Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Régulateur (AWW 57)

Specification
Name: Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Régulateur
Reference: MP6148-PS101-220
Case dimension: Diameter 42 mm.
Movement: Hand decorated automatic ML 105 movement, rhodanised, blued steel screws, Incablock shock protection, polished steel pallet and escapement wheel, perlage, sun pattern polish, outer bridge edges decorated helically with diamonds, engraved Maurice Lacroix logo, skeleton rotor
Functions: Munites and date displayed with central hands, 24-hour display, small seconds.
Number of jewels: 31
Total number of movement parts: 75
Semi-oscillations/hour: 28,800
Balance: Glucydur
Balance spring: Nivarox 1
Main spring: Nivarox 1
Adjustment: In 5 positions after complete winding and after 24 hours
Case: Stainless steel/pink gold 18K 750; domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on inside; screwed caseback with sapphire crystal; water-resistant to 50 m
Crown: Stainless steel
Dial: Solid silver 925; yellow-gold plated hands (hours, minutes, seconds, date), luminous (hours/minutes)
Watchband: Genuine Louisiania croco leather with folding clasp
Edition: Numbered, with certificate

Last weeks we had in 24 Hour watches several threads on regulators. Let's look at one masterpiece more.

Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Régulateur is a gorgeous watch. This watch was in Maurice Lacroix catalog 2006-2010 and was available in following main versions

MP6148-SS001-120 - Case and crown of stainless steel. Silver dial, silver-coloured with Arabic numerals. Hands (hours/minutes) blued steel and luminous.
MP6148-SS001-320 - Case and crown of stainless steel. Silver dial, black/silver-coloured with Arabic numerals. Hands (hours/minutes) polished and luminous.
MP6148-PS101-220 - Case and crown of stainless steel/pink gold 18K 750. Silver dial, chalk/silver-coloured with Arabic numerals. Hands (hours/minutes) yellow gold-plated and luminous.
MP6148-PG101-120 - Case and crown of pink gold 18K 750. Silver dial, silver-coloured with Arabic numerals. Hands (hours/minutes) blued steel and luminous.

Some words about Maurice Lacroix. Informative read is Manufacture - The industrial strategies of Maurice Lacroix. Maurice Lacroix focus is the 1,000 to 5,000 Swiss franc price segment. Interesting, that Maurice Lacroix has own sister companies producing movements and cases. In this sense ML is quite an unique and very capable independent watchmaker.

I have the version (MP6148-PS101-220) with stainless steel/rose gold case and silver/chalk dial. I got it as a used watch, but in a very good condition with full tags and, for a very good price.

The comprehensive booklet has a lot of information about the watch. The specification above is copied from this booklet. Masterpiece Collection is a manufacture products line in Maurice Lacroix. Masterpiece models have usually hand-decorated in-house movements with complications especially developed for Masterpiece line.

The Masterpiece Régulateur is a unique wristwatch - a four hand regulator. Small seconds are at 6, 24-hour subdial at 12, two long central hands for minutes and date. You can operate all of them with a main crown and a date quick set pusher next to the main crown.

The in-house movement ML 105 is a hand-decorated mechanical automatic movement, 31 jewels, blued steel screws, Incabloc shock protection, polished steel pallet and escapement wheel, Glucydur balance, skeleton rotor, 28,800 a/h. This movement definitely deserves a view through the display caseback. I'm not good to even make a decent picture of it.

The solid silver/chalk dial looks fantastic. Together with gold-plated hands the impression is like this watch is not 10, but 100 years old. The watch looks like jewelry and you can wear it like jewelry. But, the legibility is a serious problem here.

BTW, I like the date hand most! The difference between date window or date hand is about the same, when you have hours hand or jump hour window. You know, that one of the main advantages of the 24 hour watch is that it reflects the true time division of the day and gives a clear picture of time at a glance. This is exactly the same with dates and month!

The case (I think that it is made by sister company Queloz) is of a high quality. If I have such an imposing watch, then some rose gold addition the the stainless steel case is very welcome. The diameter is 42 mm, lug to lug 48 mm, thickness 12 mm, lugs 20 mm.

Genuine grey croco strap with folding clasp is a perfect match to the silver/chalk/rose gold/stainless steel watch. My wrists are very small, 16 cm, therefore I'm happy that I could set it to my size.

Summary.
Masterpiece Régulateur is one of the most imposing watches I have. Exterior - dial and case - is fascinating. Interior - the in-house movement - is superb. Definitely worth the price I paid. It is the prime candidate for the next opera night ;-)

I would say that everything is OK with Maurice Lacroix brand, except the resale value. That means, if a used watch is OK for you, then you can get a lot of watch for a moderate price.