Horological Meandering

When the designers, watchmakers and engineers, who work together in the new “Atelier de Maurice Lacroix”, gathered around the table to think about a new form for a chronograph, the initial result was a wealth of the craziest ideas. However, it is precisely such impossible but decisive flashes of inspiration that lead to the creation of the most original, creative and exceptional concepts. And this is exactly how the idea behind the Mémoire 1 was born – surely one of the greatest innovations in the area of chronographs.

Even if it does not seem so at first glance, the Mémoire 1 really is a chronograph. Using the button integrated directly into the crown, you can switch between time and chronograph mode. The indication of the selected mode is taken over by a small hand near 3 o’clock. This operation is made possible thanks to an ingenious mechanism, which the creators christened ‘va et vient’ (‘come and go’) and for which Maurice Lacroix has already filed a patent.

Starting, stopping, and resetting the chronograph function the same way on the Mémoire 1 as with the stopwatch functions on all other similar timepieces: Pressing a button near 2 o’clock starts and stops timekeeping; resetting the hands is done with the button at 4 o’clock. A heart-shaped metal component – one for each indication: hours, minutes and seconds – allows the chronograph hands to jump back to their initial positions at 12 o’clock. The Mémoire 1 is equipped not only with three but with more of these chronograph hearts.

The principle of ‘all or nothing’ permits the release of the detent arm on most watches with minute repetition when the appropriate rack has been fully pressed. If the wearer completely presses the corresponding button, the watch movement counts the full hours, quarter hours and minutes. However, if the button is not pressed to the bottom, the function does not start. The Mémoire 1 is equipped with a similar system, which guarantees the perfect functioning of the mode change. This system is not only very interesting from a technical point of view, it also makes it much easier to tell the time because it ensures the precision of the indications of hours, minutes and seconds.

As soon as the selection mode with its ‘va et vient’ mechanism is pressed, a connecting mechanism, which is based on the principle of ‘all or nothing’, sets the three systems of the memory function in motion. These Mémoire systems are ingenious watchmaking devices that correspond to the indications – hours, minutes and seconds.

Not least, the Mémoire 1 has a date indication based on a newly developed mechanism, which unifies technology, design and readability perfectly. Contrary to traditional large date indications, the date on the Mémoire 1 is very discrete in order not to spoil the harmony of the dial while not compromising any of its easy readability.

The memory function of Mémoire 1 will certainly be recorded in annals for haute horlogerie as an incomparable Grande Complication. As Maurice Lacroix is at the moment registering a patent for its technical features, they can not yet be specified in full details.

Also demanding esthetic requirements were a primary concern during the creation process of the Mémoire 1, whose movement consists of 537 individual parts. For this reason, not only the base movement and complications deviate from everything previously known in technical terms, but also the movement decoration and the features of this watch are in every regard innovative. More on this to come soon!

Zurich, September 2007