For years we?ve been calling for watch brands in every category to embrace color, and to give us more than the standard array of white/black/blue when it comes to dial variants. And for the most part, we?ve reached a point where most watchmakers are providing consumers with a healthy choice of dial variants beyond the standard. A new release from Maurice Lacroix, however, has me wondering if case color is the next frontier. The new Aikon PVD collection, a small series of just two watches, has the brand?s popular contemporary sports watch getting a PVD coating. One in gunmetal gray (admittedly, not super uncommon) and the other in a metallic shade of dark blue. 

The Aikon so often spoken about as a far less expensive alternative to the Royal Oak that it?s hard not to think of AP?s Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in blue ceramic when considering the blue PVD Aikon. Obviously there are enormous differences. The aforementioned Royal Oak QP is, by all accounts, one of the most sought after watches in the world, full stop. The Aikon has a cult following, but it?s nowhere near the cultural touchstone of the Royal Oak. And the AP is complicated, and the Maurice Lacroix is time only. But still, from across the room (way, way across the room) the Aikon can play tricks on you – it has a similar silhouette and is a watch in a similar style as the Royal Oak, and now you can have one in blue, if you?d like. 
The blue PVD version of the Aikon measures 39mm in diamete...