# Laco Miyota Flieger



## CSG (Feb 3, 2014)

Got one today from Amazon. Thought it might be a little big for my 6.5" wrist and it was. Also, no hacking ability. However, the watch case, movement, and strap were all really, really nice. If you've got the wrist for a 42x13mm watch case and like this style, it's a helluva deal for $370 IMO.

Meanwhile, I'll have to go with one of the smaller Fliegers, probably the 39mm from Archimede.

I know it's not much of a review but if you've wondered about this model, it's a pretty nice watch for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/Laco-Miyota-A...UTF8&qid=1395275724&sr=8-2&keywords=laco+1925


----------



## Uwe W. (Jan 7, 2009)

A B-Uhr homage should be large on the wrist. However, if the 42 mm size makes you feel uncomfortable why not get one of the 36 mm Laco B-Uhr models? It should fit you more or less like a traditional watch.


----------



## CSG (Feb 3, 2014)

Why not the 45 or 47 or 55? I was hoping this would be the compromise size. I did consider the 36 as well but Greg at Watchmann convinced me that like in Goldilocks, the Archimedes 39 would be just right where the 36 might be too small.

While the homage factor matters some, I've also gotta be practical in what I wear where I feel comfortable. My Rolex Sub and GMT at 40mm are a sweet spot. My Speedmaster Pro at 42 works too but largely because of the case design. 

My point in this topic was just to be encouraging for those who can wear a watch this size but wanted to spend a little less than $600-900 depending on version or manufacturer, this Laco is a very nice piece for the money. It was more the thickness than the diameter because this model has more modern curved lugs.


----------



## mpalmer (Dec 30, 2011)

It's a nice looking watch. Congrats on your new Laco.


----------



## CSG (Feb 3, 2014)

Like I posted, it's going back today as it's too big for me. I enjoyed it unworn for a few hours...


----------



## Moffett (Nov 12, 2012)

With some of the other watches you own, I'm surprised you went with a cheeper Laco model. Maybe you should try one with the traditional case design. 
What made you choose the Laco in the first place?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Will3020 (Aug 28, 2012)

Great pilot watch, way to go !


----------



## CSG (Feb 3, 2014)

Moffett said:


> With some of the other watches you own, I'm surprised you went with a cheeper Laco model. Maybe you should try one with the traditional case design.
> What made you choose the Laco in the first place?


I wanted to look at it for size more than anything else. The case size and thickness are pretty much the same, I believe, on all the Laco 42's. I chose it to look at because it was easy to buy and return from Amazon. Frankly, it's a very nice watch and, had it fit me well, I'd have had no problem keeping it. The 39H Archimede I ended up ordering is probably going to be a much better fit for me in this style.

While I have some very nice watches, not all my watches have to be expensive, they just have to speak to me in some manner.


----------



## Jason Reed (Mar 20, 2014)

Lovely watch!, I considered the type A before going for the type B straight from Laco, it's on it's way right now


----------



## Prcek (Apr 10, 2015)

Hello everyone. I think this would be the best thread to post my review of Laco Augsburg after one week of wearing. Enjoy!

