Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Ceramic Makes Exclusive Materials Accessible

There are a lot of case materials that see frequent use in the watch industry, and some are more exclusive than others. That’s especially true of high-tech, advanced materials at the cutting-edge of R&D like ceramic. However, over the last three years Maurice Lacroix gave themselves the challenge to produce an accessible ceramic watch, the result of which is the new Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Ceramic.

If you’re unfamiliar with ceramic, it’s an incredibly scratch resistant material capable of holding intense colour that will never fade. It’s typically made from zirconium oxide although as part of their research and development Maurice Lacroix experimented with different compounds in a variety of compositions. The outcome of these experiments is a material they’re calling ‘technical ceramic’, which combines zirconium oxide with hafnium oxide, yttrium oxide and aluminium oxide. This composition is designed to increase the material’s durability and strength while retaining the scratch resistance, colour, corrosion resistance and hypoallergenic properties inherent in ceramic.

One of the biggest challenges facing Maurice Lacroix in producing the Aikon Automatic Ceramic was the signature shape of the watch’s case and bezel. The bezel in particular was problematic because of the distinctive ‘arms’ that are presented in relief at six positions around the circular shape. In order to make them stand out they require different finishing to the rest of the case and methods of finishing ceramic are somewhat limited compared to conventional materials. I can’t think of many ceramic watches even from high end brands that feature such complex, facetted shapes in the material – the majority opting for smooth hegemony instead even when it comes to octagonal bezels and the like.

There are two size options being made available, either 39mm or 42mm. On top of that, each version is a strikingly different colour with the smaller 39mm option in white with a matching white dial and the 42mm edition in black. The two complement each other very well and would make for a cool two watch collection, you could even call it his & hers although both are in reality very unisex.

As for the dials, they both feature a Clous de Paris style texture also known as a hobnail pattern that’s comprised of a repeating motif of tiny pyramid-like shapes. It helps to give the Aikon its characteristic sporty appearance following in the stylistic heritage of watches like the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, which coincidentally is another watch well-known for utilising ceramic. However, a ceramic AP is approximately 15x the price of the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic Ceramic.

Inside the ceramic cases both models house the ML 115 automatic movement with a 38-hour power reserve. It’s based on the Sellita SW200-1, a widely used workhorse calibre. While the power reserve is a little low by today’s standards, it helps to keep the overall price down. Both versions are priced at £3,100. While that’s not exactly an impulse purchase for the average person, if we’re strictly talking about ceramic watches, it’s one of the more reasonable prices around.

More details at Maurice Lacroix.

​Oracle Time 

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