2011 Laco Special Edition Project - GENERAL DISCUSSION

30845 Views 155 Replies 33 Participants Last post by Uwe W., Jan 5, 2012

Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · Apr 11, 2011 (Edited)

This thread is ONLY for comments that pertain to the Special Edition Project but don't fit into any of the other existing threads in this sub-forum.

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Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 11, 2011

Hi everyone! :-!

I would like to start off by welcoming everyone to the 2011 Special Edition Laco Project with a reminder that above all, this is meant to be a fun experience for all participants. As always, all forum rules apply here and I'd like to ask that we all respect that this is an Official Forum for Laco.

The structure of this project is very simple. We will design our own Laco watch using the appropriate threads to discuss, design and then vote on each of the required design elements.

To make my job easier, I please ask that you make sure to post your comments in an appropriate thread. I'd like to keep this project nicely organized so that anyone joining later on can easily follow what has been going on and get up to speed quickly. Comments placed in the wrong threads will be automatically moved without any further warning or explanation.

There are a couple of things that we should decide upon before we roll up our sleeves and dive into this project. I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on who they feel should be eligible to participate. Obviously this project is open to all WUS members, but do we leave the floor open to everyone and anyone who visits this sub-forum, or should they be a registered participant first - or even committed to paying the purchase price of the watch?

With a limited run of only 50 watches, do we design it democratically with whoever wants to participate and then see who is willing to buy it - or do we see who is serious about buying one and then let those people design it?

I will create new design threads as they are needed. The first one has already been opened for the the project's theme and name. Before we dive into figuring out a dial and hands, we should decide what this project should be about.

Subsequent threads will include one for the case, the dial, the hands, and engraving.

Let the games begin! :-!

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fachiro1

· #3 · Apr 11, 2011

The se should be a watxh that Laco has yet to make, and that is a 47mm buhr type b with handwinding movement, laco case/lug design, 15-18mm case thickness, 24mm lugs, solid case back, old style strap, domed saphire glass...large onion crown on extended stem like the 55mm.

Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 11, 2011

fachiro1 said:
The se should be a watxh that Laco has yet to make, and that is a 47mm buhr type b with handwinding movement, laco case/lug design, 15-18mm case thickness, 24mm lugs, solid case back, old style strap, domed saphire glass...large onion crown on extended stem like the 55mm.

As described in the OVERVIEW thread, the scope of this project limits us to using an existing Laco case. With a run of only 50 units, having a custom 47 mm case would cost prohibitive. Also, the movement has already been decided: a NOS (I believe) Durowe handwinding movement, which I think is from the early '60s? More specs and photos will be forthcoming.

xlf

· #5 · Apr 11, 2011

I am sure most WIS, wanna know the range of the special edition of laco cost?

Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 11, 2011

xlf said:
I am sure most WIS, wanna know the range of the special edition of laco cost?

That's being discussed at Laco right now. I hope that they'll be able to provide us a base price - a minimum cost given what we already know. Of course the final price can vary greatly if the design becomes elaborate, but I agree that it's difficult to say you're interested without having some idea of the potential costs.

Precise

· #7 · Apr 12, 2011 (Edited)

What I would like to see:

Titanium case (lighter weight is more wearable)

Thinner the better - 11mm if possible.

Diameter in the range of 44 to 47mm

Flat crystal, preferably AR coated. (domed crystals reflect too much light)

Brown leather (definitely not a deployment clasp because they don't work on my wrist size)

Hand wind is acceptable, but I love quartz. Yes quartz!

Superb Lume but only lume the hands and the five minute stripes (nothing else)

Hands fatter than most b uhr watches with parallel sides (for a modern touch and more readable)

Sweep second hand - a different color (red?, orange?)

No date window

White hands and numerals on jet black dial
- But consider yellow hands and printing too - Different, yet highly readable

I like both type "A" and type "B", but if type "B" increase the diameter of the hour-ring slightly by narrowing the five-minute stripes and pushing the minute numerals outward.

Better yet, a modern design with b uhr roots. Type "B" with minute numerals (5, 10, 20, 25, 35, 40, 50, 55) (no 15, 30 or 45), and hour numerals (3, 6, 9, 12). This would be cleaner and more readable than the classic type "B", which tends to be too busy.

Plain bezel (no frills)

Alan

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Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 12, 2011

Precise said:
What I would like to see

Hi Alan. It's great that you have such a concise and well though out wish list. However, please read the OVERVIEW sticky at the top of this forum. The case must come from stock and the movement has already been decided. Also, project watches need to be designed step by step, the first of which is to determine a theme for this watch. If everyone just presents their 'list' of wants we would never get anywhere; I think you'd find that no two lists would be identical.

Janne

· #9 · Apr 12, 2011

Precise, I hope you do not angry at me, but your list reminds me of some "b-uhrs" you can find on Ebay....

Precise

· #10 · Apr 13, 2011

Janne said:
Precise, I hope you do not angry at me, but your list reminds me of some "b-uhrs" you can find on Ebay....

