“Big date up top, snap-back drama below, and a box crystal that makes sure you notice all of it.”
Some brands dabble in retrograde displays like it’s a seasonal flavour. Maurice Lacroix, on the other hand, has been dining out on them since the late ’90s — and at this point, it’s less of a complication and more of a personality trait.
The new 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde doesn’t try to reinvent that wheel. Instead, it spins it faster, makes it bigger, skeletonises half of it, and then places it under a very tall box sapphire crystal just in case you somehow missed the point.
This is Maurice Lacroix reminding everyone, again, that retrograde is their thing.
“Let’s address the crystal first.”
That sapphire box crystal is doing a lot of work here. It’s tall, it’s proud, and it absolutely wants attention. From the side, the watch looks like a miniature horological terrarium — layers upon layers of mechanics, bridges, textures, and negative space all stacked together.
At 42mm wide and 12.75mm thick, this is not a shy watch. But it doesn’t feel accidentally chunky. Everything about the proportions suggests intent: this is meant to be admired from angles you don’t normally check the time from.
If you like flat, discreet, slip-under-a-cuff watches, this is where you quietly close the tab.
“The dial (or lack thereof)…”
Calling this a “dial” feels generous. What you’re really looking at is the underbelly of the movement, fully exposed and very aware of it. Maurice Lacroix skeletonises just enough to show off the mechanics without turning the whole thing into an unreadable mess — which, frankly, is harder than it sounds.
The sandblasted, black rhodium-treated mainplate provides contrast, while rhodium-finished bridges float above it like they’re part of some very Swiss industrial art installation. There are no hour markers to speak of, because clearly that would have been too sensible.
Time-telling duties fall to trapeze-shaped hour and minute hands with Super-LumiNova. Practical? Yes. Exciting? No. Necessary? Absolutely — because without them, this would just be a very expensive mechanical screensaver.
“Big date up top, drama down below.”
At 12 o’clock sits the grand date, displayed via two fully exposed discs. It’s bold, legible, and refreshingly honest — you can literally see how the date works. No mystery, no hiding, just mechanics doing mechanical things.
At 6 o’clock is where Maurice Lacroix really stretches its legs: the retrograde day display. A blued hand begins its weekly commute on Monday, sweeps across to Sunday, then snaps back with that deeply satisfying flick that makes retrograde fans irrationally happy.
Is it necessary? No.
Is it fun? Very.
Is it exactly why people still care about mechanical watches in 2026? Also yes.
The sapphire track for the retrograde display is impressively thin and almost disappears into the background — a flex that most brands wouldn’t even bother attempting, let alone pulling off.
“Inside: the ML302.”
Powering all this is the in-house Masterpiece ML302 calibre, visible through the exhibition caseback. Finishing is what you’d expect at this level: Côtes de Genève, perlage, colimaçon, and a skeletonised rotor that politely reminds you this isn’t an off-the-shelf movement.
The 39-jeweled, 38-hour power reserve, 4 Hz movement won’t win any spec-sheet battles, but let’s be honest — no one is buying this watch to min-max autonomy. This is about visual theatre, not endurance racing.
“Wearability (yes, we should talk about it)”
The watch comes on a black calf leather strap with an alligator-style texture and Maurice Lacroix’s Easy Strap Exchange system. It’s comfortable, practical, and thankfully easy to swap out — because a watch this visually busy will absolutely benefit from strap experimentation.
On the wrist, it wears exactly how you expect: present, noticeable, and conversation-starting. This is not a watch that quietly minds its own business.
“The bigger picture.”
At CHF 6,950 (RM 35,158.91), the 1975 Master Grand Date Retrograde sits in a very Maurice Lacroix niche. It’s not chasing minimalist purists, and it’s not pretending to be haute horlogerie in a lab coat. Instead, it offers something increasingly rare: an in-house movement, a genuinely distinctive complication, and a design that doesn’t look like it came out of a focus group.
It’s confident. It’s slightly over-the-top. And it knows exactly what it’s doing.
If you like your watches subtle, restrained, and forgettable, this isn’t for you. But if you enjoy mechanical watches that perform — not just function — the latest Master Grand Date Retrograde feels like Maurice Lacroix doing what it does best: making watches that are interesting first, sensible second.
And honestly? We could use more of that.
