Pick up the 42mm Augsburg on Amazon: amzn.to/38Q6wnN 39mm Augsburg: amzn.to/2LU5Y7o Laco Cuxhaven: amzn.to/3bJUIVM All Laco Watches on Amazon, excellent prices!!: amzn.to/39Ggl6H
Love the brand, love the watches. I've owned an Augsburg, two Aachens, and currently have a Leipzig. Three complaints I have with the Augsburg/Aachen line of watches, one of which has already been addressed by Laco: 1. Previous Miyota 821A movements hand-wound, but did not hack. The latest versions of the movement do so it's important for a potential buyer to inquire about how recent the watch's manufacture date is. Anything in 2020 and onwards is good. 2. As you noted, the leather strap doesn't have enough holes. I have a 7-1/4 inch wrist and I'm on the very last hole. I don't know why this has persisted as an issue because it has been mentioned many times in reviews. 3. My biggest objection to the Basic series watches has been the lack of any anti-reflective coating on the crystal. It's not as bad as the Hamilton Khaki series, but it does detract from the legibility of the watch in high-intensity lightning conditions. Fortunately, you can now order a watch directly from Laco in Pforzheim, Germany with an upgraded crystal that contains AR coating on both the front and the back of the crystal for about $70. Note that the ones you order from US vendors do not have the option. I strongly recommend it to anyone considering the Augsburg or Aachen. How many different ways can Aron pronounce Cuxhaven in a video? :) KOOKS-hah-fen. PS. WWII German pilots were not assigned flieger watches as a rule -- those went to the navigators, who needed precision timepieces to perform dead-reckoning timing of various legs of a flight plan. They were issued before the mission started and collected at the end by the squadron property master. A pilot would only wear his personal watch (Hanhart and Omega watches were popular) and defer to the navigator/bombardier for the actual timing and course determination. We call them "pilot watches", but in reality they weren't worn by pilots, at least not the fliegers. Sorry, but I can get geeky about Beobachtungsuhr watches (Translation: Observer's watch, also appreciated as B-Uhr). I do love the style and think that they excel at legibility and simplicity of design.
Thank you Lee!! Really appreciate the History you bring. I've never really studied the history of these watches, so it's great to learn. The AR information is crucial. If I ordered one of these in the future, I will definitely order from the German site!! Kookshave, Cuckshaven, CooxHaven......I'm sure i could give a go at a couple others 🤣✌.
Thanks for this comparison! By the way, you can get the Flieger style as well with the nice 6498 manual movement in the Laco Ulm. It has to be mentioned, that the seconds are not hacking at the 6498. It is an old construction, coming from pocket watches.
I appreciate that Laco is German watch company but $400 for a Miyota 821a? Aliexpress offers very similar watches with Seiko NH35 movements starting at $90.00 or less and with SW200 movements for less than $400, all with between 100 and 200 meters of water resistance, sapphire crystals, screw down crowns, screw case backs and 'A' or 'B' dials. The Laco with a Swiss movement and $400 ok but entry level Japanese movement is a stretch.
I like that Laco give the option for the cheaper miyota movement but I would never get one myself. But it’s nice that people interested or those that want to try a flieger or get a German watch in the stable can do so cheaply. I have the Cuxhaven and love it, I sold it, regretted it and rebought it (which i never do normally). I even managed a trip to Pforzheim with my 5yo (she was so bored at the watch museum there 😂- had to bribe her with ice cream and a trip to the nearby wildlife park). But the Cuxhaven for me is incredible, it’s a thinking mans beater in that it’s 100m WR, solid reliable bomb proof movement but has a beautiful dial and hand. It compliments my Grand Seiko sbgw235 (a fellow manual wind watch) and enables me to have Japanese and German made watches alongside the the obvious Swiss.
