CD153B2X1002_0000
Harrods / London, 15th September 2021
Ever since I showed my wife a photograph of a 'Dior Grand Bal' in a copy of the now sadly defunct 'QP' magazine a few years ago it's been right at the top of her 'dream watch' list. Unfortunately, despite much searching we'd never actually found anywhere in the UK that stocked them, until today... when we unexpectedly came across them in the 'Fine Jewellery and Watches' room in Harrods!
The Grand Bal comes in many different designs, all of which are very limited (for example this one is a run of just 88 pieces, though strangely this isn't mentioned on the website) and most of them are extremely beautiful. There are Grand Bals that come on ceramic bracelets or more traditional leather straps, but the defining feature of the Grand Bal is that it wears it's rotor on the front of the dial. Many examples are decorated with feathers, but there are also some other variations such as bows, intricate lattice-work and other fancy embellishments...
Now, really and truly, we were not dressed to visit a 'Dior' boutique... it was a hot day in London so we were wearing T-shirts, shorts and 'comfortable' trainers, but the lady in the shop was still welcoming (as of course she should be, but experience proves this is not always the case) and once I enquired as to the size of the 'Grand Bal' by name she became even more friendly since I clearly wasn't a pleb (despite all outward appearances) or at least not an uninformed one... even if I did look a bit ragged in her sumptuous and 'elevated' display area!
My wife chose this deep red Grand Bal to try on, though she also liked the black and white version on the ceramic bracelet. At 36mm though this is already bigger than any watch she currently owns (I have a Kirium that is 36mm!) and I think the chunky ceramic bracelet (which is shaped like pyramid studs) would have looked a bit too big on her very small wrist. This one looked big, for sure, but I think she could get used to it... the ceramic one probably not.
The pictures here do not do this watch any justice at all. The dial is an extremely rich, deep red and not at all this wishy washy orange-red/tortoiseshell colour. Unfortunately I think it's just one of those watches that you need to see in real life, because it is (and the range as a whole are) quite stunning. There is a very short video on Dior's website that gives a much better idea of what this watch actually looks like, I will leave a link to it at the bottom of the page.
The 'romantically' named Grand Bal Plume CD153B2X1002_0000 is 36mm in diameter and features a red mother of pearl dial surrounded by a bezel studded with round cut diamonds and further embellished with rose gold. The back is red sapphire crystal with rose gold decoration and the front mounted rotor is also rose gold set with diamonds and decorated with feathers. The watch features a pin and buckle style alligator strap, the buckle is also set with diamonds.
This is a pre-owned example, I'm including this picture because it's the best real-life picture
I've been able to find which better illustrates the gorgeous dial colour and the rotor details.
This is currently showing out of stock on the Dior website, but is definitely in stock at the Harrods boutique, or at least it was when we visited... and of course my wife absolutely loved it. Unfortunately there is the small matter of the price, which I'm sure you've already guessed is not 'insignificant'. This watch actually costs £25,500, which realistically means that unless our Premium Bonds come up or we unexpectedly come into a large chunk of money some other way this will have to remain at the top of her 'dream list'.
On the plus side, it's a lot more attainable than the hammered gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak she saw a couple of years ago in Selfridges and also the diamond bezel Chopard watch she tried on a few minutes before this one... you can read about that one HERE.
Link to Dior's website (including the video I mentioned earlier)
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