Lavish mechanisms and traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques are considered paramount in the development of a Maurice Lacroix watch. The company, founded in 1975, is a relatively young one, despite its know-how and its admirable, authentic approach to watchmaking. Throughout the 1990s it made an indispensable contribution to mechanical watchmaking and has been focussing its efforts there ever since. The year 2003 was a significant year for Maurice Lacroix since it marked an important milestone for the Saignelegier based manufacturer. It was the year the brand created a highly complex mechanism called the Masterpiece Double Rétrograde. The design was developed entirely in house, paving the way for the release of the Masterpiece Lune Rétrograde just two years later. These innovations propelled Maurice Lacroix into a realm of expert Swiss watch engineering within what is considered an everchanging and increasingly competitive industry.
Maurice Lacroix was founded as a result of a much older Desco von Schulthess company based in Zurich. Originally specialising in the silk trade, Desco later branched into the luxury Swiss watch market, representing prestigious brand names like Jaeger LeCoultre and Heuer. When an assembly facility was set up in Saignelégier, Jura, it would later become the watchmaking base for Maurice Lacroix. Named after one of the board members of Desco, Maurice Lacroix was officially established in 1975.
Maurice Lacroix is a watchmaking company with subsidiaries here in Britain and in Germany, not to mention the US. It has its own ateliers, workshops and manufacturing facilities. In addition to this, its headquarters in the Swiss Jura mountains is a hive of inspiration, with watches now supplied in around 3,300 selected retail shops around the entire globe. Revolutionary ideas are formed as part of the “L’Atelier de Maurice Lacroix”, a unique network of designers, engineers, constructors and watchmakers. Together this blend of knowledge and experience produces benchmark setting designs as part of the brand’s successful line of collections.
The 1980s were a successful time for the watchmaker, causing it to cease all production with third party labels. The Les Mécaniques watch collection most accurately represents the success of Maurice Lacroix between the years 1990 to 2000. The rectangular shaped wristwatch would be the precursor for what is known today as the Masterpiece collection.
Just two years after the company’s first in house made mechanical calibre ML-106 in 2006, Maurice Lacroix launched the Memoire 1 in 2008. The Grand Complication watch was the first to feature a memory function. Following this, the Masterpiece collection, a line of mechanical wristwatches comprising moonphase retrograde displays and skeletonized dials enabled the wearer to keep track of accurate time whilst watching the movement in motion from the dial side in some designs.
Today Maurice Lacroix uses a combination of CNC technology and traditional watchmaking methods to craft its luxurious timepieces. Actor Ray Stevenson, musician Bob Geldof, golfer Justin Rose, and internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales are just a few names that have endorsed Maurice Lacroix watches over the last few years. The prestigious company is also official watch partner for both for FC Barcelona and the famous Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Popular watch collections continue to be those such as the Masterpiece and Eliros, not to mention the elegant Pontos range. Developed in the year 2000, the watches from this family are characterized by their contemporary aesthetics and simple approach to timekeeping.
