Approaching the end of the year Maurice Lacroix not only unveiled its first boutique in its home country, but also presents the AIKON Automatic Ceramic, in two sizes and in two contrasting colours: black and white.
As part of its expansion and sales strategy, Maurice Lacroix is opening mono-brand boutiques in prominent cities around the world. The brand is owned by DKSH (DiethelmKellerSiberHegner), a Swiss holding company specialising in market expansion and distribution services. Currently Maurice Lacroix is present in 80 countries via 1800 retailers and occasionally pop up stores, but there is an increasing focus on boutiques – they opened in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and now in Zurich.
Located very close to the emblematic Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, this 34-square-meter space showcases the complete collection. The design, the materials and colours being used intend to reflect the brand’s urban vibe, youthful and dynamic spirit.
The press opening of the boutique coincided with the traditional ‘Lucy’ night, when the Christmas lightning gets switched on, illuminating the entire length of the street from Bahnhofplatz to Bürkliplatz. So we were not only treated with a lovely lunch with Stéphane Waser (Maurice Lacroix CEO) and Chris Ritchie (Head Business Unit Consumer Goods, DKSH), but already with some holiday lights and sparkles.
As the boutiques have the whole line up of the brand, the latest novelties were also on display.
AIKON Automatic Ceramic
The AIKON story started in 2016 with a quartz watch and soon the brand released mechanical versions and different case sizes, dial colours and complications.
Now Maurice Lacroix chooses technical ceramic as a case material in order to offer even more interesting options to their customers. Technical ceramic is corrosion-resistant and hypoallergenic, similarly to the conventional ceramic cases but it also represents a significant step forward in terms of durability, thermal stability and overall strength.
By altering the chemical formulation or manufacturing processes, the properties of the technical ceramic can be tailored to meet a range of demanding conditions. There are different types of technical ceramic (like silicate ceramics, oxide ceramics, non-oxide ceramics and piezoceramics) – the oxide ceramics, used also by Maurice Lacroix, include materials that essentially consist of metal oxides, such as aluminum oxide, or zirconium oxide.
Bringing the technical ceramic case and bracelet to life necessitated three years of intense research and development and presented numerous technical challenges along the way. The R&D team at Maurice Lacroix had to ensure that all surfaces and facets of the case and bracelet exude quality and optimal wearer comfort. Due to its low density this material is significantly lighter than stainless steel, for example.
The new Maurice Lacroix AIKON Automatic Ceramic is a unisex model offered in two sizes, 39 mm and 42 mm, and two contrasting colours, glossy white and matt black respectively. The models house the Automatic ML 115 movement.
Photo credits: Maurice Lacroix. Loupiosity.com
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