For Dior, color is the operative word for Baselworld 2016: color in all its iterations, from bold, eye-popping and contrasted, to soft, steely and feminine. What is certain is that Dior is brimming with springtime energy.
This week, Dior serves a large bouquet of novelties as it unveils its panoply of new watches in a kaleidoscope of eye-popping colors found in brilliant feathers, extraordinary gemstones and steely mesh bracelets, making for a resolutely modern collection.
Softly feminine and lavishly colorful describe the two new lines in the “D de Dior” collection – titled respectively, Satine and Granville – both signed Victoire de Castellane, the couture house’s creative director best known for her remarkable jewelry lines.
« D de Dior Satine »
The biggest “watchmaking” event of the year for the Maison Dior is the launch of “D de Dior Satine,” a brand new line in its perennially pleasing “D de Dior” collection. “The ‘D de Dior Satine’ line is our most important strategic launch this year,” announces the Maison Dior. “The new line shown at Baselworld will be available in boutiques starting next May.”
D de Dior Satine turns that quintessentially “couture” symbol, the ribbon, into the centerpiece of its new collection. Ms. de Castellane pays tribute to the couture traditions of the maison by integrating the ribbon motif in the supple Milanese mesh steel bracelets of her watches. Shimmering and fully flexile like a metallic fabric, the soft bracelets are a perfect accessory to the delicate watch dials in white, grey, pink or black mother-of-pearl. The precious bezels, crowns and buckles set with diamonds further tie in the universe of fine jewelry for which Ms. de Castellane is best known.
Christian Dior was fond of saying that “grey was the most elegant of all neutral colors.” He viewed pink as “the softest color,” most representative of both “happiness and femininity.” So firmly did he believe in such truths that he made those colors the iconic colors of his couture house. D de Dior Satine observes Monsieur Dior’s pronouncements on the principles of elegance, softness and femininity by adhering to a color palette thoughtfully reduced to pink and grey and gold.
Limited to seven models, D de Dior Satine features a “Mini” 19 mm dial and a more generous 25 mm dial. In the Mini model, three steel versions feature grey, pink or white mother-of-pearl dials. In the 25 mm version, the singular steel model features a mother-of-pearl dial in white or black. Prices range between 4,400 € to 25,000 €.
« D de Dior Granville »
In bold contrast to the soft hues of “Satine,” D de Dior Granville is an eye-popping feast of bright colors inspired by Monsieur Dior’s memories of a childhood spent in the seaside town of Granville in Normandy. “Granville is where Monsieur Dior was born,” explains the Maison Dior. “The collection is an homage to his childhood spent in Normandy.”
Victoire de Castellane employs the same energizing rainbow of colors in both her “Granville” watch collection and her latest high jewelry offerings, painting Monsieur Dior’s childhood in the Granville family home as nothing short of idyllic. “The idea was to recreate a collection that would feel like a children’s game where colored stickers are associated freely,” the Maison says.
Far from a haphazard association of colors, the D de Dior Granville is the result of a studied experimentation in color theory, a quest for the precise combinations that would produce the boldest, most eye-catching contrasts. Ms. de Castellane has deployed her creative energy in transposing colors – aquamarine against purple, turquoise against pink - with the same discerning eye she uses in her recent high jewelry collection, creating audacious combinations rarely seen in ladies’ watches.
The D de Dior Granville line comprises nine timepieces in white, yellow or rose gold, all remarkable by the explosion of candy-bright shades that suggest the free spirit of childhood or the jolt of an invigorating spring.
Dials in lapis lazuli, chrysoprase, turquoise or purple sugilite (a rare deep purple gemstone found in Japan) are shown with bezels set with rubies, yellow or pink sapphires, accessorized with bright colored patent leather straps to create a dynamic vibration of color.
A striking example combines a bright aquamarine-colored patent-leather strap with a deep purple sugilite dial and a light-red ruby bezel. Another features a turquoise dial with a bezel set with brilliant-cut yellow sapphires against a pale pink patent-leather strap.
Shedding any trace of nostalgia, D de Dior Granville evokes a trip down memory lane as seen through Technicolor lenses.
