Introducing the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Diver “Blue Devil”

Introduced in 2013, the Pontos S Diver has since become one of the most popular watches in Maurice Lacroix’s catalogue. Retro-inspired yet undoubtedly modern, the Pontos S is its own watch, one that is not bogged down by attempts to emulate the Submariner or any other iconic, historical dive watch. In that regard, it’s a breath of fresh air. Furthermore, it is, by most objective standards, a professional diver built to modern specs, boasting an impressive water resistance rating of 60 atm and an automatic helium escape valve at nine. Though that’s arguably overkill, Maurice Lacroix wants you to know that the Pontos S Diver is designed to compete in what most would call a crowded market.

Riding the success of earlier models, Maurice Lacroix has now come out with the Pontos S “Blue Devil,” a limited edition in, you guessed it, blue.

The Blue Devil shares its case with previous iterations of the Pontos. Coming in at 43mm, the Pontos S skews on the larger side, though the watch overall appears well-balanced, with the case bezel and internal bezel tempering the dial. In terms of finishing, the case is largely brushed with polished accents along the bezel and beveled lugs.

In profile, the lugs are downturned and almost claw-like, a feature that gives the case an attractive, angular quality. The prominent internal bezel is sandblasted aluminum, with a finish that matches the dial. At two, there’s a crown (color-coded in yellow) for operating the internal bezel, and at three is a prominent screw-down crown for manipulating the hands. As I wrote before, the Pontos S Diver is very much a contemporary watch.

Turning to the dial, we’re met with a sea of blue, chosen by Maurice Lacroix for the color’s superior performance in deep water. It’s a dramatic and vibrant tone, and while blue is often hard to get right it looks like Maurice Lacroix really nailed it here. Accenting the blue is white and yellow contrast print, and there are applied polished indices (lumed) at each hour. The use of yellow is carried over to the large minute hand and the tip of the second hand. Once again, yellow was chosen for its visibility under water. Both the hour and minute hands feature luminous paint.

Above six is an ideally placed date window featuring a custom date wheel, with black print against a white background. The contrasting date window here does a good job at balancing the marker at 12, and it doesn’t feel disruptive the way most date windows of this sort do. Further aiding the graphic clarity of the dial is a limited amount of text, with the logo and depth rating below 12, the word “AUTOMATIC” above six, and  a discrete “SWISS MADE” right below the track at six.

Rounding out the package are three straps: a stainless steel bracelet, a blue leather one-piece with yellow contrast stitching, and a black rubber strap. The entire set will come in a waterproof presentation case.

The Pontos S Diver is limited to 100 units, and is available this month from Maurice Lacroix retailers for $2,950. For more information, visit Maurice Lacroix.