Laco Uhrenmanufaktur GmbH (or Lacher & Co) is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
watch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
manufacturer, founded in 1925 in
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel under the name Lacher & Co.
History
The company name derives from the surname Lacher and the abbreviation Co. At the company’s time of establishment in the mid 1920s, many other watch manufacturers in
Pforzheim
Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany.
It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...
used almost exclusively Swiss
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
. These movements were delivered either completely or in parts. Factory workers in the companies assembled the individual parts. In this way, they could save the customs duties.
Although the company had started successfully, after several years, the founders decided to go their separate ways. Hummel (*26 July 1889) stayed in the original company, the watch factory Laco, whereas Frieda Lacher joined the precision parts production for
wristwatches
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
. In 1936, Erich Lacher, Frieda Lacher’s son, had joined her business branch and finally assumed the management. For this reason, the company was renamed Erich Lacher Uhrenfabrik. Again, the firm started producing complete watches.
In 1933, Hummel founded the company Durowe (Deutsche Uhren Roh Werke), also located in Pforzheim. This factory became a world-class brand and through the sister company Lacher & Co. it developed into Pforzheim’s most popular watch producer. Like other watch manufacturers in Pforzheim, Hummel aimed at being independent from Swiss producers and at creating his own line of watches. As the wristwatch demand was slow to take off in Germany and as many factories in Pforzheim still needed raw movements from Switzerland, Hummel’s plans were difficult to implement.
Nevertheless, the company continued to grow until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The number of produced movements per month increased from 20,000 to 30,000. Even during the war, Laco manufactured movements and watches. There was a particular strong demand for pilot watches. The watch models were equipped with 22-line pallet bridge movements of Durowe and they were adjusted through a chronometer with high accuracy.
Durowe didn’t supply Laco exclusively with raw movements, but also other watch manufacturers. Soon, the product portfolio included a broad range of high quality mechanisms for wristwatches. Two round mechanisms – 8 ¾ (cal. 318) and 10 ½ (cal. 410) – as well as three non-round movements – 5 ¼ (cal. 50), 7 ¾ x 11 (cal. 275) and 10 ½ – were produced. An additional “F” for „Formwerk“ distinguished them. All of these models were pallet anchor mechanisms with clutch winds – an exception at these times. Cylinder anchor and pin pallet fork mechanisms were still favoured, but full pallet fork mechanisms tended to feature ratchet winds, whose quality and
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
were considered to be matured.
Due to allied air raids, almost all factories were destroyed and more than 80% of Pforzheim was destroyed. Rebuilding progressed rapidly. In 1949, Laco and its sister company were put into operation again. By means of the
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
, Hummel built a 5-storey factory for Laco-
Durowe
STOWA is a German luxury watchmaker founded by Walter Storz in 1927 and is based in Engelsbrand, Germany. The name is a portmanteau of the founder's name, Storz Walter. From 1996 until 2021, STOWA was by Jörg Schauer, who also owns the Schauer ...
, which was later extended. In the mid 1950s, 1,400 people worked there. The raw movement production rose to 80,000 per month.
The manual winding and also the automatic movements – manufactured since 1952 – contributed to Laco’s strong upturn. Durowe supplied watchmakers with an increasing number of reliable and high quality movements.
Production in Pforzheim
The model Laco Sport included the first automatic movement of
Durowe
STOWA is a German luxury watchmaker founded by Walter Storz in 1927 and is based in Engelsbrand, Germany. The name is a portmanteau of the founder's name, Storz Walter. From 1996 until 2021, STOWA was by Jörg Schauer, who also owns the Schauer ...
, produced since 1952: the Duromat – 11 ½ lines (cal. 552). This movement with 18,000 half oscillations and two line rotors was based on 422 cal. In 1957, the Laco
chronometer
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...
with manual wind 630 (13 lines) was developed. Thereby, Laco aimed to repeat the original pilot watches’ success. It is unknown, how many Laco chronometers were produced.
Laco worldwide
Eventually, Laco-Durowe was sold to the U.S. Time Corporation (
Timex). On February 1, 1959, due to a drop of sales, Hummel sold the company to the American watch manufacturer. Timex was particularly interested in Laco-Durowe’s progresses regarding the possibilities of electric and electronic watches. The Laco-electric, the first electric German watch that functioned reliably, entered the market in 1961. Helmut Epperlein’s attempt in 1958 to bring the first electric watch on the market failed because of design mistakes. On September 1, 1965, after 6 1/2 years of ownership, Timex sold Laco-Durowe to the Swiss company Ebauches S.A.. Lacher & Co. retained its company name. The new Swiss owners wanted Durowe to produce exclusively mechanical movements for ladies’ and men’s watches. Through the German company, the Swiss company got easy access to the markets of the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
(EEC), which (since 2009) has been incorporated into the larger, more integrated
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Durowe remained a dominating manufacturer for another decade - in 1974, a total of 550,000 movements were produced. But as a result of the Japanese quartz revolution, Laco-Durowe, once a powerful group, fell into oblivion.
