Hands on with the Gem Dior – captivatingly beautiful timekeeping

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, women’s watches are extremely underrated. Compared to the best watches for men and unisex-focused timepieces, women’s watches are often seen as ‘style over substance’, with the glitz and the glamour overruling the actual time telling features.

Dior is the perfect example of intricate and technical timekeeping mixed with high-end luxurious jewellery. I was recently invited to get hands on with Dior’s latest women's and unisex watches, including the Chiffre Rouge, Grand Bal Plume and the Gem Dior, the latter of which quickly became my new favourite watch.

Dior’s Gem Dior collection uses a combination of gemstones and geometric shapes to create a watch-jewellery hybrid. Using a variety of precious gemstones and metals, the open bracelet asymmetrically stacks and loops around into a bracelet, with an octagonal dial at its centre. 

The watch I tried on was the 27mm Yellow Gold and Lapis Lazuli Gem Dior, a perfect example of one of the more colourful and dramatic timepieces in the collection. The main gemstone is lapis lazuli, a blue dappled stone that makes up the dial and various spots on the bracelet.

The Gem Dior dial is simple and straightforward, with a yellow gold Dior logo at the top, yellow gold hour and minute hands, and hour markers at the three, six and nine o’clock positions. The watch bezel is set with 31 brilliant-cut diamonds around the middle and lower parts of the dial, with a green chrysoprase insert towards the top.

Powered by a quartz movement, the 27mm watch has an 18K yellow gold crown, anti-glare sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 30 metres… although why you’d want to get this watch wet is beyond me! The asymmetrical links of the bracelet are even more captivating than the dial, featuring diamonds, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase and malachite gemstones.

Just looking at the Gem Dior, it’s clear that it’s an absolutely beautiful watch. The dial is simple yet effective, and allows the bracelet to be the star of the show. The blend of blue, green and yellow from the gemstones and metal draws the eye and gives a pretty balance of colour, sparkle and shape.

Considering the amount of gemstones on the watch, the Gem Dior has a nice weight to it. It’s chunky yet dainty at the same time, and for someone who has small wrists, it takes up a good amount of space without being too overpowering. The open bracelet is easy to slip-on, and it twists generously which makes it easy to move and manipulate.

The jagged design means the Gem Dior can be stacked with other Dior bracelets, and if you’d prefer a simpler strap, the Gem Dior comes with an interchangeable alligator strap. But as it’s Dior, the strap is finished with 18K yellow gold and six diamonds.

Prices on the Gem Dior start at £9,200 so it’s definitely not a cheap watch, but this price tag is somewhat expected, considering you’re buying into the gemstones as well as a stunning watch. I’ll have one in every colour!

For more, check out these 7 luxury women’s watches that look like wearable pieces of art.