The history of the brand of Maurice Lacroix watches

For more than 40 years, Maurice Lacroix's watches have been made in the ultra modern workshops of the house, in Saignelegia.

Maurice Lacroix was created in 1975 by the Zurich Desco von Schulthess AG commercial firm.

Itself founded in 1889, Desco Von Schulthess was originally dedicated to the silk trade. Since 1946, she has also become representative of certain brands of luxury watches, including Audemars Piguet, Heuer, Eterna and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Subsequently, Desco takes more position in the marketing of watches. In 1961 it became owner of the Tiara Assembly Factory in Saignelegia, in the canton of Jura where it begins to produce subcontracting watches for major brands. In 1975, Desco launches its own brand: the name of Maurice Lacroix is chosen in honor of a member of his board of directors, who died precisely at the time of seeking a name for the new brand. The new company is founded by the d^r Peter Brunner, President and Delegate of the Desco Board of Directors.

In 1980, Maurice Lacroix is ​​a success such that the Saignelegier plant ceases its production for third parties. In 1989, the company bought the manufacturer of watches of watches Qoz SA, also in Saignelegia. This autonomous production capacity of its own housings makes Maurice Lacroix a separate manufacturer in the world of luxury watchmaking. In the 1990s the company is growing successfully with the launch of the high-end series "Mechanics", subsequently renamed the line "MasterpieceThus the company is at the forefront of Swiss watches manufactures, both perpetuating the traditional craftsmanship of Swiss watchmaking and creating original movements for the collection Masterpiece In 2001, Maurice Lacroix S.A. legally becomes an autonomous entity, and one of the rare manufactures of independent Swiss watches. In 2010, the company employs about 300 people. The brand is represented in nearly 4,000 stores in more than 60 countries around the world.

The collection Masterpiece

Model ML with retrograde calendar.

The line "the mechanics / MasterpieceIncludes limited series models working with "historical" or "patrimonial" movements, purchased at the time of the peak of the "Quartz Crisis", then perfected. We note in this collection of alarm bracelet watches and chronographs with technical innovations derived from traditional movements. Some watches of the collection are based on previously blanks developed by ETA, UNITAS firms, and others, then modified by integrating several complications, such as retrograde movements, power reserve indicators, and calendar modules.

Manufacturing movements

In 2006, Maurice Lacroix creates the first movement entirely developed within the company, the ML106 teaming the chronograph Masterpiece. Other original movements followed, including an automatic movement in 2011. The move to the manufacture of movements is accompanied by an increase in the size of the watches and a turn to more modern or industrial appearance models.

Brand values

Over the centuries, thanks to the spirit of innovation and the perfectionism of its watchmakers, Switzerland has carved a unique reputation in the world. A tradition that Maurice Lacroix is ​​committed to pursuing, in the utmost respect for quality watchmaking. For more than 40 years, Maurice Lacroix watches have been manufactured in the ultra modern workshop of the house, in Saignelegia. All elements essential to the production of high-value high-value exceptional watches are there: a watchmaking know-how, qualified craftsmen, industrial expertise, technological skills, not to mention a pronounced taste for quality.

Over the years, the Manufacture has won more than a dozen prestigious awards, awarded by international juries that have devoted the design, ingenuity and artisanal quality of its watches. The brand continues to develop by relying on a winning formula: quality, reliability, ingenuity and determination, expressed through unpublished designs backed by patented technologies. It proposes a new vision of time, intended to encourage and accompany its customers on the road to success. Its slogan, "success is not a destination: it is a trip," is at the heart of the culture of the brand.

For more than 30 years, the Mechanical Time Temps of Maurice Lacroix have been made with exceptional precision and perfection in its own workshops by experienced watchmakers. For the finishing work and assembly of sometimes microscopic movement parts, the expert hand of the watchmaker and the know-how transmitted from generation to generation are always strongly solicited.

 

ML 152

ML 153

ML 156

ML 190

ML 191

ML 192

Ml 215

Ml 230

ML 256