ince 1992, the name ‘Masterpiece’ has come to symbolise excellence and represents the ultimate expression of Maurice Lacroix ownership. All watches are painstakingly crafted at the brand’s Manufacture in Saignelégier, a town located in the lush green landscape of the Swiss Jura. Consistent with all of the brand’s watches, the Masterpiece models are rich in mechanical virtue, notably stylish and deliver high perceived value.

In this instance, Masterpiece excellence has been applied to the highly successful Aikon, the Swiss brand’s urban watch, inspired by its iconic model of the 90s, the Calypso. Now, with summer just around the corner, Maurice Lacroix reinterprets the stealthy appearance of its Aikon Master Grand Date Black by embracing sun-kissed vibrant hues. The resultant watch, the Aikon Master Grand Date Technicolour, combines serious horology with the playful use of colour.

Housed in a 45mm stainless steel case, dressed in black DLC, each version of the Aikon Master Grand Date Technicolour features an off-centre dial enlivened with intersecting lines, arranged in a criss-cross pattern, termed ‘Clous de Paris’. A small seconds display is positioned below the off-centre dial. Each dial is enriched with sunray decoration and features black, facetted hour and minute hands, coated with a liberal application of Super-LumiNova, to impart the prevailing time. A splash of red enlivens the tip of the small seconds hand, aiding readability.

This latest model is offered in a choice of four new dial colours: blue, green, orange and yellow. Each hue exhibits a metallic sheen, brimming with exuberance. However, some elements of this latest model stay true to the design of the Aikon Master Grand Date Black, such as the visible balance wheel and the openworked small seconds display, conferring views of numerous movement components in motion.

Once again, the eponymous Grand Date function returns, employing a complex mechanism and two date discs to deliver a highly legible large-format date indication. But in this instance, the numerals are presented in one of the four aforementioned eye-popping hues.

Consistent with other members of the Aikon collection, the case shuns conventional lugs and integrates the strap within the housing, heightening wearer comfort. The watch is supplied with two rubber straps: one matches the dial and the other is presented in black to complement the case. Both straps feature the ‘Maurice Lacroix’ name, presented in relief, contributing to the model’s contemporary appearance.

All of the watches are presented in special packaging exclusive to this new model. Each presentation box is formed of #tide, a composite material made from ocean-bound upcycled plastic. It takes 34 bottles to make one presentation box which means 34 fewer bottles polluting the ocean. The colour of each box matches the chosen dial hue.

Limited to just 50 pieces in each colour, the Aikon Master Grand Date Technicolour promises to be the coolest watch this summer. Once again, Maurice Lacroix demonstrates that even serious watches sometimes like to have fun!