Set on the second floor of a manor in the heart of Paris, French designer Adeline Ziliox presented her Spring/Summer 2020 collection. Elegant models dressed in an array of bright shades—yellows and pinks seamlessly married with deep blues and metallic fabrics and stitched together in modern silhouettes—walked the runway to the sounds of French pop. And on each of their wrists (and Adeline Ziliox’s as well, as she walked at the end of the show to a roaring round of applause) were Maurice Lacroix’s latest watches for women, the Fiaba Moonphase and Masterpiece Embrace, presented that same day.
A “Friend of the Brand” since 2019, Adeline Ziliox and Maurice Lacroix found common values in the way they both interpreted style and today’s woman. Modern, daring and full of character, the Maurice Lacroix woman and Ziiliox’s style find stable common ground. “It was interesting to see that all the values and all of her work is very close to what we have,” said Stéphane Waser, Managing Director of Maurice Lacroix. “Adeline spoke yesterday (during her show) about her urban and contemporary style, and if you look at our campaigns, it’s urban. For example, last year, she did a wedding dress with a hoodie; it shows the young and fresh mindset that we are also trying to follow at Maurice Lacroix.”
Case in point with their latest women’s pieces revealed during a press event organized by Hotel O'Clock for Maurice Lacroix the same day. The first pieces presented were three new additions to the brand’s Fiaba collection: the Fiaba Moonphase. “This collection was first introduced in 1993 and had a rectangular case shape in the beginning,” explained Waser. “But in 2011 we introduced the round case and the aim was for it to be very refined and soft. The bracelet links have also been beveled, so it’s really comfortable to wear.”
Available in full stainless steel or two-tone steel and PVD gold with either a white mother-of-pearl or navy sunray brushed dial, these new Fiaba models come for the first time with a delicate moonphase at six o’clock. A ring of 46 diamonds circle the center of the dial to add some extra shine. And in an effort to update the design and “push it a little bit more in the contemporary and modern world,” the dial of the Fiaba Moonphase now includes Arabic numerals, a change from the more classic Roman numerals on the three-hand models, explains Waser.
And while Maurice Lacroix is widely known for quality pieces at incredibly competitive prices, they also rarely neglect their whimsical and more poetic designs, as showcased with the new Masterpiece Embrace.
Based on their original mesmerizing Masterpiece Square Wheel that featured a unique small seconds display made of, you guessed it, a square wheel on the dial, the Masterpiece Embrace takes the same principle and adapts the wheels to be in the shape of hearts. Measured, cut and polished down to the micron-level, each tooth in the heart-shaped wheel meets with absolute precision to keep the hearts spinning on the dial. This level of precision is something that, Waser insists, requires incredible aptitude from their watchmakers working in their workshops in Saignelegier: “It’s very challenging. I mean, the principle here is the same as the square wheel watch: we want you to see the wheels, but they remain functional wheels and are part of movement.”
Housed in a 40mm stainless steel case, the Embrace comes in a white mother-of-pearl dial with “rays” emanating from the hearts or in a starry aventurine (a dial material that Maurice Lacroix’s International Product & Marketing Director, Thiébaut Bentz, has been “very keen on using since he first arrived in the team,” says Waser). The watches come with a soft veal leather strap, either in satinated navy blue for the aventurine model or off-white leather for the mother-of-pearl version.
Every detail on the Masterpiece Embrace is set to evoke a sense of French romanticism: the hour and minute hands are in the shape of curved leaves, the hand for the retrograde calendar on the lower half of the dial is styled like an arrow from Cupid’s bow and, circling the retrograde calendar display, are the French words: Je t’aime, un peu, beaucoup, à la folie! (from the classic French children’s song, “I love you, a little, a lot, passionately!”). With a sense of optimism, the end of the classic song, “not at all”, was omitted from the dial. “It’s kind of perfect we’re in Paris for to reveal these delicately feminine watches,” said Waser. After all, it’s the city of romance!
