When it comes to Chanel’s watchmaking high notes, we often find ourselves in a quandary. It’s always a great capsule collection which we reviewed last year but they disappear almost as quickly as they appear. This year, for example, the theme is Couture O’Clock (because of course), and it is excellent. The star of the show was a stunning Musical Clock Couture Workshop. This piece was sold prior to Watches and Wonders Geneva. Its owner permitted Chanel to continue displaying it at the show, but it was impossible to operate. It wouldn’t matter much to the majority of journalists since the clock was no longer in public view. Therein lies the difficulty for us – bringing you news that you might be able to act on.
In order to reflect the theme of precious metals that runs through this issue, we chose a watch from WWG which was more in line with our Summer vibes. Chanel’s J12 Calibre 12 watch has a diamond-set yellow gold bezel. The J12 Calibre 12.1 was released last year without the flash. We did not have time to review it at that time, but now we can rectify this omission. It is important to note that this model is officially known as J12 Calibre 121 in 38mm. The J12 is the name of the 33mm model.
J12 Calibre 12.1, as its name suggests, tells you (almost all) you need to about it. The COSC-certified Calibre 12.1 is the heart of this watch. It was designed and manufactured by Kenissi in a joint venture between Tudor and Kenissi. The watch is a part of Chanel’s J12 collection. This is their sports elegance model. The watch’s 200m water resistance is a big selling point, and it comes from the screw-down crown. However, for fancier versions, like this one, things can be a bit more delicate.
Chanel introduced a simple bezel in gold last year. You may also remember a version that featured baguette diamonds. Chanel’s latest collection features yellow gold bezels set with brilliant-cut black and white ceramic cases. The hour markers in the J12 collection are the same round brilliant-cut diamonds that are used in the bezel. The bezel has 50 diamonds totaling 1.51 carats and there are 12 such stones, which is a total weight of 0.09 carats.
Movement: Automatic calibre J12.1 with a power reserve of 70 hours (approximately).
Case: Ceramic bezel with gem-set in 38mm; 50m
Strap: Bracelet
Price: NA
This story was first seen on WOW’s Summer 2024 Issue.
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