I love the look of pilot watches, specifically with a black dial and a brown strap. I want to spend under $400, and I'm looking for suggestions on what might be a great first foray into watches. Right now I'm considering the Laco Augsburg. What are some others I should consider? Thank you.
Posted Nov 10, 2016, 7:39 PM UTC
Another vote for Laco, although you should have a quick peek at the f71 "affordables" forum over at Watchuseek and see if they haven't made a project watch that fits your needs. I would NOT buy any kickstarter projects, but the WUS projects are good.
I wouldn't buy that Steinhart either, the company has no history and makes only knockoffs. Good specs don't automatically mean a good watch...a watch can be more than the sum of its parts. I'd take the Laco over the Steinhart any day purely for the historical connection/authenticity advantage.
Laco watches, like many other brands are trading on a fake history. The original company went out of business during the quartz crisis in the 1970's. The brand rights were acquired and the business was started in the 90's. It has about as much real history as Steinhart.
Steinhart Nav-B-Uhr. 44 Automatic A-Muster. €336.13, or $366.10 at current currency conversions directly from Steinhart's website. ETA 2824-2 movement.
Tisell
I was asking this same question, when I was looking for a pilot I could where everyday. I found the best value by a mile was steinhart. You won't find a pilot with a Swiss movement anywhere else in that price range. You also get blued hands and pretty awesome strap. Laco looks more historical, but I don't like the hands on the sub 1000 ones, plus the movement isn't as nice. Maratac is another one people seem to like.
The Laco is a great choice. I have the Type B (Aachen) and the quality is great for the price. Can't beat the company's history, too.
Ughhhh, now I can't decide between the Type A and the Type B :)
Just personal experience, i had a type b style hamilton khako pilot for about a year and ended up selling it for a classic type a
Yup! They made watches for the Nazis
So great
Lots of companys made products for the nazis
And BMW didn't work for the Nazis? ok bro
Yep, they made the radial engines for the Focke-Wulf 190.
They did and they used slave labor
but that's not why I like bimmers
I like them because they make great cars not because of the dark history
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Right now Air Blue are having a ridiculous sale. You can pick up an automatic pilot watch with sapphire glass for $150!
The Laco is definitely the best in that price range. They are the only one of the five historical manufacturers with models under $400. It's missing the blued hands and it's using a Miyota instead of an ETA, but for $300 it's a great watch. The band is not very good though - I would recommend picking up a replacement from ColaReb.
I have the Augsburg and it's still one of my favorite watches. Here's a pic on the ColaReb strap, and a lume shot.
Who are the five historical? Stowa and iwc come to mind first. After that there are several brands with iconic pilots, e.g., bell and ross, panerai, alpina, steinhart, archemide, etc. Didnt know there was a "historical five"
When people talk about the historical manufacturers, they're referring to the original five companies that manufactured Type A and Type B flieger watches for the pilots of the German Luftwaffe. The historical context is important to a lot of people who appreciate the flieger watch because of its association with the iconic aircraft Germany produced during that time.
Laco, Stowa, IWC, Wempe, and A. Lange were the five original manufacturers and the only ones who actually made these watches for the Luftwaffe.