Maurice Lacroix Pontos Automatic Chronograph Review
Certain watchmakers create gems that sometimes fly under the radar. Let’s explore a special timepiece as we review the Maurice Lacroix Pontos Automatic Chronograph.
Somehow, over the years I never seem to have read or written a review about a Maurice Lacroix watch often enough. The market is flooded with so many great watches and it becomes more and more challenging to give each one of them the attention they deserve, but today, that’s about to change! We’ll be discussing a watch that not only has good looks but whose case carries within something worth discussing at great length.
Maurice Lacroix Pontos Automatic Chronograph Review
There is something aesthetically magnetic about this watch that is kind of hard to pinpoint. From the monochromatic design to the tasteful use of textures and concentric radial lines on the sub-dials, this watch has a look that is modern and forward-thinking. It doesn’t look in any watch futuristic but has many traditional design elements which were fused with elements that are more up-to-the-minute like rubber straps and very fine typography.
Some good examples of this would be the matte black PVD case and lugs, the wavy turbine-textured crown grip and smooth lines, and the fonts used in the typography and Roman numerals around the tachymeter.
The dial features central minutes and hour hands which are black with white tips. The small running seconds can be seen at the 9 o’clock position on its own sub-register. The chronograph functions with a thin central second hand which also has a white tip. There is a sub-dial with the 30-minute counter at the 12 o’clock position and a 12-hour counter at the 6. You'll also find a date window at 6 o'clock, positioned inside the 12-hour sub-register.
On the reverse side of the case is a transparent sapphire case back which a few markings in white which include the series name PONTOS in the upper left quadrant of the case back printed in white using a thin, sans serif font.
On the upper right side of the case back the words Swiss Made are printed in white with the model number PT6188 at the bottom right of the case. Juxtaposed to the crown on the case back is the 5ATM water resistance symbol. The case is held shut with five steel screws which can be seen on the case back.
Caliber
The Maurice Lacroix Pontos Automatic Chronograph is powered by the Maurice Lacroix caliber ML112 (which uses an ébauche, the ETA/Valjoux 7750 automatic movement for a base). The ETA/Valjoux 7750 in and of itself deserves its own article. Just a few fun facts about the movement and its history:
- The Valjoux 7750 was one of the first watch movements that were engineered using computer-assisted design (CAD).
- It was developed by Edmond Capt who was famous for his work with Blancpain and Lemania.
- In the early 1970s, Edmond Capt used the computer in Neuchatel to run mathematical calculations and simulations for his various components.
- The ETA Valjoux 7750 was historically the most popular automatic Swiss-made chronometer movement.
- It was so popular that Sellita was subcontracted to create them to keep up with the demand and at one point, Sellita created a caliber that they called the SW500 which essentially is a cloned version of the Valjoux 7750.
- The Valjoux 7750 was used as a base for many watches by many manufacturers.
The watch depicted in this post is model # pt6188-ss001-331 and it is fastened to the wrist via a soft and comfortable rubber strap with a black PVD pin buckle which is branded in white with the Maurice Lacroix logo.
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