Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date Review

When I go back twenty-five years in my watch collecting journey there are really three brands that stick out. My first two "luxury" watches were both Omega Seamasters which I ended up selling to buy an IWC GST Chronograph. Since those watches were more sports orientated, I felt that I also needed a dress watch in my collection. The dress watch need was filled by a Maurice Lacroix PONTOS. That watch never resonated with me and I ended giving it to my girlfriend (now wife). It was no fault of the watch or brand, but more so that I thought I needed a dress watch, even though that style of watch didn't fit me and still doesn't.

I landed on Maurice Lacroix all those years ago because the brand offered a top tier watch that was decently complicated at a good value. Through the years I have always kept up with what the brand was releasing, but I hadn't spent any real time with a modern Maurice Lacroix timepiece until I started Hourstriker. Around a year ago the brand sent their AIKON Automatic in titanium with a purple dial that I just loved. I had all intentions of getting more Maurice Lacroix pieces in to review, but with covering so many brands and getting in a constant flow of review pieces, sometimes things fall through the cracks. It took me randomly chatting with Andre Niklaus, who is Maurice Lacroix's Brand Ambassador for North America, to ask the brand to send a new watch to review.



I did just that, but before we get into the watch Maurice Lacroix sent, let's first go over the history of the brand. Maurice Lacroix is a relatively young brand being founded in 1975. The roots for the brand were actually established in 1889, when Swiss based trading company Desco Von Schulthess was founded. Desco originally dealt in silk, but transitioned into other luxury markets including watches. In 1946, Desco became a distributor for such major brands as Jaeger-LeCoultre and Heuer. Decades later, in 1961, Desco acquired the assembly facility, Tiara in the Swiss Jura mountains, to produce private label watches for third parties. When Desco decided to produce their own watches in 1975, this was the birth of Maurice Lacroix.

The name Maurice Lacroix was actually that of a member of Desco's board that passed away during the development of the brand. Naming the brand after him was the company's way of honoring their late board member. By the 1980s, Maurice Lacroix had already seen tremendous retail success that allowed the brand to stop producing watches for third parties and focus exclusively on their own timepieces. A seminal moment for Maurice Lacroix occurred in 1989, when they acquired the case maker Queloz S.A., allowing Maurice Lacroix to produce most of their exterior components which was a huge rarity for a more middle of the road priced brand like Maurice Lacroix was at the time.



The brand would leave behind the label of being a less than top tier manufacture of watches in the 1990s. The launch of the "Les Mecaniques", later "Masterpiece", collection showed that Maurice Lacroix was capable of producing the finest complications that competed with the best of high watchmaking. Retrograde displays, skeletons and calendar watches became calling cards for higher end mechanical watches from Maurice Lacroix. Even with adding these complications to the lineup, the brand was still able to keep their prices more than competitive.

The 2000s saw Maurice Lacroix become fully independent leaving the Desco ownership behind in 2001. By 2006 the brand had now completely evolved into a true in-house manufacture when they released their caliber ML106. For the ML106, Maurice Lacroix didn't go the easy route for their first caliber and create a simple time only watch. On the other hand, the movement was a fully in-house created and built chronograph caliber.



In 2011, Maurice Lacroix sold a majority stake of the brand to Swiss trading giant Diethelm Keller Siber Hegner (DKSH). Even though Maurice Lacroix was producing some amazing timepieces during this time, they were finding it hard to really get a foothold in the crowded market of luxury Swiss watches. The breakthrough the brand was looking for finally came in 2016 with the launch of the AIKON collection. The AIKON was an integrated sports watch that was a re-imagining of the 1990s best selling Calypso collection. This was years before the massive integrated sports watch boom, and when that craze came about, Maurice Lacroix was in prime position to capitalize on it with the already fully developed AIKON line.

Initial Thoughts

The watch we're going to be taking a closer look at today is actually a model that lives inside of the AIKON collection in the AIKON Master Grand Date. This watch actually combines two collections from Maurice Lacroix being the AIKON and Master lines. While the watch is cased in an AIKON case, it has advanced watchmaking features found in the Master collection, with the exposed balance wheel and big date complication.



