Laco was founded in 1925 in Pforzheim, Germany, as Lacher & Co. (abbreviated Laco) by Frieda Lacher and her business partner Ludwig Hummel. Through the late 1920s and 1930s Laco built a reputation for reliable German wristwatches, primarily distributed in the domestic market and to European exports. Pforzheim at the time was Germany's dominant jewellery-and-watch town; Laco was one of several Pforzheim firms producing mid-market mechanical watches.
The brand's historical significance derives from World War II. The Luftwaffe required a new standard wristwatch for navigators and pilots capable of navigating in low-light cockpits at long-duration altitude: the Beobachtungsuhr (observation timer), abbreviated B-Uhr. A 55mm cased, 60-minute centrally-marked dial was specified. Five suppliers were contracted to manufacture B-Uhren: A. Lange & Söhne, Stowa, IWC, Wempe, and Laco. Two dial layouts were used: Type A (Baumuster A) with Arabic 1-12 hour numerals, and Type B (Baumuster B) with Arabic minute numerals around the outside and hour markers in a smaller inner ring.
Production of B-Uhren was essentially all militarily consumed. The watches were supplied to the Luftwaffe and not sold commercially; most surviving examples today trace to captured wartime equipment. After 1945, Laco continued producing wristwatches through the 1950s and 1960s but gradually shrank as the German industry contracted. The firm was reorganised multiple times through the late 20th century and is today family-owned by the Lacher family heirs.
Modern Laco is built on the pilot-watch revivals. The current collection includes Original (42mm and 45mm B-Uhr Type A and Type B reissues), Replica (55mm full-size B-Uhr reproductions, for collectors who want the historical dimensions), Flieger (smaller 39-42mm daily-wear pilot watches), and contemporary Squad and Sport references. Movements are Swiss-made (ETA, Sellita) with Laco's in-house case and dial finishing. Retail runs from approximately €900 (Flieger 39mm automatic) to €3,000 (Original B-Uhr Type B) and €5,000+ for limited-edition restorations and military-grade variants.
