Simply Abu Dhabi VI

8 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I D ior presents its new models, and notably the series of three Dior VIII watches pictured in our gallery. Conceived like a haute couture collection, these timepieces correspond to three key moments – day dressing, cocktail models and, lastly, grand galas. Day models include mother-of-pearl or opaline dials, or peridot baguettes for the afternoon… It’s the fourth Dior Watch, yet it is called VIII: because eight’s a charm! VIII, like the 8thOctober 1946: the day the house of Christian Dior was founded. VIII, like the 8tharrondissement of Paris: its home since the very beginning. VIII, like 8 place Vendôme: the address of the jewelry and timepieces store since 2001. VIII, like En 8: the name of the first haute couture collection, in 1947, in which the silhouette, with its exaggerated hips and "brazen bust", as ChristianDior himself said, unmistakably recalls the numeral's feminine curves. VIII, of course, like the couturier's lucky number. 8, most of all, like Dior VIII: this ceramic watch collection in which everything reminds us of Christian Dior haute couture: the mechanism's oscillating weight is a ball gown, the coloured stones are cocktail dresses, and then there's the strap and the bezel whose relief motifs allude to the woven caning of the Napoleon III chairs upon which show guests sat during the couturier's time. The Grand Bal models harken back to the sumptuous era of grand soirées in the late Forties and Fifties, when organizing parties that were each more extravagant than the last was a way of asserting one’s place in society. Christian Dior was a frequent guest at such balls, and moreover he was the couturier-costume designer of choice. On these models, the caliber’s oscillating weight is visible through the dial, whereas usually it is hidden on the underside of the watch; this is called the “Dior calibre inversé” (which stands for inverted caliber), veritable technical feat. By turning on itself in keeping with the wearer’s movements, this piece makes it possible to automatically wind its mechanism so that it never runs down. Beyond this functional aspect, the movement of the oscillating weight recalls the swirling of a ball gown: here, the dual technical and aesthetic feat consists in turning the oscillating weight into a decorative element. To this timepiece performance is also added that of the setting ateliers, who on the Resille model, for example, succeeded in transcribing, in gold and diamonds, an intricate setting that recalls the delicacy of the mesh motif. The watches sport 38 mm high-tech black or white ceramic, or white gold dials. Along with these, we should mention the 0.06 carat rose-cut diamond crown, the 18-carat yellow gold hands plus stones encrusted on the bezel featuring a ceramic bracelet with pyramid links. Simply Devine! For more information visit the official Dior VIII website at: http://www.diorviii.com Find Dior on facebook at: www.facebook.com/Dior DIOR VIII GRAND BAL HAUTE COUTURE MODEL N°5 Front DIOR VIII GRAND BAL HAUTE COUTURE MODEL N°5 Back VIII

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