Reply With QuoteLaco cases and dials always look a bit rough (agricultural) to me, by rough I mean less refined and sharp. This is probably a bit more true to historic versions to which they pay homage. I think Laco are bead or sand blasted, Stowa are brushed.
Hi
I've been looking at getting a Flieger watch and looked at both Stowa and Laco. They both seem to offer the same dial options, straps, heritage, movements etc.
I can't seem to find one reason to choose one over the other apart from case sizes. Is there something obvious I'm missing here?
Thanks
David
Laco cases and dials always look a bit rough (agricultural) to me, by rough I mean less refined and sharp. This is probably a bit more true to historic versions to which they pay homage. I think Laco are bead or sand blasted, Stowa are brushed.
They are a bit different both are good
Laco
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Stowa
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I've owned a Laco Ausberg and currently own a Stowa Ikarus. The Stowa is far and away the better watch, in both overall quality, finish and wearability.
No comparison really
Stowa use ETA movements in their watches Laco generally use Miyota (Though they have ETA in some of their more expensive watches and also use the new Miyota movement that hacks and hand winds)
I had a Laco years ago with the old Miyota movement. I quite liked it mostly because although it was pretty well built it "seemed" More of a tool watch and closer to how the original may have been. Stowa always seem to me to be a cut above in quality. Its up to you really but Laco still make a decent watch.
Stowa makes a fine timepiece. A WUS member visited the Stowa workplace, you can take a look of their facility here:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f36/vis...l#post10081442
I really enjoy my Stowa watches.
I really love my Ausburg:
And personally I would much prefer Laco over Steinhart. Laco is more historic brand and more original design. The original case is stunning, IMHO. Mine does not have this case, but still look great, IMHO.
Thanks very much for all the thoughts and great pics. Looks like the balance of opinion comes down in favour of the Stowa
I have to revise my initial post regarding Laco and Stowa as I hadnt really looked at Laco for quite some time. The big difference for me is with Stowa you know exactly what you are buying and the quality is superb. With Laco trawling through the website to find exactly what movement it is and how it compares to others just puts me off. I would happily buy another Stowa watch and I already have two and for price and quality I just dont see Laco matching them.
Another vote for the Ikarus.Originally Posted by Onelasttime
I've owned a Laco Ausberg and currently own a Stowa Ikarus. The Stowa is far and away the better watch, in both overall quality, finish and wearability.
No comparison really
Last edited by Captainhowdy; 24th November 2014 at 23:38.
Any reason why you didn't consider Archimede? I was looking at their 39mm Flieger the other day, looks really nice, but I'm not in a position to buy so I didn't spend any time looking at how they compare against Stowa.
If you look at the base price they appear cheaper, if you factor in top movement, decorated etc they come out about the same and even after all that the Stowa looks the nicer watch.
Muhle Glashutte may be a more realistic comparison.
Came to this thread expecting pictures of good looking Fliegers, was not disappointed
To the OP, it depends what you are looking for in a B-Uhr. If you are looking for a more modern interpretation in a smaller case size (40mm) then Stowa may be the best bet. If you're looking for a more accurate representation of the original B-Uhr in a case size that more closely matches the originals (45mm or 55mm!) then Laco is probably the better choice. I waffled over this decision for a while myself but ultimately decided that I wanted a more historically accurate re-edition of the B-Uhr and so I went with the Laco - both the A and B dial variants. The Laco features the grey, beadblasted case, straight lugs, case back and side (FL23883) engraving and accurately shaped, heat-blued hands of the originals. The case is not brushed stainless steel like the Stowas, and that's by design as the originals were not finished that way. Some people call this 'less refined', I call this historically accurate. The Laco is definitely more tool-like than the Stowa for that reason. The Lacos with the beadblasted cases use ETA movements. There is a less expensive line of Laco B-Uhrs that use Miyota movements.
Stowa makes great watches and their B-Uhrs are very nice. But if you want one that looks very close to the original and is made by one of the original five B-Uhr manufacturers, then go with the Laco.
Laco 'Dortmund' 45mm "B" dial B-Uhr
Last edited by logan2z; 25th November 2014 at 16:39.
just found this thread,now i am wearing my 48mm fliegher........for the first time in quite a while
Last edited by greasemonkey; 25th November 2014 at 08:53.
Very true. I made a similar decision, but also after being generally disappointed with Stowa. The Laco's don't get a lot of positive love on the forums but on the wrist they are much more interesting!
-flugzeit
Stowas are 40mm and you can get Laco at 42mm and they do wear larger due to being all dial so plenty big enough for most wrists.
If you want something dressy I would go for stowa. More functional go with laco!
Really like that StowaThey are a bit different both are good
Laco
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Stowa
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My mistake, thanks for the correction.
I think only Laco do the central-seconds manual wind watches now - the most traditional Flieger style. There were a few Stowa 2801s a few years back, but no more.
Laco have their 'Laco 04' movement (I think it's a modified ETA, kind of hard to tell) that is manual wound central seconds. That's the ones I'd be (indeed have been) looking at.
Yes I've just noticed the manual wind central second hand which I what I originally was looking for. Having said that seeing so many photos of the Laco and Stowa side by side I prefer the slightly more refined look of the Stowa.
If only Stowa offered a manual wind central second hand that'd be me sorted!!
As far as I know the 04 movement is an ETA movement. As for modification, for most of the Laco movements Miyota and ETA I think that just extends to putting "Laco" On the movement, though they do say they are also checked and regulated.
Here's a table provided by Laco showing the mapping between their internal movement designations and the actual movement used:
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
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