Horological Meandering

We’ve seen the Archimede and Laco come and go. The Stowa thus far has been a rock solid pilot example and has set the bar very high. Now, a relative newcomer from Dekla Stuttgart; The Pilot 40. Initial impressions are good. This from a house that manufactures their own dials, (heat blued) hands and cases. The biggest letdown was the tiny imperfections on the case. It’s a new watch, but doesn’t bother me enough to return. It’s highly customizable, this version including bead blasted case , Swiss hand wound movement Flieger engraving on side of case , sterile dial and heat blued hands. Crazy value, costing roughly half of the Stowa. These are initially impressions. More to follow!

I have heard good things about Dekla but have never handled one or seen one in person.  They are tempting and their value proposition is undeniable.  I still think, in my opinion, the Stowa design is a bit more harmonious, the design elements are better integrated and complement each other better.  

The Stowa is the more harmonious , cohesive package overall. Where the Dekla is a bit more raw and unpolished. The other thing I just noticed about the latter is it wears larger than the 40 mm cases size suggests, due to the incredibly thin bezel. Despite that, the lug to lug is extremely manageable and wearable, possibly even being a couple mm shorter than the Stowa (I’ll have to double check this last part)

Appreciate your assessment and thoughts.

A solid contender, especially where value is concerned. The Stowa is more polished, more finished, a couple more modern touches. I’d compare the Dekla to a Laco when it comes to finishing, almost exactly as you’d find one in 1940’s. From 10 feet away, the only thing giving them away is Stowas matte case versus Dekla’s bead blasted

Diamond versus onion crown. Thanks for looking mon ami!

A nice reminder you don’t need to spend a ton to get an awesome watch! 👍🏻

I didn't know about that brand! It was FF for me too: