Laco Beobachtungsuhr FL 23883 “Baumuster B”

Laco Beobachtungsuhr FL 23883
Baumuster B
Watch-U-Seek Special Edition Project
Author: Bhanu Chopra
WUS Laco Baumuster B special project officially kicked off in April 2008 after the
forum members recognized the need for a Pilots watch with Type “B” sterile dial.
Forum members contributed several hours of personal time to brain storm on type of
movement; design and perfect the dial similar to the original Laco Pilots; design the
caseback and side engraving; and select a crown similar to the original watch.
Much of the credit for this project also goes to Mr. Peter Pfeiffer and Laco for the
numerous communications regarding designs, mock-ups, and finally translating our ideas
exactly into the watch all the while keeping the overall cost of this custom watch
affordable.
While not a replica in true sense of the original Laco Beobachtungsuhr FL 23883, this
watch is a truly unique homage to the original while practical enough for everyday use.
Watch Details:
 Sand blasted 42mm stainless steel case, height 13mm
 Solid case-back engraved "limited edition" with Laco logo and Nr.
 Hand wound modified ETA 2824 (hacking)
 Free-of-inscription-no-date sterile dial, type: Baumuster B
 Lume dots on hour circle and arrow below 12
 An onion crown same as the original
 A domed sapphire crystal
 Superluminova C3 lume
 Engraving "FL23883" on the side of the case
 Lume on: minute numbers 10,20,30,40, and 50, minute markers, dots on hour
circle, arrow, and hands
 White circle around dial
 Standard Pilot strap and extra original Pilot strap
 Cost: 550€
Following is a pictorial essay of entire project:
April 12, 2008: This watch was selected from the Laco catalog which had 42mm
sandblasted case, ETA 2824 movement with date, and a type “B” dial.
After much debate on the type of movement with keeping the production cost low and a
hack feature, Laco suggested a modified 2824 movement converted to manual wind.
This was a great compromise which kept the cost of movement reasonable and provided a
hack feature.
April 22, 2008: This was the first mock up picture provided by Laco.
This had the date window removed but rest of the dial and crown remained the same.
April 22, 2008: This mock-up was done with the lume dots on the inner hour circle.
April 22, 2008: First mock up of the case-back engraving with the limited edition
marking.
April 29, 2008: This mock-up was done with a new crown and lowered arrow below 60
minute marker.
May 5, 2008: This is the mock-up of case-side engraving with FL23883.
May 5, 2008: This is the first attempt to design the dial as close to the original Laco Pilot
dial. The lume is depicted in green applied on alternative minute numbers, minute
markers, hour dots, and arrow. The hour circle was re-drawn thinner.
May 8, 2008: This was the completed mock-up of the watch with updated dial and
original crown.
At first the consensus was that this mock-up will be for final approved production watch.
However, an excellent debate began regarding the current fonts vs. the original Laco
fonts.
May 26, 2008: This is the mock-up with changed fonts. Notice the tick marks on number
1 and 7 are gone.
This is a scan from Laco of the original Pilot watch dial. It was very difficult to copy the
fonts from this dial since the ink appears bleeding which makes the fonts unique. The
most obvious is hour number 7.
Forum member Frank_be did some amazing graphics work to achieve perfection in the
dial as you we see in the next several pictures. This is picture of the original Laco watch
which belongs to WUS forum member and Frank used this picture to re-create the 42mm
dial. Frank also used this as the basis for the “Blue Hands Project.”
May 28, 2008: This mock-up of dial was an attempt to copy the original fonts. It was a
significant improvement but not perfect.
May 29, 2008: This was second attempt to copy the original dial fonts. It was an
improvement with thinner hour circle minus the lume.
May 28, 2008: This was third attempt to copy the original dial fonts. The lume on hour
numbers was removed and only lume on the hour dots was kept.
May 30, 2008: This mock-up came very close to becoming the final production watch.
However, more font perfection was desired to make this as close to an exact copy as
possible.
June 3, 2008: While fonts on the dial were being worked on by forum member Frank_be,
another forum member Bruce suggested correcting the font on the case-side engraving.
The numbers in the engraving is still not same as original.
June 4, 2008: This mock-up was perfect with the correct font for number 8. Thanks
Bruce!
June 17, 2008: Actual picture of the case-side engraving. The case is not sandblasted yet.
June 17, 2008: Picture of case-back engraving. The case-back is not sandblasted yet.
June 26, 2008: This actual picture of the printed dial taken in dark to show the lume. The
dial factory did not reproduce the fonts and distance between the numbers as shown in
the mock-up picture due to problems with converting pixel data to vector data. Frank
then created the vector data file for the print factory.
July 9, 2008: This was the reworked dial sent to dial print factory.
July 24, 2008: Picture of the case-side engraving on the sandblasted case.
August 4, 2008: Picture of the case and crown.
August 4, 2008: Couple of pictures of the crown and case. Laco did an excellent job of
locating the original crown manufacturer and sourcing it from that company.
September 15, 2008: Picture of the printed dial. Due to holidays and dial redesign there
was a slight delay but this looks perfect.
September 15, 2008: Picture of the printed dial under the black light to show the C3
Superluminova lume. Just as the original, this Laco has lume on minute numbers
10,20,30,40, and 50, minute markers, dots on hour circle, and arrow.
September 18, 2008: Picture of the first completed watch. The dial, crown, and case are
just as envisioned. The only thing left for a later date is the addition of blue hands. This
watch was left with the black hands due to time and cost constraints.
September 18, 2008: Picture of the completed case and crown. The sandblasted case
looks great.
September 18, 2008: Picture of the completed case-side engraving. The “faded” look is so
much like the original.
September 25, 2008: Picture of the completed case-back engraving.
Sonderanfertigung: Custom Made
Handaufzug: Handwinding
Saphirglas: Sapphire Crystal
Edelstahl: Stainless Steel
Wasserdicht 50M: Water Resistant 50M
Deutschland: Made in Germany
Packaging details:
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Nice Leather watch case
Watch with Black strap and an Additional Original Leatherstrap in Brown
A Certificate designed for WatchUSeek forum with your watch number and original
signature of Mr. Günther (Laco owner)