Laco Flieger-Augsburg. Personal review and first experience

After months of yearning I pulled the trigger and finally bought a new watch. My general requirements were: pilot-sporty-field watch with clear dial for great readability. Strong and long-lasting luminescence of all hands, numerals, and indices. Case diameter: 39-42mm. Water resistance 100m. Sapphire crystal or at least hardened (sapphire coated) mineral glass. Automatic movement. Price 550 euro maximum. I chose between six hot candidates. From pilot style: Laco Augsburg, Archmiede pilot with logo (black-white) and without logo (black-green). From field style: Seiko SNZG15, Seiko Sarg 005, Seiko Sarg 011. I eventually excluded Seiko Sarg011 since I did not like the polished side of the case and too large numerals. Unfortunately I did not see personally Seiko SNZG15 and Seiko SARG005, if I had a chance I might have bought one. I excluded both Archimedes due to threshold price and poor luminescence. In addition both Archimedes watches had second hand without luminescence. Though the fitment of Archimede watches was great I did not like the blued hands of the non-logo version and poor luminescence in general of the logo version. So finally I bought Laco Augsburg. It is pure pilot style watch and its characteristic by rather clear, sterile design for maximal readability. Except of indices there is only small logo present and „made in Germany" written between 7 and 5 on the black dial, no date. I believe this watch can be dressy and sporty at the same time depending on watch-strap combo. It is my first mechanical watch with a Miyota- based movement inside and it is at low price end of Laco collection.
It is rather large watch, having 42mm in diameter and it is about 13mm thick. I would say I have a small to medium size wrist (16.5cm) and I was afraid that this watch will be too large for my wrist. I was even ready to be happy with Laco Osaka which is smaller (36mm) brother/sister of mine Augsburg but when I put it on my wrist it looked really small. I also tried 39mm Archimede Pilot but I felt it also too small. The 42mm Archimede Pilot fitted best but I excluded it due to the reasons given above. I think and was assured by the seller as well as by my wife that the Laco Augsburg with 42mm diameter looks perfect on my wrist. However the thickness of 13 mm is really something and I had to use to it. It makes the watch to look very solid and dominant on my wrist. I believe you will notice this watch on anybody due to its size, clear dial and lovely old-school look. 
The building quality is excellent, the stainless steel case has very nice brushed finish, the dial is perfectly evenly printed, very crisp, clear, and contrasty, no dust inside, the crown is also very nice and of appropriate size. Water resistance is however only 50m so I will not dare to swim with this watch. The hour and minute hands haves black edges which I like and I did not like the blue edges on the Archimede non-logo version hands. I noticed however a minor misalignment of hour and minute hands. The hour hands shows a full hour when the minute hand is already at 4 minutes after the full hour. I guess this may be easily corrected by a watcher within the warranty. The color of the hands is slightly whiter than that of indices and numerals. Interesting detail. The indices are pastel pale-green, it does not look white at all at any light conditions. I really love the color, I believe that pure white would just look boring. There is nice green luminescence of all hands, numerals and indices, ensured by Superluminova C3 pigment and it is definitely one of the strong site of the watch. When properly charged (for instance by a good LED light for 1 min) it stays enjoyably bright for at least 3 hours and still easily readable after 8 hours, e.g. it glows the whole night. I love to observe the watch in the dark as it has charming, complex look and I love to see the sweeping second hand glowing. 
The presence of sapphire crystal is great but unfortunately it has no AR coating and this is one of the drawback of the watch since you rarely see the dial without disturbing reflections. It is a pitty since I really think that the watch would look just amazingly clear and juicy-contrasty if at least inner AR coating of the sapphire crystal was applied. I was told by the seller that no AR coating is actually an advantage since it looks very authenticJ. I may consider to change for some AR coated sapphire crystal or a hardlex glass in future. 
The watch comes with rather thick (3-4 mm) leather strap with two rivets. I know it is flieger style but I think I do not like the rivets very much&#8230; The strap is thicker than usually but appropriate to the watch. I have black color with white stitching which is very versatile but I have to say that the watch with brown strap looked better. Mine watch was originally equipped by this brown strap but unfortunately it was XL size and it was too long for me so the seller kindly changed it for the ordinary length black one. I think that I will buy another brown thick leather strap without the rivets for more casual look.
The heart of the watch is Laco 21 movement which is Miyota 821a based movement. It has 21600 bph, which means 3Hz. It is not as smooth as e.g. ETA 2824 but still far from quartz ticking I was used to. Despite it has hand winding option I was recommended by the seller not to use it unless the watch completely stops. It has no hacking option which I do not cate. The watch gains approx. 8-9s a day during first days of wearing. It is not bad but it may change in future by further wearing. I am going to let them adjusted after several months of wearing if necessary. There is a rear mineral glass window to see the movement working. The winding rotor makes noticable sound which might be disturbing for some but I like it since it reminds me I wear mechanical watch. Besides I was ready for it after reading tons of information or reviews including Miyota movements.
In conclusion, for 300 euro you get very well built automatic pilot watch, with great clear dial, sapphire crystal, well proven reliable movement, and amazing luminescence of all the features (hands, numerals and indices) except the logo. There are also few drawbacks like no AR coating of sapphire crystal and a bit higher thickness of the case. However after one week I can say that more I wear this watch more I love it. 
At the end few images:


----------



## jacksterp (Jan 12, 2015)

Very nice review - thoughtful, informative. Really enjoyed it and love that watch.

I think it looks very nice on that black watch band.


----------



## truea (Oct 16, 2009)

After wanting a Pilot Type B watch for a few while, finally after much deliberation ended up a Laco Achen this past weekend.









For current price point and Dollar vs Euro - I would say its a bargain.

One thing that is amazing and confusing to me is its overall accuracy.

Granted I have only had it 5 Days it overall appears 100% accurate -/+ 0 secs (Consistent Wear 24 hours a day)

In reality it may loose -1 sec day for a couple of days and then suddenly jump +2 sec in a day to what is overall netting out to amazing accuracy.

