Possibly The Most Beautiful Chronograph Ever...!

[Guest TTK]

Maurice lacroix have recently released this.....their first in house chronograph manufacture.....with the ML 106 calibre in the Masterpiece Le Chronographe, Maurice Lacroix presents its first own manufacture movement!

The chronograph movement is unique: Its majestic proportions of 36.6 millimeters are captivating. But above all, it is a marriage between traditional elements, including a column-wheel, and an innovative, especially developed lever mechanism for stopping and zeroing, for which a patent is pending.

The Masterpiece Le Chronographe in pink gold is limited to 250 pieces.

Movement: Maurice Lacroix manufacture movement, hand-decorated mechanical, hand-wound ML 106 movement, 20 jewels, blued steel screws, 2 gold 18K 750 chatons, column-wheel, swan neck precision adjustment, Kif shock protection, polished steel pallet and escapement wheel, Glucydur coiled balance wheel, Nivarox-1 balance spring, Nivaflex-1 main spring.

Functions: chronograph with 60-minute counter, small seconds.

Case: pink gold 18K 750; domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on inside, screwed caseback with sapphire crystal; water-resistant to 30 m, diameter 45 mm.

Dial: solid silver 925; silver-coloured; applied Arabic numerals and index marks, centre decorated with Côtes de Genève "Rayon de la Gloire"; polished and blued steel hands, hours/minutes luminous.

Watchband: genuine, hand-sewn croco leather with pink gold 18K 750 folding clasp.

Edition: limited to 250 pieces, numbered, with certificate.

MP7008-PG101-120

Case, crown and folding clasp of pink gold 18K 750. Silver dial, silver-coloured, centre decorated with Côtes de Genève "Rayon de la Gloire". Luminous hands (hours/minutes).

A Manufacture’s first own – Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Le Chronographe

“We try always to do something different. From a design point of view, we look at the things we can and cannot do, especially with the movement. The priority is always to produce something distinctive, something different to what others are offering”, says Patrick Graells, Head of Product and Designer of the Masterpiece Le Chronographe.

Such is the commitment of the Swiss watch company, that now with its first in-house own manufacture movement, the ML-106, Maurice Lacroix has now be promoted as a Manufacture. The ML-106 is housed exclusively in the new Masterpiece Le Chronographe with many unique features that surpasses itself as a mere chronograph.

Chronographs have been one of the most difficult complications to build, to add on to its complexity; Maurice Lacroix integrated a complex column-wheel chronograph into the movement as well.

What awaits one when looking through the large back glass-window is a visually stimulating and satisfying view. Being a hand-wound chronograph also means that there is no winding rotor to interfere the view of the lever mechanism. The lever mechanism is something that the Swiss watch company is proud of. The lever mechanism is specially and painstakingly developed for the oversize 45mm case housing the 36.6mm ML-106 movement. The lever mechanism includes a second lever to ensure that the return-to-zero function can only be triggered after the chronograph has been stopped. This mechanism is pending for patent.

Another special feature is the chronograph’s center wheel that has 300 teeth (more than the usual). This helps to stabilize the elapsed-seconds hand when the chronograph is switched on or while it is running. The 300 teeth are used to regulate the chronograph’s elapsed-seconds hands in a regular fashion each minute, as reflected by the number of increments on the large dial.

Big-faced watches are the popular choice now, but most movements on these large watches still remain small, resulting in sub-dials being smaller relative to the large diameter. However, in this Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Le Chronographe, the movement is a large 36.6mm size, housed on sub dials so large that 60 (rather than the usual 30) minutes can be displayed around the periphery of the elapsed-minutes counter. The designer engineers took hard work and wrecking brain cells to produce a neat and tidy Masterpiece dial, with the 2 sub-dials on the equatorial position (continuously running seconds at the 9 and elapsed minutes at the 3, without the elapsed-hour sub dial).

Having such a large dimension would also allow for a more accurate reading of each second, specifically 1/5 of a second can be read. The elapsed second hand always points to a stroke on the big dial, never between two strokes. This leisurely-pace enables the seconds hand to move across the dial at a rate of 300 strokes each minute.

An interesting observation is that of the numbering system. The scale is marked with a dozen positions (10numerals and 2 indices) at 25 fifth-of-a-second increments from 0 to 300. (For example, the number 150 is printed below the 6).

