Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour
The Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour shares much of its DNA with the AIKON Master Grand Date of 2021. However, this new recently launched watch now embraces eye-catching, funky shades. Equipped with a large date display, Manufacture movement and openworked dial detail, this model is available in four colours and promises to look cool in the summer sun.
Technicolour dials
This may sound strange to non-wrinkly readers, but I remember as a child watching black and white television. In my native England, the BBC didn’t begin broadcasting in colour until 1969. Suddenly, monochromatic shades transitioned into bright hues bursting with life and the world on screen looked very different. I was reminded of this recently when viewing four new technicolour models from Maurice Lacroix.
The brand from Saignelégier has just expanded its portfolio of Master Grand Date models to include new ‘technicolour’ options. Back in 2021, the large date model was presented in a regal shade of dark blue. Later, the Swiss brand released a full-black variant, the aptly named AIKON Master Grand Date Black.
With the advent of the new AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour, the Jura-based brand has created four models each with a very different character that will undoubtedly appeal to a new audience. Indeed, blue, green, orange and yellow hues, each endowed with a metallic sheen, serve to indulge fresh-faced wearers and youthful souls alike. But before I talk at length about these new references, allow me to start with the story of the AIKON.
Maurice Lacroix AIKON
In the 1990s, Maurice Lacroix produced the Calypso, an elegant model that was highly popular at the time. As the years passed by and the brand’s personnel changed, the Calypso was repeatedly updated and ultimately the essence of the original model was lost. Eventually, production of the Calypso ceased, albeit for several years thereafter, the brand received enquiries about its former bestseller. In 2016, Maurice Lacroix released the AIKON, a model that celebrated the legacy of the Calypso but distilled for a new audience.
Initially, the AIKON was only offered in quartz, but in 2018 mechanical options were added to the collection. From the outset, the AIKON resonated with millennials and was aligned with their active lifestyles. Furthermore, the watch delivered an abundance of urban style. Later, the Gen-Zers arrived on the watch-buying-scene and soon they too succumbed to the charms of AIKON ownership. As the contemporary model gained popularity, the Swiss marque released additional variants, including chronographs, skeletons, divers’ and, in this instance, grand date timepieces.
One characteristic common to all AIKON watches is that they embrace the same quality materials and craftsmanship found on the Maison’s Masterpiece watches. Moreover, courtesy of their integrated bracelets and straps, the AIKON has become known for delivering peerless wearer comfort.
Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour
The topography of the dial upholds the design of the 2021 release, the AIKON Master Grand Date. The hour and minutes are presented off-centre, positioned in the north eastern region of the dial. Bright metallic hues, brimming with modernity, are paired with traditional ‘Clous de Paris’ decoration, conferring a vibrant yet cohesive aesthetic. A small seconds display is positioned below, slightly overlapping the hour and minutes display. Both forms of indication incorporate sunray decoration.
Black facetted hour and minute hands converse with baton-style indexes, set against a brightly coloured backdrop. Both the hands and indexes are lined with Super-LumiNova, augmenting nocturnal readability. The small seconds hand matches the colour of the hour and minute indication, small seconds track and rubber strap. Irrespective of the chosen colourway, the tip of the small seconds hand is presented in an ebullient shade of red.
Maurice Lacroix has chosen to openwork the small seconds display affording partial views of the movement within. This policy of disclosing parts ordinarily hidden from view is repeated with the escapement and the regulating organ located between 6 and 9 o’clock.
The wearer is indulged with a mouthwatering mechanical feast. A twin-spoke, arcing balance bridge supports the screwed balance while still revealing many of the horological delights below. Watch aficionados can see the hairspring pulse with life, the balance wheel oscillates clockwise and counterclockwise and the pallet lever repeatedly kiss the escape wheel.
However, when it comes to the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour, the headline act has to be its extraordinarily large date display. Unlike most watches endowed with a date display, this model employs two discs to impart meaning instead of relying on the customary solo performer.
This form of indication is far more challenging to realise. The two discs, one for tens and one for units, must collaborate in order to display the prevailing date correctly. Maurice Lacroix has cleverly positioned each date disc above its own dedicated gear train and incorporated an ingenious star wheel. By adopting this approach, the luxury marque has delivered a widescreen portrayal of the date without making the watch unduly thick (height=15mm). With each variant, the date numerals match the colour of the off-centre hour and minutes display.
Dressed in black
The Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour is housed in a stainless steel case with DLC treatment measuring 45mm in diameter. The dial area is actually the mainplate of the movement. In this instance, it is adorned with a vertical brush and suffused with black DLC treatment.
Black hues abound. They play a deferential role to the dominant eye-popping colours previously mentioned.
Interestingly, when this watch is affixed to the wrist it looks and feels much smaller than its stated dimensions would suggest. As previously mentioned, this is a benefit of its lug-free design. However, the generous case diameter affords sufficient room for each indication to breathe. Everything is beautifully proportioned, balanced and legible.
The watch comes supplied with two rubber straps, one matching the dial colour and a second in black. Both straps feature Maurice-Lacroix branding, presented in relief. The brand’s Easy Strap Exchange system allows the wearer to swap the straps without the need for tools or watchmaking expertise.
Automatic Manufacture ML331
The name of this model includes the word, ‘Master’. This alludes to the Manufacture movement found within this latest timepiece. Historically, the Manufacture movements were solely the preserve of the brand’s upscale ‘Masterpiece’ models, however, in this instance, Maurice Lacroix has united AIKON design with Masterpiece mechanical excellence.
The balance has a frequency of 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) and can run autonomously for 50 hours. An exhibition caseback affords sight of the self-winding movement. The oscillating weight is openworked and includes graining and sailing, while other movement surfaces are presented in sandblasted form.
#tide packaging
The Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour is presented in special packaging, exclusive to this model, and matches the chosen dial hue. Each presentation box is formed of #tide, a composite material made from ‘ocean-bound upcycled plastic’. As the brand explained in its press release for the model, ‘it takes 34 bottles to make one presentation box which means 34 fewer bottles polluting the ocean’.
Exclusivity
As stated earlier, the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour is available in four colours, each of which is limited to just 50 pieces. Considering the brand distributes its watches throughout the world, it’s highly unlikely that you will see two examples of the same watch in the same place at the same time, granting a degree of exclusivity.
Closing remarks
The Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour promises to perpetuate the success of the urban-themed watch. It embraces the proven design language of the 2016 inaugural model with its six-arm bezel design and integrated strap arrangement, but adds an interesting complication, openworked dial detail and eye-popping shades.
Beyond the dialscape, this watch features sumptuous touches, including contrasting finishes and a beautifully appointed Manufacture movement. And yet, despite being über-desirable, this model still perpetuates the brand’s reputation for delivering high perceived value.
As I discovered as a child, colour can provide a welcome alternative to a monochromatic palette: a world brimming with exuberance and life. Now’s the time to enjoy the AIKON Master Grand Date in all its Technicolour glory.
Further reading
https://www.mauricelacroix.com/
Technical specifications
- Model: Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Technicolour
- Case: black DLC stainless steel, diameter 45mm, height 15mm, water resistance 10ATM (100m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, big date
- Movement: automatic ML331 calibre, self-winding movement; frequency 18,000 vph (2.5Hz), 43 jewels, power reserve 50 hours.
- Strap: matching rubber strap with Easy Strap Exchange system paired with black DLC pin buckle. The watch is also supplied with an extra strap (black rubber and additional pin buckle in black DLC)
- Price: €9400 including VAT (RRP as of 15.5.2023)
- Limited Edition: 50 pieces in each colour