Maurice Lacroix is a Swiss luxury

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

based in the

Canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capita ...

and headquartered in Zurich.

History

Maurice Lacroix was founded as part of Desco von Schulthess of Zurich in 1975. Founded in 1889, Desco von Schulthess (Desco) is an older company with roots in the silk trade. Since 1946, Desco has also been a representative for luxury watches including

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, and

Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary ...

. Over the years, Desco became more interested in the watch business, and in 1961 Desco acquired an assembly facility named Tiara in Saignelégier, in the Swiss

. There it produced private label watches for third parties. In 1975, Desco started marketing watches under the brand name Maurice Lacroix. There was a member on the board of Desco von Schulthess, parent & founding company of Maurice Lacroix, who was named Mr. Lacroix. By 1980, Maurice Lacroix had become so successful that the facility in Saignelégier ceased production for third parties. In 1989 Maurice Lacroix acquired the casemaker Queloz S.A., also based in Saignelégier. This ability to produce watch cases in-house makes Maurice Lacroix unusual compared to other luxury watch companies. During the 1990s, Maurice Lacroix experienced a "rocket-like ascent" with the launch of their high end "Les Mécaniques" line, later renamed the "Masterpiece" line. During this time, the company elevated itself to the high ranks of Swiss watch ''manufactures'', by both maintaining traditional 'Swiss watch-making art' and by creating their own movements for its Masterpiece Collection. As of 2010, Maurice Lacroix, has a total of approximately 220 employees worldwide, and is represented in around 4,000 shops in more than 60 countries all over the world.

Masterpiece watches

The "Les Mécaniques" / "Masterpiece" line includes limited edition models based on "historic" or "heritage" movements purchased during the height of the quartz crisis and refinished to the highest standards. Of particular note are the alarm wristwatches, chronographs, and jump hour Masterpiece watches Maurice Lacroix produced based on heritage movements. In addition, this line includes watches based on extensively modified ébauches from ETA, Unitas, and others that incorporate numerous complications, including retrograde movements, power reserve indicators, and calendar modules.

Manufacture movements

In 2006, Maurice Lacroix introduced their first full in-house movement, the ML106 based "Masterpiece Le Chronographe." Since then, Maurice Lacroix has introduced numerous manufacture movements including an automatic movement in 2011. The shift to manufacture movements has been accompanied by an increase in the size of the watches and a shift to a more "modern" or "industrial" look.

Sponsorships

In 2010, Maurice Lacroix collaborated with Internet entrepreneur

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, actor

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, swimmer

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, diver

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, South Korean actor Jang Dong-gun and British golfer

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open (golf), 2013 U.S. O ...

on a brand endorsement campaign. In 2019, the company collaborated with car manufacturer

Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

to provide clocks for the

Kia K9 The Kia K9, marketed as the Kia K900 in the United States and Canada and as the Kia Quoris in other export markets, is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by Kia, now in its second generation. The K9 was launched in South Korea i ...

sedan. Maurice Lacroix is also the official watch partner of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

and

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. In 2018, Maurice Lacroix started a program "Friends of the Brand" and they have signed a sponsoring agreement with the #1 team of basketball 3x3 in Switzerland, Team Lausanne.

References

External links