The usual way of measuring elapsed time is usually read as ’43 and 3/5 of a second’, rather than ‘218 fifths of a second’, however, despite this illogical reading system, reading the dial is sure not a problem. A big caliber like the ML-106 will certainly need a large balance, which is naturally heavier than the smaller ones; and a heavier oscillator cannot swing as quickly as a lighter one. The distinct advantage to this is that slower oscillations will have less friction and wear.

The Masterpiece Le Chronographe took three-and-a-half years to complete, with the help of independent watchmaker, Andreas Strehler, a member of the AHCI (the academy of creative freelance watchmaker), who offered invaluable design assistance to the specialists in Maurice Lacroix’s Saignelégier facility.

Moving away from the technical features, the decoration of the Swiss timepiece is uniquely designed. With decorative patterns on the silver dial, its inner disk spots a fan-shaped pattern; satin-finishing on the outer ring of the main dial and the concentric grooves on the sub dials are some of the design details. Applied, curving rose-gold indices and unique shaped ‘6’ and ‘12’ add some of the personal touch. Yet above all, the styling of the hands and the typeface is uniquely ‘Maurice Lacroix’.

This Swiss luxury timepiece is in for limited production for 250 pieces, numbered with certificate, cased in 18K rose gold and hand-sewn crocodile leather with folding clasp is retailing at US$24,800.

If you cannot afford this piece yet, perhaps await for the stainless steel version though no official news have released for that yet.

Edited January 24, 2007 by TTK

[dadog13]

I agree..it is a beauty...but ML has been doing for some time beauties...i remember you having some reps of ML...it would be nice to see them more often

[Guest TTK]

I've always been a fan of ML watches....I think they have great presence......another new one is the Pontos Décentrique GMT......a perfect dual time zone watch....with Day / Night indicator....gorgeous....!

Movement: hand-decorated automatic movement ML 121, 30 jewels, surface treatment "black gold".

Functions: off-centre indication of hours, minutes, seconds, off-centre day and night indication for second time zone, date indication (patent pending).

Case: titanium grade 2; domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflecting coating on inside, sapphire crystal partially unpolished over GMT and date indication, screwed caseback with sapphire crystal; water-resistant to 50 m, diameter 45 mm.

Dial: anthracite or black; applied index marks; luminous hands (hours/minutes).titanium grade 2; anthracite or black; facetted index marks, luminous hands (hours/minutes/2nd time zone), index marks for minutes, moon symbol and surface under date indication.

Watchband: genuine croco leather with titanium grade 2 folding clasp or genuine rubber with titanium grade 2 buckle.

Edition: Limited to 999 pieces with anthracite dial, to 999 pieces with black dial.

[fitmic]

Absolutely stunning!

TTK>> When can I expect you to have a rep of these two beauties?

[robertk]

I've always been a big fan of ML's. I actually have a gen Pontos and 4 reps (I think only Dave Gates has more).

Those are sterling looking. As nice a design as there is! And that Movement is very impressive.

For those not familiar, stop in an AD that stocks them. You will be impressed.

[alt.watch.obsessive]

A (true) manufacture uses nothing but in-house components, correct? Regardless, ML produces some nice stuff.

[Guest TTK]

Wrong......a manufacture designs makes and assembles their own movements.....parts such as dials / hands etc etc....can and are sourced elsewhere....!

[ubiquitous]

:wub:

[gran]

ML is a littel feminine but they are so beautiful

[Dario33]

Some very classy ML watches there...

[relaxman]

I had my ML for a couple of years now and though it doesnt get alot of wrist time

I think it is one of the nicest watches ive seen. The dials are fantastic. Everytime

I contemplate selling it I quickly change my mind.

[flavor flav]

that new one looks awesome! the movement is amazing....i've always had a thing for this one but always ending up getting something else.

[subbiesrock]

What's the general consensus on the quality of ML reps in comparison to the gens?

[Dave123]

Yes Neil,what say you?...

[maxman]

Looks like Dave will be reviving some older threads,nice work Dave It's nice to see how things(forum,members reps, etc) were at one time and how they have changed over the years. mike

[hiker01]

DARN, if I didn't see the date, THought TTK was back! WHEW!

[subbiesrock]

My fault, sorry guys I was doing a search on ML to find some info on reps, it was only after I posted that I saw the date

So... ML reps... any good?

[robertk]

I've got several but they're several years old now. Dave Gates (I miss him) and I were huge fans of ML's and these are representatives of the ML's available at the time. They were pretty damn good. I still wear them and enjoy 'em.

BTW, TTK's post on watches were second to none: