Laco “Atlantik” Ref: 862108:
An Unexpected Place To Find An Intriguing Dive Watch
By: Kaz Mirza
It’s funny – when I think of Laco I think of Flieger and pilot-style watches. I mean, that’s what the brand’s history is built around. In fact, time and time again Mike and I have said on the TBWS Podcast that Laco represents one of the more overlooked and accessible routes to Flieger ownership in modern horology.
Well color me surprised when I heard about this seldom-covered, new upcoming release called the Laco Atlantik ref: 862108 – a 300m Dive Watch that very interestingly combines three important facets: vintage sentiments, modern aesthetics, and a really robust look. It’s an excellent recipe for an extremely prospective Laco dive watch.
In researching for this piece I learned that Laco has been making dive watches for a while now. But none of them really seem to impact the collective perspective of the watchfam. However, I believe the Laco Atlantik 862108 will certainly catch people’s eye.
I’ve tried reaching out to the brand for more information on this new Laco dive watch, however I haven’t received a response (which is also why the photos I’ve provided here aren’t of the best quality) [Post Edit: Laco has reached out to me and provided me with a ton of official data on this new dive watch that I’ll be sharing further down the article]. However, what I was able to find was some video footage from Basel this year that captured some shots and different angles of the watch.
New Laco Diver Video #1: FuwaForestFilms
This video is from a German-based channel called FuwaForestFilms. I’m unfamiliar with them and the only reason they’re being included here is that they were one of only three videos I found online that interacted with the Laco Atlanktik 862108. The video is 10 minutes long but I’ve timestamped the video below to start at 2 minutes where there Laco 862108 first comes into view. Approximately a minute later they take it out of the case and begin to look at it in more detail.
Also, the video is entirely in German. I don’t speak German. If anyone does speak German and can pick up any interesting bits about the watch from the representative that’s speaking, please let me know.
New Laco Diver Video #2: Long Island Watch
The second video is from our beloved Long Island Watch. Marc (owner, operator, and face of the retailer) is known for carrying Laco in the states. I’ve time-stamped the video to around the 15 minute mark where Marc begins to talk about these Laco 862108 divers. He’s running still photos on the screen (that he took while meeting with Laco at Basel) and narrating his thoughts.
New Laco Diver Video #3: Armand the Watch Guy
The third video is from a YouTuber called Armand the Watch Guy (again I’m not familiar with the channel – I’ve only selected it here since he talks about these new Laco Dive Watches). Much like the previous video, the presenter is narrating over still photos of these new Laco divers taken from Basel.
I think it’s interesting to note that these videos are showing us three versions of this Laco Diver: an orange, green, and blue. However after Basel we’ve only been hearing about the blue (which I’m guessing is the color designated for the Laco 862108 reference). Back at Basel these watches were still in the prototyping phase from my understanding. So it’s possible that the other two colors didn’t make the cut. Or perhaps they’ll be released a bit further down the road. I suppose this is just as well since I’m gravitating towards the blue Laco “Atlantik” diver anyway.
These videos are showing three versions of this new Laco Diver: an orange, green, and blue. As mentioned above, Laco has reached out to me after this article was published and offered a lot of additional official information. There are 4 varities of the new Laco Diver being offered – each with their own color scheme, name, and reference number. Please find that info below:
New Laco Diver Reference Numbers and Colors
- Himalaya (Ref: 862106): Black Bezel with White Accents
- Amazonas (Ref: 862107): Black Bezel with Green Accents
- Atlantik (Ref: 862108): Black Bezel with Blue Accents
- Mojave (Ref: 862109): Black Bezel with Orange Accents
The first two photos below were provided directly from Laco and the other three are pulled from Laco’s official Instagram page.
