Featuring bevelled lines from the stopper of the Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle, the distinctive rectangular-octagonal shape of their 1987 Première marked Chanel’s entry into the world of watchmaking. Over 30 years on, what began as design muse combining one of their most recognisable products and the unmistakable Place Vendôme “shopping square” in Paris has grown into a watchmaking concern, encompassing ownership stakes in serious industry partners used by high horology purveyors like Romain Gauthier and F.P.Journe. Yes, Chanel is a serious watchmaker and they’re about to go stratospheric.
Chanel goes Interstellar
Though some may disagree, watchmaking is an enterprise with two key components: the movement and the case. The more nouveau breed of “serious” watch collectors often pay attention to the movement to the obliviousness of everything else but the case, which is an inevitable part of a timepiece’s physical appeal – you fall in love with the overall design before you want to get to know its “inner beauty” aka mechanical calibre.
In 2000, the French luxury house introduced a new concept to the conservative world of timepieces with its J12, a model swathed in monochromatic ceramic that was conceived by its then-Artistic Director, Jacques Helleu. With a distinctly graphic, sporty sensibility combined with a link-bracelet-style strap, it was perfect for women on the go. But, given its countenance, what would that sophistication look like if it was given a place of pride on a male wrist?
When weighed against the last two and a half centuries, the last 50 years from 1970 to 2020 have been one of the most prolific and productive spans for independent watchmaking. Perhaps you would recall the halcyon days of disco – the late ’70s and early ’80s where ceramic timepieces rapidly gained acceptance to the watch-collecting cognoscenti men with their unique qualities: The high-polish finish of ceramic bequeathing a sophisticated and luxurious appearance, exceptional scratch resistance, and lightweight versatility in both formal and casual dress environments meant that it became the “it” watch for that era before the vagaries of prevailing trends took consumer attention back to the mundane until the turn of the millennium.
Historically speaking, one of the greatest watch designers of our generation, Gérald Genta was experimenting with new materials, pioneering bronze watch cases, and mainstreaming titanium not just for cases but also for bracelets. He was never afraid to try new things, viewing himself an artist who used the watch as a medium for expression. Chanel made its entry into the annals of great watchmaking in the same vein – a wildly experimental, wholly beautiful J12.
Legitimacy: When Know-How And Aesthetics Combine
Coco Chanel once opined that “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” In that sense, the visionary designer gave us some inclination that as a beacon of grace and sophistication, Chanel is not a mere producer of pretty gowns and splendorous trinkets. With the Mademoiselle J12, the Maison took an idea and imbued it with Chanel’s very own unmistakable fashion sense using the most unexpected material – Highly-resistant ceramics.
Water resistant to 200 metres, the initial unisex model received mixed reactions. But, in 2003, they released the elegant white J12 in complete opposition of their mega-hit and years ahead before other notable watchmakers would explore the spectrum of white; alternative designs, bezel options and varied gemset options including the introduction of a stainless steel model and a new moonphase complication, made the J12 design ever popular and ever enduring.
Engineering ceramics are extremely difficult as they are the among the most durable class of materials known, usually seven times more resistant than stainless steel – you’d literally need another ceramic or diamond cutting tools to craft them. eramic is among the emblematic materials in Chanel watchmaking, hence it also manufactures its own proprietary ceramic.
Matte black and white ceramic combined in a set of seven watches, the Interstellar capsule collection is the House’s latest watches crafted from a blend of black or white ceramic and diamonds, resulting in a striking two-tone effect. The first, all white, is in the light. The second is crossed by a black band, as though moving into the shade. The third is crossed by a wider band, and so on up to the seventh, which is all black.
Chanel’s First Men’s Timepiece
With some assistance from Romain Gauthier (Chanel is a shareholder), the Monsieur de Chanel was completely designed and built in-house with the brand’s first manufacture Calibre 1. The fully integrated calibre was home to technically challenging complications like jumping hours (where time adjustment can be done in reverse unlike most other jump hour complications), retrograde minutes and power reserve of three days, expresses a high horology approach that few other non-purist watchmakers can match.
For its latest iteration, the Monsieur de Chanel finds itself dressed with a stunning meteorite, partially openworked dial. ” Above and beyond its watchmaking credentials, this watch also fulfils a dream for its wearer, who will have a tiny piece of a star, a fragment of the universe, on their wrist.” said Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Watchmaking Studio, Furthermore, the most romantic of horological complications – the tourbillon – now takes the spotlight on a stage of meteorite, guarded by Gabrielle Chanel’s leonine mascot. This exceptional regulating organ is part of the in-house manufactured Calibre 5.1 hand-wound movement, which offers a power reserve of 72 hours, with the magnificent lion’s head to indicate the seconds.
By combining highly resistant black ceramic with a steel bezel, crown and caseback, the Chanel Monsieur Tourbillon Meteorite brings the sophistication of House aesthetics and adds it to a masculine offering. Sliver of grey striated meteorite featuring a series of openworked areas revealing the gear train – titrating the male penchant for engineering and gear work fleeting views of the tourbillon escapement are round; the only cut-out section that is not round is the one exposing parts of the keyless work of the crown.
In three dimensions, the precision of this majesrtic titanium lion head (laser-cut) is a technical feat in view of the smallness of the disc hosting it, spinning in tune with the seconds – a potent symbol of masculinity without betraying the feminine ethos which birthed it. Powered by the Calibre 5.1, the manufacture movement previously seen in the classic jumping hour Monsieur de Chanel, the new calibre has been modified to use a flying tourbillon regulator rather than a typical escapement while the new display has been applied with classic hours and minutes.
All Chanel timepieces are designed by the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio in Paris, then developed and assembled at the House’s Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Given what the Parisian house has accomplished, it is exciting to imagine what the brand can offer for the future of watchmaking.
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