Maurice Lacroix Aikon #Tide — A Splash Of Color

Just a few weeks ago, in the sunny and colorful city of Miami, Maurice Lacroix released something funky — the new Aikon #tide. It’s the latest and most eco-friendly member of the Aikon collection. Fratello was there to witness the launch of this exciting summer watch that has much more to offer than it seems.

Thanks to its competitive price, fresh looks, and environmental conscientiousness, there is little doubt that it will be a summer favorite for the new generation of watch lovers in 2022 and beyond.

City of colors

If you have been to Miami, you know that the southern Florida city is pulsating with life. Whether you are cruising downtown, taking a stroll in the Design District, or relaxing on South Beach, you can feel the buzz. So, what better backdrop can you imagine for releasing a trendy and colorful new timepiece than Miami? According to Maurice Lacroix, there is none. The Swiss brand chose the Magic City to launch the newest model in the Aikon collection, the #tide.

The watch comes in various colors, ranging from black to yellow and everything in between. There are six unisex colors and another four for the ladies (or gents) who love sparkly indices on dials. The shades are vibrant and trendy, but black bezels and black or white rubber straps tone the look down a bit so it’s not too much. Instead, the contrast creates a great combination where the case/dial color is still dominant and gives the final character to the watch.

Thomas Schori Founder & Captain (left) and Stephane Waser Maurice Lacroix’s Managing Director (right)

#tide

We were among the first who had the chance to try on the new and colorful Maurice Lacroix Aikon #tide. It’s the result of a collaboration between the Swiss watch brand and #tide, a company that specializes in “upcycling” plastic waste that is polluting our oceans. If you visit #tide’s site, you see that the company is not new to the watch industry. Furthermore, among its partners, you’ll find businesses from several industries, including fashion, electronics, furniture, logistics, and so on. The long-term partnership between Maurice Lacroix and #tide ensures that 10 million plastic bottles will be removed from the oceans by providing financial support to the cause. The bottles that #tide removes from the water are sorted, shredded, cleaned, and through a long and complex process, turned into flakes, which will eventually serve as the main component for the Aikon # tide’s colorful case. It takes roughly 17 bottles to create one watch and its equally eco-friendly packaging.

The watch

The Aikon #tide is 40mm, but it wears smaller than that. Thanks to its relatively slim case and lightness, you barely notice it on the wrist. The material is a mix of upcycled plastic and glass fiber. This resultant composite is twice as hard as standard plastic. Every Aikon #tide’s bezel, case, case back, crown, strap end piece, and buckle are made from this new material.

On five of the ten available models, the typical Aikon bezel with its six double-indices is black, while the case and the dial share the same color. The other five models feature cases and bezels in the same color, and the diamond-indexed models even have matching dials. My favorite, though, was the model with the full-navy-blue case and contrasting white dial that matches the strap. On all of the models, the “M” logo on the rubber strap matches the case.

Take a closer look at the dial! It has a “Vagues du Jura” pattern resembling ocean waves, and the design signifies this watch’s element. You can find a date aperture at 3 o’clock, long lumed indexes and hands, and only the Maurice Lacroix name between 10 and 2 o’clock. It’s a simple and easily legible watch face.

The Aikon #tide not only comes from the water; it’s made for it. Quite fitting, then, is the 10 ATM rating and a screw-down crown and case back. It features a flat sapphire crystal and an Easy Strap Exchange system. This allows you to swap straps on your Aikon #tide quickly. All of the straps come with a tang buckle that matches the color of the case.

On the wrist

It is no surprise that the Aikon #tide wears very comfortably. Although the size is on the larger end of the spectrum (for me) at 40mm, the watch, as I mentioned, it feels much smaller. I don’t know whether it’s the light case or the dark bezel that optically shrinks the watch. I guess it’s a bit of both. Regardless, you won’t have any issues with the size. The rubber strap is comfortable, and even though the composite material is light, the Aikon #tide does not feel unbalanced. Since the case material is unique, I cannot imagine the watch on anything else but rubber. Leather might not fit the design, nor is it a water-friendly material. Let’s see what Maurice Lacroix brings out in the future. After all, the Easy Strap Exchange system allows the wearer to switch straps in a flash.

What’s left to say?

A cool thing about the Aikon #tide that plays into its eco-friendliness is how the timepiece arrives to you. Inside the outer carton box, you’ll find a little bag. You can use it for the beach or store items like your car keys, sunglasses, wallet, and so on. The bag holds a reusable coffee cup in the same color as your watch. Inside the cup is the watch in a plastic holder that doubles as a watch stand once you remove it from the cup. The bag and the cup (with the watch holder) are made of the same material as the watch case itself. So aside from the outer carton box, every bit that Maurice Lacroix uses for the packaging has a second purpose. That’s clever.

As far as prices are concerned, the unisex models are €690 ($750), and the ladies’ versions are €850 ($925) due to the blinged-out indexes. For this, you are getting a Swiss-made quartz watch in a composite case with sapphire crystal, 100 meters of water resistance, and clever packaging in a bunch of colors to choose from. I, for one, am curious to see what Maurice Lacroix has in store for the Aikon #tide. Producing the watch by itself will not stop ocean pollution. But if it raises awareness or makes us think twice, it’s already a good start. And what better way to do so than with a fun, colorful summer watch?

Let us know your thoughts on this new model in the comments below, and check out the full Aikon #tide collection here.