To mark its 20th anniversary last year, Dior surprised us with the comeback of the Chiffre Rouge, the first mechanical watch to emerge from a maison that is best known for its haute couture fashion and significantly less so for its haute horlogerie. However, this could soon change thanks to LVMH’s ever-growing expertise in the watch sector. Indeed, the maison has just launched its latest Chiffre Rouge models, now featuring manufacture movements from Zenith and La Fabrique du Temps.
The Chiffre Rouge was launched in 2004 under the then-designer Hedi Slimane, who gave the watch an unmistakable aesthetic. One of the most striking features is the offset crown at 4 o’clock. But the red accents primarily on the crown and the second hand, as well as the number eight in the date window, were also intended to be a direct reference to the history of the maison. For Christian Dior, the colour red was regarded as the ‘colour of life’, while the number eight was his lucky number.
The first Chiffre Rouge chronograph was powered by the legendary El Primero calibre from Zenith at the time (as it still is today), which of course upgraded the watch enormously from a technical perspective, but was also an understandable step, as Zenith is also part of the LVMH Group, making any use of the expertise available within the company a no-brainer. The last Chiffre Rouge was released in 2015, after which the iconic watch went quiet for some time.
Last year, Dior celebrated the comeback of the Chiffre Rouge for its 20th anniversary with three-hand models, chronographs and even a flying tourbillon. Unmistakably Dior Chiffre Rouge in terms of aesthetics, the nevertheless featured a few minor updates. The dial now featured the familiar Cannage motif (Dior canaille), which can be seen on many Dior products and is reminiscent of a braided pattern. It is features on the rubber strap and even the oscillating weight. The new Chiffre Rouge was a little more refined, less angular, and rather more in keeping with a fashion house like Dior. For the three-hand models with date, Dior chose a simple Sellita movement (SW300) with the CD.002 calibre while pricing the watches at a hefty €7,900, which – if you look at the facts and figures alone – makes it a pretty expensive watch. Meanwhile, the chronograph models feature a slightly modified El Primero movement from Zenith, which runs under the name calibre CD.001 at Dior. But the real highlights of the Chiffre Rouge’s comeback were the new and first ever Flying Tourbillon models, developed and produced at La Fabrique du Temps by the watchmaking duo Enrico Barbasini and Michel Navas. La Fabrique du Temps has been LVMH’s horological flagship for movement production for Louis Vuitton, Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth since 2014. Dior’s tourbillon movements now join the fold.
At Dior, they run under the calibre designation, CD.003, offering a power reserve of 40 hours and running at a frequency of 4 Hz. The tourbillon cage is structured in the same cannage style as the dial and is designed to coincide with it at regular intervals during rotation. The bridge of the tourbillon is concealed, which gives the tourbillon its floating appearance and hence its name ‘flying tourbillon’.
The new models just unveiled feature red dials with an undulating sunburst pattern and come in three versions: a Black Ultramatte with a 38 mm case and black DLC coating (9,400 euros), a Black Ultramatte with diamonds on the black 38 mm DLC case (17,500 euros), and a 41 mm Chronograph with black DLC coating (for 15,000 euros). All models are limited to 100 pieces each.
Dior is also presenting two new tourbillon models: with a grey PVD-coated case and a grey dial with a cannage motif and in a jewellery version with 60 baguette diamonds. The shock protection on the crown side, which is also a typical feature of Chiffre Rouge watches, is made of rose gold in the Tourbillon Grey Ultramatte and white gold in the Tourbillon Grey Ultramatte Diamond Set. They are limited to 20 or 8 pieces for the diamond versions (price available upon request).
The journey of Dior’s Chiffre Rouge continues – and it is not yet clear where it will lead. They are technically very interesting, but still look rather too much like fashion watches to serious watch enthusiasts. The first Tambour and Escale models from Louis Vuitton were also initially too fashionable and playful for many people – yet since then, the brand has become a real collector’s favourite. Under certain circumstances, Dior would benefit from another line alongside the Chiffre Rouge in the direction of haute horlogerie dress watches. After all, La Fabrique du Temps has the expertise mentioned at the beginning; but could it be that creating competition within its own brand portfolio is exactly what LVMH hopes to avoid?
