HANDS-ON: The Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity 2015 collection
Felix ScholzThe story in a second:
The Gravity was a breakthrough hit for Maurice Lacroix last year. This year they’ve tweaked the design and made it even better.
The Maurice
Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity was a surprise hit in 2014. It presented a new look for the brand that managed
to infuse an open dial style taken from classic pocket watches, with a contemporary haute horology edge.
Maurice Lacroix has upped their game with the second generation of the Gravity, offering four models in new case materials and colour combinations. While all are attractive, the star of the show is without doubt the blue dialled beauty that pairs classic roman numerals with a sleek black finish.
To be completely
honest this is my favourite variation simply because it’s stunning in real life. I was unprepared
for just how colourful this watch would be. By rights the black DLC case and
movement architecture should make this something of a dour design, with
the blue dials providing only a slight lift in mood. In reality it’s much lighter. The blue lacquer
glistens in the light, oscillating between midnight and electric blue. Add to
this the exposed purple of the silicium escapement, glimpses of brass wheels
and bright rubies and the watch is suddenly full of colourful highlights; a marked improvement on last years
more monotone appearance.
The other three watches in the collection are attractive in their own rights too. There are steel and PVD versions with white and black dials respectively that are essentially upgrades of last years options.
The final watch in the series is a special watch celebrating Maurice Lacroix’s 40th anniversary. Aside from being limited to an exclusive 40 pieces this watch is cased in their innovative Powerlite alloy. Powerlite is an impressive mix of aluminium, magnesium, titanium, zirconium and
ceramic. As the name suggests it’s
a very light substance. But more than that, Powerlite anodises well, allowing
Maurice Lacroix to play with interesting colour treatments; which are deeper and more scratch
resistant than traditional processes like PVD. It’s a very cool alloy and even
though the anthracite finish looks quite similar to PVD, the Powerlite has a
very soft finish that is quite unique.
Pricing for the collection ranges from $17,995 up to $24,900 to the 40th anniversary model. For this sort of money I’d like to see a little bit more care taken on the movement. Maurice Lacroix is playing in a competitive marketplace at that price and while the unique look will be enough of a drawcard for many, a higher level of finishing (especially on the very large, very exposed escapement) wouldn’t go astray.
All in all, the
Gravity remains a breakthrough watch for Maurice Lacroix, and this second generation shows
several refinements on last year’s debut.
Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity Australian pricing
This Gravity retails for $17,995 except for the 40th Anniversary model that retails for $24,900.
Images by Kristian Dowling/Time+Tide Images.