Maurice Lacroix Calendrier Rétrograde

ref: 76.840-1702

This watch’s history:

When I first saw the Maurice Lacroix Calendrier Rétrograde (MLCR) I knew I wanted one sooner or later. I was struck with the unusual dial lay-out. So classic looking, yet so modern. The 130º circles indicating the date and the power reserve, the blued hands and markers, they all fascinated me. In the town of Maastricht I first saw one in the window of a jeweler, and I asked if I could have a closer look at the watch. From the back I saw the wonderful finished movement. From that moment on the watch was among the top three on my wish-list. But I had to be patient. The retail-price of this watch was too high, so I had to skim the second hand market. Months passed, and then suddenly I saw one (the 18K/st version) on Time Zone's sales corner. For a very good price. I immediately decided to buy the watch. The watch was in HongKong. I investigated the references of the seller, all seems OK, and indeed the transaction went absolutely perfect. After the seller received my bank-wire, the watch was at my doorsteps only three !! days later.

Brand and Reference:

Maurice Lacroix is a relatively young player on the market. I got the following information of the company from http://www.sovereign-publications.com/mauricelacroix.htm

"A Brief Portrait of Maurice Lacroix

The name Maurice Lacroix stands for decades of experience in the production of high-quality watches. In 1961, Zurich-based Desco von Schulthess AG acquired an assembly facility in Saignelégier, a town in the Canton of Jura, where it produced private label watches for the national and international market. In 1975, the company laid initial foundations for its successful corporate history by introducing its first watch under the name of Maurice Lacroix in Austria. The brand was launched on the Spanish market a year later and, after another four years, the company founded its own sales organization in Germany. Then, two decades after launching its first watch, the company successfully entered the US market in 1995. In the fall of 2001, Maurice Lacroix S.A., previously a division of Desco von Schulthess AG, became an independent legal entity, thus generating ideal conditions in which to achieve its ambitious international growth targets.

Today, Maurice Lacroix, which has a total of 250 employees worldwide, is one of the most successful Swiss watch brands, both nationally and internationally, and is represented in more than 4,000 specialist shops in 45 countries all over the world. The company, one of the few independent Swiss watch manufacturers, has already established itself as a market leader in Germany in the upper middle-price segment, while in the USA the brand is one of the most dynamic in the industry.

Maurice Lacroix has faith in Switzerland as its production location.Over the years, Maurice Lacroix has made significant investments to expand Queloz SA, a case manufacturer that it acquired in 1989, and its assembly facility in Saignelégier, and has made every effort to continuously keep the technology up-to-date. Investments were not restricted to infrastructure but were also made to optimize all internal processes. The assembly facility - together with the training and information center opened in 2001 and the extension completed in January 2002 - is currently one of the most modern in the industry. The company thus put itself in an ideal position to use these state-of-the-art ateliers to design and put together its watches with a great deal of passion and precision. Around 150,000 top-quality timepieces now leave the Saignelégier facility each year and are distributed to customers all over the world."

With the Masterpiece serie, Maurice Lacroix created a unique serie of watches. The Masterpiece serie really helped Maurice Lacroix establish themselves a name in watchmaking in a relatively short time-span. The "Spiritual" father of the Masterpiece serie is René Baumann. Some Masterpiece watches are equipped with historical  movements in limited editions. Movements like the Valjoux 23, the FHF 29, Venus 188, Unitas 6376, AS5008. Other Masterpiece watches uses modern-day Swiss made movements that are optimized, modified and refined. Once completed Maurice Lacroix renames these movements. Most of modern-day complications can be found back in the Masterpiece serie. The Calendrier Retrograde 18K/st version came onto the market in the autumn of 2000.

Movement:

The MLCR uses the Unitas 6498-1 movement, and this from origin pocket watch movement is transformed almost beyond recognition to the caliber ML76. Some technical data: The ML76 movement is hand decorated and hand wound. 33jewels, 18.000 A/h (2,5Hz) blued steel screws, Incabloc shock protection, steel lever, Triovis polished adjustment, Glucydur coiled balance wheel. Nivarox 1 balance spring, Nivaflex 1 main spring. The diameter of the movement itself is 36,5mm (16½ ligne)

Further the balance is screwed, the bridges are angled. The "lower" parts are of the movement are finished in circular graining, and the bridges are finished in circular Geneva striping. This movement indeed is a beauty to look at.