When the watch arrived, the first thing I noticed about AIKON Master Grand Date was the extremely bright green coloration. The green used on the subdials and rubber straps is almost neon in coloration. Maurice Lacroix actually names this green "Verdant Green", and the AIKON Master Grand Date also is available in "Aquatic Blue", "Searing Yellow" and "Scorching Orange". Normally I'm not a fan at all of green dials, but with how bold and in your face this particular green is, I actually ended up really liking it.

The second thing I noticed about the AIKON Master Grand Date during my initial time with the watch was the large exposed balance wheel at 8 o'clock. I just love dial side movement, be it a tourbillon, carousel or exposed balance wheel. The balance on the Master Grand Date is stunning to behold and size wise competes with the time telling subdial for dial real estate. Through the opening you can also see the rest of the regulating organ, including the hairspring, escapement and balance bridge as well.

The final thing I took note of while first looking at the AIKON Master Grand Date in hand was the size of the watch. The watch has a case diameter of 45 mm with a lug to lug length of 56.7 mm, when you include the very tip of each lug. The size is actually right in line with the older 44 mm Royal Oak Offshore models from Audemars Piguet. These Offshores were probably the watches I wore the most during the 2000s and I currently own an Offshore Montoya, so size wise the AIKON Master Grand Date is right in line with watches I tend to collect.



A Closer Look

Now that we've gone over the history of the Maurice Lacroix along with my initial impressions of the AIKON Master Grand Date, let's now look at the technical specifications of the watch. The AIKON Master Grand Date is crafted out of black DLC-plated stainless steel. As mentioned earlier, it has a 45 mm case diameter with a 56.7 mm lug to lug length. On our scale the watch has a weight of 151 grams and at its thickest point is 14.4 mm.

The AIKON Master Grand Date uses a flush mounted sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on each side of the glass. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire lays a matte black dial that has fine sand like texturing to it. The dial is expertly broken up into four distinct areas. As for being a watch, the most important of these areas is located at 2 o'clock where you find the time telling subdial. The subdial is done in the extremely bright verdant green which has a grid pattern on it. Around the outside of the subdial is a black printed minute track, with each 10 minute interval getting an Arabic numeral and each five minute interval getting a large hash mark, all the other minutes are represented by smaller hash marks.



The hour markers are made up applied black plated bar markers that are filled with white Super-Luminova which glows green in low light. There are two central hands in the time telling subdial which are the hour and minute hands. The hands are also black plated and filled with matching Super-Luminova. There is an applied Maurice Lacroix logo and branding at 12 o'clock and "Automatic" and "Swiss Made" at 6.

Just below the time telling subdial is a smaller running seconds subdial which has a green border. Each ten second interval gets an Arabic numeral and every five minute interval is represented by a small black hash mark. There is no inner subdial, but instead there is a cut out when you can see various elements of the gear train. The small seconds hand is done in green with a red tip.

At 8 o'clock is where you find the large exposed balance wheel. There is actually a bulge cut-out just to the right of the balance wheel just past 6 o'clock where you can see more of the gear train and escapement. The balance wheel is topped by a large regulator index as well. When wound, the gold balance wheel gives a brilliant show as it beats away. A dark arched skeletonized balance bridge holds the exposed balance wheel to the dial. In all, the execution of the dial side balance wheel is one of the best I've seen and gets my attention every time I glance at the watch.



Finally at 10 o'clock is the big date complication. The date is framed by a thick black border with a thin black line separating each digit. The date discs are black backed with neon green numerals. The discs look to nearly be on the same plane, with an indistinguishable height different between them. The big date is a very classic complication, so it's interesting to see in on such a technically advanced and modern designed watch.

