# Laco Paderborn :)



## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

Hey all!

I've been bitten by the Flieger bug. I find the Beobachtungsuhr design really compelling. It's just so.. basic and simple in design yet so mesmerizing. Having looked into offerings from Stowa, I can safely say that the Laco is much more appealing, to me at least. The bead blasted case, the lug design, the fonts on the dial and the side of the case, it just all speaks to me. Although many my find the Type B dial too busy, I love it.

The buying process was simple and Diana from Laco is succinct in her correspondences. Such a pleasure to deal with. A few clicks and a few days later, the FeDex man appeared.

The package came in a FeDex box, and inside the box was a black Laco box and a leatherette bag. The 42mm case wears large on my 6.75inch wrist. The lugs do not hang off my wrist. The C3 Lume is bright, however not as bright as the lume on my Maratac Large Pilot. The movement is quiet, but I'm able to feel the rotor winding. Does anyone know how to ascertain whether I got an ETA or a Selita? The Strap is stiff but it'll probably wear in shortly.

Here's the first photo of many more to come.

Cheers!


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

Congratulations for the nice watch. It is actually extreme nice  As for the movement, you can realize it only by opening the watch I guess.


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

ETA 25 jewels, SW200 26 jewels. Email Diana, maybe she's got the answer for you.


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

stuffler said:


> ETA 25 jewels, SW200 26 jewels. Email Diana, maybe she's got the answer for you.


Sure, thanks !


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

sci said:


> Congratulations for the nice watch. It is actually extreme nice  As for the movement, you can realize it only by opening the watch I guess.


Thanks man, I'm lovin it so far


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## boemher (Jul 5, 2012)

I like your photo, you have captured what I love best about the type b dial Fliegers (including Stowa's offering in this ) which is the way the dial looks when the lumed parts shine through and the unlumed parts remain paler. It is a nice layer of visual complexity which you dont get on the A dial lacos because all the indices are lumed.


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

boemher said:


> I like your photo, you have captured what I love best about the type b dial Fliegers (including Stowa's offering in this ) which is the way the dial looks when the lumed parts shine through and the unlumed parts remain paler. It is a nice layer of visual complexity which you dont get on the A dial lacos because all the indices are lumed.


Thanks buddy. Didn't think anyone would notice that. I agree wholeheartedly |>


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## boemher (Jul 5, 2012)

enghong said:


> Thanks buddy. Didn't think anyone would notice that. I agree wholeheartedly |>


Let me know how you are finding the strap, are you breaking it in yet? I didnt like it, it felt too stiff and the coating on the leather looked like it would be there forever. Im still looking for a good replacement.


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

stuffler said:


> ETA 25 jewels, SW200 26 jewels. Email Diana, maybe she's got the answer for you.


Dorothea from Laco confirmed that I've got the ETA movement in my watch. Score!



boemher said:


> Let me know how you are finding the strap, are you breaking it in yet? I didnt like it, it felt too stiff and the coating on the leather looked like it would be there forever. Im still looking for a good replacement.


The strap is pretty stiff to be honest.. i don't quite mind the finish.. but then again I'm eyeing the closed loop strap from Laco.. shoulda just bundled it in the purchase though..


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## boemher (Jul 5, 2012)

I never got in to the whole movement discussion. What is the difference between the options? Are they not all Swiss sourced or was there some grey area where it could be a Miyota priced as a Swiss movement...

I would also like to know where the various companies get their straps from. Presumably Laco order their straps from a 3rd party manufacturer. Tourby use Fluco AFIAK Stowa use Di Model for their closed loop and I used to know where they got their other strap options from too but have forgotten now.

I really want to know where they got their 269 Euro vintage straps from. When they released that it was like 40% of the price of the complete watch. But I think I have found a forum member who could make me a better strap for a more affordable price 

Oh and about noisy movements, my Laco(s) are noisier than my Stowa with the same movement and are louder than my Seiko auto. Maybe its the case design.


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

boemher said:


> I never got in to the whole movement discussion. What is the difference between the options? Are they not all Swiss sourced or was there some grey area where it could be a Miyota priced as a Swiss movement...
> 
> I would also like to know where the various companies get their straps from. Presumably Laco order their straps from a 3rd party manufacturer. Tourby use Fluco AFIAK Stowa use Di Model for their closed loop and I used to know where they got their other strap options from too but have forgotten now.
> 
> ...


Regarding the movements, there are some Laco's that use the miyota movement.. but the whole list is as follows:-


LACO 01 = ETA 2801.2
LACO 04 = ETA 2804.2
LACO 15 = Miyota 9015
LACO 21 = Miyota 821A
LACO 24 = ETA 2824.2 or SW200
LACO 50 = ETA 7750
LACO 92 = ETA 2892A2
LACO 97 = ETA 6497
LACO 98 = ETA 6498
So the Laco Paderborn is listed as using a Laco 24, which could either be an ETA2824-2 or a Sellita SW200. I guess I'm lucky to score one with an ETA movement. However from what I've previously read on these forums, the usage of movements between the ETA and the SW200 is what Laco could obtain at the point of manufacturing/procurement.

I didn't know so much about the straps until you told me.. But yeah the vintage strap at 269 Euro is pretty steep. However, if you factor out the 19% VAT, it comes out to be 226 Euro.. still steep but a considerable discount. Do share the strap that you found from a WUS member!

