Baselworld 2013: Maurice Lacroix
Ornatus-Mundi
Maurice Lacroix have recently invested lots of money and manpower to 'verticalise' their production and are now capable of developing and producing their own calibre's, cases and dials. With these in-house capabilities the company has gone a long way towards becoming not only a true manufacture on its own right but also serving the watch industry at large as a specialist supplier, e.g. for high quality watch cases.
For starters I would like to remind on the origins of the brand. It started as an assembler and OEM producer of low- and mid-range watches using readily available movements, even quartz-driven ones. Quality was good and the designs very likeable (more on that later). Two fundamental moves changed the direction of the company and the appreciation of the brand in the minds of the collectors, both in the same direction: the acquisition of the case manufacturer Queloz S.A. in 1989 and the presentation of the 'Masterpiece' series of highly desirable and often complicated watches in 1995:
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2013-05-17 10:03:49 This message has been edited by AndrewD on 2013-05-22 13:53:59
The brand has used its technical prowess to present a whole range of technically and aesthetically interesting watches, and this year was no difference as I will show later.
For starters I would like to remind on the origins of the brand. It started as an assembler and OEM producer of low- and mid-range watches using readily available movements, even quartz-driven ones. Quality was good and the designs very likeable (more on that later). Two fundamental moves changed the direction of the company and the appreciation of the brand in the minds of the collectors, both in the same direction: the acquisition of the case manufacturer Queloz S.A. in 1989 and the presentation of the 'Masterpiece' series of highly desirable and often complicated watches in 1995:
It were those watches (often equipped with historically important and/or highly sought after collectors' movements) that drew me to the brand for the first time, and they were my personal holy grails during my early years of watch admiration, particularly the split-second masterpieces.
The second wave of collectors' awareness came when in 2006 Maurice Lacroix presented their first fully in-house manufacture movement, the Calibre ML106, a gorgeous handwound chronograph movement with a rare 60min counter and a leisurely beating balance at 18000 A/h. It features splendid dimension with 36,6mm in diameter and 6,9mm in height.
The range of in-house calibres has slowly but constantly expanded into a handful of manufacture movements with a great number of fascinating details and proprietary solutions.
Connoisseurship, knowledge and taste evolve, and eventually I moved on. Still, I have a weak spot for the company and I consider them a must if one is looking for excellent horological value for the money. There is a lot to chose these days for any taste and wallet:
In the following I go into deeper detail on a per collection basis.
In the following I go into deeper detail on a per collection basis.
Comments:
Ornatus-Mundi May 17th, 2013-09:41
Masterpiece Collection Masterpiece Seconde Mystérieuse Certainly one of the most captivating watches in the ML collection, and thus in line with the famous Masterpiece Roue Carrée model with its signature combination of clover-leaf and rectangular shaped wheels, the Seconde Mys...
Kong May 17th, 2013-23:25
Masterpiece Collection is ... well-worth the attention. Thanks for the report and the video of the Masterpiece Seconde Mystérieuse, Magnus. Kong
Ornatus-Mundi May 19th, 2013-00:15
Thanks Kong, I agree that the Masterpiece collection is very interesting horologically. The designs are sometimes a bit too modernist for me. Best, Magnus
G99 May 19th, 2013-06:31
i'm a big ML fan and these are some great offerings this year. thanks Magnuss
Ornatus-Mundi May 17th, 2013-09:42
Pontos Collection Pontos S Diver Diving watches are legion within the watch industry and almost any watch maker provides one model. The ML Pontos S Diver is one of the more distinguished offerings out there. It combines style and fantastic legibility with credible technica...
Ornatus-Mundi May 17th, 2013-09:43
Conclusion: To each its own! Maurice Lacroix is a brand with a comprehensive range of watches offering top value for the many in almost any range of the market (excluding the top top league). So naturally almost everybody could find something in their offering. The top league is the ...
nilomis May 19th, 2013-02:27
The Pontos S Diver ... Is a very desirable piece and the chrono movement is very nice. Thanks for another outstanding presentation. Cheers, Nilo
Ornatus-Mundi May 19th, 2013-23:42
It it VERY desirable... and I am talking myself into I do not need a divers watch... Not easy! Magnus
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