Laco prices the Aachen 42 and Augsburg 42 at €390 each including 19% German VAT, and they are one watch with two dials. Both are 42 mm, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.75 mm thick, 50 m, on the Laco 2S automatic, with a Sellita-based Laco 31 for €55 more.
Checked 20 September 2026 · list prices on the maker's site that day unless marked street
Laco sells from laco.de in euros with 19% German VAT included, and lists no US price; €390 was the regular price of both Pilot Watch Basic 42 mm models on 20 September 2026, and nothing on this page is converted. The two rows differ in one field. The Aachen carries a Type B dial, an outer minute track with a small hour ring inside; the Augsburg carries a Type A, hours on the outer track. Every other figure is identical, and so is the price.
What the sheets settle: a matte steel case, 20 mm lugs, sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating as a €50 option, Super-LumiNova C3, and the Laco 2S automatic, which the data for the Augsburg records as a Miyota 821A base though Laco's page says only Laco 2S. The Laco 31, on a Sellita base, is the €55 upgrade on either. The number to read twice is 50 m. Islander's Aviator 42 and San Martin's bronze pilot are rated 100 m for less money; the Laco is the one with sapphire and the German price, and it is not the one for the pool.
Read the table as one case and two dials. Both rows are 42 mm, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.75 mm thick, 50 m, automatic, €390. The Aachen is the Type B; the Augsburg is the Type A. Choose by which dial you can read faster, because there is nothing else to choose.
The Type B Laco at €390 including VAT, reference 861690.2: an outer minute track with a small hour ring inside, on a 42 mm matte steel case, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.75 mm thick, 50 m, 20 mm lugs, sapphire (the anti-reflective coating is €50 extra), Super-LumiNova C3, Laco 2S automatic. The Augsburg is the same watch to the millimetre with a Type A dial at the same €390, so the choice between them is legibility alone. Islander's Aviator 42 Type B is $249 on a Seiko NH36 at 48 mm lug to lug and 100 m. The Laco is the one with sapphire at the German price; 50 m is the trade.
The Type A Laco at €390, reference 861688.2: hours on the outer track, the plainer of the two dials, and otherwise the Aachen to the millimetre, 42 mm, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.75 mm thick, 50 m, 20 mm lugs, sapphire with AR at €50 extra, C3 lume, matte steel. RZE's Resolute Type A at $499 is the titanium alternative on a Miyota 82S0, 39.5 mm, 46 mm lug to lug, 100 m; San Martin's bronze pilot is $188.30 at 50 mm lug to lug on an NH35, 100 m. Both rivals are rated 50 m deeper; the Laco is the steel flieger at the euro price.
Laco is for the buyer who wants the flieger dial from a German maker at €390 with a sapphire crystal, on a wrist of 7 inches or more, since 50 mm lug to lug at 42 mm is the full size and Laco's Basic line is not offered smaller in this data. Look elsewhere if the wrist is under 7 inches, since RZE's Resolute Type A is 46 mm lug to lug at 39.5 mm for $499; if the watch will swim, since 50 m is the rating and Islander's Aviator 42 at $249, San Martin's bronze pilot at $188.30 and the RZE are all 100 m; or if you want a Swiss movement as standard rather than a €55 option, since Sinn's 556 I is a Sellita SW200-1 at 200 m for $1,840 and Farer's Barnwell is an SW300-1 in titanium at 43 mm lug to lug for $1,525.
Where it sits against the field
Among the pilot watches on this site the Laco pair at €390 sits above Islander's Aviator 42 ($249, Seiko NH36, 48 mm lug to lug, 12 mm, 100 m) and San Martin's bronze pilot ($188.30, NH35, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.3 mm, 100 m), and below RZE's Resolute Type A ($499, titanium, 46 mm lug to lug, 100 m) and Lorier's Merlin ($549, 37 mm, 45 mm lug to lug, sold out). The Laco is the only one of the five priced in euros and the only one rated 50 m; it is 0.25 mm thinner than the Islander and 0.45 mm thicker than the San Martin. Above €390 the next pilot watch with a published spec sheet is Farer's Barnwell at $1,525, and the German comparison is Sinn's 556 I at $1,840, which publishes 200 m and no lug to lug.
Questions people ask
Where are Laco watches made?
Laco sells from laco.de with 19% German VAT in the price. The product pages checked for this guide list the movement as Laco 2S, with the Laco 31 on a Sellita base as a €55 option, and do not state where the case is made or the watch assembled; this page does not borrow a figure the maker has not published on those pages.
Laco Aachen vs Augsburg: what is the difference?
The dial, and nothing else. The Aachen 42 (ref 861690.2) has a Type B dial, an outer minute track with a small hour ring inside; the Augsburg 42 (ref 861688.2) has a Type A dial with hours on the outer track. Both are 42 mm, 50 mm lug to lug, 11.75 mm thick, 50 m, on the Laco 2S automatic, at €390 including VAT.
Is the Laco Aachen 42 water resistant enough to swim in?
It is rated 50 m, the lowest rating on any pilot watch on this site, and this page does not recommend swimming in a 50 m watch. Islander's Aviator 42 ($249), San Martin's bronze pilot ($188.30) and RZE's Resolute Type A ($499) are rated 100 m; Sinn's 556 I is 200 m at $1,840. The Laco's case is the trade for its sapphire and its price.
