This Hidden Gem Sports Watch Demands Your Attention with Its Latest Version

It’s never looked better.

Close-up of a black mechanical watch face with turquoise accents and a turquoise strap.

Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google

Published December 19, 2025

·

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Despite being one of the best integrated sports watches you can get in its price bracket, it’s not often you hear people talking about the Maurice Lacroix Aikon.

Maybe it’s because the watch’s design hews just a little too closely to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (especially the bracelet). Or maybe it’s just that Maurice Lacroix isn’t as sexy or well-known a brand as its competition, like Christopher Ward, Tissot and Nivada.

Whatever your reason for not paying much mind to the Aikon, Maurice Lacroix‘s latest take on its flagship sports watch is sure to get your attention. I’d even say it demands it.

That turquoise is so hot right now

One small but notable trend in luxury watchmaking over the past couple of years has been the color combination of black and turquoise.

Black Maurice Lacroix wristwatch with visible gears and turquoise rubber strap on textured gray surface. — Maurice Lacroix and Label Noir’s take on the black and turquoise trend looks amazing.

The progenitor of the style, and arguably still the best at implementing it, is IWC, which has used its position as a sponsor for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team to slap the cars’ pretty turquoise and black livery on its watches to great effect. Norqain and Omega have followed suit with turquoise and black versions of their Wild One Skeleton and Seamaster Aqua Terra, respectively, both of which are also pretty awesome.

Now, it’s Maurice Lacroix’s turn, and the brand turned to Geneva-based watch modifier Label Noir for help in transforming its Aikon Skeleton into an uber-cool dichotomy of black and turquoise.

The watch’s 45mm stainless steel case has been given a black DLC treatment, while the sapphire dial has been smoked to make the view of the Manufacture Calibre ML234 automatic movement.

Black Maurice Lacroix wristwatch with visible gears and turquoise accents on the hands and markers. — Turquoise highlights can be found on the smoked sapphire dial.

The dial has also been given several turquoise accents. There’s a turquoise ring around the edge, interspersed by the applied black indices, and the small seconds display has both turquoise markers and a turquoise hand. The hour and minute hands are also both filled with turquoise lume.

Tying it all together, in true IWC AMG-inspired fashion, is the integrated FKM rubber strap. Proudly labeled “Maurice Lacroix,” it’s the same bright shade of turquoise found on the dial. For times when you want to be a little more subdued, the watch also includes a black nubuck leather strap.

Both are easily swapped out using ML’s tool-free Easy Strap Exchange system. Both straps are also equipped with black DLC hardware: a butterfly clasp for the rubber one and a pin buckle on the leather.

Black Maurice Lacroix Label Noir skeleton watch with turquoise accents on a wrist. — The watch includes a second strap in black, suede-like nubuck leather.

Pricing and availability

I think this watch looks fantastic. It’s easily one of the coolest iterations of the Aikon I’ve seen, and it provides further evidence that turquoise and black watches are having a moment.

However, there are a couple of issues. For one, it’s huge. I know 45mm is the standard size for the manufacture movement version of the Aikon Skeleton, but come on, guys, you couldn’t shave a couple of mm off the sides?

Next is the price, which seems … ambitious. This is an $8,500 watch, which is very steep for a Maurice Lacroix. You can get a Sellita-based 42mm Aikon Skeleton for less than half that. The Christopher Ward Twelve X in titanium, arguably the closest competitor to the Aikon Skeleton, costs $3,000 less and has a more impressive in-house movement with a higher beat rate and much greater power reserve.

Still, Maurice Lacroix doesn’t seem concerned about the price, which is also $1,200 more than the standard 45mm Aikon Skeleton on a bracelet. The brand’s first two limited-edition collabs with Label Noir, launched in 2020 and 2024, both sold out quickly. ML is expecting the same performance here, and with only 100 examples of the Aikon Skeleton 45mm Label Noir Limited Edition in existence, the brand may be right.

Black Maurice Lacroix wristwatch with visible gears and turquoise hands, paired with a turquoise rubber strap.

Maurice Lacroix Aikon Skeleton 45mm Label Noir Limited Edition

Specs

Case Size	45mm
Movement	Maurice Lacroix Cal. ML234 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

$8,500 at Maurice Lacroix

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.