While the Aikon sports watch is the central pillar of Maurice Lacroix, they also produce an extensive range of dress and complication watches. And when it comes to the latter, their signature style is to embrace the retrograde display, as with the Masterpiece Triple Retrograde from 2021. Now they’re releasing a new skeletonised retrograde model, the 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde.
As the name suggests, the new watch sits somewhere between the 1975 dress watch collection and the more Avante Garde Masterpiece collection. Personally, I find it leans more towards the Masterpiece because there are some significant differences to the 1975. For one thing, the case measures 42mm in diameter in steel, which is broader than any of the existing 1975 models. It also has a tall box sapphire crystal with a slim bezel around the bottom edge as opposed to the normal glass and bezel that transitions smoothly.
It’s also the first skeletonised (a more accurate term might be open-worked but that’s splitting hairs) watch in the 1975 line as well as the first retrograde model in the collection. In short, I’m not really sure why they are calling it a 1975 when it has very few elements that make it recognisably a 1975. But maybe I’m just getting too hung up on that as naming and labelling doesn’t particularly matter when the watch itself is quite nice.
The skeletonised display is well thought out with the lower, exposed plates given a black rhodium treatment to contrast with the more silver rhodium of the higher bridges and elements that Maurice Lacroix want to draw your attention to. One of the complaints levelled at skeleton watches is that they are hard to read but this watch remains very clear. Thanks in part to the solid, lumed hands in the centre, the oversize Grand Date at 12 o’clock and the blued retrograde hand of the days of the week at 6. It has the right balance of technical clarity and futuristic style that you want from a skeleton.
Being displayed in its skeletonised form is the Masterpiece ML302 calibre, an automatic with 38-hour power reserve. It’s well known that Maurice Lacroix has a close working relationship with Sellita to produce these more extreme and skeletionised movements using Sellita calibres as a base in conjunction with in-house modules. That’s a key part in how they keep the Masterpiece collection relatively affordable in comparison to other high end complication watches.
Specifically, the Maurice Lacroix 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde is £6,950 when the other retrograde days of the week watch I can think of is the five figure Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Day-Date. With the other brands in the space also being the likes of Breva, Bulgari and IWC. Though we must also mention Reservoir who do produce retrograde watches at the same price point as Maurice Lacroix but more in the tool watch, daily beater vein rather than high end luxury styles.
Price and Specs:
More details at Maurice Lacroix.
