aviator maurice lacroix

2009 Baselworld Preview[ via Maurice Lacroix ]Spearhead of the Maurice Lacroix manufacture, the Masterpiece line is a skilfully proportioned combination of technology, tradition and modern aesthetics. The skeleton dial, sculpted with a goldsmith's precision, reveals all the workings of the movement, a delicate labyrinth in which the gear-trains have been refined to a bare minimum. The structure of the Chronographe Squelette, a veritable metallic sculpture, transforms the lifeless material into a living mechanism. A model that clearly belongs in this century.Technical Specifications:MovementHand-wound, Maurice Lacroix ML106-7 calibre, column-wheel chronograph, 18,000 vib/h, 22 rubies, hand-decorated bridges, snailed gear-trains, 42-hour power reserveFunctionsHours, minutes, seconds and chronograph to 1/5 secondCaseCombination of polished and satin-finished steel, circular or vertical, 45 mmConvex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides Screw-down sapphire crystalWater-resistant to 100 mDialSapphire crystal with metallised treatmentSmall seconds at 9 o'clock, 60-minute counter at 3 o'clockWhite Superluminova on rim of minute and seconds countersBracelet/StrapHand-stitched large-scaled crocodile, black calfskin lining, matching topstitching, with folding claspPrice Range(CHF) 10000-19999Images/text courtesy of SwissTime.ch

With Bulgari focusing heavily on their new Serpenti line of snake themed watches, it gave me a chance to think about some of the other snake themed watches that came out in the last few years. I always appreciated the artistic look of the Maurice Lacroix Divina Temptation line of limited edition watches (even though I wondered about who really bought them). They even used snakes in their ads pretty well. Maurice Lacroix is not being targeted by Bulgari, as the Italian brand has done snake themed watches way in the past. Bulgari clearly did a better job with naming the watches, as their Serpenti collection of watches and jewelry, by its name, should clearly resonate as having a reptilian look. What is up with how Maurice Lacroix names its watches? Though for many, these watches will be more wearable than the Bulgari pieces - though you could easily view both as ugly. The "Temptation" part of the name likely relates to the snake being the 'bad guy' in the Adam & Eve story. Poor python. The women's watch has a 24.5mm wide case in 18k white gold and comes in four types. Each has a collection of jewels that make up the snake image on the polished solid silver dial. The watch face itself is not exactly easy to read, but that isn't the point. There is a Swiss quartz movement inside the watch as well. There are four versions of the watch. A green toned version with rubies and green tsavorites, a brown version with garnets and blue sapphires (both of these are limited to just 10 pieces). There is also a red toned version with diamonds, rubies, and pink sapphires, and finally an orange toned version with orange and yellow sapphires, and rubies. These final two versions are each limited to 30 pieces each. Originally released a few years ago, there are actually still some of them out there. Prices are about $60,000 - $100,00 each. Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com. Gallery: Maurice Lacroix Divina Temptation watch