BY JOVAN K
Those familiar with Maurice Lacroix may have noticed that the brand has never been shy about retrograde displays, and anyone who has followed the brand since the late 1990s will know this is their familiar territory. With the 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde, the brand brings that long-running idea into its most classic collection and pairs it with a newly developed calibre. This release matters because it signals a more mechanical and more expressive direction for the otherwise restrained 1975 line.
The case is straightforward and sensibly sized at 42mm x 13mm. It’s good old stainless steel with brushed and polished surfaces. The proportions are more contemporary without being bulky, and the short lugs should help keep it wearable.
The sapphire crystal atop is box-shaped and lends the watch some visual height without overly inflating the case profile. Water resistance is rated at 50 metres, which is fine for daily life but clearly not the focus of this piece.
The dial is unconventional so say the least, but it’s also where this watch earns its keep. The skeletonised layout puts the mechanics front and centre, with the underside of the mainplate visible and treated in black rhodium with a sandblasted finish. Rhodium-plated bridges with straight brushing sit above, giving the display some structure. Time is shown via trapeze-shaped hands filled with white Super-LumiNova, while the grand date at 12 uses two fully exposed discs. At 6 o’clock, the retrograde weekday arcs across a slim sapphire scale, with a blued hand snapping back at the end of the week. First glance reports back that the dial is busy, but intentionally so and the one where legibility has clearly not been ignored.
The movement behind all this is calibre ML302. An automatic construction that runs at 4Hz and offers a 38-hour power reserve. The architecture is the headline here, with the display module doing most of the visual work on the dial side. Turn the watch over and the finishing is more traditional, with Geneva stripes, perlage and a sapphire caseback to take it all in.
The watch comes on a black calf leather strap with alligator-style embossing, fitted with a stainless steel butterfly clasp and the brand’s easy strap exchange system. Lug width is 20 mm, so alternatives will be easy to find. This model joins the permanent collection and is priced at CHF 6,950.
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