Dior Timepieces and Zenith Manufacture

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Dior Timepieces and Zenith Manufacture - Dior/Zenith
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Since 2004, Dior and Zenith have been working together with three calibres: the “Irréductible”, “Elite” and "691" calibres.
In 2004, Dior Timepieces and Zenith launched their collaboration with the “Irréductible” calibre for the Chiffre Rouge I01. Since then, Dior and Zenith have continued to expand their partnership with 2 calibres: the “Irréductible” calibre and the “Elite” calibre.

The “Irréductible” calibre

The “Irréductible” calibre is an automatic chronograph movement, chronometer certified (COSC), developed by Zenith for Dior. It is used on the limited series of the Chiffre Rouge timepieces: Chiffre Rouge I02 and I03.

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This extremely complex calibre includes 278 different components. It measures time to 1/10th of a second, thanks to the balance wheel’s oscillation frequency of 36 000 vibrations per hour (Zenith is one of the only manufactures to offer such a degree of precision in an automatic watch).

Reflecting the excellence of the mechanical movement, the hour markers and hands are refined to the limits of technical tolerance to accentuate the energy driving the movement and the precision of the indications.

The “Elite” calibre

“Elite” is the name given to a group of flat mechanical calibres developed and produced by the Zenith manufacture. This movement is used in its manual version on La D de Dior and in its automatic version on the Dior Grand Soir and Chiffre Rouge collections.
Reliable, precise and efficient, this extra-flat movement (between 2.84mm and 3.46mm in thickness depending on the versions), launched in 1994, took more than 3 years to develop.

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Elite 691 calibre

The Chiffre Rouge C03 is equipped with the Elite 691 calibre, an automatic movement offering 3 complications: big date display at 2 o’clock, moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock and small second counter at 9 o’clock.
This calibre possesses aesthetic elements customized by the Dior creation studio (the moon phase disk, the big date disks, the oscillating weight) as well as classic and traditional complications revisited by the Dior Homme codes.
More than five years of research and development were needed to elaborate this calibre.

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