Last week we showcased the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ for Only Watch 2021, a biennial charity auction for one-off luxury watches. This charity auction has in particular become a platform for participating brands to give back to society. The watches sold at the Only Watch auction can go for enormous amounts, which go a long way in donations towards helping the charities.
Another piece that’s being put forth for auction is Maurice Lacroix Aikon Master Grand Date Only Watch 2021. Maurice Lacroix has been a supporter of Only Watch for a while now, donating timepieces to the auction for more than 10 years.
This year’s timepiece that Maurice Lacroix will be donating is a very aesthetic piece, created in collaboration with Mahindra Racing. Maurice Lacroix and Mahindra Racing have been sharing each other’s knowledge and expertise to help them excel in their respective fields. A by-product of this is the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Master Grand Date Only Watch 2021.
Design:
The Aikon Master Grand Date comes in a rather large 47mm case. For the first time in Maurice Lacroix’s Aikon collection, the case has been formed from carbon fibre, which was formerly used on one of Mahindra Racing’s cars.
The case also uses black DLC stainless steel, which can be seen on the case back. The checkered pattern of the case makes this piece quite aesthetic, but also shows its racing roots and the collaboration with Mahindra Racing.
The dial is very eye-catching as well, as it’s presented in a sun-brushed orange. The dial is split into two parts, with the top left being the hour and minutes display, followed by a skeletonised constant seconds counter directly underneath. Looking diagonally across from the off-centred dial, you’ll see an open-worked area, revealing the screwed balance, hairspring, pallet lever, and escape wheel. The “Grand Date” window located at the 10 o’clock position is not like normal date mechanisms, as it features two discs, one for tens and the other for units.
The colours of the dial are orange, yellow (superluminova for hands and hour markers) along with contrasting black for the open-worked section and also the date window. Maurice Lacroix chose these colours as they showcase the theme for Only Watch 2021.
Movement:
The engine at the heat of the Maurice Lacroix Aikon Master Grand Date Only Watch 2021 is the ML331 calibre automatic movement. This is a Maurice Lacroix manufacture movement, which now comes with more refined finishing.
Turn the watch over and from the open case back you can see the level of finishing in detail. The skeletonised rotor comes with the Maurice Lacroix logo and works well to show as much of the movement underneath as possible.
Everything in this watch has been done to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and the case back is no different. The case back is done in all black (plates, rotor etc) which leaves the coloured jewels and gears to really stand out. The ML331 calibre movement comes with a minimum power reserve of 50 hours.
The Maurice Lacroix Aikon Master Grand Date Only Watch 2021 comes presented in two coloured watch straps. The first strap is black with matching stitching which really lets the dial stand out, while the other strap is a vibrant orange with yellow stitching, matching the colours of the dial.
The bidder who is successful in winning this gorgeous piece at the Only Watch 2021 auction will also be invited to attend a 2022 round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as an official guest of Mahindra Racing, where they will get the full VIP treatment.
