Strikes Couture
Special
Watch
When The Clock
In stunning fusions of grey, blue and pink steel, Dior VIII Montaigne watches are modern marvels, evoking the original vision of Mr Christian Dior. Here we tell their story.
Exceptional timepieces are a given when it comes to the House of Dior, encompassing each piece, from the La D De Dior to the Chiffre Rouge. But nothing evokes the spirit of couture and the house’s creator quite like the Dior VIII Montaigne. The most intricate of all Dior’s watches, created with innovation and individuality in mind, at the heart of the collection lays the original house codes set out by Christian Dior decades ago. Let’s begin with the name, VIII, said to be a number surrounded by magic in the eyes of the designer. On the 8th October 1946 he opened his couture house on Avenue Montaigne in Paris’s VIIIth arrondissement, and in turn awarded his first ever collection with the same title, En Huit. The timepiece might be available in various colour ways and metals – from the steel and diamond built Plisse Soleil with purple and yellow mother of pearl pyramid shaped detailing, to the rose gold version finished with a black alligator strap – but grey steel takes precedence, paying homage to Mr Dior’s love for the soft hue. ‘It is the most elegant neutral colour,’ he wrote in 1954. Set out as the house’s couture collection in timepieces, the watch knows how to accompany its wearer all evening, propelling her into new depths of beauty, in just the same way that any of Christian Dior’s couture dresses did. An incarnation of the house’s original codes, Dior VIII Montaigne possesses the soul of Mr Dior, his loves, his life and his designs.
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