When we think of Laco, the type of watch that typically comes to mind is something traditional, simple, and rooted in the brand’s long history of producing the quintessential German pilot’s watch. Their latest release, the Laco Edition 96, is something else entirely. While the watch has a more modern aesthetic than the series of customizable watches we told you about back in October, this is actually a tribute piece, meant to celebrate a major upcoming milestone in the brand’s long history.
The Laco Edition 96 is part of what they call Mission 2025, a series of limited edition watches released at regular intervals until the brand’s big 100 year anniversary in 2025. This is the second watch in the planned series of five, and is inspired by the brand’s Scorpion line, which consists of modern, outdoor focused, tactical sports watches. They are intentionally worlds apart from a traditional flieger, but retain some of the classic aviation DNA through a high contrast dial that’s immediately legible thanks to generous hour markers and large, lume filled hands. Unlike previous watches in Laco’s sportier lines that use blue and orange accents fairly liberally, the Edition 96 is fairly monochromatic, with a stainless steel case coated in black PVD, and crisp white details on the dial.
At first blush the dial on the Laco Edition 96 is a simple affair, and while it’s certainly not the most complex dial layout one can imagine, Laco deserves some credit here for creating something visually interesting and very easy to read within the framework of classic pilot’s watches, without being an exact copy of any particular pilot’s watch dial. The typeface used for the hour markers (everywhere but the cardinal positions) is modern without calling too much attention to itself, and the smaller numerals for the minutes around the perimeter of the dial are well integrated into the minute track – you almost don’t realize they’re there at first. The dial is well lumed, as is the bezel (always a nice touch on a modern watch), and the hour and minute hands have been rendered in subtly different tones, increasing legibility both in daylight situations and when the lume is fired up.
The 42mm case is 13.5mm tall, which should lead to a healthy wrist presence. The watch has an undeniably tactical vibe to it, in large part thanks to the serrated ceramic bezel. The term “tool watch” gets thrown around an awful lot around here, but this bezel looks like something pulled off an actual tool. Inside, the watch is powered by a Sellita SW200, which can be upgraded to chronometer spec by Laco for a fee at the time of purchase.
The Laco Edition 96 is a limited edition of just 96 pieces, and carries a retail price of $1,560. Delivery is slated to begin this month. Laco
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