Had this watch in the black dial variant a couple years ago. It was the first semi-luxury timepiece I ever purchased. The fit and finish is excellent for the price point and overall the watch just feels of quality. Despite its resemblance to a Royal Oak, it still stands on its own as a quality piece in anybody's collection and deserves more praise amongst watch enthusiasts. I haven't been able to find another watch in the sub $2k price point that offers what the Aikon does (excellent specs, good finishing, a super comfortable bracelet, 200M water resistance, modest dimensions). The Monta Noble and CW Twelve come close, but I still prefer the Aikon to those. I actually kind of regret selling it.
I was actually on the market for a Royal Oak around the time when the first automatic Aikons were released. One evening, whilst relaxing in my villa resort, I came across some photos and articles of the Aikon and pretty much forgot about the Royal Oak. I dedicated my afternoon to finding Maurice Lacroix ADs and viewing them in person. I'm not a brand whore per se nor do I subject myself to what others find to be popular (I buy what I like most), so I asked myself the simple question about which watch was more beautiful if the brands were not in the equation, and I frankly felt it was the Aikon for a few reasons, and so bought 1 on the spot within minutes - probably my fastest purchase ever, having been a luxury watch collector of decades with dozens of models from various high end and independent brands. Till today, I own 2 Aikons in different dial colours and they still put a smile on my face every time I gaze at them. Their accuracy is +1 sec per day and 200m water resistance (4x the royal oak's at roughly the same thickness) allows me to do laps in my pool and water sports or diving in the open ocean as well, with zero concerns, which is something that a royal oak would probably not be able to keep up with, as robustly, for many years, and it does end up seeming a little brutishly boring after time passes. In addition, the overall bracelet links of the Aikon are nicely tapered from the side profile which is a very subtle detail, as well as the finishes on the bezel - creating a much more angular and contemporary character with added sturdiness as compared to the royal oak. The Aikon's engineering has proven to be rather equal or superlative indeed. The Aikon is undisputed proof that top quality can be had without overrated hype and opportunistic prices. It helps that the people leading the brand are also very sincere and nice.
Thank you. Very good review. The only video I've seen so far that mentions the smaller links to obtain a better fit on the wrist, which is now swaying me more in the direction of buying one.
It was useful seeing both the AP and the ML next to each other. You love it anyway, so it doesn't even matter, but I disagree that there are so many elements the same. To call a 3 o'clock date a specific design element to any watch goes too far, and ultimately, yes, what is special about this is that it reminds us of that iconic piece, but actually by bringing its own elements to the table, it actually manages to become a highly recognisable icon itself, living up to its name. As you say, it is very unlikely that the two would be mistaken at distance and thus we can give proper credit to the heritage feature of the six double claws along the round bezel. After all, the RO doesn't have a round bezel, nor does it have claws. The markers and hands are different. Even the dials are different, with the RO going for flat-headed raised squares and the Aikon going for pyramidal shapes. I always thought it was the bracelet that is most similar, but the two narrow links of the Aikon are slightly raised and they connect to form a continuous line down the bracelet. Certainly, if they wanted it to look like the RO, they would have had many opportunities to do so. Since there is no competition on price, I hope most will buy this ML because it is doing its own things very well indeed, and we can thank Gerald Genta for his influential trend setting. The elements of the ML I'm least sure of are the movement for the price, the price and lack of hardening coating on such an intricate piece of metal work, espeically the high polished claws and chamfers, and the date, which isnt colour matched and sticks out a bit with it's utilitarian black font on white...
I’ve looked it in person and it is very nice indeed. We have to also mention two other watches that were inspired by the RO: the GP Laureato and the Chopard Alpine Eagle. The Laureato even has an octagonal bezel. And both of them cost around £12000. That’s way too much for a homage and there other watches available that are their own thing. At the affordable end there is the Tissot PRX, but while the finishing on the case is good, the bracelet is a letdown. At a price of £600 it’s just not possible to create the looks without cutting too many corners. But the ML pulls it off. The name is tongue in cheek, Aikon = icon. I like that
Nice review. The Aikon is one of those (more or less) reasonably priced watches I feel attracted to. My favorites are the ones with salmon and green dial. Many people say that the Aikon is a cheaper version of the Royal Oak but from my pov they are two distintively different watches. You can see at first glance if the watch is an Aikon or a RO. If the Aikon were really similar to the RO in its design I wouldn't feel attracted to it. I feel attracted to it because of its own design.
I enjoyed the video, concise and filled with experience (not the experience of a watch reviewer with hundreds of watches, but of a real and mid/long term user)
Thanks for that. B&M Riviera also has angled bezel, 12 sides rather than RO 8... more attractive than the RO to me... but I think the bezel seems like THE homage trigger more than anything else... and with a stylized round bezel, Aikon doesn't have those angles. Many watches have gone to a waffle dial and millions have dates at 3p... thousands have a blue face. I found Aikon before I ever heard of RO. Rugged, masculine, uniquely stylized features attract me as a top contender under $2k. 7.25" wrist and appreciating traditional sizing, the 39mm looks perfect. I'm naive maybe - but while it leverages style features, I don't see this as an homage per se.
I purchased my first Aikon 39 last month, brand new at the AD for $800usd as they had a MASSIVE sale. I was genuinely surprised at how premium the watch felt and how good it was on the wrist. Less than a month later I purchased the new Aikon Venturer 38 and I honestly feel that it is the perfect everyday watch especially on the rubber strap.
I just started with buying my first watch a tag Heuer formula 1 blue dial watch used but almost mint at £540 what you think.? And yes watch snobs i know but im poor 😅 i did want a longines new anniversary but would never wear it as would ruin it lol😅
The PRX question is interesting... much cheaper... Tissot is a great maker w great heritage. You already know that the waffle dial comes only on the automatic PRX. I shopped them hard but found them a little TOO 1980 for me... the angular 40mm case felt too heavy & clunky... the 35mm - clearly a woman's variant - too small and dainty. If you want 1978 for 1978's sake, get a Casio A168... that's a beauty purchased last week for $23... Oh, an indisputable PRO for the PRX is the movement. I have the powermatic 80 in a different Tissot and really do like that.
I have this watch now one year and already destroyed. After buying this watch (leather) strap don't stay in place and watch falls from wrist on the floor. This happened more than 10 times and only the glass is in tact, the whole body is scratched. I bought an other bracelet, the one from stainless steal, and after one year! A pice is missing in the band (just let loose) and now there is a hole in the bracelet. I complained at my jewellery store where I buy this watch and guess what! I needed to pay for the shipping costs to sent the watch to Germany. NO repair No exchange and NO contact possible with Maurice Lacroix about warranty after they sent it back to me. People never buy this watch for that ridiculous Price.