Development since the 1980s
In the 1980s, the name Laco has been relaunched. Over the past decades, Erich Lacher Uhrenfabrik has been surviving as a small sister company. On 8 September 1988, executive manager Horst Günther acquired Laco’s name and logo rights. In this way, the company was able to fabricate a modern product range of high quality Laco watches. Most of these watches are still mechanical ones today, but function with Swiss and Japanese movements. Andreas Günther managed the company in the sixth generation.
To celebrate 75 years of the watch factory, Lacher reissued 75 of its legendary 40s-pilot-watches. 80% of the used components have been replicated from the original model. All the other components, especially the pinions and the wheel plate for the indirectly powered central second pointer, were produced in restricted amounts. The 75 limited edition watches were sold for 7,500 DM each.
As this jubilee edition was a great success, the company decided at the beginning of 2003 to launch a new series of Laco pilot watches. Five new models were available exclusively. They include artful and mechanical movements with
Geneva Stripes and dyed blue screws.
New start with new owners
For a while, Laco sailed through troubled waters and had to go into insolvency on 30 June 2009. Intensive negotiations with various companies took place. The Kienzle AG has turned out to be an unfavourable partner: For a short period of time, Laco was found under the umbrella of Kienzle Lacher Uhrenmanufaktur GmbH, but
Kienzle soon went into liquidation. In spring 2010, Laco already resumed business with eight employees and has turned to its original roots: The focus should be on handcraft rather than on industry. Under new management, the pilot watches were enhanced further. Since 2010, Laco has successfully launched two dozen of new models.
Historical link to B-Watches (B-Uhren watches)
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, B-Watches (B for the German ''Beobachtung'' with the meaning of "observation"; in German Beobachtungsuhren, B-Uhren or B-Uhr) were produced – also known as observation watches, navigator’s watches,
pilot watches or Flieger watch. Five manufacturers produced B-Watches for the German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
:
*
Lange & Söhne
* Laco (Lacher & Co)
*
Stowa
STOWA is a German luxury watchmaker founded by Walter Storz in 1927 and is based in Engelsbrand, Germany. The name is a portmanteau of the founder's name, Storz Walter. From 1996 until 2021, STOWA was by Jörg Schauer, who also owns the Schauer ...
(Walter Storz)
*
Wempe (Chronometerwerke Hamburg)
*
IWC
These watches included high-class pocket watch
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
:
* Lange & Söhne: Cal. 48/1
* Laco: Durowe cal. D 5
* Stowa: Unitas cal. 2812
* Wempe: Thommen cal. 310
* IWC: Cal. 52 SC (SC = seconde central)
The Imperial Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium – RLM) defined the specifications of these watches. On the basis of these specifications, the watches had the following features in common:
* Case diameter of 55 mm
* Engraving with FL 23883 on the case’s back and left side (FL = flight, 23 = navigation, 883 = specification by the German Research Institute for Aviation (Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt))
* Large crowns, in order to be able to operate with a pair of gloves
* Hacking movement (by pulling the crown, the second hand stops / important for a precise time setting)
* Breguet
balance wheel
A balance wheel, or balance, is the timekeeping device used in mechanical watches and small clocks, analogous to the pendulum in a pendulum clock. It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a ...
* Regulated and tested as
chronometer
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...
s
* Leather strap (for easy attachment on a flight jacket’s sleeve)
See also
*
List of watch manufacturers
Watchmakers
This list is a duplicate of :Watchmakers, which will likely be more up-to-date and complete. Manufacturers that are named after the founder are sorted by surname. Names in this list require an article about the watch brand or watchma ...
*
List of German watch manufacturers
This is a list of watch manufacturers based in Germany. Note that manufacturers that are named after the founder are sorted by surname
Entries with an article should also be suitable for inclusion in :Watch manufacturing companies of Germany. Ent ...
*''
Manufacture d'horlogerie
(meaning "watchmaking manufacturer") is a French language term of horology that has also been adopted in the English language as a loanword. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form ''manufacture''. This term is used wh ...
''
Literature
* Michael Brückner: ''Auf SpUHRENsuche. Zu Besuch in innovativen Manufakturen und Ateliers.'' 1. Auflage. Pro Business, Berlin 2010, .
* Fritz von Osterhausen: ''Callweys Uhrenlexikon.'' Callwey, München 1999, .
* Wolfgang Pieper: ''Geschichte der Pforzheimer Uhrenindustrie.'' Verlag Dr. Klaus Piepenstock, Baden-Baden 1992,
* Konrad Knirim: ''Militäruhren. Die Uhren der deutschen Streitkräfte 1870 bis 1990.'' Verlag Peter Pomp, Bottrop 1998, .
* Konrad Knirim: ''Militäruhren. 150 Jahre Zeitmessung beim deutschen Militär.'' Verlag Peter Pomp, Bottrop 2002, .
* Helmut Kahlert, Richard Mühe, Gisbert L. Brunner: ''Armbanduhren. 100 Jahre Entwicklungsgeschichte.'' 4. Auflage. Callwey, München 1990, .
References
External links
*
The history of LacoGerman watch manufacture
Watch manufacturing companies of Germany
Watch brands
Companies based in Baden-Württemberg
Manufacturing companies established in 1925
1925 establishments in Germany
Privately held companies of Germany
German brands
{{Commons category, Laco