Maurice Lacroix has never been shy about doing things differently, especially when it comes to how time is displayed on the dial. While many brands stick to traditional hands and subdials, the Swiss Manufacture has spent decades exploring retrograde indications – those arcing displays where a hand sweeps along a scale, then snaps back to the start. With the new AIKONIC Master Triple Retrograde, the brand brings that speciality front and centre, combining three retrograde indications with an openworked, contemporary aesthetic tailored for today’s complication-savvy collectors.
Marking the brand’s 50th anniversary, the Maurice Lacroix AIKONIC Master Triple Retrograde is a clear statement of intent. It distils Maurice Lacroix’s technical creativity, urban design language and accessible excellence into one watch that feels both refined and forward-looking. For Canadian retailers, it is exactly the sort of “talking piece” that turns casual showcase interest into a serious sales conversation.
To understand the appeal, it helps to start with the complication itself. Instead of travelling in a full circle, a retrograde hand moves across a segment of the dial – for the date, day or second time zone, for example – then instantly flies back to its starting point. It is visually dramatic, mechanically complex and still relatively rare in mainstream watchmaking. Maurice Lacroix has a long history with this display, from the Calendar Retrograde in 1999 to the Double Retrograde in 2002. The new AIKONIC Master Triple Retrograde builds on that heritage with three retrograde indications – home time (GMT), day and date – plus a small seconds at 9 o’clock.
The anthracite dial with vertical brushing sets a modern tone, but the four apertures truly command attention. These cut-outs reveal parts of the rhodium-plated mainplate of the automatic ML291 Manufacture Calibre, decorated with vertical Côtes de Genève. Blue retrograde hands and racks, circular-brushed tracks and polished screws give each indication its own character, while the layout remains clean and balanced. With the retrograde systems pushed towards the periphery, the dial feels wide open, legible and powerful in the window.
On the wrist, the AIKON DNA is unmistakable. The 43 mm stainless steel case blends brushed and polished planes, framed by a scratch-resistant ceramic bezel with the AIKON’s six double-width arms and a matching ceramic crown. Faceted, SLN-filled hands and applied indexes echo those bezel arms and reinforce the strong visual identity. A sapphire crystal with upgraded anti-reflective treatment keeps the display sharp under boutique lighting or bright sunlight and improves resistance to salt water.
A black rubber strap with textured insert and rubber “M” logo completes the urban sports profile. Thanks to the patented ML Easy Change system, straps can be swapped without tools while preserving the clean case lines. For Canadian jewellers seeking a modern Swiss complication with strong design codes, daily-wear practicality and real storytelling power, the Maurice Lacroix AIKONIC Master Triple Retrograde looks every inch a future icon – and an immediate showcase magnet.
