Christian Dior’s new Christal range designed by avant-garde couturier John Galliano is a tangible confluence of femininity and sultriness with just a hint of machismo for the new age woman. In Galliano’s words, ‘This is a rock and roll watch. It’s got the edge and strength of a man, yet the delicacy and sparkle of a woman.’ Designed under Galliano’s watchful eye at workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry, this one-of-a-kind range has French creativity and craftsmanship along with Swiss certification to give it the best of both worlds. The collection which consists of 16 watches and chronographs comes with a range of bracelet and bezel variations. Sticking with the house of Dior’s signature colour palette of soft pink, ice white and mirror silver grey, the luminous wrist accoutrements radiate with the glow of sapphire crystal inserts on both the bracelet and bezel.

Just like boyfriend jeans that draw on the animus, the Christal range too is reminiscent of male watches that women so often covet. Drawing on diving watches, these have the distinctive feel of a gentleman’s watch but the jewels lend it an unmistakably feminine appeal. Galliano himself says, ‘This is for the girl who wants to stand out in a crowd, for the leaders of the pack, for the girl on the back of a motorcycle as well as in the blacked out limo.’

The sleek combination of steel and sapphire crystal, the unidirectional bezel and the polished steel cuffs with sapphire crystal inserts that have been fashioned into reflective pyramids give the designs a sophisticated glam boost. While every twin crystal pyramid shimmers from the watch crown, Galliano with his eye for detail, even had the clasps and the edges of the bezel engraved with pyramids to heighten the play of light. Sapphire crystal even covers the watch exterior giving the entire range an incandescent aura and as the crystal offsets the steel, the watches give a sense of fragility and force, ideal for a rock diva. John Galliano once famously said that his role was to seduce. In teaming up with Christian Dior for their newest range of edgy-bling watches, he has managed to achieve just that.

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