Moving on from the dial is the satin black bezel complete with claws at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 o'clock. These claws hark back to the original Calypso design and are polished. The claws add a bit of visual interest to the otherwise stark black bezel. The case has the same satin black finish to it and is rather flat. The lugs have a very short down turn to them as well.

On the right hand side of the case is a small pusher just above 2 o'clock. When this pusher is depressed it advances the big date by one day. At the standard 3 o'clock is the black screw down crown topped with an "M". The screw down crown aids in the 100 meters of water resistance the AIKON Master Grand Date boasts. Unscrewing the crown allows you to manually wind the automatic movement in the resting position. Since the date is set by the pusher, the crown only has one additional position. Position one lets you set the time and does not stop the running seconds hand. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand and getting the crown to catch and screw back in takes no extra care.



Flipping the AIKON Master Grand Date over shows off the display case back secured in place by seven case screws. Important information about the watch is engraved on this thin bezel including that the watch is one of a limited edition of 50 and the case number. Through the large sapphire display window you can see the manufacture ML331 automatic movement. The dominant finish found on the movement is media blasted black DLC found on the bridges and mainplate. The movement is topped off with a black skeletonized winding rotor with the Maurice Lacroix "M" logo. The ML331 also has rather liberal usage of polished screws. This isn't a luxurious dress watch, so the blacked out finish fits better than if the movement was overly decorated. The movement has also been expertly skeletonized to show off much of the gear train and winding mechanism through the display back.

The ML331 beats away at a rather uncommon 18,000 vph (2.5Hz) and has a power reserve of 50 hours. With this being on the slower side of beat rates, it's good that the watch features a small seconds hand, since a larger central seconds hand might not have a gentle sweep to it. On our timegrapher the ML331 showed an accuracy of +5 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions, which is extremely accurate.



The AIKON Master Grand Date uses a proprietary mounting system for its straps which consists of two longer central lugs which the strap mounts between. Because of this, only straps designed for this size of AIKON watch will work. Maurice Lacroix does offer a few strap options for the AIKON line. The AIKON Master Grand Date comes with black and green rubber straps. We had the green strap on our review watch, which is a matching neon green to what is found on the dial elements. The strap starts out at 25 mm at the lugs and tappers down 20 mm at the black DLC plated pin buckle. The pin buckle is branded for Maurice Lacroix and features a very beefy 5.5 mm wide pin. The rubber strap is also branded with Maurice Lacroix with each name on each side if the strap. The strap is extremely supple and didn't require any break in time to be very comfortable as well.

On The Wrist

The first thing to address with the AIKON Master Grand Date, is that the watch is large. As I mentioned earlier, it wears very similar to how an older Royal Oak Offshore does. Since I've a huge fan and owner of that generation of Offshore, I felt right at home with the AIKON Master Grade Date. On my 7.25 inch wrist with a 55 mm flat area, the watch covered my wrist well with very little to no overhang. With the design of the integrated strap, there is a bit of flare to the fit though. On smaller wrists, like that of my wife which is less than 6 inches, the lug to lug length and flare to the strap is just too much for her to wear. I do feel that any wrist size 6.5 inches or larger can pull it off though.

Being a large watch crafted out of stainless steel, the AIKON Master Grand Date is naturally rather heavy as well. Since I prefer larger watches, I tend to stick with lightweight case materials like titanium, carbon and ceramic for my watches to save weight were possible. I know most collectors prefer the heft of stainless steel, which they equate with quality, but I'm the total opposite. I think the AIKON Master Grand Date made in a dark media blasted titanium would not only be in the 100 to 120 gram range, but it would also look totally awesome, especially in the orange variant.



That being said, since the AIKON Master Grand Date has a long lug to lug length, it does distribute the weight nicely on the wrist. The case isn't too thick either, which helps with it not be top heavy. The wide and supple rubber strap does a great job at also keeping the watch in place on your wrist. Even during longer periods of wear, the AIKON Master Grand Date never gave me a hint of wrist fatigue. Not being feather light did mean that the watch was also a constant thought in my head and never completely disappeared on wrist.

