After 99 years of watchmaking, Germany’s Laco Watches has produced just about every type of watch you can imagine. Still, when someone mentions a Laco, I immediately assume they are talking about a flieger. I suspect I am not alone in that. Laco has long been known for its aviator’s watches, and justifiably so, but when I had the opportunity to choose one to review, I wanted something new, like the Laco Hamburg GMT DIN 8330.
Ok, maybe it isn’t all that much of a departure. After all, the DIN 8330 is still unquestionably a pilot’s watch, perhaps the kind you might expect a Eurofighter Typhoon pilot to wear. Indeed, the model name represents the new Deutsche Industrie Norm (DIN) standard for cockpit requirements, covering functionality, durability, safety, and compatibility. The DIN tests cover all the parameters we watch fans expect, such as water resistance, shock protection, and illumination, as well as many we may not, like the ability to withstand vibration, magnetic fields, and wild swings in temperature and external pressure. The result is a creature of the modern jet age with a decidedly military bearing and rugged tool watch appeal. Currently, the Laco Hamburg DIN 8330 is the only DIN-certified pilot’s watch on the market.
From the moment you open the aluminum storage box, you know that Laco has packed something special. Your watch is secured in dense foam along with the warranty card, hangtag, and a DIN 8330 key fob.
Laco employs a Sellita SW330-1 automatic, here dubbed the Laco 330. It has 25 jewels, a hacking second hand, a 50-hour power reserve, and it hums along at 28.8k bph. The key to this model is its GMT hand. Laco also offers a three-hand DIN 8330 running a Selitta SW200 instead. Both units are sturdy and easily serviced, making them excellent choices for a watch likely to take a beating in the field.
The 904L stainless steel case is blasted a matte gray, long a feature of German pilot’s watches, and a reminder that the 8330 is made for serious use. I was surprised to discover how large it is. When I strapped it onto my 6.75” wrist, I guessed it would be 41-42mm across, not 43.5mm, as my calipers revealed. This is why I always tell people to treat published measurements as a rough guide at best. Numbers tell you remarkably little about how a watch will wear.
In the DIN 8330’s case, an overall length of 49.8mm keeps the lug ends between my wrist bones. While a watch of this diameter could have easily handled a 22mm lug gap, the Laco’s 20mm strap keeps it trim. Finally, and most significantly, the two-tone gray 24-hour track inside creates a break between the black dial and bezel, training your eye on the smaller diameter of the black central dial, making the watch appear more compact.
This is good, because at 13.8mm from the case back to the sapphire crystal, the DIN 8830 is by no means slim, and it bears some wonderfully aggressive styling features. The case sides are flat, and there is no chamfering to soften its hard edges. Laco took advantage of this available real estate to engrave the model name on the left side. The lugs, while neatly tapered, are drilled through for screw bars. This ensures that the watch will never leave your wrist as the result of a popped spring pin, and it also looks pretty darn cool.
Between two modest guards sits an oversized diamond crown. Deeply fluted and signed with the Laco “L,” it is a nod to the days when pilots operated their watches while wearing heavy gloves. Unlike its forebearers, the DIN 8330’s crown screws down, helping to seal the watch for 200m water resistance. I know that aviation watches have typically been light on such sealing, but modern tool watch buyers (myself included) demand a high degree of protection, and why not? In an age of precision manufacturing and synthetic gaskets, it would be absurd not to provide it.
You might be tempted to take the Laco GMT DIN 8330 on your next scuba adventure. While it is certainly capable of making the dive, there is no doubt that the watch is built for the air. Flip it over, and you will find a beautifully executed, high-relief illustration of a four-engine jet at takeoff.
The bezel is a marvelous bit of architecture in and of itself. Those broad gear teeth beg to be touched, and exposed fasteners underscore the watch’s industrial appeal. As is proper for both a GMT and a pilot’s watch, it moves bidirectionally with kind of the firm action and secure positioning you would expect from a diver’s watch. Its matte ceramic insert is fully lumed with C1 Super-LumiNova.
The Laco’s dial conveys its aviation roots in several ways, starting with soft iron construction to shield that mechanism within from accuracy-sapping magnetic fields. Its white C1-lumed navigator’s triangle, sword hands, index, and instrument-style numbers further press the point, ensuring easy legibility, day or night. The GMT functions get orange lume. They are an immensely appealing accent in daylight, especially given the 24-hour index’s dark/light gray day/night motif. At night, the orange number’s fine printing pales in intensity when compared to the potent white C1 elsewhere, but the GMT’s arrowhead has ample surface area to provide a useful glow.
Dial text is printed in a soft gray and is pleasingly balanced, starting with the Laco logo on top, moving to an aircraft illustration that is sandwiched by two bars and captioned with the model name, all of which presents as a tidy box that mirrors the proportions of the logo above. Finally, “Made in Germany” (as if there was any doubt) flanks the hour marker below the 6. A color-matched date window at 4 o’clock, finishes it off. It is a clean, sensible, and satisfying dial that incorporates great detail without sacrificing an ounce of legibility.
Laco provides the watch with a strap of suitably tactical black Nytech, a synthetic weave similar in appearance to canvas. It is lined in soft leather and secured by a signed strap in the same matte finish as the case. I found the Nytech to be a good match for the watch and liked the way it conformed to my wrist right out of the box.
The Laco Hamburg GMT DIN 8330 lists for $2,890 US and every penny of it is reflected in its design and execution. This is a top-tier tool that conveys its rugged bearing with satisfying sophistication. I highly recommend it.
For more information, to place an order, or to find your authorized Laco dealer, visit laco-watches.com.
