As its latest new release of 2023, Maurice Lacroix is bringing back the Pontos S Diver and reviving the design of the first-generation model that was originally launched a full decade ago, in 2013. Based upon a dual-crown layout with an internal rotating bezel, the original Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver was ultimately discontinued after just a few years so that the brand could focus on its popular Aikon collection of integrated bracelet sports watches. However, after receiving numerous requests to reissue this particular model, Maurice Lacroix has teamed up with world-champion free diver and friend of the brand Lidija Lijic to design an updated version of the Pontos S Diver that incorporates her feedback from real-world testing to create a new lineup of models that still retain the spirit of the original generation. At the time of the launch, the new Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver collection spans three different watches, including two in stainless steel and one in bronze (representing a first for the Pontos S Diver), with the bronze model being a limited edition that will be produced in a batch of 500 examples. The two stainless steel models have either black dials with orange accents or white dials with blue accents, while the limited-edition bronze version is fitted with a dark blue dial that has matching bronze/rose gold colored text and white luminous markings.
Measuring 42mm in diameter, the cases of the new Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver feature thin fixed bezels framing the sapphire crystals above their dials, while solid casebacks secured by six small screws help to create 300 meters of water resistance. On the right-hand side of the case resides a pair of crowns, and while the crown at 3 o’clock is signed with the Maurice Lacroix logo and is used to operate the movement, the crown located above it at 2 o’clock features an accenting ring to match the specific colorway of each watch, and it is used to turn the internal rotating timing bezel.
Regardless of their colorway, all of the dials fitted to the new Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver models feature the same overall design and layout with a matte grain-textured surface, baton-shaped hands and hour markers, date windows at 6 o’clock, and extra-long markers for the minute track. Similarly, all three models have internal rotating bezels that sit elevated above their dials with 60-minute elapsed time scales printed upon them. On the two stainless steel models, the minute hands are outlined to match their orange or blue accents, while the limited-edition bronze model skips this detail and opts for a completely polished handset to provide it with a slightly more elevated overall appearance.
The hands and applied hour markers on the new trio of Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver watches are finished with Super-LumiNova for added low-light visibility, and Super-LumiNova also appears on the five-minute markings of the internal bezel. That said, since the white dial variant features dark blue markings on its bezel (rather than white like the other two models), there is a strong possibility that it is only the black dial model and the limited-edition bronze version that also include the addition of a luminous bezel scale.
Powering the new Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver models is the brand’s Caliber ML115 automatic movement, which is essentially the Maurice Lacroix version of the Sellita SW200 that features a custom rotor and some additional decoration. As such, the Cal. ML115 offers the same familiar specs as other brand-specific versions of the base-level SW200, and it runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) while offering users a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. While Maurice Lacroix does produce watches with its own manufacture movements, a reliable known-quantity design such as the Cal. ML115 ultimately makes a highly practical option for a simple three-handed model such as the Pontos S Diver, especially since it is designed to live an active lifestyle and has its movement hidden behind a closed caseback.
All three of the different Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver models are supplied with multiple strap options that connect to the lugs with integrated quick-release springbars to permit easy and tool-free strap changes. The limited-edition bronze model comes with both a dark blue vintage-style leather strap and a matching dark blue rubber strap that has the “Maurice Lacroix” name embossed into its outer surface, and both strap options are completed by matching bronze pin buckles. Meanwhile, the two stainless steel models are both supplied with three different strap options, with the black dial variant accompanied by a black woven fabric strap plus two rubber straps in black and orange, while the white dial model comes with a pair of rubber straps in blue and white, plus an additional woven fabric strap in a matching shade of dark blue.
Over the past few years, Maurice Lacroix has been busy promoting its Aikon collection, the brand’s accessibly priced, game-changing luxury sports watch. Yet, Maurice Lacroix has also recently highlighted another important pillar of its collection, the more classic and versatile Pontos line. The brand now revisits its Pontos S Diver, a watch originally released in 2013. The new take on this compressor-style dive watch was released during an event in Dubrovnik in the presence of Lidija Lijic, a world-champion freediver who the brand consulted during the development phase.