Since its debut in 2016, the Maurice Lacroix AIKON has become a defining contemporary wristwatch for an entire generation of collectors who craved accessible Swiss watchmaking without sacrificing flair, material sophistication and a certain metropolitan attitude. Now, in 2025, the Maison takes a decisive step forward with the AIKONIC – a watch conceived not as a replacement for the AIKON but as its refined evolution, one that integrates new materials, a new proprietary calibre and a welcome emphasis on high-end finishing, all while maintaining the democratic spirit that has made the collection one of the most approachable successes of modern Swiss watchmaking.
From AIKON to AIKONIC – The Lineage
The original AIKON launched in 2016 as a reimagining of the Calypso, a model from the 1980s and 1990s that was beloved for its six-arm bezel and a distinctive urban-chic design language. Priced accessibly and offered in both quartz and automatic forms, it struck a chord with a younger, style-forward audience who wanted their first “serious Swiss watch” without diving into the price strata of the Richemont or Rolex camps. The collection quickly became synonym with design coherence: bold bezels, integrated bracelets, a play of brushed and polished surfaces, and unpretentious wearability with a universal appeal.
Fast-forward to 2021, and the AIKON expanded at the high end with the AIKON Master Grand Date, which showcased Maurice Lacroix’s in-house conservation of complications and its Masterpiece savoir-faire. Skeletonised aesthetics, oversized dual date, exposed balance wheel: this was the AIKON speaking fluently in the language of Haute Horlogerie. But naturally, such a halo piece existed at a different tier, both in price and in horological purpose, compared to the bread-and-butter AIKON Automatic.
Uniqueness Cast in Carbon
At the heart of the AIKONIC’s identity lies its dial – a surface rich with individuality, depth and technical intrigue. While the watchmaking world has seen carbon fibre dials before, the execution here is rather different from the familiar basket-weave or layered patterns found elsewhere. Maurice Lacroix has chosen to work with a unique carbon structure in which the fibres are laid exclusively in a singular north-to-south direction. The result is a dial whose texture recalls flowing striations of grey and black lines, reminiscent of geological formations or artworks executed with a disciplined brushstroke. Importantly, each dial is inherently unique, since the arrangement of fibres is never identical from one to another.
This approach, developed in collaboration with a local specialist firm situated only 40 kilometres from Saignelégier, is in line with Maurice Lacroix’s ethos of both sourcing locally and providing a Jura-inspired character to its creations. The rhodium-plated indexes, with their sandblasted central lines, stand proud against this textured backdrop, while the facetted hands, equally rhodium-plated and enhanced with Super-LumiNova, further reinforce a sense of precision and clarity, even in low light. A discreet yet purposeful date aperture at 3 o’clock anchors the overall design to the real-world needs of daily wearers. The dial is not ornamental excess, but a calculated synthesis of uniqueness and urban readability.
The Calibre ML1000 – Precision and Refinement
Behind the dial, Maurice Lacroix unveils its new automatic calibre ML1000, developed in close partnership with Soprod, the movement atelier a stone’s throw from the brand’s Manufacture. It is worth pausing here, as this calibre represents a serious upgrade in both performance and finishing, signalling a maturation of the AIKON line.
Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a power reserve of approximately 60 hours, the ML1000 is calibrated for accuracy within an impressive ±4 seconds per day, placing it firmly in the realm of precision chronometry. But beyond performance, what characterises this movement is its visual and tactile refinement. Visible through the sapphire exhibition back, one can admire bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève, the flourish of circular graining (colimaçon) across the surfaces, and the gleam of blued screws carefully seated into place. The oscillating mass is a particularly striking feature: it is skeletonised, sunbrushed, and proudly decorated, a component that transforms a functional necessity into a statement of aesthetic ambition.
Technical robustness is not overlooked either. The balance bridge is secured by twin screws for stability, a detail that ensures long-term reliability and symmetry. Indeed, where some brands treat a calibre in this segment as a hidden workhorse, Maurice Lacroix has elevated the ML1000 into a storyline of transparency, Swiss craftsmanship and regional savoir-faire made visible to the owner every time the watch is turned over in hand.
The AIKONIC – A Refined Step Forward
Where the first AIKON relied on Sellita-based movements that were decorated but not substantively reworked, the AIKONIC gains its own ML1000 calibre, developed with Soprod and distinguished by genuine mechanical refinement and aesthetic finish. The new specifications elevate it significantly above the tolerances collectors resigned themselves to in the mainstream AIKON.
Ceramic Modernism, Steel Precision
Maurice Lacroix AIKON, in all its guises, is instantly recognisable by the six double claws on its bezel. The AIKONIC retains this beloved design DNA but sharpens its profile through the introduction of new materials and refined finishing. The stainless steel case, measuring 43 mm in diameter and 11 mm in thickness, wears with a convincing mix of sportiness and elegant restraint. Vertical brushing plays dynamically against polished accents, gently catching light across the ever-changing chamfers that flank the case. These increasing chamfreins are a small but telling touch – an architect’s sensibility applied to watch design.
