Maurice de Mauriac already has the L3 Cherry Blossom in its collection, for a great cause. The writer and ex-tennis player Andrea Petcović, an admirable woman and a great person wearing this watch to make our Pink October commitment against breast cancer maximally successful. She is a border crosser and has had to cross borders again and again to be successful, and she had to develop strength where it was not always self-evident. She gives this strength to the watch. Andrea Petcović encloses her latest signed book “Zwischen Ruhm und Ehre liegt die Nacht” (Kiwi Verlag), with every L3 Cherry Blossom.
L3 Cherry Blossom is the name of a special edition conceived by Maurice de Mauriac in support of activities raising awareness and funds to fight breast cancer. Its ambassador and spokeswoman is the charismatic former top 10 tennis player Andrea Petkovic, who has been committed to the cause for a long time.
Pink is the most talked about colour in the world these past days and undoubtedly the most fashionable hue right now. Yet, for Maurice de Mauriac and way before any cinematographic influence, pink has always been a shade beyond hype or gender. The Zurich watch brand firmly believes in the power of colour and considers pink to have a special symbolism transcending prejudice or fashion. Enter the L3 Cherry Blossom.
«The L3 Cherry Blossom is a logical development of our best-selling L3 Sees Red», says Leonard Dreifuss, the Watch Bro who is responsible for design at Maurice de Mauriac. «Instead of the red sapphire glass, we used a sapphire glass in soft pink and then chose both a pink dial and a pink strap to reinforce a statement: Think Pink!». The manual-wound L3 Cherry Blossom chronograph was launched last autumn, during Pink October; award-winning Swiss designer Fabian Schwaerzler authored its appealing design. «The L3 Cherry Blossom should at the same time be a statement for anyone who wants to encourage those affected by cancer, as well as those who want to fight the disease», adds the other Watch Bro — CEO Massimo Dreifuss. «But, all in all, it is a highly symbolic timepiece that we are very proud of and are now introducing in a new automatic version».
Launched in 1985 by the American Cancer Society, the idea of having a specific month to raise awareness and focus on the prevention, research and treatment of breast cancer gained significant traction in the past decade. The Maurice de Mauriac team supports wholeheartedly the fight against breast cancer and 10% of the L3 Cherry Blossom sales are donated to the Zurich Cancer Foundation.
Besides its association with a commendable cause, pink represents an important hue in the kaleidoscopic array of colours Maurice de Mauriac used since the Zurich-based brand’s inception. It can now be found on the ‘Finish Line’ bucket hat paired with a chequered band. On various calf or croco straps available in different lengths and width sizes. And especially on the L3 Cherry Blossom, a chronograph with a tricompax dial configuration powered by a hand-wound movement is now also available with an automatic calibre. The Maurice de Mauriac x Racquet magazine Rallymaster designed by Carlton DeWoody, also featured an exquisite soft pink dial — it sold out in a mere couple of hours last year.
The Power of Pink
Pink is usually associated with delicacy and femininity. That, however, is a fairly recent development: going back to the 18th century, boys and girls both wore pink and blue and other colours uniformly; pink was even considered to be a masculine colour in old catalogues and books because it was related to the mother colour of red — an ardent and passionate hue, more active and aggressive. An article titled ‘Pink or Blue’, published in the trade journal The Infants’ Department stated in 1918 that the generally accepted rule is pink for boys and blue for girls: «The reason is that pink being a decided and stronger colour is more suitable for the boy», it read. The reversal happened due to commercial reasons associated with clothing and probably the highly publicized acquisition of two 18th-century paintings by American millionaire Henry Huntington: ‘The Blue Boy’ depicted a boy dressed in blue; ‘Pinkie’ portrayed a girl in pink attire. People started assuming that blue had been for boys for hundreds of years and pink had been for girls, which wasn’t true.
Often cited as a reason why pink became affiliated with girls, a line in the famous ‘Little Women’ novel published in 1869 refers to Amy as tying pink and blue ribbons around two babies to tell the male from the female. Today, a boy or man almost can’t wear pink without it being some statement; however, researchers at Pantone found that the pink hue is being adopted more by men than ever before. And, in general, new generations do not carry some of the prejudices about specific colours that previous ones did. Besides, pink is often associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness and romance. What’s not to like?
Lionel Messi just scored a spectacular winning goal in his first match in the US, clad in the pink outfit of Inter Miami. The Barbie movie is the flavour du jour. But never forget: breast cancer charities worldwide are using the colour to symbolize support for people with breast cancer and promote awareness of the disease, encouraging women and men to wear pink to show their support.
And that’s why we at Maurice de Mauriac think pink, besides all the other cool ones.
Maurice de Mauriac L3 Cherry Blossom Technical Specifications
Movement
- Manual-wound Concepto C8100-M or automatic Concepto C8100-A, both custom-refined for Maurice de Mauriac;
- 28,800 a/h, Incabloc shock protection system,
- 48 hours power reserve
- Functions: chronograph and small seconds
Case
- Brushed stainless steel;
- Screw-in crown and mushroom-type pushers;
- Antireflective domed sapphire crystal and sapphire caseback;
- Water resistant to 30 meters
- Diameter: 40,5 mm
- Height: 12.99 mm (hand-wound version); 13,99 mm (automatic version)
Dial
- Pink;
- Luminous hour and minute hands, indexes filled with Super-LumiNova SLN X1 BL.
- Subdials: chronograph minute counter at 3 o’clock, chronograph half-hours at 6 o’clock, running small seconds at 9 o’clock
Strap & Buckle
- Strap: made from the finest leather in pink
- Buckle: brushed stainless steel
Prices (including 7.7% VAT)
- Stainless steel manual wound, 4,400 CHF;
- Stainless steel manual wound with black DLC coating, 5.400 CHF;
- Stainless steel automatic version, 4,900 CHF;
- Stainless steel automatic with black DLC coating, 5.900 CHF
Availability: online and in the Zurich atelier
* L3 Series also include the L3 Spheric Purple, L3 Spheric Red, L3 Spheric Blue, L3 Spheric Smaragd Green, L3 Spheric Brown, L3 Monochrome Blue, L3 Black, L3 White and L3 Sees Red; most iterations are available in stainless steel, DLC-coated or bronze cases.
About the designer
Fabian Schwaerzler is an award-winning master of reduction. His collaboration with Maurice de Mauriac resulted in the L Series (L as in Linear) comprised by the essential L1, the L2 diver and the L3 chronograph — all exuding a no-nonsense directness and legible design based on lines. True to his historical inspirations (Zurich School of Concrete Art, Bauhaus and classical watches), the Basel native is an advocate for democratic and autonomous design. «The L2 and the L3 are clearly an evolution of the L1. I think of them as children, but while the L2 has a very strong character the L3 is calmer; it looks like it could have been worn in the Bauhaus era or in 2050. I find such timelessness fascinating».
About the Brand
Maurice de Mauriac is a boutique brand founded by Daniel Dreifuss in 1997 and its atelier is open to public at Tödistrasse 48, in Zurich; Daniel’s sons Massimo and Leonard are heading the family-owned company since 2020 and were recently joined by their sister Masha. The Zurich independent watchmaker is famous for its exclusive series of timepieces featuring a customizable approach, unique designs, straps of the highest quality and not only robust movements tested by generations but also mechanical specialties. Since its inception, Maurice de Mauriac watches have interested collectors and watch lovers from around the world and been featured globally in watch, design, and news media.
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