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Maurice Lacroix - A young but traditional watch house

Maurice Lacroix is ​​a relatively young Swiss watch brand, whose reputation has grown rapidly since its establishment. Kellotalo's strong expertise is the manufacture of top-class cases and the finishing of mechanisms, whether it is ETA / Valjoux and Sellita mechanisms purchased elsewhere or the brand's own in-house mechanism.

From a silk shop to the pinnacle of Swiss watchmaking

Although Maurice Lacroix was founded only in 1973, its story goes much further back in history. Its parent company is Desco von Schulthess, founded in Zurich in 1889, which engaged in the wholesale trade of silk and raw materials in Asia and Europe. After the Second World War, the company made watches and switched from textiles to watches. In the beginning, Desco von Schulthess only traded in such luxury watches as Jaeger-LeCoultre and Audemars Piguet, but also in brands that appealed to the larger masses such as Eterna, Heuer and Certina.

The company took the actual first step towards a Swiss watch house in 1961 by acquiring a watch assembly factory in Saignelégier, located in the Swiss Jura Mountains. For the first years under Desco's ownership, the factory managed the private label assembly of other brands, but in 1975 the game board was set and the company announced its own brand. The watches were named Maurice Lacroix by one of the company's late board members because, according to the story, the name sounded suitably romantic and mystical.

The beginning of Maurice Lacroix fell in the middle of the quartz crisis in Swiss watchmaking. Other Swiss watch houses struggled with falling prices and the decline in appreciation of mechanical watches against Japanese quartz movements with their own developments.

Maurice Lacroix was successful by producing reasonably priced pocket watch-like mechanical watches as well as inexpensive quartz watches in keeping with the spirit of the times. Kellotalo's expense structure was suitable for the upheaval in the world of watches. Maurice Lacroix was not burdened with the development costs of quartz watches, because the structure of quartz watches used by Seiko could be freely copied. Kellotalo could focus entirely on design.

In 1980, Maurice Lacroix had become so popular that the Saignelégier factory stopped private label production and focused throughout the 80s on expanding the retail network. At the end of the decade, the company also acquired a watch case manufacturing factory in Saignelégier.

When the quartz crisis was resolved and the popularity of automatic watches began to recover in the 90s, Maurice Lacroix's rocket-like rise among high-end manufacturers began. Kellotalo released the Masterpiece collection, whose quality surprised the whole world.
Masterpiece watches have featured less commonly seen retrograde calendars and other complications more commonly seen in Haute horlogerie watches.

In 2006, Maurice Lacroix rose to the prestigious manufacture class of watch houses that manufacture their own movements by releasing their first fully in-house made ML106 movement. In the more affordable Maurice Lacroix watches, the house uses heavily modified ETA / Valjoux and Sellita movements.

Today, Maurice Lacroix has more than 4,000 retailers worldwide in more than 60 countries and is considered a serious factor in the segment of affordable luxury.

Traditional Swiss watchmaking and industrial design

After Maurice Lacroix began to manufacture mechanisms himself, the design line of watches has shifted towards larger watches and their design has acquired industrial nuances in its design language. While the watches of the Masterpiece collection are still made respecting the traditional values ​​of Swiss watchmaking, in the production of other models, modern manufacturing methods meet traditional manufacturing methods.

Maurice Lacroix's Aikon is a testament to this synthesis. The watches of the Aikon collection are manufactured on the same production line as the Masterpiece flagship models, so their finishing and quality control are of the watch house's highest class. Aikon is a full-blooded sports watch with a steel bracelet whose design is a modern urban aesthetic that combines modern production methods with traditional watchmaking techniques. The Clous de Paris guilloche decoration of the latest Aikon board represents traditional skill at its best, and the precision machining of the shell is modern CNC technology. Regardless of the model, Aikon offers a top watch for its price at a reasonable price that combines both worlds.

Maurice Lacroix Eliros is a collection published in 1996 that subtly achieves the classic dress watch aesthetic. The watch's minimalist style appeals to many. Manufactured in Maurice Lacroix's high-quality shell factory and assembled in Saignelégier, the watches are finished to the highest quality and, manufactured with quartz movement, offer an affordable step into Maurice Lacroix's top-quality watches.

The Fiaba collection is designed with women in mind. The collection includes several women's watches, whose feminine design combined with high-quality finishing and diamonds make Fiaba relatively affordable luxury. The watch is available with both quartz and automatic movements.

The Maurice Lacroix Pontos collection is a sporty dress watch that straddles both sides of the definition. The collection includes diver's watches that match the suit as well as more relaxed sporty chronographs. Watches from the Pontos collection are made with both automatic and quartz movements.

Maurice Lacroix's selection includes watches in many different price ranges, whether you are looking for manufacture watches with more exotic complications, made purely in-house or an entry-level opening to affordable luxury, the most famous watch house in the Saignelégier valley has the right timepiece.