Dior marks 15 years of the Grand Bal
Inspired by Christian Dior’s passion for extravagant balls and couture craftsmanship, the Grand Bal collection turns the movement of a dancing gown into a horological signature
Grand Bal Jardin Parisien, in white gold and diamonds, with marquetry dial in opal, mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli, POA, dior.com
Dior introduced its Grand Bal in 2011, as an ode to the French maison’s haute couture heritage, and the life and work of its founder.
Christian Dior, who established his eponymous business in December 1946 and made history just two months later with his New Look collection, had a penchant for fancy dress balls and served as couturier to guests of the 1951 Ball of the Century in Venice. Hosted by Charles de Beistegui, a wealthy art collector and interior decorator, at his then recently restored 18th-century Palazzo Labia, the Ball of the Century drew a high-society crowd that included Leonor Fini, Salvador and Gala Dalí, and Cecil Beaton.
Occasions such as these called for one of the many gowns that Christian Dior dreamt up during his career. Standout designs included Junon, a 1949 silk tulle confection in pale grey finished with blue-green sequin embroideries by master workshop Rébé, or Mozart, a 1950s dress with glass beads and knotted passementerie fringing that follows the wearer’s every move.
Occasions such as the Ball of the Century, and designs such as Junon and Mozart, inspired the creation of the Grand Bal. The watch is fitted with the Dior Inversé calibre, a movement co-developed by Les Ateliers Horlogers Dior, a specialist manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, with the oscillating weight placed on top of the dial. Driving the timepiece, this innovation creates a movement that recalls the swish and swirl of a ball gown mid-dance.
Over the past 15 years, the Dior Grand Bal has come in many guises. There have been timepieces finessed with cut gems, feathers, cuts of silk or delicate gold threads. Even scarab beetle wings have made the cut. Hardstone marquetry, realised in pieces-of-a-puzzle shapes of lapis lazuli and opal, in addition to pearlescent mother-of-pearl, feature in Grand Bal Jardin Parisien, a collection that made its debut earlier this year. With flowers – clematis, dahlias and peonies – imagined with brilliant-cut sapphires and growing from yellow gold branches, the collection is an ode to the winter garden Christian Dior planted at his Paris flat on boulevard Jules-Sandeau.
GOOD TO KNOW
Christian Dior attended the Ball of the Century in a costume designed by Salvador Dalí. By the time the event was held, in 1951, the couturier and the surrealist artist had established a long-standing alliance. It was as a gallerist in 1931 that a young Dior presented Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory masterpiece, depicting melting clocks.
