Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic 39mm

Maurice Lacroix presented its Aikon Automatic collection of luxury sports watches back at Baselworld 2018 with sizes for both men and women. This now large collection, with its bold design and attractive overall quality, is offering the highly popular luxury sports watch aesthetic at affordable prices. “Accessible luxury” is the motto for Maurice Lacroix and this happy medium slots between the other models with a unisex versatility. The Aikon Automatic 39mm is a bit smaller and restrained for men or bolder for women, and there’s truly something for everyone in the collection. 

The watch is neither “girly” or overly masculine, and lands at a size considered by many as ideal for a contemporary luxury piece. It also doesn’t borrow all design elements from its higher-end counterparts such as angular bezels and exposed screws, which is much appreciated. Like its siblings, it has a familiar barrel-shaped case, highly designed bezel, integrated design (for bracelet or strap) and a couple of bold features to keep it sporty. The original Aikon series debuted in 2016, but with quartz movements in lieu of automatics, and the collection was inspired by the Calypso line from the 1990s.

The 316L stainless steel case comes in at 39mm in diameter with a hearty 200m water-resistance. Fit and finish is excellent and belies the accessible price, and is more akin to a piece like the Bell & Ross BR05. In fact, Aikon Automatic cases and bracelets are produced in-house alongside their pricier Masterpiece collection. The round bezel is brushed with a polished chamfer and six polished arms instead of the more familiar exposed screws seen on many sports watches. The barrel-shaped case has vertically brushed surfaces and polished chamfers as well, and two extending claws reach beyond its sloped edges to the bracelet or strap. Flip the case over and the decorated automatic is displayed through an exhibition caseback. The machined edges of the signed, screw-down crown match the look of the bezel and everything culminates in an impressive package.

The dial features a blue or black Clous de Paris (hobnail) pattern, which reinforces the sports watch vibe. Applied baton-style indices mark the hours with a double index at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. The polished hour and minute hands and all indices have lume inserts. A date window with a polished frame sits at 3 o’clock and the dial is simple, sporty and well balanced. A more feminine version, with white mother-of-pearl dial set with diamond indexes, is also available.

The heart of the Aikon Automatic 39mm is the calibre ML115, the same as both the 42mm and 35mm three-hand models. Based on the Sellita SW 200-1, it has 26 jewels, beats at 28,800vph (4Hz) with a 38-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes and seconds with a date at 3 o’clock. Seen through the exhibition caseback, it’s decorated with perlage and Côtes de Genève on the rotor.

Strap options include an integrated, brushed five-row stainless steel bracelet with butterfly clasp and easy strap exchange system – a type of quick-release levers that is very practical to use on a daily basis and allows you changing strap and bracelet within seconds, without tools. A colour-matching calf leather strap with butterfly clasp is also available and seamlessly integrates with the extending claws from the case.

The Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic 39mm starts at CHF 1,590 for the leather strap models and CHF 1,750 with the steel bracelet, which is a real value proposition. For more information and to make a purchase, visit the Maurice Lacroix website.