variety of movements. This is a Miyota 821a that Laco rebrand as a Laco 21. The rotor is pretty silent, it has a sapphire display caseback and is rated to 5ATM. I´ve read that the second hand on the 821 movement can be a bit skippy and jerky, but this one is fine. The movement does not hack.
The case of this Laco Ingolstadt – which I am sure is one of their cheaper offerings – is in a burnished, gunmetal stainless steel. It´s quite an effective vintage look, and I like it. They´ve kept the crown design from the original B-Uhr, scaled down of course.
This one is 38mm, which is really a bit too small. Why? Well, I feel its proportions are wrong. The movement and case are quite chunky, and it sits too high relative to its width. 42mm would work better and 45mm would (in my eyes) have been perfect, but I´ll keep it and it´ll get plenty of wrist time.
Congratulations if you got this far. I´ll link to some of the manufacturers below.
https://www.laco-watches.com/
https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
https://www.wempe.com/en/watches/brands/wempe-glas...
https://www.iwc.com/en/watch-finder.html#%7B%22col...
https://monochrome-watches.com/the-history-of-the-...
Photos to follow!
Apologies to those who knew all the information below already!
A quick review of my new Laco B-Uhr (Beobachtungsuhr).
Firstly, a very brief bit of history. This style of watch is from WW2, where they were issued to Luftwaffe air crew. There were 3 styles, Type A is a simple watch face, Type B (like mine) has the seconds on the outside of the dial and the hours in the middle, Type C is a chrono version of an A.
They were made by five companies: IWC, Stowa, A. Lange u. Söhne, Wempe and Lacher und Company (LaCo). The originals were massive, 55mm, with long leather bands so they could be worn over a flying jacket cuff or over the thigh.
Originals do come up – I´ve seem them sell for €2100 (used Laco) and advertized for €22900 (a mint Lange u. Söhne).
There are loads of companies making knock-offs of the B-Uhr, and of the five original manufacturers Lange are the only one that doesn´t currently make a reproduction. LaCo have gone after their heritage with this design in a big way and produce a remarkable number of variations on this style of watch, from ultra modern to distressed faux-vintage, ranging in size from 38mm to 45mm.
Mine came with a receipt for €389, I paid €175 and the watch had not been worn.
The (very nice) 18mm leather strap was unfortunately only just long enough for my chubby wrist so it´s currently on a cheap olive-green Nato.
The watch has been well regulated at the factory (they´re based in Pforzheim, between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe) and it keeps excellent time (+2 secs/day).
Original B-Uhrs obviously needed good lume, this reproduction is pretty nuclear but doesn´t last for long.
Laco use a variety of movements. This is a Miyota 821a that Laco rebrand as a Laco 21. The rotor is pretty silent, it has a sapphire display caseback and is rated to 5ATM. I´ve read that the second hand on the 821 movement can be a bit skippy and jerky, but this one is fine. The movement does not hack.
The case of this Laco Ingolstadt – which I am sure is one of their cheaper offerings – is in a burnished, gunmetal stainless steel. It´s quite an effective vintage look, and I like it. They´ve kept the crown design from the original B-Uhr, scaled down of course.
This one is 38mm, which is really a bit too small. Why? Well, I feel its proportions are wrong. The movement and case are quite chunky, and it sits too high relative to its width. 42mm would work better and 45mm would (in my eyes) have been perfect, but I´ll keep it and it´ll get plenty of wrist time.
Congratulations if you got this far. I´ll link to some of the manufacturers below.
https://www.laco-watches.com/
https://www.stowa.de/en/shop/
https://www.wempe.com/en/watches/brands/wempe-glas...
https://www.iwc.com/en/watch-finder.html#%7B%22col...
https://monochrome-watches.com/the-history-of-the-...
Photos to follow!
Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 27th February 09:52
Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 27th February 09:54
Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 27th February 09:56
Nice little write-up 
I'm yet to try a "B" though I can understand where you're coming from ref the case size. It needs a wider case in order for the hands to be as legible as possible and work with the larger dial layout, I'd also favour a sterile dial (no branding etc) for fewer visual distractions.
I'm yet to try a "B" though I can understand where you're coming from ref the case size. It needs a wider case in order for the hands to be as legible as possible and work with the larger dial layout, I'd also favour a sterile dial (no branding etc) for fewer visual distractions.
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