Maurice Lacroix - Masterpiece 43 mm Square Wheel Retrograde - MP7158-SS001

Maurice Lacroix / Masterpiece / Square Wheel Retrograde

A square wheel? It sounds a crazy concept, especially when you consider that it was expected to turn and interface with another wheel located adjacent and that second wheel was clover-shaped. However, Michel Vermot, a watchmaker and engineer at Maurice Lacroix, invented this concept.

The teeth on the two unusually shaped wheels would have to mesh perfectly to ensure reliable operation. Each tooth would require a unique angle to engage faultlessly without any loss in power transmission. Initially, the technology to create the unusually shaped, and very com- plex, wheels did not exist and the idea was simply recorded on paper.

LIGA, a German acronym for Lithographie Galvanoformung Abformung, a state-of the art process, provided the solution for creating the small unusually shaped wheels. In collaboration with the Haute Ecole Arc, based in Le Locle, the ground-breaking    design became a reality.

Watch Description:

Case
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Case Diameter: 43 mm 
Case Thickness: 14 mm 
Crystal: Scratch resistant domed sapphire crystal with
anti-reflective coatings on both sides
Case Back: Screw-in
Bezel: Polished Stainless Steel
Water resistance: 50 meters / 165 feet

Dial
Color: Black Sun-ray
Hour Markers: Silver Tone Applied
Power reserve display at the 3 o'clock

The square wheel and clover mesh to transfer power at
the 6 and 9 o'clock positions and is also used to indicate
the seconds.

Movement
Type: Manual winding, mechanical
Caliber: ML 156
Power reserve: 45 hours

Strap
Strap: Black crocodile leather strap
Buckle: Push button deployment