Maurice LaCroix Aikon Review

The watch industry only gets more and more competitive each year. Some brands have managed to thrive, and independent watchmakers are more game for the challenge than ever. Others, still, get somewhat lost within the mix. Today, I’m taking a deeper look at a brand that I honestly don’t hear much about, and, through the vehicle of its current flagship model, exploring what it has to offer. As you’ve already guessed from the title of this here article, the subject at hand is the Maurice LaCroix Aikon collection. Characterized by classic integrated bracelet style with a few specific quirks to the mix, the Aikon collection hasn’t managed to go mainstream like some similar competition. Down below, I’ll be walking you through a primer about the brand, the key ingredients of the Maurice LaCroix Aikon, and some personal ramblings on what the collection has to offer, and what it’s lacking. 

[toc-section heading="Context"]

Like many Swiss watch brands, Maurice LaCroix has a history that can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. However, that historical journey is among the more atypical out there. This 19th-century connection is the Maurice LaCroix ties to its parent company, Desco von Schulthess, which was founded in Zurich in 1889, and for many years, had nothing to do with watches. Initially starting in the silk trade, after WWII, Desco von Schulthess expanded into luxury goods and acted as a distributor for Swiss watches to the Asian market. In 1961, the company acquired its own watch assembly workshop, Tiara, in Saignelégier, Switzerland. Starting with producing and assembling pieces for third parties, the brand would spend the next few years laying the groundwork for launching its own watch line in 1975. 

Hitting the scene in the post-quartz crisis era, Maurice LaCroix started getting its name out there with more classic designs packed with quartz movements. Definitely a product of the uncertain times in the Swiss watchmaking industry, as the longevity of the mechanical movements the region was long-famous for was in jeopardy. Maurice LaCroix, in its early years, didn’t focus on mechanical movement manufacturing or anything that could be called haute horology at all. Instead, the brand stayed in the more affordable, more producible lane. The brand did offer mechanical watch options with outsourced movements, but the brand seems to have embraced quartz at the jump. This model proved to be a power move for Maurice LaCroix. The brand would officially cease production for third parties in 1980, effectively going solo and setting out alone for the road ahead. 

I’m going to make quite the leap in our historical timeline here to 2006, when Maurice LaCroix officially launched its own manufacture movement. A huge departure from its affordable origins, the brand kicked off its adventures in in-house movements with the manual MIL-106 chronograph caliber. Housed within the Masterpiece Le Chronograph, which Maurice LaCroix debuted in 18k gold, this movement featured column wheel architecture, swan neck fine adjustment, and a novel lever system for zeroing, and marks a pivotal turning point for the brand. 

The Maurice LaCroix Aikon is among the newer additions to the brand’s universe. Officially launched into the watch world in 2016, the collection was intended to give the brand’s Calypso collection of the 1990s a modern facelift. To me, the vintage Calypso models strike as an aesthetic combination of the IWC Ingenieur and many of the quartz-powered TAG Heuer Professional 2000 models. Interestingly, the Aikon collection has moved in another direction entirely, going for the architecture and geometry of integrated sports watches of the 70s. Similar pieces that come to mind (in addition to the Ingenieur, which still plays), of course, the AP Royal Oak, and the Tissot PRX at the more affordable end of the spectrum.

[toc-section heading="Case and Wear"]

In the years since its release, the Maurice LaCroix Aikon collection has undergone much riffing and expanding in terms of materials, functionality, and case sizes. The most versatile and compelling size of its standard time-only and time and date models is, undoubtedly, the 39mm variation with a 44.8mm lug-to-lug and 10.8mm profile. Though my personal preferences lead me toward the tiny 35mm model, the brand has yet to equip its most petite Aikon with a mechanical movement (so typical). While the more standard models are available in 42mm, the chronograph versions are 44mm, with the largest Aikon being the 45mm master grand date complication models. Additionally, you’re getting some pretty robust water resistance across the collection, which, for most models, is 200 meters.

Whatever sizing/complication is your M.O., the guiding design principles of the Aikon are a striking mix of fluidity with sharp angularity. The case flows into the five-link bracelet, making it feel like one seamless piece for comfortable wear – exactly as an integrated bracelet watch should. The case also features a quick-release mechanism for easy switching to another strap, and I think the rubber strap option flows particularly well from the case, which is a small but impactful detail that adds to overall versatility. 

So let’s get onto the elephant in the room: the fixed bezel. This, to me, is a you love it or hate it detail. The notchy, six-claw situation going on is actually a callback to the Calypso line from the '90s. Each of these facets is brightly polished, in high contrast to the brushed surfaces of the rest of the case. This also echoes the varying finishing techniques on the bezel, which, in combination, adds a flashiness as light hits and bounces off the watch. I wouldn’t say the flashiness is overwhelming, but it does catch your attention. This is still a quirk I’m trying to work out for myself if I like, but it is a standout feature of the collection, and sets it apart from the crowd. 

[toc-section heading="Dial"]

The dial across the Aikon collection is one of the key details that really elevates the watch into the entry-level luxury category (other than its price tag, of course). As what has become a staple across the integrated-bracelet sports watch genre, we’ve got a lot of fun texture going on. To be specific, the dimensional patterning is in the “Clous de Paris” or Paris Hobnail motif. This is a pressed, not printed, patterning either. As the light catches the dial, you’ll see a lot of dynamic play with shadows here and there as you move your wrist. The brand has also launched corrugated dial textures and more flat dials for certain models, but the hobnail pattern is the most commonly used across the Aikon collection. 

The rest of the dial, in contrast, is pleasantly minimal. Not a ton of text here, but I will say the branded logo at twelve is slightly oversized for my own taste, but that’s ultimately a matter of personal preference. The hours are marked by polished, applied indices, and the handset is slim, fairly non-descript. But given all the geometry of the case and bracelet, and the dial texturing, I think the overall simplicity is needed here to strike a nice balance. For the time and date models, the date window is classically positioned at three o’clock, and typically goes for a white background. This is somewhat of a miss to me, as I typically prefer a color-matched date window (especially at this price point), but it’s not a total deal breaker. For the color dials, this contrast does, ultimately, make the actual reading of the date more legible. 

[toc-section heading="Movement"]

Though Maurice LaCroix has developed its own in-house movements, the brand typically reserves them for its more haute-horology oriented lines, like its masterpiece collection, or its Aikon Master Grand Date or skeletonized takes on the line. For the majority of the brand’s Aikon, we’re working with modified Sellita movements. The time-and-date Aikon typically utilizes ML115 with the workhorse SW200-1 as its base, with a 4 Hz frequency and two-day power reserve. 

[toc-section heading="Final Thoughts"]

At its current price point, the Marice LaCroix Aikon faces some pretty steep competition, given the overwhelming amount of options available in the market at the $2,000+ range. It’s also working against the mass popularity of the Tissot PRX, which has really taken the integrated-bracelet watch and entry-level Swiss watch categories by storm since its 2021 release. That being said, I do think the Aikon has a much more premium, luxurious feel than some of the other competition with its attention to the small details, and the killer bracelet and quick change system. Where I think the Maurice LaCroix Aikon collection really shines is in its models with more premium material construction. Particularly, I think the ceramic line has some of the panache that’s rarely found at the price point, and the titanium models reduce some of the flashiness of the mix of polishing techniques on the steel models. Ultimately, I think this collection is more suited to enthusiasts who are looking for the more underrated, under-hyped brands. Given the lack of in-house movements for much of the collection, it's still hard for me to justify the recent price hike, but there is a lot to love about the Aikon for the right enthusiast. You can learn more at mauricelacroix.com