Since I wear mostly black t-shirts, shorts and sneakers, the AIKON Master Grand Date fit my style, or lack thereof, perfectly. On the green rubber strap, the watch is definitely a casual watch. I'd imagine putting the AIKON Master Grand Date on a black rubber strap might tone it down a bit though. The all black version might be the closest you'd get with this watch to being able to wear it in more formal occasions. Since those are few and far between for me, I much more prefer the bold statement the verdant green AIKON Master Grand Date makes.



To test the legibility of a watch, I use a very simple test where I see how easy it is to tell the time while driving with just a glance. In this test, dive watches with their high contrast dials and large markers do the best, while complicated and skeleton watches do the worst. With the AIKON Master Grand Date being both a skeleton and complicated, I had low hopes for the watch in this test. Much to my surprise, the AIKON Master Grand Date actually did fairly well in this legibility test. Since the green time telling subdial is so bright and takes up the largest part of the dial, your eyes are instantly drawn to it. The subdial is still relatively small, so you do really need to focus to read the time after locating the subdial. I'd say the result was more middle of the road then acing it like a true diver or failing hard like a fully skeletonized piece with no indices. With the hour and minute hands covered in lume, along with the hour markers, low light time telling was more than passable as well.

When wearing the AIKON Master Grand Date out and about, I noticed the watch drew a ton of attention. I'm sure it would have received more attention if it wasn't cold outside and wasn't covered up by the sleeve of a hoodie. The large black case and bright green subdials especially paired with the green rubber strap is a recipe for an attention grabbing watch. I had more than a handful of people comment and ask questions about the AIKON Master Grand Date while I wore it our running boring everyday errands and out to dinner and drinks. I haven't had this many interactions because of a watch since the last time I had a Freak from Ulysse Nardin in for review. The comments were all positive, with most being about the green coloration of the dial and strap and also how people loved to see the balance beating away. When it came to price, people I showed the watch to were rather split with some thinking it was a good value and others feeling the AIKON Master Grand Date was a bit expensive.



Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date retails for $9,650. For that price you're getting a very bold and unique looking watch with a dial side exposed balance as well as a big date complication. Inside of the AIKON Master Grand Date beats a beautiful manufacture movement that proved to be very accurate as well. All of this is wrapped inside a handsome DLC plated stainless steel case with a healthy 100 meters of water resistance. As with all of our reviews, now is the time where we compare the AIKON Master Grand Date to other watches with similar features and specifications to see how it holds up value wise.

First up we have the PanoMaticInverse from Glashütte Original which has a 42 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The PanoMaticInverse is more of a dress watch, but does have a dial side exposed balance and big date complication. The PanoMaticInverse only has half the water resistance at 50 meters and is powered by in-house automatic movement with 42 hours of power reserve. The PanoMaticInverse is much more expensive than the AIKON Master Grand Date at $15,300 though.



Moving on is the Blast Skeleton X from Ulysse Nardin which has a 42 mm case made out of PVD coated titanium. The Blast has a fully skeletonized dial with naturally an exposed balance and no date complication. The Blast also only has 50 meters of water resistance and runs on an in-house movement with a healthy 96 hours of power reserve. The Blast Skeleton X is much more expensive than the AIKON Master Grand Date at $25,000.

Next up is the Laureato Skeleton from Girard-Perregaux which has a 42 mm case crafted out of black ceramic. The Laureato has a fully skeletonized dial like the Blast Skeleton X with the balance fully exposed. The Laureato has the same 100 meters of water resistance as the AIKON Master Grand Date and runs on an in-house movement with 54 hours of power reserve. The Laureato once again is much more expensive than the AIKON Master Grand Date at $52,400.



Finally we have the Big Bang UNICO from Hublot which has a 44 mm case made out of titanium. The Big Bang has a partially skeletonized dial with a traditional date wheel, but adds in a flyback chronograph. The Big Bang has a matching 100 meters of water resistance running on an in-house automatic movement with a solid 72 hours of power reserve. The Big Bang is also more than twice as expensive as the AIKON Master Grand Date at $21,700.

