Reply With QuoteThat's very nice, I like it. But I don't think the comparison to Genta designs is inappropriate; not all of his designs had octagonal elements.
I have a soft spot for Maurice Lacroix. It was the first ever luxury watch I bought when I was a late teenager. I had this money saved up for a hifi, then saw the watch in a shop and fell in love. Of course it was quartz and 37mm, all the rage in those days. I don’t have it anymore, but it left an impression on me. One side is that I viewed this beautiful timepiece with some nostalgia, the other was an association with my first timepiece and being a teenager. Somehow I never wanted to buy Maurice Lacroix again, I had moved on to bigger better things.
Of course the stupidity of this was brought home to me when I was in a restaurant a month ago. I ordered a hamburger, and the unfeasibly young men serving me delivered one to my table. I noticed his watch, a Rolex Milgauss. I asked him, “is that a genuine Milgauss”, “yes” he said, “very nice”, I said. He told me his parents had bought it for him for passing his exams, he was just starting in university now. It bought it home to me, if this young man associated Rolex with a beginner watch, he would never buy another Rolex, how silly.
So, just now, I was looking for a rugged and water-proof travel watch, but with some style and, as always, something a bit different. Basically, a diver. Not too bling far away, but something nice and special close-up. I was looking in the sub £2000 range, possible the most competitive for lower end luxury watches, but surprisingly sparsely populated with divers.
The £1000-£2000 diving community is small, very competitive and squashed between the value sub-£1000 watches, some of whom at the top end already have STP, ETA or Selitta movements, and the over £2,000 “name awareness” brands.
To survive, watch manufacturers in this range have to prove their quality can match the over £2000 watches, to compensate for lack of name awareness, but at the same time, the design has to stand out, and the quality and refinement needs to be visibly superior to the under £1000 folk. It’s a tough neighbourhood.
So I was looking at some watches. The beautiful new Tag Heuer Aquaracer was tempting, but over the limit. Ball, Doxa 200, Longines Hydroconquest were all in range. I have a small wrist, 6.7 inches, but I think diving watches and pilot watches look good large. For a small wrist like mine, they need to have a an under 50mm lug-to-lug and near vertical lugs.
And then I saw the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer.
Maurice Lacroix was founded in 1975, and grew rapidly on the popularity of the original Calypso design. The Calypso design has a number of hallmarks, the two key ones being the six claws around the dial, reminiscent of the case claws that in the early 20th century were actually used to hold in the glass. Of course the other famous example of this design is the Omega Constellation. Early constellations did actually have real claws holding in the glass.
The other developed design was an integrated bracelet, with the absence of independent left and right strap lugs. In their place was actually a bracelet fitting system that was much more an extension of the case. Making the case look more robust. Comparison is erroneously made IMHO to Gerald Genta designs, notably Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. Royal Oaks are distinguished by an octagonal face design. The Aikon doesn’t have this, but perhaps the 8 claws trigger comparison in some folks’ minds. The integrated bracelet design however is certainly very similar.
The unique design of the Venturer is simply the closet thing diving watches get to combining beauty with 300m ruggedness and a nice, but not excessive weight.
The bezel case has a ceramic insert, “clamped” by eight stainless steel “claws”. Seven having black minute fonts, the 8th with a large lume pip. Whilst mentioning the lume pip I would comment on the Venturer lume in general. Not the strongest, but pretty generous in size and placement.
The whole bezel construction is gorgeous. The main body of the bezel is polished and has finer graduations that on any other diver, simply because the claws provide all the grip you need. The action is solid. Also worth noting the fine bezel graduations run to 20mins rather then the more usual 15mins. 22 minutes is in fact the deep dive time before decompression issues, so technically more accurate. Its quite interesting why 15mins became the standard, perhaps just because it looks more aesthetically pleasing.
The face colour is a deep inky black. It seems to suck you into a vortex, and I have to snap myself out of staring at it. The blue version is more sporty, and has a lovely sunburst dial. If I had the money I would have bought both ;) but also less smart then the black. IMHO the black goes with more dress combinations, including a suit.
The dial has the most unique oval pips. Inside each, except for 12 o’clock, is an oblong of lume. A quite unique and very readable design. The 12 o’clock pip being a shorn triangle, with a massive lump of lume. The hands are long and the minute and hour hand are stainless steel encased lume. The date is put at the edgy 3 o’clock position, with a perfect white font on black colour scheme and finished with a classy silver window. I love the sparse use of writing on the dial, just the silver ML logo, ML name and Automatic 300mm.
