Dior Grand Bal Watches: When Haute Couture Meets Haute Horlogerie

Just as the petites mains of Dior's couture ateliers weave silk, tulle and taffeta into the stuff of dreams, so do the Dior watchmakers-albeit with slightly different materials Every year, they work their magic on the house's iconic Grand Bal watch, whose freely-rotating oscillating weight, visible on the dial side, evokes the image of the swishing skirts on Dior's splendid ballgowns This year, Dior has been inspired by creatures of fantasy, creating one-of-a‑kind Grand Bal pieces decorated with various precious and natural materials.

Called the Grand Bal Supernatural, the collection is characterised by dials made with fiery opal and oscillating weights adorned with intricate feather marquetry "As if the front of the watch isn't beautiful enough, the transparent caseback is used to encase the shimmering wing of a colourful butterfly, whose lustrous surface resembles that of iridescent silk taffeta Dior is careful to mention that all of its butterfly wings are ethically and sustainably obtained from specialist sources, which collect the butterflies at the end of their natural lives.

Plus, contrary to what some may believe, the oscillating weight on the Grand Bal is completely functional It is part of the exclusive self‑winding Dior Inversé 11 1/2" calibre housed inside each Grand Bal watch The movement is one of the few in the industry that has its mechanics reversed-the vast majority of automatic watches have their rotors on the back of the watch.

On the off-chance that none of the Grand Bal Supernatural watches catches your fancy, Dior has also recently launched its Grand Bal Couture service, which allows you to customise every part of the Grand Bal watch, from the material of the dial and case to the decoration on the oscillating weight and caseback-and yes, butterfly wings are an option too. . Source