About Lépine and Savonette designed movements:

from a brochure "The movements of the Masterpiece serie" I got the following information:

1984 or 1985 would mark the end of Unitas. By that time production of Unitas was limited to just three different blanks. They included the 6498 pocket watch movement, manufactured as early as 1967. Unitas managed to survive relatively unscathed the turmoil unleashed by the quartz revolution. But rationalization called for their integration into the product line of movement maker ETA. The Unitas 6498 is a so called Savonette design movement, in which the winding stem is perpendicular to the line joining 12 o'clock at the dial and the seconds pivot (so the small second hand is fitted at the 6 o'clock position). The Unitas 6497 on the other hand is a so called Lépine or open face designed movement. In this the small second hand is fitted in the axis of the winding stem (mostly at 9 o'clock)

Case, crown and crystal:

Maurice Lacroix is one of the few Swiss watch brands that produces the entire case in its own workshops in Switzerland. Many of the cases that Maurice Lacroix uses that house an Unitas movement are exactly the same (economics of scale). Nevertheless the case is a beauty. On one side (at 7:45 o'clock) the retrograde date can be adjusted using a pointed object. On the other side is the nice large onion shaped crown. The crown has got a gold detail.

The bezel is solid 18k gold. The rest of the case is in stainless steel.

The MRCL is a large watch. It is 43 mm in diameter, and 11,5mm in height. With these dimensions this watch fits in the modern large watch trend.

Like one would expect in this price range, the MLCR in 18k/ss version retails at € 3760,00 autumn 2003 price, there is sapphire glas on both sides. The movement thus can be admired, and indeed the backside is almost as nice as the front. The caseback is put in place by 7 screws. The waterresistance is only 30 meter, so don't even think about taking this watch for a swimm. On the rim of the back the following is engraved: "SWISS MADE", "STEEL/GOLD", 18K750M BEZEL", "AD51567", "SAPPHIRE CRYSTALS", "WATERRESISTANT", and the serial number "76840".

Dial and hands:

The dial is the most eye-catching feature of this watch. It is made of solid 925 silver. Together with the gold details (the arabic 12, the dotted minutes markers, the "M" logo, and the rim of the small seconds dial), and blue details (4 blued hands, blued hour markers), the dial is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. On the dial are the following words: "HAUT" and "BAS" for the power-reserve indication, the name "MAURICE LACROIX", and the ML logo, "CALENDRIER RÉTROGRADE", and "SWISS MADE".

At 10 is the hand that indicates the date. The date pointer automatically jumps to the first of the new month a few minutes before midnight on the 31st of a month. This is called a retrograde function, hence the name "Calendrier Retrograde". The date needs manual setting ion months with less than 31 days.

At 2 is the hand for the power-reserve indicator. According to this indicator the power reserve should be 46 hours. The PR is a usefull function on a manual winded watch.

At 6 is the sub dial for the small seconds.

The blued stainless steel hands look fantastic on the silver dial. Each hand is heated by hand over an open flame of almost 300º centigrades. This provides the surface with the desired, incomparable blue hue.

This watch came on a signed black croc strap with double deployment clasp. Papers and a luxury box are included.

Conclusion:

The MLCR is a fantastic watch. Good looking, fantastic finished, reasonable priced. ML has made a name in watchmaking with their Masterpiece serie, and the Calendrier Retrograde is perhaps the model that contributed most to this reputation. And now there is a successor to the CL, the Double Retrograde. This watch however is priced at over € 9000,00.

(picture from the Internet, source unknown)

Unless stated differently, All of the pictures are of the actual watch, and the pictures are taken by myself, (I'm not a great photographer)

If you have any questions or remarks, feel free to e-mail me.

I have watches for sale, to see the actual inventory of my watches for sale, see my little web-shop  Horlogerie Nivelacuso at http://shop.kapaza.nl/nivelacuso/