The History of Laco
Fallout inspired Laco RAD-AUX Limited Edition, ideated by Ariel Adams and designed by aBlogtoWatch / Credit: WornAndWound
Laco, the little-known German watch company founded 1925. Like that kid in your friend group who’s always there but you’re not sure if he’s someone’s cousin or little brother...Basically Laco has been around through just about every significant watchmaking history event and yet today is often neglected; ignored by collectors and left to dwindle at the bottom of ‘Top German Watch Brand’ rankings. So, what’s the deal?
Founded in Pforzheim, Germany, Laco was originally called Lacher & Co, after its founders Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel. They started off producing German watches with Swiss movements, but in 1933, having grown tired of procuring Swiss movements, Hummel left to found Durowe and produce 100% German-made watches. The pair continued to produce watches under Laco-Durowe, in fact, they were involved in the production of the first Flieger watches on behalf of the Luftwaffe in 1936.
Despite a brief respite during WWII, Laco-Durowe was back in business by 1949, with Hummel managing about 1400 employees and the company producing more than 80,000 movements per month! They were gaining traction, selling high quality movements to third parties, and equipping their own timepieces with the same. Their first automatic movement, the ‘Duromat’, was released in the Laco-Sport in 1952 and their first Laco-Chronometer was released in 1957. This culminated in 1961 when they released their first electric watch – a German first, however by then Laco was already owned by Timex, which bought the company in 1959. Unfortunately, Laco did not fare well during the Quartz Attack and despite continuing to produce movements on behalf of their new owners, Ebauches, they no longer produced their own timepieces.
Since Laco’s reemergence in the late 1980s, they’ve focused mostly on producing pilot watch re-issues, capitalizing on their strong aviation heritage. In fact, they continue to use Durowe movements, as does Stowa, who also used them throughout the mid-20th century.