Q&AIt’s The Age Of High-Quality Products, States Maurice Lacroix’s Managing Director

Talk about Maurice Lacroix’s biggest highlight of 2019.

The biggest highlight for us this year is, of course, the Aikon Mercury. It looks like a normal watch when you wear it, but when you tilt it backwards, the hands go loose and they roll down to 12 o’clock. The name Mercury comes from the fact that the hands have a very mercurial way of behaving. It brings together all the values of Maurice Lacroix—craftsmanship, in-house technology, and innovation.

We have an in-house development team. The innovation is in terms of an interpretation of time. It’s something different. We’re not doing another tourbillon or escapement. It’s something unique—a playful way of looking at time. It’s in line with other things we’ve done before, such as the Square Wheel and the Mysterious Seconds.

Waser likens the Mercury watch's playful take on time to the brand's past innovations—the Masterpiece Square Wheel (left) and the Masterpiece Mysterious Seconds (right)

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While the Square Wheel presents the running seconds in the form of a rotating square, the Mysterious Seconds has a sub-dial with a 'floating' hand indicating the seconds on linear scales

What are the true values of watchmaking in your opinion?

It’s about authenticity. It’s about quality. It’s about the real sense of manufacturing handmade products, which would never be the same without the intervention of the human touch.

What’s the future of high-end mechanical watchmaking, the way you see it?

The future, and the challenge the industry has to respond to, is to continue to motivate and to really bring the sparkle in the people’s eyes for mechanical watchmaking. Because today, you know, with smartphones and iPhones, you don’t really need a watch anymore. Time is everywhere, and it’s digital and it works with more precision. So watchmaking has become more of a luxury. As one says—luxury isn’t something you really need. And this is the challenge—bringing the young people to appreciate it, and be willing to spend and invest in high-end watchmaking.

What are the largest trends emerging from the watch industry this year?

Talk about the most exciting developments in the watch industry’s recent past.

I think what’s really exciting is seeing the increase in quality of the brands. Earlier, only the high-end brands had the best quality, but today you have even more commercial brands offering good quality. Even in fashion, 10 or 20 years ago, the haute couture maisons were the only ones who could give you something with lasting quality—Chanel, Gucci, Prada. Today, you could buy H&M and Zara, and while the designs are very trendy, even the quality of garments, the fabrics used and so on are long-lasting. The same thing has happened in the Swiss watchmaking industry. Today, even watches for CHF 600 can offer good quality and precision, even though they may not be as mechanically complex as the higher-end timepieces.

Is there a chance Maurice Lacroix will venture into smartwatches?

Maurice Lacroix is in the price segment of smartwatches, so yes, it’s something we have to look at. At the moment, we are observing the market. In terms of technology, smartwatches are at the beginning. There are always innovations, and electronic technology is fast-moving. However, we won’t invest in our own technology. We’ll consider partnerships. Our forte is materials, design and mechanical innovation. We’ll leave developing the chip to the right partners we find.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in high-end watches, but doesn’t know enough to make the right choice?

I’d say go Swiss. It may cost a little more, but it comes with the promise of longevity and reliability. Then you should do your research. While you can do that online, to buy, you should go to a retailer, and get the service and experience that comes with buying a high-end watch.

The watch Stéphane Waser is seen wearing above is the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Automatic in 42mm steel, with a blue dial, textured with the Clou de Paris pattern, and featuring the date at three o'clock