If ‘Tuxedo’ is the evening suit, ‘Gala’ is the gown that stops the room. Inspired by the most sumptuous ball dresses sewn by hand in the great couture houses, this unique piece borrows their layering, their play of textures, and their unapologetic opulence, rendered in shades of rose, purple, and deep garnet. It stands among the most overtly feminine creations TAOS has produced, conceived as a beautiful piece as much as a timepiece. For the first time, the brand brings together five rare crafts on a single dial: engraving, Grand Feu enamel, gem-setting, engraved mother-of-pearl, and feather art. On a 5N rose gold base, white mother-of-pearl gadroons are engraved, hand-painted, and domed like a satin bodice, while cords of engraved gold intertwine with imagined threads and flashes of diamonds are set like jewels on the fabric. Grand Feu enamel in tones of purple and amethyst binds the composition, and natural feathers, cut, sculpted, and inlaid into gold recesses, add a miniature haute couture detail. The feather work is a first for the artisans of Ateliers Olivier Vaucher, and despite the layering of materials, the finished dial measures no more than 1.3 mm thick, its final assembly entrusted to a single master artisan. Within beats the exclusive Swiss Drapé caliber, a trompe-l’oeil of textile with finely engraved ruffles across every bridge, requiring more than 150 hours of hand engraving. Developed under Geneva watchmaker and CEO Olivier Gaud, ‘Gala’ represents more than 1,000 hours of work.