The bezel itself is in high-grade ceramic (ZrO2), sandblasted and polished to contrasting degrees, available in striking shades of black, white, blue, or turquoise, depending on reference. Ceramic is also employed on the crown, concealed as a cap over a steel base, ensuring scratch resistance on the most exposed points of interaction. This blending of surfaces creates a case that feels both robust and urbane, a timepiece fit for being worn daily on city streets but still smart enough to rest proudly under a shirt cuff. A sapphire crystal with improved double-sided anti-reflective treatment ensures optimal legibility, while also increasing resistance to wear from salt water, details that reiterate the brand’s attention to real-life versatility.
Behind, the open caseback in sapphire crystal not only showcases the ML1000 but also signals to the owner that this watch is intended as not just a stylistic object, but as a watch-proper in the horological sense of the term. Water resistance is rated at 100 metres, sufficient for all casual aquatic pursuits, further underlining its daily utility.
Straps and Wearability – Democratizing Change
Strap attachment has always been a distinctive part of the AIKON’s appeal, and in the AIKONIC this has been taken one step further. The patented EasyChange system, now in its latest generation, allows the wearer to switch straps without tools, hidden mechanisms or risk of damage. A bi-material strap of rubber with a textile-look insert, available in either black or blue bases with white or black stitching, accompanies each watch. This instant adaptability speaks to the philosophy of personalisation and individuality that runs through Maurice Lacroix’s contemporary offerings.
In an era where versatility is not merely desirable but expected, giving the collector the power to shift the visual character of the watch in seconds is both a technical and aesthetic advantage.
Place in the Collection – Between Access and Aspiration
The AIKONIC is best understood not as a replacement, but as a bridge within the Maurice Lacroix portfolio. For the entry-level buyer, the standard AIKON remains the lure, its quartz and automatic iterations affordable and stylish. For the dyed-in-the-wool collector, the Master Grand Date remains the technically ambitious showpiece. The AIKONIC, however, introduces enough technical originality, movement refinement, carbon dial uniqueness, and the improved ML EasyChange system, that it appeals both as an upgrade path for AIKON owners and as a standalone urban sports watch with Geneva-worthy finishing.
From a design evolution standpoint, the journey from AIKON (2016) to AIKONIC (2025) shows a clear maturation of Maurice Lacroix’s voice. While once the AIKON was spoken of primarily as a “value play,” the AIKONIC asserts itself as a horological proposition worth examining on its own merits, not simply in relation to its price.
Evolution Rooted in Modernity
Maurice Lacroix has demonstrated over the past decade that it understands the pulse of modern watch consumers – offering value, design distinction and Swiss legitimacy at an unusually competitive level. With the AIKONIC, the Maison moves decisively further upscale in terms of finishing, movement sophistication and material application while carefully retaining the codes that link back to the AIKON line of 2016. The watch becomes an object that fuses tradition with innovation, pulling inspiration quite literally from its Jura surroundings, and offering a product that feels both authentically local and globally attractive.
In its carbon dial, in its new calibre ML1000, in its ceramic details, and in its refined finishing, the AIKONIC encapsulates this moment in Maurice Lacroix’s trajectory – a brand that does not wish to echo the past but to carve a contemporary language within Swiss watchmaking. The AIKONIC is more than just an addition to the catalogue; it is an evolution, perhaps even the crystallisation of the AIKON philosophy in its purest, most modern form.
It will appeal to the collector who wants individuality in each dial, rigour in daily accuracy, comfort in contemporary ergonomics, and a sense of aesthetic pleasure that remains engaging long after the initial purchase. In short, the AIKONIC feels like the right watch for this time: urban, precise, visibly refined and resolutely forward-looking.
In the broader curve of Maurice Lacroix’s evolution, the AIKONIC represents modernity carefully infused with heritage: a Jura-rooted watch that remains democratic in spirit yet decidedly more sophisticated in execution. It feels like a statement that the AIKON family has now found its balance between design, performance, and long-term credibility in the horological conversation
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Maurice Lacroix AIKONIC Technical Specifications
Model Name: Aikonic Automatic 43mm – 2’950.00 CHF / 3.450,00 €
Key Features
- New Caliber ML100 high precision (4 +/-4 sec per day)
- Scratch Proof Ceramic (ZrO2)* (bezel & crown)
- Unidirectional carbon dial (each piece is unique)
- Easychange new generation (patent in progress)
Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds
- Date at 3 o’clock
Movement
- ML1000 automatic high precision (4 +/-4 sec per day)
- Power reserve: approx. 60 hours
- Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
- 26 jewels
- Maurice Lacroix-decorated movement: Côte de Genève and colimaçon movement with Blued screws. Côte de Genève, colimaçon and sunbrushed automatic skeleton rotor
Case
- Stainless steel brushed and polished Brushed and polished ceramic bezel (ZrO2) with sandblasted ceramic (ZrO2) claws. 4 bezel colors available: black, white, blue or turquoise
- Stainless steel crown with ceramic (ZrO2) cover
- Diameter: 43.00 mm
- Thickness: 11.00 mm
- Water resistance: 10 ATM / 100 meters
- Open case back with sapphire glass
Dial
- Black carbon unidirectional dial with rhodium M-logo
- Silver powder printings
- Index: Rhodium index with sandblasted central line
- Hands: Rhodium facetted hour and minute hands with white SLN and central sandblasted line, rhodium second hand
Strap
- Bi-rubber strap with black, blue or turquoise rubber base
- Black or white textured nylon imitation rubber inset with black or white stitching
- Rubber M-logo
- New ML Easy Change system