The case is brushed, and looks somehow more robust then the conventional round case with the spindly left and right bracelet lugs appearing to be “stuck on”. There is fine chamfering around the sides, again ML punching above its price range with finishing quality. The crown guards do not stick out, and blend gently into the case sides with a curve. The crown of the black model is wrapped with something I have not had 100% confirmation of, but appears to be DLC coated stainless steel. The crown itself sporting the unique ML logo.
At the rear is one of the nicest back plates I have seen. Round but with the top and bottom finished in straight sides, it is screwed into the case with seven screws, and shows a large ML logo nestled in fine waves.
The mechanism is the smooth and robust Selitta SW200. My piece coming in at just under 6 seconds. Not the best watch my selection, but not bad. Possibly on its service I will ask for it to be regulated.
The case looks thin, under 13mm, and the rubber strap version has an almost vertical drop of the strap. Lending itself very nicely to smaller wrists. In fact I would say this is the best fitting 43mm I have seen, feeling more like a 41mm.
The strap itself has two things I love. One is the soft silicon rubber. Not quite as soft as Apple, but much better than a certain high end watch, which will remain nameless, that I had to take back due to the rubber strap cutting into my wrist ☹ The second is the conventional pin buckle. So many rubber straps today come as something you have to cut to size, which I really dislike. The front side of the strap also has the ML logo, a really classy touch, which ML always does. A shame over manufacturers don’t hew their logo into custom straps and bracelets. Lastly on the strap, it has a quick release mechanism, so very easy to change straps. ML is well known for its high quality bracelets, and one might be in my future !!!
So in summary , you have a gorgeous diving watch, well adapted to smaller wrists, extremely comfortable to wear, a design that combines clarity with beauty and the most difficult thing of all, a clear uniquely identifiable Maurice Laxcroix design, for only £1,600. Too bling for some tastes, not conventional enough for others, but certainly hitting a sweet spot for casual, travel and even formal wear. It’s a keeper, as they say ….
Last edited by colonel; 27th October 2021 at 06:57.
That's very nice, I like it. But I don't think the comparison to Genta designs is inappropriate; not all of his designs had octagonal elements.
Very nice indeed and congratulations on the purchase.
Good write up, too.
I've not taken much notice of ML before but this does look like a genuinely good watch.
I see they have a blue dial variation too which appeals to me.
Thanks for posting!
"It seems to Suck you into a vortex."
Are you a copywriter or work for ML?
IME ML's are decent watches, I've been offered quite a few at really knock down prices, they don't keep their value but I'm glad you like yours and it makes a change to see something else.
Cheers,
Neil.
Great write up and good to see something different, enjoy.
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I spent a year working in Budapest and was struck by how ML seemed to be the watch of choice for anyone with a few forint there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on a wrist here.Originally Posted by Neil.C
I am neither, but inky black faces have a black hole type effect on me"It seems to Suck you into a vortex."
Are you a copywriter or work for ML?
.
I guess I never recovered after the film Event Horizon ;)
Yes its interesting
There are steadily increasing ML sales in the UK, but still small and not really in the forum crowd.
Still, apart from Rolex, Omega, Tag Heuer, Gucci and Longines, its rare to meet anyone with other brands of mechanical watches.
I never even see an Oris on the street.
The UK market is very brand conscious, and its easy to drop below the Radar. Brands like Norqain, Muhle Glashutte and even Nomos, deserve much wider street cred, but will probably never get it here.
ETA doesn't bring all its brands to the UK for this reason, e.g. Mido, which I am told is a big seller in India
I remember talking to a particularly large retailer in London, when I was looking at a Jaeger-le-coutre, he said I was the first to look at the brand in days. Folk just steam past to look at Rolex, all the other brands are less then 10% of views :(
Glad you like the watch. Given the bespoke nature of the strap, I'd be buying some spares whilst you can as they may be difficult to acquire a few years down the line.
The Aiken line has been a staple of ML for many years, in many types of watch. Like AP I am sure they mean to continue with this connection indefinitely
I am not a bit fan of the "conventional" watch strap connection. Innovation does mean trying new ideas.
On the other hand the robust strap, and especially the heavy duty bracelet which I intend to buy, should have many years of usage, perhaps as much as the watch itself
rgds
Last edited by colonel; 25th October 2021 at 16:56.
Thanks for sharing your storie
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Really enjoyed that write up thanks and I like the watch a lot too
Nice write up. I like the design too and a GMT is on the cards next month.
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