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HANDS-ON: The  Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Gravity 2015 collection

Felix Scholz

The 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.

Maurice-Lacroix-Gravity-2015-9 — The 40th Anniversary limited edition in with Powerlite case.

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.