ositioned right at Maurice Lacroix’s mid-range price of 1,990 francs, the Pontos S Diver is proving to be the most important launch for the Swiss brand this year. Or rather the relaunch: the model had its first life between 2013 and 2016, when Maurice Lacroix decided to concentrate on the development of the Aikon (based on the Calypso of the 1990s), with the success that we all know, allowing the brand to return to its core identity, that of accessible watchmaking, after a decade in which the focus was on moving upmarket.

It’s actually this high-end heritage that - paradoxically perhaps - gave rise to the sporty and accessible Pontos S collection, as Managing Director Stéphane Waser recalls: “In 2008, the brand developed the Haute Horlogerie concept model Mémoire 1, priced at several hundred thousand francs, with a design characterised in particular by an interior bezel. We then planned to make a split-seconds chronograph. However, in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis, we opted instead for a simple chronograph model that was much more affordable, while retaining the concept of an inner rotating bezel. This is the origin of the Pontos S line.”

Several lives

The origin of the Pontos S Diver thus goes back more than ten years and the model has had several lives. Compared to its predecessor, the 42 mm model, water-resistant to 30 atm and developed in partnership with Croatian freediving champion Lidija Lijic to ensure optimum legibility, has been refined for more elegant wear underwater or on land. The watch is available in stainless steel, with a black grained or white lacquered dial, and also for the first time in bronze in a limited edition of 500. The hour and minute hands are facetted and coated with Super-LumiNova^®.

During the development phase, the Swiss brand turned to Lidija Lijic, a member of the ML Crew and world freediving champion with a record time of 5 minutes and 43 seconds underwater, for her input.

“After we withdrew it, this model kept coming back to the table,” points out Stéphane Waser. “In 2018, for example, we assessed that 15% of conversations on Instagram about Maurice Lacroix were about the Pontos S Diver model, even though it was no longer in the catalogue! This continued popularity proved that the model still had great potential. This contributed to the thinking behind its relaunch.”

A dedicated crown, positioned at 2 o’clock, provides the wearer with the means to adjust the internal rotating bezel. The watch also features a centre seconds hand and a date display at 6 o’clock. A second crown, located at 3 o’clock, adjusts the various indications and can also be used to manually wind the movement (although the automatic ML115 calibre makes this procedure unnecessary).

Renewal of the entire line

Maurice Lacroix began work in 2019 on the relaunch of this model, which is quite distinct from the Aikon Venturer, the brand’s other dive watch with a rougher look. But before that, it was first key to lay the right foundations for the revival of the entire Pontos S line, so as not to make it an “isolated” model. The presentation of a duo of Pontos S Chronongraph models last year confirmed this desire to make it a complete line of watches.

The bronze version comes supplied with two straps, one in vintage dark blue leather, incorporating the company’s M-logo, and a second in dark blue rubber embossed with ‘Maurice Lacroix’. The steel models are supplied with three colour-coordinating straps: an M-branded fabric strap and two rubber straps incorporating Maurice Lacroix branding, presented in relief.

Will it be enough to balance out the dominance of the Aikon at Maurice Lacroix? “Even though it already accounts for 80% of new sales, this is really still just the beginning of the Aikon,” nuances Stéphane Waser. “We are working above all to further improve the brand’s overall reputation, across all the collections. We want to offer a wide choice of models at accessible prices: the Pontos S Diver offers the alternative of a particularly elegant diving model.”

The minute hand is endued with a coloured border. The hours are denoted with applied indexes and lined with luminescent treatment. Subtle changes to the original dial design include making the indexes and minute markings crisper and more prominent. Likewise, the date is framed with a raised border, making it stand out from the rest of the dial.

While several group brands operating in a similar range are focusing on developing their own boutiques, Maurice Lacroix has chosen instead to deepen its relationships with its long-standing network of multi-brand retailers. They now have one more argument in this battle for retail space.