A closer look at the new limited edition Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton Excellence and whether it delivers on its name.

Google the word “masterpiece” and you get a definition along the lines of “a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship.” So when Maurice Lacroix comes out with a collection carrying that same name, it has plenty to live up to. The bar gets raised even higher when one of the watches within that collection has been named the “Excellence”.

No need to pull out the dictionary again, but suffice it to say that the new Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton – Excellence has a lot of promises to deliver on. So how does it do?

The brand’s Masterpiece collection has always aimed to combine design, innovation and craftsmanship, leveraging nearly three decades of expertise in crafting skeleton watches. And over those years, the engineers at Maurice Lacroix have done a fine job of it.

In fact, two models - the Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton and the Masterpiece Skeleton - have already been recognized for their excellent designs at the Red Dot Design Awards. Maurice Lacroix is no stranger to these awards, having picked up 13 of the awards in total.

The newest addition to the line is the Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton – Excellence. It’s another powerful design, with a nice balance of structural rigidity and open-work dial details. Doing the Masterpiece name justice, the slim framework of the movement has also been finely decorated.

This is also true for the imposing 45mm blue PVD case, with its vertical brushed and satin brushed detailing. The silver bi-compax dial within it features hour and minute hands crafted from black gold, while the central chronograph seconds hand is presented in a blue varnished form.

The watch is powered by the in-house ML206 chronograph movement, which has also been decorated with black gold plating to make another case for the haughty name of this watch. The caliber is yet another indication of the seriousness of this watchmaker, producing all of its movements in-house.

So is the watch “excellent”? It certainly is. But with all the design accolades that Maurice Lacroix has received for its Masterpiece collection already, this newest addition clearly has a tough act to follow.