Looking at the above four watches, you can clearly see how great of a value the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date is. The watch offers equal if not better stats than many of its peers, but costs thousands if not tens of thousands less. There is a value alternative in the C12 Loco from Christopher Ward, which offers a dial side exposed balance and an in-house movement for half the price, but Christopher Ward isn't a direct competitor to Maurice Lacroix and is more of the top dog in the microbrand market. If you like the look and bold colors of the AIKON Master Grand Date, it really offers amazing value for what you're getting.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end, is the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date for me? The watch is nearly perfect for what I aim to collect personally. The only slight hold up for me is the weight penalty added by having the watch crafted out of stainless steel. A full titanium version of the AIKON Master Grand Date would be amazing. I know most love the weight of stainless steel, but I'd rather have a lighter watch whenever possible. When the watch arrived my wife and I were so blown away by the bold colors of the AIKON Master Grand Date that my wife ordered a blue AIKON #Tide which came in similar colors to the AIKON Master Grand Date collection. When her blue AIKON #Tide was delivered, I was so impressed with that watch that I ordered an orange AIKON #Tide for myself.

I bring up us purchasing the AIKON #Tides to illustrate how much we loved the aesthetics and design of the AIKON Master Grand Date that we both purchased watches that shared that design. While a lot of the appeal to the AIKON Master Grand Date is the high watchmaking of the in-house movement, exposed balance and big date complication, equally interesting in the watch is its use of bold colors. The combination of colors on the AIKON Master Grand Date was enough for my wife and I both to order AIKON #Tides that mirror its bold look.



I found myself constantly reaching for the AIKON Master Grand Date when picking a watch to wear out for the day. That says a lot when I pick it over other watches in the safe, some of those being my long term acquired grail pieces. I just love the novelty of the black and neon green design and I will never get tired of watching a dial side balance wheel. So yes, besides the one gripe about the watch being a bit heavy because of the stainless steel construction, the AIKON Master Grand Date is definitely for me.

Would I then recommend the Maurice Lacroix AIKON Master Grand Date to somebody looking for a high end sports watch that also has a visually interesting dial and makes a statement on the wrist? I would without hesitation recommend the AIKON Master Grand Date to a collector looking to add this kind of watch to their collection. Especially if that person wanted to purchase a watch like this from an established watch manufacture instead of going the microbrand route. The AIKON Master Grand Date offers so much at a fraction of the price of what similarly speced watches from other high watchmakingbrands cost. The AIKON Master Grand Date is also offered in a host of colors including black, orange, blue, yellow and green, so there should be a model that appeals to most tastes.



I'd really like to thank Andre and his team over at Maurice Lacroix for sending us this AIKON Master Grand Date to review. Just like the AIKON Automatic we reviewed last year, the AIKON Master Grand Date once again cemented the fact that Maurice Lacroix manufactures top tier timepieces. While the AIKON Automatic was a more traditional time and date watch, the AIKON Master Grand Date really shows how much Maurice Lacroix can flex their movement manufacturing might while also pushing the envelope in terms of design. I'll also make sure that we don't wait another year to get in another watch from Maurice Lacroix to review; I've already identified a few more models I might ask to get in next to take a closer look at.

For more information about the AIKON Master Grand Date please visit : Maurice Lacroix

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: AI6118-DLB0J-630-I

Retail Price: $9,650

Case Size: 45 mm

Lug to Lug: 56.7 mm

Thickness: 14.4 mm

Weight: 151 grams

Case Material: DLC Plated Stainless Steel

Bezel: DLC Plated Stainless Steel with "Claws"

Strap: Green Rubber Strap with DLC Plated Stainless Steel Pin Buckle

Movement: Swiss Made Manufacture Calibre ML331 Automatic

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Big Date and Dial Side Balance Wheel

Power Reserve: 50 Hours

Water Resistance: 100 Meters