Dior’s lucky watch is back in black

When Hedi Slimane launched the Chiffre Rouge watch for Dior Homme in 2004, it was a statement of the house’s commitment to the codes of haute horlogerie. Not for Dior an all-looks-no-substance timepiece with a quartz movement. Inside, it was powered by a specially adapted version of Zenith’s famous El Primero mechanical calibre and was the first automatic watch the brand had ever made. 

Aesthetically, it was all about its asymmetrical silhouette and detailing: the right-hand side of the case was both enlarged and straight-cut, with, angled in at four o’clock, a large, sporty crown; the bezel was toothed, but only a quarter of it. Just beneath four o’clock sat the date window, where Monsieur Dior’s lucky number eight would appear each month in the maison’s red.

Slimane long since departed Dior, and the last new Chiffre Rouge model appeared in 2015, but now, to mark the watch’s 20th anniversary, Dior Timepieces is re-releasing the watch in a collection of eight new models (five available in boutiques from February, one from July and the last two from October). The colour scheme on the case, strap and dial is predominantly black, with pops of red on the crown, hands and date window; changes are rung with models featuring a diamond-encrusted dial and bezels set with rainbow-coloured stones. Dior’s signature geometrical “cannage” pattern is another recurring motif. Three different automatic calibres range from chronograph to tourbillon; and with two case sizes, 38mm and 41mm, the original Dior men’s watch has its eyes set firmly on the unisex market. 

Dior Chiffre Rouge, from £6,800, is launched on 12 February, the day of Monsieur Dior’s first show in 1947