Maurice Lacroix is an excellent brand which doesn’t always get the coverage and recognition it deserves.Based in Saignelégier, Switzerland, and named after an employee who happened to have a name that fitted the image the company wanted to project, the brand has been slowly but steadily nudging its way more up market in recent years. And as the Swatch Group have now drastically reduced the supply of ETA movements, they have ventured increasingly into developing their own.

The brand’s flagship, ‘the Masterpieces’ is Maurice Lacroix’s individualistic interpretation of complications, including the retrograde and moon indications.

While the Masterpieces previously developed alongside manual winding mechanisms, last year saw Maurice Lacroix adopt automatic calibres for the first time, for 2012, the collection continues to expand, revisiting its long-standing manual expertise with a new version of the Masterpiece Roue Carrée Seconde.

Meanwhile, the new Masterpiece Lune Retrograde is a new self-winding manufacture movement with a 52 hour power reserve. Cased in a 43mm stainless steel case, the Masterpiece Lune Retrograde alternates satin and polished finishes without ostentation.

The slightly raised time markers are emphasised by the satin sunburst finish of the royal blue dial. Encircled by a hand display marking the days of the week, the moon phase is 6 o’clock. It turns on a black disk in striking chiaroscuro. The calendar is housed at 10 o’clock in a wide retrograde arch, while the power reserve is dynamically displayed at 2 o’clock. The self-winding in-house ML 192 movement is revealed by the sapphire crystal case.

The new Masterpiece Lune Rétrograde comes with an optional leather strap and is available with dials in slate and silver/gold two-tone. Its particularly competitive position on the market for manufacture watches confirms the desire of Maurice Lacroix to expand its range. Well worth checking out if you are looking at if pieces from $2,000 – $6,000

Specifications

Case:
– Stainless steel, Ø 43 mm, satin and polished finishing
– Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
– Screwed case back with wide sapphire crystal
– Water-resistant to 50m/5 atm

Dial:
– Based on a 925 solid silver plate
– Available in black gold, navy blue or silver colour, with sun brushed finishing
– Diamond-cut applied hour, small second and power reserve markers; rhodium colored on black gold and – navy blue dial, pink gold color on silver dial

Hands:
– Stamped hours and minutes hands with diamond-cut head in the pure tradition of hands making
– Retrograde indications in contrast to the dial color for optimum legibility: rhodium colored on black gold and navy blue dial, black gold color on silver dial
– Rhodium colored stick hand for power reserve and small second
– Moon phase disc : rhodied moon and stars on black sky or pink gold moon and rhodied stars on deep blue sky

Strap / Bracelet:
– Large-scale crocodile-skin strap, hand-stitched, available in black (lined with black calfskin and black over-stitching), matt brown (lined with brown calfskin and over-stitching) or navy blue (lined with black calfskin and blue over-stitching)

Buckle:
– Folding steel clasp with push buttons
– Satin and polished finish

Movement:
Automatic manufacture movement ML192

Functions:
– Hours and minutes indicated by central hand
– Date indicated by retrograde hand at 10 o’clock
– Weekday indicated by small hand at 6 o’clock
– Moon phase indicated by disc at 6 o’clock
– Power reserve hand at 2 o’clock