Most of you will have heard of Maurice Lacroix watches. It’s been a well-known name in the world of watches for quite some time. Unlike many of the traditional Swiss brands, however, Maurice Lacroix is relatively new to the industry. Now almost 50 years old, Maurice Lacroix has plenty of vintage watches for us to explore. But did you know that the company that started Maurice Lacroix in 1975 dates back to 1889?
Maurice Lacroix Hit the Ground Running
When Desco von Schulthess started Maurice Lacroix in 1975, the company was producing watches primarily for third parties. But within just five years, Maurice Lacroix was manufacturing its own timepieces – a fact that bespeaks the brand’s early success. Begun during the “quartz crisis,” in-house watchmaking turned out to be a great commercial opportunity for the fledgling company.
The Great Success of the 1980s and 90s
In 1989, Maurice Lacroix bought case maker Queloz SA. With that move, the brand was able to produce a large part of its design elements in-house. The first results came in the form of the popular Calypso collection in 1990. If you look them up, you’ll find great Maurice Lacroix vintage watches for both men and women. And the Calypso collection was the inspiration for the current Aikon collection, which we’ll get to a bit later. In 1992, the Masterpiece collection was introduced, and turned out to be a great success. Previously known as Les Mécaniques, Maurice Lacroix went on to change this collection’s name and introduce new pieces within it. The line’s classic designs, combined with technological mastery, turned out to be a giant step forward for multiple reasons.
At that time, the Swiss industry was recovering from the quartz revolution. Many Swiss brands only slowly started making mechanical watches again. Maurice Lacroix demonstrated its vision and its conviction by introducing the Masterpiece series. They did this as an independent company, not as part of a bigger conglomerate, giving the company the opportunity to focus on setting its own course.
Additionally, with mechanical watches becoming a luxury product, and prices moving upward accordingly, Maurice Lacroix kept its prices affordable. It also understood that a Masterpiece collection need not begin and end with overly complicated pieces. The collection is characterized by creative designs and technologically classic solutions, including regulator watches and retrograde displays. These two ways of showing different functions make for instantly impressive-looking watches.
The Masterpiece Collection Highlights
The Masterpiece collection contains some amazing timepieces. My personal favorites have always been the Masterpiece Flyback and the Masterpiece Calendrier Retrograde from the early 2000s. Both watches still look great, and you can buy one for around $2,000 – an absolute steal. Other highlights include the Masterpiece Double Retrograde from 2003, and the Masterpiece Square Wheel line introduced in 2010. The Square Wheel models feature square and clover-shaped gears that are fully exposed on the dial. One of the latest, awe-inspiring Masterpiece watches is the Masterpiece Gravity, which features an exposed silicon escapement, developed in-house.
Becoming A Full-Fledged Watch Manufacturer
In 2006, Maurice Lacroix took another major step forward in its evolution, releasing its first in-house movement, the caliber ML-106. This made the brand a full-fledged manufacturer, now able to develop its timepieces completely in-house. That was the moment Maurice Lacroix became a truly independent luxury watch manufacturer, creating affordable, highly original, and technically outstanding pieces. It’s a combination of factors we don’t see all that often in the watch world. As a result, the brand has been able to develop increasingly impressive collections.
The Maurice Lacroix Aikon Collection
The Aikon collection is one of Maurice Lacroix’s more recent successes, introduced with quartz movements in 2016. The follow-up to the popular Calypso collection, the Aikon line takes inspiration from the brand’s 1990s timepieces. Most of all, however, the collection is a series of modern sports watches with integrated bracelets, very much of this day and age. In 2018, the brand added automatic models to the collection, to the delight of many watch fans, expanding it quite extensively.
My favorite from the collection is the 39-mm Aikon in a selection of different dial colors. The salmon dial version is an absolute peach, and my personal favorite. I also like the Aikon Venturer GMT, which has a slightly different aesthetic, a sportier dial, and an extra hand for the second time zone. These models are proof that this brand is as relevant as ever.
Maurice Lacroix Vintage Watches to Keep An Eye Out For
When it comes to the vintage or neo-vintage pieces from Maurice Lacroix, the two main collections to look out for are the Calypso and Masterpiece collections. The Calypso collection offers plenty of 80s and 90s camp without breaking the bank. There’s plenty of retro style available for under $2,000, assuming you’re not looking for solid gold models. If you are, you’ll need notably deeper pockets.
The Masterpiece collection delivers a wide variety of outstanding watches. Take a look, and find your favorite. The affordable prices make these watches ostensibly irresistible. Some of the earlier models change hands for less than $1,000. However, the majority of (and probably most interesting) models will set you back anywhere between $1,000 and $4,000. What you get for your money is striking, though, considering each model’s unique display of functions. In terms of watchmaking, it’s hard to find anything more impressive for that price – just one of the many reasons Maurice Lacroix is a brand that is as attractive as ever.