Laco Himalaya Ref: 862106
Laco Amazonas Ref: 862107
I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any additional insights or information I can gather up. This Laco diver represents the brand’s first (as far as I’m aware) venture into offering a relatively affordable diver. From what I’ve dug up this Laco Atlantik 862108 dive watch will be offered at 980 € or approximately $1,130 USD, which is significantly lower than the previous (again, seldom noted) 1000m Squad Dive Watches that have been offered in the past. And I imagine the non-bracelet versions would be offered at an even lower price point.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what I know about these New Laco Divers
- Movement: Laco 24/ETA 2824.2 (Elaboré)
- Water Resistance: 300M
- Power Reserve: 42 Hours
- Case Dimentions: 42mm, 20mm Lug Width
- Crystal: double-domed sapphire with AR Coating
- Lume: C3 Superluminova
- Himalaya (Ref: 862106): Minute Hand Orange Superluminova C3
- Amazonas (Ref: 862107): Minute Hand Green Superluminova C3
- Atlantik (Ref: 862108): Minute Hand Blue Superluminova C3
- Mojave (Ref: 862109): Minute Hand Orange Superluminova
- Screw-down crown
- Built from stainless steel
- All references have the option of a rubber strap or stainless steel bracelet
What does everyone think? If the MSRP is around 1k USD, I image retailer prices will be even more affordable. Which could potentially put the watch in monetary striking distance of other sub-1k divers like Squale and a good selection of Seiko Prospex pieces. But the question remains of whether or not these will actually be competitive and worth it. Only time will tell.
Co-Founder and Senior Editor
Kaz has been collecting watches since 2015, but he’s been fascinated by product design, the Collector’s psychology, and brand marketing his whole life. While sharing the same strong fondness for all things horologically-affordable as Mike (his TBWS partner in crime), Kaz’s collection niche is also focused on vintage Soviet watches as well as watches that feature a unique, but well-designed quirk or visual hook.
I like it, especially that one with orange colour accents. It’s interesting that both Stowa and Archimede, also German companies known for their Fliegers, have cool sports watches too. Stowa’s super cool Prodiver range especially.
Yea the OJ is certainly an interesting choice in the “orange diver” trope. I think it’s easy for people to pigeon-hole certain brands to certain pieces, and to a certain extent the brands don’t do much to change people’s perspectives on that. At the same time that these Laco Divers were announced, Laco did a blue dial Flieger style watch and they really pushed more messaging out about that piece that the diver, because I’m sure they expected people to be more receptive of a Flieger from Laco as opposed to a diver. But honestly I think these new divers are cool if only just to offer folks more fun dive watches to choose from that exists outside the normal box of standard choices.
That’s also interesting. It would be nice to see these brands push these modern sporty designs more. I mean, how many fliegers can one person buy?!? Horizontal synergy up-sell disruption, or something, is where the business is at. I’m on mailling lists for Archimede and Stowa and rarely see mention of their divers. Stowa has promoted them a couple of times that I recall, but that was only when they were up for an award.
Lol right? I know this probably isn’t a popular opinion, but with the very nature of a flieger being something that is clean, legible, and devoid of superfluous elements, at the end of the day they can all kinda blend into each other. The design isn’t really naturally inclined to an “x-factor” that’s why the Archimede bronze fliegers as this new blue dial fleiger that Laco is promoting caught my attention. But for me I think these brands have true longevity by offering more outside the fleiger repertoire. Sure, fliegers may be what people expect, but if you as a brand can play your cards right and promote pieces based off your quality and attention to detail then I think folks will start to pay attention. I’m excited to see how these new Laco divers do in the long run. I just hope Laco doesn’t drop the ball in promoting them.
Interesting design, I quite like the orange one, but their MSRP is somehow high for Europe. At this price you can get the new Mido Ocean Star in titanium. A Squale 50 atmos, Glycine Combat Sub or Hamilton Frogman come cheaper, all loaded with serious specs. I believe this new Laco will be more for the watch lovers willing to get the underdog, going less mainstream.
Now, still from Laco, the new version of the 42 Black Automatic, based on the design of the French army watches made by the Germans, is really awesome (and affordable).
Hm interesting point – the biggest draw for me is certainly the fact that it’s an alternative diver and I’m sure Laco is more than aware of that. However to your point the question is whether or not that alternative status merits the price tag. The other factor is whether or not there’s something in the specs and photos that just isn’t properly articulating something about the watch. Maybe seeing the watch in person can justify the cost. I’m honestly not sure, but the other watches you bring up certainly are good contenders at great prices. I’m also curious to see if when this thing hits the market how much retailers will discount. Real world prices are usually always lower than MSRP.