Inhorgenta Talk: Stéphane Waser (Managing Director, Maurice Lacroix) on affordable Swiss watchmaking
After a hiatus, Maurice Lacroix returned as an exhibitor at Inhorgenta this year. We took this opportunity to invite Managing Director Stéphane Waser to the Watch Talks stage in Hall A1. The topic: the secret behind affordable Swiss watchmaking.
Waser has been with the Swiss brand Maurice Lacroix since 2008 and has led the company as Managing Director since 2014. His tenure has been marked by social and economic upheavals—from the global financial crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Maurice Lacroix has evolved during these years into a successful Swiss watch brand with a focus on affordable prices.
That wasn’t always a given. When Waser joined Maurice Lacroix, there were discussions about moving into a price segment above 10,000 CHF. In addition, the NZZ and other outlets reported in 2015 that DKSH, the international trading and services group to which Maurice Lacroix belongs, was considering selling the brand. Ultimately, neither of these things happened.
In a conversation with Insight Luxury on the Watch Talks stage at Inhorgenta 2026, Stéphane Waser explained why those plans were never implemented, what Maurice Lacroix stands for today, and what the new “Aikonic” line is all about.
