Maurice Lacroix Mother of Pearl Watches

A combination of mechanics and architecture, the Pontos D��centrique Phases de Lune liberates time from orthodoxy. In a theatre of bold innovations, the first scene is acted out at 10 o'clock on an off-centre dial, where a new and unique single hand tracks the minutes, while the dragging hours appear at a more leisurely pace on a disk. In the second scene, two superposed disks at 4 o'clock show the phases of the moon and indicate day and night. The final scene, perhaps the grandest of them all, takes place at 6 o'clock: the date is clearly shown in a metallised sapphire crystal window on a disk whose patented return system has been specially developed in-house. Series limited to 500.Technical SpecificationsMovementAutomatic, ML 122 calibre, 28,800 vib/h, 4 Hz, 28 jewels, rhodium-plated, circular-grained, hand-decorated and snailed finishing with C?tes de Gen��ve motifs, 38-hour power reserveFunctionsHours, minutes, date, moon phases and age of the moon, day/night indicatorCaseTitanium, sand-blasted finishing, 45 mmConvex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sidesScrew-down and numbered sapphire crystal back Water-resistant to 50 mDialBlack off-centre with openings on the hour disk at 10 o'clock and moon phases and day/night indicator at 4 o'clockIndication of number of days to next full moon at 4 o'clock Integrated metallised sapphire crystal on the date at 6 o'clockLarge hour numerals and minute hand coated with C1 white Superluminova creating a blue luminescent effectBracelet/StrapBlack genuine alligator, black calfskin lining with titanium folding claspRetail is estimated at $5,000-$10,000Source: Maurice Lacroix

A timepiece carries out the simplest job and hence we sometimes overlook the intricacy required behind the scene. The Jours R��trogrades from the exclusive Masterpiece Collection features an impressive function that is both traditional and extremely attractive: a retrograde day indication. A small hand at 6 o'clock moves one position further to the right each day to indicate the current weekday and when reaches the end of the scale it goes back to the start. The watch has a 40 mm stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal and a display back. It uses the hand-decorated automatic caliber ML 102 with 22 jewels, blued steel screws, Incabloc shock protection, a polished steel pallet and escapement wheel, a Glucydur balance, and a skeletonized rotor. The hand can manually be repositioned without damaging the movement.