As a watch enthusiast, I feel little tickles of joy whenever I see a brand create tough-as-shit tool watches for professionals. I like it because it means there are people out there who still care about the idea of tracking time using wristworn analog tools instead of digital ones. This means we are not alone in giving so much meaning to old-school time measuring instruments which means there is a whole community out there that invests in keeping certain things done in certain ways so that we are able to preserve our unique ways of living life and of interacting with time. Being who we are, we hope that analog watches will last forever and that our community of right-minded (um…like-minded) folks will have many more opportunities to measure the passing of time using metal-based machines that come with little hands, little crowns, and things we can turn clockwise and/or counter-clockwise. 

I’m coming to think that Mainspring is not only a repository of extra-long watch reviews but also of human stories and of a certain philosophy of life. But I digress. 

Let’s begin our talk about today’s protagonist, the Atacama.3 MB from German brand Laco, a historical watchmaker we are now quite familiar with as we’ve studied the Kiel.2 Blau, Hamburg GMT DIN 8330, and Sports “Scorpion” Atlantik 39 DLC. Three indeed robust, unique, and complete tool watches that are perfectly adapted to whatever professionals do which I don’t, and which are over-engineered for the things which I do do—writing articles, photographing watches, and running errands. The Atacama is part of the brand’s Squad Watches collection designed and spec’ed out for firefighters, law enforcement officers, and military personnel, as well as for daring adventurers and explorers. Or, again, folks like me. As we will see, everything about the Atacama.3 MB (Metal Bracelet) is purpose driven to the utmost meaning of the expression, and the beast will set you back $1,450 USD as spec’d out here. 

Specifications 

If I’m correct, we can configure any of Laco’s models and that is true of the Atacama.3 MB. We can choose different grades of movements, to have anti-reflective treatment underneath the crystal or not, to engrave the case-back or not, and which fastening system to have the watch shipped on. The aforementioned $1,450 USD is for the Elaboré Laco 200 caliber (based on a Sellita SW200-1) which beats at 4Hz and comes with 38 hours of power reserve, without AR coating, and on the three-link DLC coated bracelet that comes with quick-release spring-bars, a double-pusher deployant clasp with safety latch, and pins and collars to hold the links together. The latter two elements will either appear old-school and/or annoying to you but make a whole lot of sense on a professional-oriented tool watch. The bracelet or strap attaches to a long and wide swivelling end-link that has a 22mm lug width, so that you can attach whatever you want to the Atacama.3 MB. 

Surprisingly perhaps for a professional-oriented tool watch is the presence of a see-through sapphire case-back which makes it possible for us to admire the caliber within during a break on deployment, something which I’ve enjoyed doing quite a lot as the movement appears to be massive and majestic sitting at the bottom of a bulbous case-back and cone-shaped case. (More on that later.) The particular shape of the case makes the 46mm diameter of the watch (at the bezel) rather easy to wear, even on my 6.50”/16.5cm wrist, and the swivelling end-links transform the 63mm lug-to-lug into an effective 50mm ish L2L. Luckily for the Atacama.3 MB and my wrist, the watch only measures 12mm in height even though it doesn’t look like it again because of the…conical case-shape. Think about this for a moment: the case shoots out from the wrist so that the skin wraps around it when wiggling it around, and the precise 60-click unidirectional bezel is easy to spin. 

The other advantage of the swiveling end-links is that they perfectly integrate the crown located at the twelve, placed there to stay clear of our porous multi-layered outer shell. The crown screws-down, and together with the screwed-down case-back, the Atacama.3 MB boasts an impressive 500 meters of water resistance. There ain’t much water in the earthly location this collection is named after (one of my all-time favorite places on earth,) but you will know this watch makes for the perfect underwater companion for you the recreational diver and for you as well, the navy diver. Whatever you end up doing wearing the Atacama.3 MB, you can do it with ease during the day or night, as the hands, printed markers, and inverted triangle on the bezel are lumed, with a mix of green-glowing and orange dyed C3 SuperLuminova. Lastly, and that goes without saying, obviously the case is also DLC coated so that it is better protected against shocks, scratches, tarnishing, sand, water, and life. 

Design

The professional-oriented nature of the Laco Atacama.3 MB is mechanically and visually self-evident, and part of the way it was technically conceived spills over how it was designed. The best example of this is the conical shaped case which permits the massive watch to be comfortable to wear as well as to be aesthetically unique. From the bottom, the case-back, a continuous line runs at an angle and encompasses the tall mid-case which ends with a discreet shoulder, on top of which the bezel sits, the latter being also composed of a shoulder on which we find a tight X-hatched knurling pattern which guarantees that the bezel is indeed easy to grab and operate. (This particular design of knurling also endows the Atacama.3 MB with a military aspect.) (Note to the two protruding pieces of metal above the end-links and below the bezel which appear like steel anchors. Just pointing it out.) In other words, the case is massive but cleverly designed to appear more visually nimble. 

Whilst the bracelet is a pretty standard three-link affair, its DLC coating and sportive link design works well with the case and badass horological nature of the Atacama.3 MB, so does the radially brushed and fully graduated bezel insert on which the five-minute increments are indicated by tall and narrow Arabic numerals. It is therefore easy to match the large orange painted minute hand with the markings on the bezel and with the tall minute hash-marks printed on the wide, surelevated and angled rehaut for everyday and tactical purposes. On the latter, the five-minute increments are indicated with thicker and lumed hash-marks, which, together with two additional lines on the dial, form an arrow at the twelve o’clock to aid with navigational orientation. The remainder of the dial is simply designed but darn efficient for fast reading of the time, as the wide-shaped printed numerals and batons make for a perfect legible combination. Note the narrow but readable date aperture nestled at the six. 

The Heart of the Matter

Whenever we go online to shop for any kind of product or item and we stumble upon a “professional” version of said product or item, it generally costs more than its standard version. That is because, allegedly, what is for the pros is irrevocably better made* (sadly) than what is for the common mortal, and therefore we need to dish out more cash to get it. But when it comes to professional-grade mechanical timepieces, as long as we look outside of the (mainly) Swiss and Japanese mainstream luxury brands, we can find high-quality and unique watches for a reasonable amount of money. Indeed, I will claim that $1,450 USD for a Laco Atacama.3 MB is reasonable on account of what it is made out of, how it looks, and how everything about it was custom-engineered and made by Laco to make it so. Understand that it isn’t necessary for a professional grade tool watch to have the latest and greatest in terms of caliber, but that the whole must be thoughtfully engineered, well manufactured, and robustly put together. And that’s what we find here today. 

*Wouldn’t it be nice if all products we need to buy were well made so that we don’t have to replace them constantly? I’m thinking of creating a consumer product review website. 

Conclusion

The more I read about Laco and the more of its horological creations I review, the bigger of a fan I’m becoming. Ever since the World Wars, the brand has been committed to making outstanding tool watches for those who need them, regardless of historical events, political climates, professions, and our personal definitions of weekend adventures, and that goes a long way in endowing the brand with credibility and expertise which shows in how it designs and makes its watches. Each Laco model is more unique and better manufactured than the previous one, and the fact that the Atacama collection is now in its third iteration in 2025 shows again Laco’s commitment to making some of the best tool watches out there. So you can learn more about the Atacama.3 MB we reviewed today here and about the brand here. 

Thanks for reading.