The New “High-End Aikon”: Maurice Lacroix Aikon Master Grand Date

When Maurice Lacroix introduced its Aikon Automatic collection back in 2018, the brand suddenly had a solid foothold in the world of everyday, versatile (and affordable) sports watches. The collection quickly became a commercial success for the brand, so much so that it was further diversified only a short time later with complications such as a second time zone or a chronograph.

However, the latest facelift of Maurice Lacroix’s flagship collection was somewhat less anticipated, as Maurice Lacroix has now integrated some pretty high-end elements into its ever-popular Aikon range.

Skeletonized movement, screw balance, big date and more

The six claws along the bezel and the integrated bracelet make the watch of course immediately recognizable as a watch from the Aikon collection, but the newly designed dial visually bridges the novelty to the brand’s Masterpiece Gravity collection. Let us quickly elaborate why.

For us, this visual proximity is due to two innovations: At first glance, the off-centered dial at 2 o’clock catches the eye. It also has been extended to include a small seconds hand located directly below it. In addition, thanks to the new open-worked structure, the dominant screw balance can now be admired from the front. Thanks to its small screws, the balance wheel boats a variable inertia and can thus be finely adjusted to improve the precision of the movement. Due to the relatively slow frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (or 2.5 hz), the watch ticks rather slow by today’s standards, but in this way the leisurely oscillation of the balance is also all the more beautiful to behold.

The last novel element Maurice Lacroix uses is a big date. For the Aikon Master Grand Date, this replaces the conventional date window at 3 o’clock and henceforth consists of two windows, which is a particularly popular feature among high-quality watches from Glashütte.

At a glance:

• Reference: AI6118-SS00E-430-C
• Case diameter: 45mm
• Case material: Steel
• Strap/Bracelet: Steel or Cordura
• Winding: Automatic
• Caliber: LM331
• Power reserve: 50h
• Water resistance: 100m
• MSRP: CHF 8,900

Availability

This watch will soon be available in our shop. You can always find our current list of all Aikon models from Maurice Lacroix here: to the shop.