Maurice Lacroix was founded in 1961 as the watchmaking arm of DKSH (Desco von Schulthess), a Swiss trading house, operating from a small atelier in the Jura village of Saignelégier. Through the 1970s and 1980s the brand produced standard Swiss quartz and automatic watches for the DKSH distribution network, building to a serious in-house production capability by the early 1990s. The Calypso, released in 1990, was an integrated-bracelet steel sports watch with a scalloped bezel and a six-link bracelet pattern; it was Maurice Lacroix's first distinctive design.
Through the 2000s the brand ran a two-track strategy: the Masterpiece collection positioned Maurice Lacroix in serious haute-horlogerie territory (with in-house calibres, jumping-hour and retrograde complications), while the Pontos chronograph family anchored the mid-market. The haute-horlogerie ambition yielded interesting references like the 2008 Masterpiece Roue Carrée Seconde with a square seconds wheel, and the 2011 Masterpiece Mémoire 1, a mechanical watch with a memory function. Commercial traction for these was limited.
In 2016 Maurice Lacroix refocused decisively on accessible integrated-sport production with the Aikon, a modernised reinterpretation of the 1990 Calypso. The Aikon featured a 42mm steel case with a six-spoke bezel (a literal stylised ship's helm), an integrated tapered-link steel bracelet, and prices starting around CHF 1,800. Commercial response exceeded expectations; the Aikon rapidly expanded into a full collection with chronograph, automatic, skeleton, moonphase, and tourbillon variants, and has since become the backbone of the brand's modern positioning.
The 2020s have seen the Aikon line extend further: the Aikon Urban Tribe collaborated with streetwear artists and designers; the Aikon Skeleton exposes the ML-234 automatic movement; the Aikon Tourbillon (CHF 25,000+) takes the collection into real haute-horlogerie territory. Maurice Lacroix today sits in an unusual position: a credible Swiss manufacture offering modern integrated-sports watches at prices ~1/10th of the Royal Oak or Nautilus, with similar silhouette but meaningfully different finishing. For many enthusiasts it is the entry into the integrated-sport category.
