Joined
·
103 Posts
Stating the obvious, most watches have a lot in common in terms of shape. There's round, rectangle or occasional square.
Over the years I noticed a few that seemed to sort of be rectangles, but not quite, and that's what made them so appealing to me.
I came to learn the shape was termed "Tonneau" which I had to lookup in order to discover this meant "rounded like a barrel" coming from Old French.
There aren't many examples that really fit the description, and fewer that seem well done and within my price range. I find Franck Muller's numbers to be tacky, for lack of a better word, the Cartiers tend to be to too wide, while the Breguet's and Patek's that are appealing are more than I care to spend.
It's rare that you can easily narrow your criteria down to a specific watch so quickly, but the singular example that fits both my style and and my wallet was the Maurice Lacroix MP6119. Formally known as the "Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Jours Retrogrades Tonneau" the watch includes a Retrograde Day of the Week indicator which is a very classy addition to an exceptionally attractive dial.
While there are variations of this with silver hands and also those with black dials, the only version that I really desired is the MP6119-PS101-11E which has an solid 18K bezel combined with Gold Hands, Indices and Numerals. This preference is not only for stylistic reasons but also because I find it much easier to actually read the time when there is contrast between the hands, markers and the .925 solid Silver Guilloche dial.
There's also a Moon Phase variation (MP6439) but again, it's more difficult to read, and not a complication that personally interests me.
Because the watch is out of production, it took many, many months of patient searching before I was able to acquire a new and unworn version from a dealer in Germany.
![]()
In addition to the barrel shape, the lugs sweep down nicely to make for a very comfortably and natural fit, especially at 39mm x 51.6mm in dimensions, plus being 13.5mm thick:
![]()
A few extra nice touches worth mentioning also apply to the strap. First is that it uses screws to mount through the lugs, rather than spring bars. This offers a secure mount, combined with a very robust visual appeal. In addition, the custom strap continues past the mounting screws to match the case, leaving no gaps between the case and leather, for a highly refined style:
![]()
In addition, the fold-over deployment is combined with a rather intentionally long strap, which allows for a unique condition where none of the deployment is in contact with your skin. Instead, even with a 7 1/2 inch wrist only the leather is making contact, providing the comfort of a traditional buckle with the convenience of a deployment at the same time:
![]()
Finished off with an exhibition back and a well dressed modified ETA 2892-A2 the movement is both solid and serviceable.
![]()
Performance out of the box isn't spectacular, but certainly acceptable, and especially for a watch that's been sitting on a shelf in Germany for 5 or so years, as my Lepsi Watch Analyzer reports:
![]()
While it's no Breguet or Patek, for roughly $2,500 new/unworn it's an outstanding value and combines truly superior craftsmanship and value at that price point, at least in my estimation.
Given it's unique shape, style and features, it's one of my most rewarding purchases, even while being far from one of my most expensive.
What's your favorite Tonneau?
Over the years I noticed a few that seemed to sort of be rectangles, but not quite, and that's what made them so appealing to me.
I came to learn the shape was termed "Tonneau" which I had to lookup in order to discover this meant "rounded like a barrel" coming from Old French.
There aren't many examples that really fit the description, and fewer that seem well done and within my price range. I find Franck Muller's numbers to be tacky, for lack of a better word, the Cartiers tend to be to too wide, while the Breguet's and Patek's that are appealing are more than I care to spend.
It's rare that you can easily narrow your criteria down to a specific watch so quickly, but the singular example that fits both my style and and my wallet was the Maurice Lacroix MP6119. Formally known as the "Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Jours Retrogrades Tonneau" the watch includes a Retrograde Day of the Week indicator which is a very classy addition to an exceptionally attractive dial.
While there are variations of this with silver hands and also those with black dials, the only version that I really desired is the MP6119-PS101-11E which has an solid 18K bezel combined with Gold Hands, Indices and Numerals. This preference is not only for stylistic reasons but also because I find it much easier to actually read the time when there is contrast between the hands, markers and the .925 solid Silver Guilloche dial.
There's also a Moon Phase variation (MP6439) but again, it's more difficult to read, and not a complication that personally interests me.
Because the watch is out of production, it took many, many months of patient searching before I was able to acquire a new and unworn version from a dealer in Germany.
In addition to the barrel shape, the lugs sweep down nicely to make for a very comfortably and natural fit, especially at 39mm x 51.6mm in dimensions, plus being 13.5mm thick:
A few extra nice touches worth mentioning also apply to the strap. First is that it uses screws to mount through the lugs, rather than spring bars. This offers a secure mount, combined with a very robust visual appeal. In addition, the custom strap continues past the mounting screws to match the case, leaving no gaps between the case and leather, for a highly refined style:
In addition, the fold-over deployment is combined with a rather intentionally long strap, which allows for a unique condition where none of the deployment is in contact with your skin. Instead, even with a 7 1/2 inch wrist only the leather is making contact, providing the comfort of a traditional buckle with the convenience of a deployment at the same time:
Finished off with an exhibition back and a well dressed modified ETA 2892-A2 the movement is both solid and serviceable.
Performance out of the box isn't spectacular, but certainly acceptable, and especially for a watch that's been sitting on a shelf in Germany for 5 or so years, as my Lepsi Watch Analyzer reports:
While it's no Breguet or Patek, for roughly $2,500 new/unworn it's an outstanding value and combines truly superior craftsmanship and value at that price point, at least in my estimation.
Given it's unique shape, style and features, it's one of my most rewarding purchases, even while being far from one of my most expensive.
What's your favorite Tonneau?
