Polar Express - 2 New Fliegers from Laco

These two new white-dialed fliegers just dropped from the nice folks at Laco -

Courtesy of Laco

The Augsburg (above) is a time only model. Beautiful in its simplicity, let's be honest - we all want this watch, I know that I certainly do!

But then again, there are those of you out there who want something more subtly military-ish, and not to worry, Laco has you covered!

Courtesy of Laco

Competitively priced at $540.00 US.

Here are the pertinents -

For the Augsburg:

Movement:

automatic movement Laco 2S   
basic movement Miyota 82S0
second hand stop

Case:

stainless steel case, sapphire crystal

Dial:

white, numbers with Superluminova C3 Blue Line, blue shimmering indexes

Hands:

thermal thermal blued hands, filled with luminous material Superluminova C3 Blue Line

Strap:

Brown leather strap with rivets

Please note: the used vintage leather makes every watch strap unique. Being a product of nature, it can present itself with color and structure variations.

Box:

grey gift watch box with zipper

Diameter:

39,0 mm

Height::

11,55 mm

Lug width:

18,0 mm

Lug to lug:

46,5 mm

Waterproof:

up to 5 ATM

Weight:

75 g (incl. strap)

Arm circumference:

15 - 20 cm

For the Aachen:

Movement:

automatic movement Laco 2S   
basic movement Miyota 82S0
second hand stop

Case:

stainless steel case, flat sapphire crystal

Dial:

white, numbers with Superluminova C3 Blue Line, blue shimmering indexes

Hands:

Thermal blued hands, filled with luminous material Superluminova C3 Blue Line

Strap:

Brown leather strap with rivets

Please note: the used vintage leather makes every watch strap unique. Being a product of nature, it can present itself with color and structure variations.

Box:

grey gift watch box with zipper

Diameter:

39,0 mm

Height::

11,55 mm

Lug width:

18,0 mm

Lug to lug:

46,5 mm

Waterproof:

up to 5 ATM

Weight:

75 g (incl. strap)

Arm circumference:

15 - 20 cm

The Augsburg Polar 42 and Aachen Polar 42

From Laco -

Courtesy of Laco

Laco announced the release of these two new white dialed fliegers yesterday.  Above is the Augsburg Polar 42.  It is equipped with either a Laco 25 or Laco 31 movement. I did try a quick dive (very quick, didn't even get my fingers damp) to try and ascertain just what exactly these movements were. So apologies in advance, but there we are.

Below is the Aachen Polar 42 -

Courtesy of Laco

Limited to 250 pieces of each version, these "Polar Pilots" are priced at:

€ 440,00

An Early Preview of the Raketa “Polar” 0270

So an important note, I work as an independent consultant to Raketa in North America.  Therefore tis is not a review, but rather a preview.  Raketa did not pay for this content.

The folks in Saint Petersburg have sent a pre-release sample to be reviewed by the press here in North America.  As I am "connected" to Raketa, I am only going to supply some of my own (not-so-sexy) images and the specs.  But rest assured, this sample piece is making the rounds and you will be able to read first-hand reviews shortly.

Movement

Calibre

2623

Functions

Manual winding 24 hours

Number of jewels

16

Testing positions

4

Average rate (s/d)

-10+20

Average running time (h)

42

Frequency/hour

18.000 / 2.5Hz

Case

Material

Stainless steel

Size

35 mm

Front glass

Organic

Water resistance

Water-resistant

Hands

Superluminova

Dial

Sunray Superluminova

Brand

Raketa

Gender

Unisex

Strap

Material

Genuine leather + additional textile strap included with watch

Width

18 mm

Raketa “Polar” 0270

Reference: W-09-11-10-0270

€1.400 €1.120

The full retail will be 1,400 Euros, those who pre-order can get a discounted price of 1,220 Euros.

More information can be found here -

https://raketa.com/w/en/product/raketa-poljarnye-0270#tab-fields/

A Blast from the Arctic Past - The Polar 0270

From Raketa -

Courtesy of Raketa

Full disclosure, I currently do some freelance consulting work for Raketa here in North America.  This mostly has to do with marketing and communication.  Now that that's out of the way, onto the post -

This is a new limited edition "re-edition" that Raketa has been quietly working on.    It is currently in "pre-order" status and is anticipated to begin delivery in February of next year - roughly 2 months from now!

Courtesy of Raketa

It has been 50 years since the Polar was released, and this year Raketa has dipped into its archives from the Soviet era and brought the original back to life.

Courtesy of Raketa

The first Polar was what could really be called a tool watch.  Antartica is an unusual place.  Not just in terms of temperature.  Antarctica has two very distinct seasons in terms of daylight and night time.  It enjoys six months of daylight in its summer "season" and six months of darkness in the winter. These two seasons of light and dark are created by the tilt of the Earth's axis in relation to the sun.  And this created a challenge for the Raketa designers.  They had to create a watch that could provide the time in a 24 hour scale so that the explorers could know if it was day or night.

Courtesy of Raketa

This re-edition is true to the original in design, but it is important to understand that this is a modern watch.  This is a truly unique piece and I realize that it might not be for everyone.  And as I write this I realize that I am biased in my opinion, but I quite like it.  I am someone who loves old designs, but hates "old performance".  Antique watches are great, but they are also a monumental pain in the ass to not only restore, but keep running correctly. So for me, this is the ideal marriage of looks and performance.

The design might be "polarizing" (sorry, couldn't help myself), but something tells me that Raketa will not have too much difficulty in selling all 200 pieces.  

Courtesy of Raketa

Here are the pertinents -

Manufacture

Manufacture

Raketa Watch Factory (Saint-Petersburg)

Brand

Raketa

Movement

Calibre

2623

Functions

Manual winding 24 hours

Number of jewels

16

Testing positions

4

Average rate (s/d)

-10+20

Average running time (h)

42

Frequency/hour

18.000 / 2.5Hz

Case

Material

Stainless steel

Size

35 mm

Front glass

Organic

Water resistance

3 ATM

Hands

Superluminova

Dial

Sunray Superluminova

Brand

Raketa

Gender

Unisex

Strap

Material

Genuine leather + additional textile NATO strap included with watch

Remembering Ice Station Zebra

I know, it is Yuri Gagarin's day today, but I realized that every blogger out there would be rifling through there photo archives for something to write about.
So, I thought about something else from the cold war
that might be of interest - this is Raketa's Polar.
This is one of the new releases from the "new" Raketa.

I got to check it out at Raketa's booth at BaselWorld,
and it immediately reminded me of that classic 1968
movie Ice Station Zebra with Rock Hudson and Ernest Borgnine.



www.raketa.su