Maurice Lacroix has introduced its first watch in the sports elegance collection, the Aikon Mercury.
The brand said it wanted the watch to show its tradition with a contemporary aesthetic and described its mechanism as ‘unprecedented.’
At first glance it looks like a normal watch with central hours and minutes and small seconds at six o’clock.
However, with a slight tilt, the hands spin freely until back upright when they return to give the correct time.
The patented mechanism behind the display took three years to develop in the manufacture facilities in Saignelégier.
The AIKON Mercury’s ‘free hand’ works with natural forces of gravity to read and display time from a double snail-cam mechanism hidden beneath the dial.
One snail cam is associated with the display of hours, making one complete rotation every 12 hours, while the other is associated with the display of minutes and rotates once every 60 minutes.
When the wearer turns his wrist to look at the watch (A), with its movement perpendicular to the ground, gravity acts on two weighted levers, pulling them into contact with the snail cams.
Dictated by the continuous rotating snail cams, the levers then drive the hour and minute hands to indicate the correct time.
When the wearer leaves the upright position (B), hands follow a mercurial pattern before falling to gravity.
The mechanism still computes in the background, ready to give back the correct time when A is triggered by the position of the wrist.
Powered by the ML225 calibre, the watch comes in a 44mm stainless steel case and is water resistant to 10ATM.
It comes with a five-link stainless steel bracelet interchangeable with an Alligator leather strap with M logo and folding buckle.
