The sporty Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer is expanded by the addition of a new GMT model, available in two dial options and in a steel bracelet or rubber strap.
Press Release details with commentary in italics.
Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer GMT
The new Aikon Venturer is cased in a stainless steel case of diameter 43mm, and available in either a black dial or a white dial, and with a choice of a rubber strap or steel bracelet.
The Aikon Venturer
The Aikon Venturer is descended from the Maurice Lacroix’s historic and iconic diver watch in the 1990s, the Calypso. The integrated and water-resistant case, the six-arm bezel surrounding a flat sapphire crystal and the strap marked with an applied M logo is retained. In 2016, Maurice Lacroix produced a contemporary reinterpretation of this iconic piece with the quartz Aikon. In 2018, the automatic line followed.
In 2019 we saw Maurice Lacroix launch a new generation of the Aikon. Sportier, urban and even more adventurous. The design is available in both quartz and mechanical movements, with calendar, date, chronograph and even skeleton versions. Here are two detailed reviews we have covered:
The new Aikon Venturer GMT
Maurice Lacroix Aikon Venturer GMT with a steel bracelet retails for CHF 2,490. In the black rubber strap, the price is CHF 2,350. A dual package option with both the bracelet and strap retails for CHF 2,650.
For the first time in the Aikon family’s diverse range, Maurice Lacroix integrates the GMT function. What could be more logical for Venturers than to keep track of time in two cities, a watch made to explore and conquer them. With its radically modern look, this adventure-chic 43 mm diameter watch travels from metropolis to metropolis. Loyal to Maurice Lacroix’s mission, the watch displays a relationship between its objective and perceived value and its particularly favourable price. Thanks to the Easychange system, the Aikon Venturer GMT changes strap like it changes continent: naturally and stylishly, in the blink of an eye.
It is the ability to change that marks out the power of a design. Powerful but not brutal, robust but not massive, modern but not futuristic, this watch features three hands as well as a second time zone and date at 3 o’clock. Its function sectors, level of detail and the energy emanating from the piece directly signal the connection to the Aikon’s aesthetic codes.
Crafted entirely from steel, its surfaces are satin-finished, while its edges are polished. As the devil is in the detail, the Venturer GMT’s case back is engraved with a world map, surrounded by the 24 main time zones, a useful and practical information base for use.
Finally, its integrated five-link steel strap is fitted with the Easychange system, which makes it easy to remove and replace. The Aikon Venturer GMT also offers another style thanks to the second strap in a grooved rubber version.
The function of the Aikon Venturer GMT’s dual time zone is based on Maurice Lacroix’s watchmaking know-how. The ML 165 automatic chronograph calibre with date, hours, 24-hour second time zone, minutes and seconds in the centre is characterised by its reliability and robustness, essential to the adventurous spirit of this piece, which is water-resistant to 300 metres.
The ML 165 is an automatic chronograph based on the Selitta SW 330, which is already equipped with the GMT hand. We understand that Maurice Lacroix then added the chronograph module, but we do not have enough evidence to know they used an external contractor.
To increase contrast and legibility, the GMT hand stands out against these two dials offered by Maurice Lacroix. The first is sunray-brushed black, punctuated by round hour-markers, circled and coated with SuperLumiNova. On this model, the GMT hand is red with a luminescent head.
The second is sunray-brushed white, distinguished by its orange GMT hand and black hour-markers, embellished with SLN. But the most significant change on this new version is the AIKON Venturer GMT’s bezel.
Its six arms – a powerful, characteristic Aikon feature – already performed a functional role with the Venturer. In fact, they extended beyond the ceramic bezel, a technical and scratch-proof material, so that it could be easily grasped and rotated in one direction. Now, the unidirectional bezel is calibrated over 24 hours to accompany the fourth hand on the dial, which turns once a day.
