Maurice Lacroix is Ready for Summer with the Blinged Out Eliros Sunshine

After a long winter, we’re finally beginning to see signs of spring here in the northeastern part of the United States. While it wouldn’t be unusual at all to get one or two additional big rounds of snow in March (or even April), this time of year the white stuff doesn’t hang around too long, and cold days are outnumbered by those where we’re teased by warmer weather to come. You know what I’m talking about. Those afternoons where it’s not quite warm enough to enjoy a patio cocktail with friends, but it’s close, and you can almost lose the jacket. It’s almost enough to have us reaching for the summer watches. We might decide to put one on a little early just for the hell of it, in an attempt to manifest the warm spring weather we all deserve after months of carefully negotiating icy sidewalks and the grim grayness of our cities covered in salt. 

What is a summer watch? It’s a question we grapple with every year, usually when the weather begins to turn, and everything else we begin to wear gets lighter, airier, and brighter to match the season. Of course a watch doesn’t actually have a season the way a boot or a jacket does. Your wrist doesn’t have specific requirements related to temperature. A summer watch is just about capturing a vibe. If summer is about relaxation, vacation, indulgence, and warmth, the watches that most closely match that kind of attitude are not going to be, for example, found on alligator straps. They’ll hopefully have some color. And they absolutely have to look the part if you’re sitting on a beach, or at an outdoor bar, or anywhere near a pool. 

That brings us, finally, to the Maurice Lacroix Eliros Sunshine. Believe me when I tell you that when I looked at the press release for the Sunshine, I could feel the temperature rise, and all but taste the fruity blended cocktail I’d like to be drinking through one of those umbrella straws. The Sunshine is completely and gleefully over the top. I imagine most people will look at it and dismiss it as a gaudy, gold gimmick. And that’s fine. I honestly don’t even disagree. But the design is so brazen and singularly focused on a summertime mood, it proved difficult to ignore. 

This is more than just gold on gold on gold. Both the dial and strap are filled with texture. They bear a repeating pyramid motif that has us thinking of those Magic Eye posters where if you squint just right you can see a spaceship or a boat, or whatever. Maurice Lacroix tells us that the gold tone is achieved through a special immersion technique that allows for perfect color matching between the dial and strap. Sounds good, Maurice, just point me toward the pool. 

Is this watch practical? No – it doesn’t have any dial markers that can be used to precisely tell the time. Is it fancy? Definitely not – it’s powered by a simple quartz movement and there isn’t a hint of real gold to be found on this thing. But is it at least in good taste? I mean, no. Again, it’s gold on gold on gold. But if we can’t abandon reason and enjoy something that bumps up against our own best judgment in the summertime, when can you? This watch is why what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. 

If you’re planning on spending some time closer to the equator in the next few months and need more information on the Eliros Sunshine, you can find it here. The retail price is $850.