Introducing the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver

Introduction

Every watch brand has its heroes, and the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver is undoubtedly among the Swiss brand’s ones. The Aikon collection is unquestionably ML’s flagship, but the Pontos S Diver is second in the line and has boasted a massive following since it was first introduced.

The Pontos S Diver is back in business.

According to the brand’s official press release, the new Pontos S Diver is (also) a market-driven project; we can hardly believe it is not. Introduced in 2013, the watch collection quickly grew in popularity across the diving watches’ offering, thanks to a recognizable design mixing up vintage-inspired traits like the inner rotating bezel activated via a screw-down crown at two.

Despite such a success, its life cycle covered less than ten years, leaving room for the brand’s newest strategy, whose centrepiece was and still is Aikon.

Evolution rather than revolution.

A new Pontos S Diver was in the pipeline after bringing Aikon to its full potential and revamping the Pontos collection; the redesigned model holds the original pedigree, steps up in formal balance, and enhanced details and options.

Maurice Lacroix involved Lidija Lijić, free diving champion and brand testimonial, during the development phase and invited her during the official presentation in Dubrovnik.

According to the specs sheet, the case is 1 mm smaller across (from 43mm to 42mm) and guarantees a more “reasonable” water resistance of 300 meters compared to the outgoing model, capable of withstanding up to twice as much.

The specs mentioned above and a slimmer case prove the new model is a multi-purpose diving watch offering enhanced touch and feel, exemplified by sharp edges and attractive brushed-to-polished surface contrast.

Detail: you’ll have noticed that the waterproofness printed data has moved to the bottom of the dial, leaving the Maurice Lacroix logo alone at twelve. Also, the applied indexes and hands have undergone a careful overhaul to make the dial feel more compliant and sophisticated.

New variants.

Here are the options: the new Pontos S Diver comes in steel or Bronze for the first time. The latter comes standard with a contrasting blue, grained-finish dial as a 500-piece limited edition model.

Our favourite pick is the orange accents and orange strap variant; that’s quite distinctive and further highlights the Pontos S Diver’s sleek silhouette.

The strap is a benchmark in details and wow factor; we love the embossed Maurice Lacroix logo since it adds to the boldness of the watch.

That’s a formidable “brand advocate”. The strap ends with a large tang buckle for ease of use. As a replacement, the customer can opt for an M-badged canvas or a leather strap if you’re going for the Bronze Pontos S Diver.

In conversation with Stéphane Waser.

During our three-day experience in Dubrovnik, we sat down with Stéphane Waser, Managing Director at Maurice Lacroix; here are some take-outs regarding the new Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver’s development and how it fits with the current proposition.

The new Pontos S Diver surfaced after the Aikon’s release (it debuted in 2016 and took inspiration from the Calypso) and the Pontos collection’s relaunch. It is the latest addition to a sports range, whose last addition was, so far, the Pontos S Chronograph.

As Stéphane told us, the new-gen Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver might be regarded as a sportier option to Aikon, the “face of the brand”, and aims at capturing an audience looking for a Maurice Lacroix watch, yet not an Aikon watch.

Final thoughts

The Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver fits into a three-hander Aikon’s price range, an area where the brand is a strong contender, well below three thousand Euros.

The steel model retails for 2,100 Euros, and the Bronze one for 2,650 Euros; that’s a fair price for a well-built product, nicely designed, offering attention to detail and plenty of accessories.

We could discuss why it’s not adopting an in-house movement, despite Maurice Lacroix producing excellent manufactured ones, but top-of-the-range models sell at a different price point.

Aikon’s success proves that the brand’s customer accepts such a formula, which pairs a solid outsourced calibre and a sleek design with aggressive pricing; here is why the Maurice Lacroix Aikon was successful, a recipe the brand aims to replicate among all-round diving watches.

(Photo credit: Maurice Lacroix)

Giovanni Di Biase @Horbiter®