Certainly no strangers to the unconventional, Maurice Lacroix have overhauled their iconic Aikon model to bring us the new Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury Automatic watch, a timepiece with a unique patented system which allows the hour and minute hands to perform their own special magic trick. At first glance, the timepiece appears to be a ‘normal watch’ – or about as normal as a skeletonised automatic watch can be – but when you take your eyes away and tilt the watch back, the hour and minute hands spin freely and abandon their chronometric duties.
This incredible and instant talking-point feature is possible thanks to a unique cam system attached to the hour and minute hands. The technology allows the hands to respond to the motions of the wrist, relaxing when the watch is tilted away and moving back into their correct position when centred towards the wearer. This remarkable piece of ‘Free Hand’ technology takes the already breathtaking skeletonised aesthetic of the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury Automatic watch to a whole new level, something that really must be seen in person in order to be appreciated.
Named after the quick-silver fluidity of time, the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury watch is powered by the ML225 automatic and in-house development movement. The extraordinary calibre and its patented time memory module took three full years to complete. Based on a double snail-cam system, the technology incorporates a first cam for the hours to rotate once every 12 hours then a second for the minutes to rotate every hour. This allows for gravity to pull down two weighted levers when the watch is positioned upright and act as feeler-spindlers to read the time on the cams to display it correctly on the dial.
Components of the ML225 automatic winding movement are displayed beautifully through the darkened skeletonised dial and through the exhibition case back where you can see the intricate mechanism hard at work as it powers the hour and minute hands and a subsidiary seconds dial and provides a power reserve of 38 hours. The dial is also decorated with rhodium plated hands and indices treated with Superluminova for easy legibility. Housing the movement is the iconic Aikon case measuring to 44mm in size with a sporty, angular aesthetic and six claws bordering the fixed bezel. The case is also equipped with scratch resistant sapphire crystal glass and a screw down crown to assist in its 100 metre water resistance.
The Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury watch comes presented on a three-row link stainless steel bracelet along with an additional luxurious black alligator leather strap equipped with a classic stainless steel folding buckle. Swapping around the straps is made incredibly easy thanks to the brands simple interchangeable strap system. The watch is available to order today at a retail price of £6,600 and you can order your own on the Jura Watches website here with interest free finance up to 60 months available while stocks last.
Specifications: Maurice Lacroix Aikon Mercury Automatic Watch (AI6088-SS002-030-1)
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Case Size: 44mm
- Bezel: Fixed
- Glass: Sapphire crystal
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Case Back: Exhibition
- Movement: ML225 automatic winding with patented time memory module
- Functions: Hour, minutes, subsidiary seconds
- Power Reserve: 38 hours
- Jewels: 54
- Frequency: 28,800vph
- Dial: Skeleton with rhodium plated hands and indices with Superluminova
- Strap: Stainless steel and black alligator with folding buckle
- RRP: £6,600
