I’m relatively new to watches, having only begun to grow a fascination and love for them at the start of this year. I was quickly introduced to the German brand Laco.
I looked through their range and decided against the standard pilot models that they are famously known for and instead look at their ‘Navy’ models as the pilot models didn’t really appeal to me at that time.
It was a choice between the Cuxhaven and the black dialed Bremerhaven, but for me it was an easy choice and the Cuxhaven had to be mine.
The thought process behind this navy model is that it resembles the 1940s pocket watch and the watches worn by the crew on board the ‘U1’ submarine and it certainly gives off the vintage vibe with an up to date modern feel.
The watch is presented in a stylish cardboard box with a black leather zipped box inside it and I could hardly wait to get the box unzipped, wind the crown and get the watch on my wrist.
The Laco Cuxhaven is one of Laco’s navy models housed in a 42.5mm case, this may appear to be on the larger side but with a lug to lug distance of just under 50mm and case thickness of just 10.7mm this wears smaller than you might think. It has a standard lug width of 22mm so it will be easy to get replacement straps if you so wish.
Cuxhaven Movement & Case Back
There really is only one place I can start with this review and that’s with the beautiful movement clearly visible on the sapphire crystal case back.
Laco has used the ETA 6498-1 which is a manual wind movement and decorated the ratchet wheel with their logo therefore enabling it to be renamed the Laco 98. It runs at a relatively slow 18,000 beats per hour and is a workhorse of a movement. I’ve found that it runs very consistently and have no timing issues at all.
A. Lange and Sohne it is not but you cannot deny that it is beautiful in its own right.
The Cuxhaven Case
A beautiful stainless steel case with a sandblasted and polished finished. It has a fluted bezel which previously was used for additional waterproofing but now it’s purely aesthetic and is excellently done on this model.
As previously mentioned the diameter is 42.5mm but it wears smaller thanks to its under 50mm lug to lug and 10.7mm width and slips just nicely and comfortably under the cuff.
The watch weighs approximately 80g but still maintains a healthy wrist presence thanks to the pure white dial and the large crown.
It features a large ridged signed crown that is easy to grab and very very satisfying to wind.
The Dial
The dial is what really drew me to this watch and as soon as I laid eyes on it I knew I wanted it.
The bright white dial stands out in any light and glistens in the sun.
It is an uncluttered dial with the Laco logo just under the 12 o’clock marker and a small ‘Made in Germany’ at the very bottom of the dial which leaves no distraction from reading the time.
A railway track covers the outermost part of the dial which has been a characteristic of Laco watches over the years.
This track has a very generous lick of C3 Super-LumiNova every 5 minutes.
The large Arabic numerals are just inside the track and also have the same Super-LumiNova generously applied, and this lume really does burn blindingly bright and lasts a long time.
It features a sub dial with a sword style hand and has a sunburst finish at the 6 o’clock and as a whole the dial is very legible.
The thermally blued syringe style hands have been covered in Super-LumiNova.
Conclusion
This beautiful pocket watch based movement is a pleasure to wind daily and really helps you build a connection with the watch and helps you form a love with it, that you wouldn’t get with an automatic that you simply stick on your wrist. Although fully wound the watch should healthily tick for 46 hours I like to wind my watch daily to keep things running smoothly.
Throughout this review the watch has featured on a nato strap, a modern style leather strap and a vintage style leather strap and compliments them all very well. I believe this watch watch would wear well on any kind of strap.
At a price point of €980 from this watch provides affordable and accessible luxury.
To have a look at all of Lacos’ offerings you can visit their official website here.
Great review! Will be coming back to read more!
Great review with a full detailed experience for fellow watch enthusiasts.
The black dial version, The Bremerhaven, is great, too – I have one and it hasn’t left my wrist for more than a few hours’ sleep every night since I got it in October of 2019. Tt’s a bit more toolish than the Cuxhaven with the lumed subdial hand, but easily dressed up with mesh, a link bracelet, or some exotic leather. I think both watches sell themselves rather well – the big legible dials, the ample lume, the rugged, simple, surprisingly accurate, easily serviced, hand-winding movement (I’m getting about +5 seconds a day so far) that is also attractively finished, and nice straps are big selling points…they also take new straps exceedingly well. The Cuxhaven would be a stunner on blue Alligator that matches the blued hands, for example. Both look great on NATOs. Put the Bremerhaven on black Alligator or Croc and it looks like it costs twice as much. I imagine it would be very attractive on calf leather in various shades of brown, green, even orange or grey. They are just fun.
18000 beats per second? Holy Smokes!
Thanks for pointing that out Dean, It’s been corrected now.
What NATO strap is featured here? LOoks really nice!