As for the noise.. its more so of the rotor winding for me. I find it quite a bit more silent as compared to my Maratac's Miyota 8245, which whirs loudly. Still love it though. I'm a happy camper!


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

Gettin tons of wrist time


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)




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## Shan S. (Sep 7, 2012)

enghong said:


> Dorothea from Laco confirmed that I've got the ETA movement in my watch. Score!
> 
> The strap is pretty stiff to be honest.. i don't quite mind the finish.. but then again I'm eyeing the closed loop strap from Laco.. shoulda just bundled it in the purchase though..


Have the Paderborn also and bought it 2012. Really like the watch!!

Do agree the strap is pretty stiff. My solution was to change the buckle for a brushed stainless steel deployment clasp.

It has worked really well with it and because I am not bending the strap in a standard buckle it has actually held up really well.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## Horologic (Apr 26, 2012)

boemher said:


> I never got in to the whole movement discussion. What is the difference between the options? Are they not all Swiss sourced or was there some grey area where it could be a Miyota priced as a Swiss movement...


On the higher end pilot watches, nowadays I believe they're only coming with ETA or Sellita. Both Swiss and comparable quality.

But I think it was last year, they started making some of these watches with DEPA movements. DEPA is a relatively new movement company. They're based in Switzerland, but DEPA has two product lines, the higher end ones are Swiss, and the budget ones are Chinese. Laco was cagey about the DEPA movement origins. And by looking at the DEPA website, none of their Swiss movements fit the specs, IIRC they weren't center seconds, they had subdials. So presumably Laco was using the Chinese sourced none 28.8k DEPA movements in their "Swiss movement" pilot watches. The substitution didn't go over well at all. And after serious forum backlash, they reverted back to using only ETA and Sellita.

DEPA's Chinese movements could be great quality for all I know, but with Laco's retail prices, nobody wants a relatively unknown Chinese sourced movement.



boemher said:


> I really want to know where they got their 269 Euro vintage straps from. When they released that it was like 40% of the price of the complete watch. But I think I have found a forum member who could make me a better strap for a more affordable price


I love the look of those vintage straps. But the prices are crazy. A few years ago, LACO was actually giving them away as a bonus with the purchase of a watch. And that was at the old prices too. Around $700-800 for a Paderborn. I wish I'd gotten in on that deal. :-(

If you find a good alternative, let us know. |>


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

Learn something new everyday |>


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

Got my strap 




























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## OmegaDP (Dec 17, 2013)

Congratulations. You will love this watch. I bought one and for some temporary mental lapse, I sold it! I have regretted it ever since. I will be buying another Laco this year for sure.


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## Simonand (Jun 20, 2015)

Congratulations. This is such a nice watch. It is supposed to wear very big I have an even tinier wrist, so I went for the B dial Stowa. But I am considering swapping it for a B dial Laco. If you like t continue down the flinger road check out my Tutima 1941. You can still find them for a decent price. Also check out the new Guinand web site. Best


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## beobachtungsuhr (Apr 15, 2014)

Yup it definitely wears large for a 42mm. I'm eyeing the 45mm Type A in the near future 

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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

Simonand said:


> Congratulations. This is such a nice watch. It is supposed to wear very big I have an even tinier wrist, so I went for the B dial Stowa. But I am considering swapping it for a B dial Laco. If you like t continue down the flinger road check out my Tutima 1941. You can still find them for a decent price. Also check out the new Guinand web site. Best


Yes I also have this problem, I still have one of the early Lacos (a Quartz), 42 mm and it looked very big on my wrist getting more attention than I expected, so right now I am thinking about purchasing the 36mm variant.

Regarding the Tutima, I would suggest a good hand wired Hanhart, I think that brand shares some similarities with Laco but in the chrono department.


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## Renocamo (Jul 20, 2015)

I love these B Type dials.

Question for Laco owners who also are into dive watches: As someone who has only ever really worn dive watches, I've been tempted to purchase a Flieger recently, but I'm worried about whether or not the watch will "fit" me. I've only owned a couple of non divers, and they have never stuck around as they always just felt weirdly off once I saw them on my wrist. I know this is an entirely subjective question, but would you recommend investing in a Laco?

Thanks!


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

Well, investing into Laco is always a reasonable, read: a good, decision. ;-) As you have been intrigued by diver's why not trying an Atacama, would be some kind of "transition". Another option would be to look out for a dealer who's got Flieger watches, not necessarily Laco, in his portfolio. Try one on and let your gutt talk to you.


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## freefly (Jun 4, 2010)

Shan S. said:


> Have the Paderborn also and bought it 2012. Really like the watch!!
> 
> Do agree the strap is pretty stiff. My solution was to change the buckle for a brushed stainless steel deployment clasp.
> 
> It has worked really well with it and because I am not bending the strap in a standard buckle it has actually held up really well.


Yep, same here.

I picked up an German Aristo strap & deployant clasp combo. The strap is brown grained leather and the clasp is bead-blasted stainless steel. The clasp isn't going to win any beauty contests, but the "utilitarian" design certainly fits the watch.


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## sanik (Apr 7, 2015)

What is te size lug to lug in Paderborn?


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

sanik said:


> What is te size lug to lug in Paderborn?


50,5 mm as a forum search would have revealed.


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## sanik (Apr 7, 2015)

THX


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