The company Lacher & Co. the name Laco deriving from the first syllables - was founded by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel in Pforzheim in the middle of the 1920s. At this time, Pforzheim's many watch manufacturers used to fit their casings almost exclusively with Swiss mechanisms, either delivered complete, or as individual parts –a considerable saving in customs duties–which could then be finished and reassembled by the factories themselves.
Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel's young business made a successful start, yet after a few years the founders were to go their separate ways. Hummel continued to manage the greater part of the original company, the Laco watch-making factory, while Frieda Lacher branched off into the production of precision parts for wristwatches, such as wheels and pinions. Later, under the direction of her son Erich Lacher, Frieda's branch was to start producing complete watches again. Erich Lacher entered the firm in 1936, which was then renamed the "Erich Lacher Uhrenfabrik".
In the year 2000 LACO manufactured 75 limited pilot watches with 55 mm case diameter just lieje the original LACO pilot watches from the 1940s. LACO even used the original DUROWE D5 movement consisting 80 % of original parts. These watches were sold for Euro 3.720.- to collectors all over the world. It was the beginning of the LACO pilot watches collection with original case and dial design but with contemporary Swiss movements. |
