Maurice Lacroix is a luxury brand of Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 watch

Watch

A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...

es based in the Canton of Jura

Canton of Jura

The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...

 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 an representative for luxury watches including Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet is a manufacturer of prestige Swiss watches which compete with Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.-Foundation:...

, Heuer

Heuer

The name Heuer can refer to:* TAG Heuer, a Swiss watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs.* Richards Heuer, a former CIA veteran of forty-five years and most well known for his work on intelligence analysis....

, Eterna

Eterna

Eterna is a Swiss luxury watch company founded in Grenchen, Canton Solothurn on the 7th of November 1856 by Dr Josef Girard and Urs Schild. They initially specialised in producing pocket watches with alarms. In 1906 the company name changed from U. Schild to Eterna. In 1908 they became the first...

, and Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre is a high-end luxury watch and clock manufacturer based in Le Sentier, Vaud, Switzerland. In addition, Jaeger-LeCoultre also has a long tradition of supplying movements and parts to other prestigious watch companies in Switzerland. Since 1996, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been a fully...

. 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 Canton of Jura

Canton of Jura

The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...

. There it produced private label watches for third parties. In 1975, Desco started marketing watches under the brand name Maurice Lacroix. Like other Swiss watch brands, including Rolex and Omega, the brand Maurice Lacroix does not correspond to any one individual.

By 1980, Maurice Lacroix had become so successful that the facility in Saignelégier ceased production for third parties. In 1989 Maurice Lacroix acquired the case maker 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

Manufacture d'horlogerie

Manufacture d'horlogerie is a French horological term of art that is also used in English. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form manufacture. This term of art is used when describing either a wrist watch movement/watchworks fabricator or its products...

, 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 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 in 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.

In 2001 Maurice Lacroix S.A. became an independent legal entity. As such, it is one of the few independent Swiss watch manufactures.

Sponsorships

In recent years, Maurice Lacroix has collaborated with Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....

, musician Bob Geldof

Bob Geldof

Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...

 and British golfer Justin Rose

Justin Rose

Justin Peter Rose is a South African-born English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour while keeping his membership on the European Tour...

on a brand endorsement campaign.