Of course, it would be wrong to say that the Versace Collection was not eye-catching. The three main lines that were being introduced this season – City & Business for day-to-day and work outfits, Tailored Sportswear for more casual occasions and the Night Life for special evenings – were all distinctive, versatile and refined.

In fact, the only drawback to this collection was that we have to wait until February 2007 before they would be available in stores.

Still, it was the Versace DV One Chrono Matte ‘Soft Touch’ watches that takes your breath away.

Created by Versace Precious Items, the Versace DV One Chrono Matte ‘Soft Touch’ timepiece is the House of Medusa’s new concept of luxury, pairing elegance with design that emphasizes every small detail and the charm of materials.

“I wanted to create a ceramic watch that was truly masculine,” says Donatella Versace, Creative Director for the Versace Group. With the Versace DV One Chrono Matte ‘Soft Touch,’ she had accomplished her goal.

The timepiece celebrates a new way of ‘experiencing and living a watch’ thanks to its original matte case and ‘soft touch’ ceramic bracelet. It also comes with all the functionalities and detailing that we have come to expect with the Versace DV One series of timepieces.

Added to that, the history of the creation of the exclusive matte ceramic material used as housing for the watch gives it an added high-tech romance!

The story begins on the other side of the world, in Kyocera, Japan to be exact, where the matte ceramic for these watches are created in special laboratories.

A refined ceramic powder is mixed with other materials and injected in special moulds made of high resistant steel because of the corrosive quality of the raw ceramic powder. It is so corrosive that each single mould can only be used no more than 2000 times.

The ceramic is then baked at 500 degrees C for 6 days. This process gives it shape, resistance and strength. After being subjected to high heat, each piece is then checked with precision to eliminate any imperfections. Then goes back to the furnace for an additional 2 days.

The special elements of each watch – the bracelet, the case, the buttons and top ring - must be polished to perfection in order to obtain the ideal matte or shiny finish. Each piece is placed in rotating “Buratti” barrels with micro ceramic balls that polish each element for 48 hours.

The final phase is a sand bath where each single object is bathed in a particular silicon powder for 18 hours to obtain the exclusive MATTE, SOFT -TOUCH effect.

This lengthy process, which requires two weeks guarantee the special matte effect for each every watch. With the first stage of its manufacture completed, the watch is then sent to the Vertime watch laboratories in Switzerland to be assembled and completed.

Versace DV One Chrono Matte ‘Soft Touch’ chronographs will be available in worldwide Versace boutiques and exclusive Versace dealers from September 2006

For more information, please log on: www.versacepreciousitems.com