I own ETA movements, an Omega PO and at various times have vintage mechanical's. One thing that is always consistent is if they are +5 sec/day they are always +5 secs/day - there is a consistency that can be relied upon. Again when wearing my watches I do not take them off, so the same wear pattern is the same, no sitting at night face down/crown up etc.
I also acknowledge that over extended periods of wear (weeks/months) if a watch is constantly +5 sec/day it can change to +4 sec/day but this a consistent gradual change.

Is it just me that observes this?

I not complaining about the accuracy of the Miyota, far from it - just perplexed by the daily change +/- that I have not noticed with ETA/Omega and others. Maybe this is the nature of the movement.


----------



## Uwe W. (Jan 7, 2009)

Don't forget to factor in the power reserve. You can have a swing in daily accuracy because of either a diminishing or increasing power reserve. I stopped checking the accuracy of my watches years ago, and like you I wear mine 24/7, but if I haven't worn an automatic in a while and give it just a few winds to get the movement started I know that until the power reserve has built up that its accuracy will change. That's one reason why Miyota specs indicated that its claimed accuracy for the movement should be tested - I think - within a few hours of its maximum power reserve.


----------



## Prcek (Apr 10, 2015)

To Jacksterp: thank you, such post is always nice to read! I had the feeling that I owed it to WUS since I got huge amount of useful information here. 
To Truea: nice shot, congratulation! I hope that the particles is only a dust outside of the watch... I envy you the accuracy of your Miyota movement! Mine Augsburg is now going 15-20s faster a day and it slowly stabilizes around +17s/day after 2 weeks of almost constant wearing (and one accidental magnetization by a magnet in a oven glove) and so I have not tried any "adjustment" by changing of its position yet since the watch barely leave my wrist. Yes, I sleep with them. I mostly work in office so I do not expect I have ever fully wound it. I am going to test the typical power reserve during comming weekend tosee if I can add some pover reserve by hand winding. Despite the current accuracy is safely within specs (-20;+40 s/day) I believe it could be further improved by proper regulation. Once I learn how to safely open the case I am going to try it by myself. 
By the way, has anyone from the LACO owners experience with a contact (even accidental) with water? I am not going to swim with it but e.g. if I do a kayking or rafting, is it still safe for the 50 m watch? Has anybody dared such activity with a 50m flieger? Thanks for the replies.


----------



## JPH (Feb 11, 2014)

Thank you all for your reviews and insight on the 42mm laco flieger.

I've been coming back to Laco Aachen type B pilot every now and then, but never had the courage to actually buy one because the size might be an issue for me. I have a 6.5 in wrist and I was afraid that the 36mm is too small and 42mm might be tad too large for me. Now actually seeing the pics of Prcek with similar wrist size I might feel much more comfortable ordering one for myself. Unfortunately I cant just try one on first here where I'm from...


----------



## Prcek (Apr 10, 2015)

*Laco Augsburg update*

Before I bought mine Laco Augsburg I read much info about the "accuracy" of mechanical watch. On the other hand I noticed many posts on internet that even cheap automatic movement can reach great accuracy by careful regulation. I have to say I was looking forward to try the regulation myself as soon as the deviation of the watch became stable at +17 s per day (after two weeks). And so I am happy that mine Laco Augsburg has the pop-up case back and thus it is easy to open it with rather common tools like scalpel which I used. The first attempt though was horrible&#8230; I wrongly pushed the regulating lever to - sign and even though I made very small, hardly noticeable movement the watch went even faster, gaining about 2s per hour. So I opened it again, pushed the lever in the opposite direction and the watch started to lose about 10s per day. And by at least 12 iterations I came (luckily) to perfect accuracy. At the moment the watch is 0 s fast per week which is amazing and great reward for my effort. I have it always on my wrist and it typically loose one second during night and gain it back during the day. In conclusion, the lever is VERY sensitive. The smallest noticeable/visible movement I was able to do change the accuracy of about 20s per day. Once I got the watch to be about -5s per day I only tapped the lever with small screw driver without noticing any movement by my eye. This brought me the final accuracy though after some tapping attempts nothing changed so it was really one week process. I am happy that I verified for myself that even watch with an entry level automatic movement (Miyota 821a) can be regulated to perfect accuracy though it is not at all straight forward and may need many trials. Last but not least I am sure that frequent opening of the watch can lead to bad water resistance and if you do this you may need a watchmaker service to check it. Since I am not going to let anything heavier than rain to fall on my Laco I do not care too much. There is also a dust issue as some dust may get inside the watch and cause troubles after some time. All in all I am happy that I did it by myself and hope the accuracy will last long. Finally few pics of the Augsburg with various straps:


----------