Hi Janne,

No, I'm not in the least angry. But seriously, send me a few links to those watches. Not because I necessarily want to buy them (though I might) but primarily to see what they look like. Perhaps after seeing them I'll change my list.

Alan

Precise

· #11 · Apr 13, 2011

Uwe W. said:
The case must come from stock and the movement has already been decided.

Hi Uwe,

I like stock Laco cases. I'd just pick one in the range I've given in my list. With regard to the movement, I'm not sure why it's been decided, but I thought Laco sometimes uses quartz. Whatever they pick, I'm still interested. With regard to the theme, some of the things I've listed may make the pilot theme more appealing.

Yes, I'm sure that tastes differ. I'd be most interested in reading what others want.

Best,

Alan

Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 13, 2011

Precise said:
I like stock Laco cases. I'd just pick one in the range I've given in my list. With regard to the movement, I'm not sure why it's been decided, but I thought Laco sometimes uses quartz. Whatever they pick, I'm still interested. With regard to the theme, some of the things I've listed may make the pilot theme more appealing.

Alan, the movement was selected because of its manufacturer's history with Laco. Please visit the THEME thread, which is were all the discussion is happening at the minute.

Uwe W.

Discussion Starter · #13 · Apr 13, 2011

REGISTRATION List

As everyone has no doubt already noticed, I haven't started to build the Registration List yet. The reason for this is that too many people have 'qualified' their participation based on certain design elements. What I propose to do is this: allow everyone and anyone to vote in the THEME thread, then go back through the Registration thread and only add names to the list that don't have any restrictions on their participation, or if they do, only if the outcome of the THEME vote satisfies their caveats.

Like everything else in this project, this is open to discussion if someone feels it should be done differently. Remember, my role here is only to manage the project, not dictate it. I welcome all comments on the logistics of this project; however, in the absence of contrary opinions I will proceed based on my experiences with other projects.

vipereaper30

· #14 · Apr 18, 2011

When I look at the pictures that have been posted of some of the historical pieces in the theme thread, I haven't seen any cases that have tiny movements inside. While I much prefer a larger case to a smaller case, is there any problem with putting a small movement into a big case (sts)? I envision the thing coming loose and rattling around in there or the winding mechanism breaking or something...

brainless

· #15 · Apr 18, 2011

No,

there is no technically based reason not to use a tiny movement in a gigantic case - only aesthetically points.
It's like putting a Beetle engine into a Viper: it works......but nothing more, :roll:

Volker ;-)

bin31z

· #16 · Apr 18, 2011

Really??? Quartz??? Really??

Janne

· #17 · Apr 18, 2011

No, friend, a movement that is mechanical, has 17 J, and automatic winding module...

lukeaar

· #18 · Apr 19, 2011

I would like to bring up the topic of the voting procedure for a theme.

Many ideas have been presented in the appropriate thread, and I personally think it wouldn't be difficult to narrow the long list of ideas down to a shortlist of, say, four choices. Keeping this in mind, and seeing as Uwe wants to start voting on Friday (I think that's what was said), the following is my proposal for the voting procedure, with timeline:

Wednesday: Last day for discussion/presenting of new ideas/themes
Thursday: Topic review, culminating in the agreement of a 'shortlist' of ideas to vote on. I propose this be four ideas, but from the look of the general feelings of MOST that have been active in this project so far, we may decide to only vote on two.
Friday: Poll opens and runs for one week only, with people allowed to vote only once (I feel that being allowed to vote on multiple choices is a bad idea for various reasons. If you like two ideas, vote for the only you like best, and if the other gets through then you're still happy!)

If the pole happens to end with a really close result, there are a few options:
1. The idea with the most votes, even if it only ended with one more vote, wins
2. Uwe decides
3a. A second vote with only the top competeing ideas from the first poll available (this, of course, would not be an option if the initial poll ended up having only two options to begin with). If this option was decided on, I think it running for a week would be a waste of time. Only run it for the weekend immediately proceeding the original vote.
3b. As above, but restrict the vote to those who have been most active in the project so far, and are more likely to understand the merits of the competing ideas and be most likely to play an active role in the whole development process (I think this idea may not be popular to a lot of people who prefer to read rather than write but who are still following the project very closely).
4. Laco decides (but this may feel to some, including me, to be contrary to the whole point of this exercise.)

Anyone have any other ideas?

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bin31z

· #19 · Apr 19, 2011

No, I was referring to Precise, who kept asking for a quartz movement watch...why would we want to do a special forum watch with a quartz movement????

Janne said:
No, friend, a movement that is mechanical, has 17 J, and automatic winding module...

vipereaper30

· #20 · Apr 19, 2011

I like what you have outlined with a couple of exceptions. If there are more than 2 options and the top two vote receivers are even somewhat close, have another quick round with just those two options. Also, only defer to Uwe (or Laco) in the event of an even 50/50 split which I think we may narrowly avoid!

I couldn't agree more with the voting timeline, 1 week sounds like a LONG time. Are we close to being done yet??? :-d

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