J’Adore: Timepieces from Dior That Deserve Your Attention

Given the rise of interest in more eccentric case shapes and materials, now is the perfect time to examine fashion watches, specifically those from the House of Dior, in more depth.

Just as Gérald Genta, Jorg Hysek, and Jacqueline Dimier reshaped the role of the case in watchmaking, as a designer, Christian Dior rewrote the rules of form, literally inventing a new silhouette in dressmaking when he introduced his New Look collection in 1947.

He also brought high fashion to the masses with innovations such as accessible products, like stockings and ready-to-wear collections, and licensed accessories, like watches.

If you want to read more about the brand’s first dip into the world of horology, we invite you to read our article from 2023 about Dior’s collaboration with Bulova in 1975. In the meantime, Dior currently has five families in its watchmaking division: Grand Soir, Grand Bal, Chiffre Rouge, La D, and Gem Dior, all of which reflect the founder’s fascination with the natural world.

So, let’s look at what the Maison has in store for 2025.

The Grand Soir collection best reflects the designer’s tastes by employing organic materials such as mother of pearl and artisanal touches like Marquetry to execute its exquisite dials.

When it comes to being in touch with nature, this year’s celebration of the Lunar New Year – the Grand Soir Year of the Snake – is a garden of Eden. The 36mm polished stainless-steel case has a rose-gold bezel set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds. The Toile de Jouy dial is a nod to the traditional French textile.
 

In this case, the “pattern” showcases an opaline serpent undulating through a thicket of mother-of-pearl and 18-karat pink gold flowers. It comes on a blue satin strap with a steel ardillon buckle that is set with 18 brilliant cut diamonds.

This 38-piece limited edition is meant to celebrate the Year of The Snake but is built to last a lifetime. It is powered by a Sellita SW300 automatic movement with a 42-hour reserve.
 

Priced at $44,000, the Dior Grand Soir Year of the Snake has a translucent sapphire crystal caseback and is water-resistant to 30m.

The Dior Grand Bal collection takes its inspiration from archival sketches of Monsieur Dior’s famous ball gowns constructed with structured satin, faille, and taffeta.
 

In the example of the Grand Bal Milly La Nuit, Dior has placed the oscillating weight of the automatic Inversé movement on top of the dial to simulate the look of such a dress swinging across the dance floor.

Additionally, this piece’s calibre has been decorated with golden thread, mesh, silk, feathers, stones, and scarab beetle wings. There are also pink gold, sapphire, and diamond embellishments as well.
 

You will feel like you are floating with this jewel on your wrist. However, couture is a rarified world, so you will be unsurprised to hear that the Dior Grand Bal Milly La Nuit is an extremely limited edition of only 20 pieces and is expensive enough to achieve the listing of “price upon request.”

Launched in 2004, the Chiffre Rouge collection is Dior’s Sport Chic line, and last year, the brand revived the collection with five new timepieces, including the 38mm Black Ultramatte edition.
 

This watch feels perfectly tailored for today’s enthusiasts. It’s nice to see a sports watch with a smaller silhouette and the materials (the stainless steel, notched bezel, and bumper coated in black DLC offer a more minimalist option for folks searching for a luxurious everyday wearer).

The Chiffre Rouge collection is more akin to a ready-to-wear collection than haute couture. Thus, it is not as finely finished. Plus, its Sellita SW300-1 automatic winding movement, which displays the hours, minutes, central seconds, and the date, feels a little more off-the-rack.
 

Still, the calibre runs at a frequency of 4 Hz and provides 50 hours of power reserve and 100 meters of water resistance. The Chiffre Rouge Black Ultramatte is priced at $7,900.

Hardstone dials and asymmetric cases were the talk of the town in 2024, and the buzz shows no sign of quieting down. Fortunately, the Gem Dior collection, which sprung from the imagination of Victoire de Castellane, the creative director of Dior Joaillerie, explores the link between high jewelry and horology rather than haute couture.
 

The signature feature of a Gem Dior (a cute play on the French J’Aime Dior) is an octagonal face and a clasp-less strap. Picture the love child of a 1970s Piaget and a Bulgari Serpent.

Our favorite of these 27mm jewelry watches features a dial made from a slice of lapis lazuli with a yellow gold case and a bracelet inlaid with decorative stones and diamonds (it also comes with an interchangeable alligator strap).
 

Like many jewelry watches, this pretty baby is powered by a quartz movement. Price is available upon request.

Falling into the category of Neo-Vintage is the La D de Dior line. With its tiny 25mm, satin-finished stainless steel case and integrated bracelet, the pieces in this collection would not look out of place in 1975.
 

What makes these models feel fresh are their mother-of-pearl, stone, or matte black dials and fluid, almost ribbon-like, Milanese Mesh bracelet (this ain’t your grandma’s pinchy strap!).

The La D de Dior Satine, with its pink mother-of-pearl dial, stain motif bezel, and stainless steel bracelet, is a perfect example of what makes this collection so enticing. Quartz movements have also come a long way since the Seventies, and this piece’s Swiss-made calibre offers precision as well as water resistance to 30 meters.
 

The La D de Dior Satine is priced at $4,200. To learn more about Dior’s horological offerings, please visit the Dior website.