PEAKLIFE

Maurice Lacroix arrives in India with five iconic watches from the brand with a strong identity and distinctive appeal.

For over 4 decades, Maurice Lacroix has been setting horological benchmarks in its high precision Swiss Manufacture and with the recent entry in  India with its refined Swiss watches made with the same technical know-how and expertise that they’ve honed since 1975. Some of the brand’s key pillars that truly represent what it stands for today include the Aikon, Eliros and Masterpiece collections. Each with their own niche and a strong identity, they appeal to diverse sensibilities that have one thing in common—a taste for quality watchmaking.

For more than 40 years, experienced watchmakers at Maurice Lacroix have been producing timepieces with utmost precision and perfection in the brand’s own high-tech facilities. Maurice Lacroix very quickly forged a place for itself at the top of the Swiss-made luxury watch market, developing an innovative style that combines traditional precision craftsmanship with the latest technologies and creative ideas. The brand is introducing five great watches for new and experienced collectors alike.

Aikon Bronze Automatic — a well-designed watch with a warm bronze case and a vivid blue dial

Maurice Lacroix introduced its own vision of a “luxury sports watch” – but of course with accessibility in mind. Based on the well-designed Aikon concept, this watch is equipped with an automatic movement. The Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Bronze Limited Edition is made of a 42mm, warm bronze, case and bronze isn’t the only novelty here. The case has many attributes usually associated with the appanage of expensive luxury sports watches with the case back made of steel. The dial has a vivid blue colour, reinforced by the sunray finishing and a finely engraved square pattern. Aikon Automatic Bronze features Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock while the hands and markers are all plated in pink gold. The movement at the centre of the watch is an automatic calibre ML115 with a 38h power reserve and a 4 Hz frequency. The sturdy watch comes with a blue calfskin strap with butterfly clasp in bronze, which features a clever quick-change device. It is priced at ₹ 1,58,000

Aikon Automatic — a grail timepiece with generous amounts of satin-brushing mixed with subtle polished elements

This watch is anything but ordinary. For one, this watch runs on an automatic movement—with a 38-hour power reserve—that immediately elevates its status. Like the bronze watch above, it also features the hours, minutes and seconds with the date on the dial. However, the dial, in this case, has a gorgeous texture, adding nuance to the largely black-and-steel look of this watch. Sun-brushed for added effect, the pattern on the dial—called the Clou de Paris—forms the perfect backdrop for the rhodium-plated indexes and hands. The structured, 42mm steel case is water resistant to 200m, with a complementing five-link steel bracelet and a butterfly clasp. MRP: ₹ 1,42,000

Aikon Bronze Quartz — a contemporary watch with a bronze case and a refreshing blue, textured dial

A chiselled case and a bezel designed to appear as though it is attached to the case with six sets of claws, make every Aikon instantly identifiable. While the sharp edges are unique to the Aikon collection, the look of the ‘clawed’ bezel is one that the Aikon has inherited from its predecessor—the Maurice Lacroix Calypso collection. The Aikon Bronze breathes new life into the case itself, owing to the metal of choice. Constructed from the au courant bronze, the 44mm case of this version is as contemporary as it gets, especially with all the blue on its textured dial and calf leather strap. Emulating bronze’s hues are the rose gold-plated hour markers, hands, the brand emblem on the dial itself, and on the strap, among other details.  MRP: ₹ 1,10,000

Aikon Automatic Chronograph — a limited edition chronograph with vibrancy displayed in its grey dial, blue counters and red hands

Strong and masculine without being excessively detailed or large, the AIKON Automatic Chronograph Limited Edition is a resolutely modern timepiece with a unique presence. With dynamic angles and distinct polishing and satin-brushing, the AIKON Automatic Chronograph Limited Edition has a real presence on the wrist thanks to its 44 mm diameter, meticulous detail and sheer energy. The colour combination, the complication and the finish of the perforated strap are inspired by the culture of design and architecture that runs through every Maurice Lacroix creation. The dial of the AIKON Automatic Chronograph Limited Edition galvanises the collection with its grey dial, blue counters and red hands. Applied hour markers adorn the dial. Their strong, angular, bevelled design catches the light to perfection. Aikon Automatic Chronograph  is priced at ₹ 2,39,000

Masterpiece Skeleton — a freshly restyled case and new manufacture, open-worked, automatic calibre of unique design

And finally, the Masterpiece line, which is where Maurice Lacroix really plays up to its strengths as a watchmaker. The origins of the Masterpiece series can be traced back to 1992 when the Masterpiece Cinq Aiguilles was created. An elegant dress watch, this piece laid the ground for the development of in-house movement manufacturing capabilities, which came to fruition in 2006, with the brand’s first in-house mechanical calibre ML-106. The Masterpiece collection continued to display the manufacturer’s mastery in watchmaking, and it has comprised some exceptional pieces over the years, including the Square Wheel, Mysterious Second and Gravity.

This one here is the Skeleton, which showcases the mechanism in all its glory, with bridges in blue that liven up the canvas for this Masterpiece. Set in a 43mm steel case, the watch houses a manual-winding mechanical movement, the calibre ML134, offering a significant power reserve of 45 hours, with a display of hours and minutes through central hands and small seconds at nine o’clock. Water resistant to 50m, the case comes fitted with a crocodile leather strap. MRP: ₹ 4,53,000