Introducing the Laco Polar 39 watches

Intro

First things first, I give a thumbs up to Laco for fostering the legacy of B-Uhr watches. It represents the brand’s founding pillar, which Laco keeps evolving to engineer less specialized models. As far as I’m concerned, Dortmund is my favourite Laco. Still, a wider audience looks for a military-inspired timepiece rather than its faithful re-edition, and that is what Laco did when they extended the Type A and Type B historical models to multiple, smaller sizes.

The Laco Polar 39

While downsizing is a common practice in watchmaking to boost sales and reach a larger audience, a 39-millimetre contemporary B-Uhr might be a risk in terms of credibility and pedigree. However, the two new Laco Augsburg and Aachen Polar 39 turn heads with their new polar white dial, blue metallic indexes, and matching blue brand logo.

The Arabic numerals and the triangle (or arrow-shaped index) at twelve glow turquoise in the dark, thanks to Super-LumiNova C3, to enhance a Type A or B dial’s layout, whose essential requirement is readability.

Interestingly, the crown has a vague onion-like design; it has a hybrid silhouette, i.e., a standard circular base with an onion on top. Both models have the same case diameter, are 11.55 mm thick, and showcase an extensive satin finish. Through the transparent case back, you can see the calibre Laco 2S, a Miyota 82S0-sourced movement capable of guaranteeing a -20 to ＋40 seconds per day accuracy and a 42-hour power reserve.

As an option, Laco can equip both watches with a Miyota 8315 movement belonging to the same category (a 3 Hz base) with up to 60 hours of power reserve and a quick date-setting mechanism, which is useless here. At first sight, it also comes with blued screws. Both watches adopt a leather strap with rivets and a classic pin buckle.

Final thoughts

Laco will produce two lots of 250 pieces for each Polar 39, whose deliveries began last February. The 440€ listed price makes them ultra-accessible Laco watches and offers the chance to upgrade them per a customer’s needs technically.

The 39 mm size works; we might argue they’re not hand-wound, yet they deliver an original Flieger’s feel and adopt a tried-and-tested self-winding movement from a respected large-volume supplier. Still, I would have gone for a closed case back.

(Photo credit: Laco)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®