8: a magic number for Christian Dior, evoking in turn October 8, 1946, the day he opened his Maison; his address on Avenue Montaigne, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris; and “En Huit”, the name of his first collection. It was only natural that the first ceramic watch designed by Dior should be given, in addition to the designer’s name, these four characters of obvious simplicity: VIII.
The Dior VIII Montaigne wristwatch reflects all the House’s codes: the architectural line, the nod to the “Bar” suit, the multiple, precious and light declinations, celebrating, at every moment of the day and evening, the same approach to feminine elegance, made of refinement and preciousness. With Dior VIII Montaigne, Dior not only pays homage to the House’s historic address and to Parisian luxury, but pushes its inspiration even further and makes a genuine return to the fundamental colors of Christian Dior’s palette by summoning steel. Gray, the emblematic color of 18th-century France, was so prized by the couturier (“It is the most elegant of neutral colors,” he wrote in his Little Dictionary of Fashion in 1954) that it became the legendary “Dior gray” under his fingers, on women’s bodies and on the walls of his boutique.
On Dior VIII Montaigne, the gray of the steel is combined with pink, “the softest of colors”, according to Christian Dior, evoking the hue of his childhood home in Granville, Normandy, and the flowers of which he was a great lover. The pink of the gold on the seconds hand, hour markers, bezel, bracelet or case back; the pink of the translucent lacquer delicately tinting the dial; or the more frank pink of the galvanized steel dial on the Grand Bal “Plissé Soleil” model. Pale blue, “one of the most enchanting colors” according to the couturier, also appears on this new model.
More than ever, Dior VIII Montaigne deploys the assets of a subtly revisited femininity. The refined horns, slimmer case and bracelet, and pyramids with softened edges discreetly renew the couture spirit of this timepiece. A “jewel” watch in a new 25 mm diameter, on a steel, pink gold or alligator strap; Dior VIII Montaigne is a daytime watch in an all-steel version, in 32 or 36 mm, with or without a simple diamond hem on a white mother-of-pearl dial, or in a two-tone version (steel bracelet and pink gold bezel or mixed bracelet). The Grand Bal version features a functional dial-side oscillating weight in gold, mother-of-pearl and diamonds, evoking the hypnotic, twirling couture motif of the pleissé soleil.
This fashionable culture permeates the Dior VIII Montaigne, from the back of the case, neat as the lining of a dress, to the refined details of the dial. Already classic, eminently chic, the Dior VIII Montaigne has the soul of an authentic Parisienne, playing with colors, juggling with references, having fun with diameters. Elegant and feminine, the Dior VIII Montaigne also knows how to vary its wardrobe, alternating the brilliance of metal bracelets with the velvety light of alligator. Watch by day, jewel by night, the Dior VIII Montaigne enchants every moment of the present.
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