Chanel designs timeless icons. It is not something to be taken lightly. Take the Chanel suit or the Chanel No. Both Chanel No. 5 and the Chanel suit were designed in the 1920s. Nearly a century later, these luxury Chanel items are still made with the original design philosophy intact. This is a big deal in an age where our attention spans are getting shorter. It was therefore not surprising that when Chanel decided to create a watch, it would also have the same genre-defining qualities. It is, of course the Chanel J12.
Sure, the watch was designed long after the founder’s passing but by then, the core values of Chanel’s DNA had already been well established. The Chanel suit is the result of integrating male elements into feminine clothing, and Chanel No. The Chanel No. 5 was designed to challenge the idea that a woman should only smell like a flower bed to be considered elegant. What is the common denominator? Unfettered creativity and a desire to be creative. And this is perhaps the reason Chanel’s creations stand unmoved through the test of time. The J12 is made from the same material. Imagine designing a watch using a material which was reserved for aerospace travel and is rarely used by the watchmaking industry. This is the J12 – unapologetically distinct. Its legacy has been secured by this philosophy for more than 20 years.
Incubation of Ceramic
In order to understand the J12’s allure, you must go back to 2000. This is when the legend of the J12 began. Jacques Helleu was the Chanel Artistic Director for more than 40 years. He is credited with creating the J12. Helleu long admired the chassis lines of racing cars but more importantly, he was totally enamoured with the regal silhouettes of the America’s Cup yachts. In fact, the watch’s namesake, J12, comes from a category within the America’s Cup, the J-class and its 12m long yachts.
Since the first pencil sketches, the watch has been designed to be both sporty and timeless. It was only right that a racing-inspired watch be made with the latest technology. The J12 has a black ceramic bracelet and case.
It is easy to dismiss the use of ceramic as “cutting- edge” these days as the watchmaking landscape has seen an explosion of this material in the past couple of years. In 2000, ceramic was almost unheard of in the watchmaking industry due to its difficulty in working with. You can imagine that when the watch launched with its shiny and slick 38mm black case and bracelet in 2000 (and then white ceramics in 2003), the new design became an instant hit. The watch sits on your wrist like a diamond, unalterable and nearly eternal.
Change Without Changing
The Chanel J12 has been dubbed the first watch icon for the 21st Century. The maison was faced with a conundrum: how to take an icon that is globally recognized and let it evolve? Seven years after creating the J12, Jacques Helleu passed away and with him, the blueprint, if any, for the J12’s future.
Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of Chanel Watch Creation Studio was given the unenviable task of modernizing this Chanel icon without compromising its identity. The J12 was given a modern update without compromising the identity that made it famous and successful. How can something that’s not allowed to evolve be improved?
It was 2020, more than two decades after its debut, that the J12 received its first update, makeover, evolution or any other term you like. The J12 was able to unleash its creativity by stepping into modern horology. The J12 underwent a series of aesthetic updates in its first year. The bezel received more notches, a new font for the numerals and the indexes was introduced, the width of crown was reduced and new indicators added to the reworked railway track inside the dial. This update was brilliant because at first glance it looked like a split image of the J12 of 2000. You can only see its refinement when you get closer.
One refinement, and perhaps quite an important one to stake a claim to the J12’s legitimacy within watchmaking circles was the availability of a new movement that was made by Kenissi, aptly named Calibre 12.1. Chanel invested in Kenissi before the unveiling of the J12 and, with that, gained the ability to manufacture movements for non-horlogerie J12 timepieces.
With new watchmaking expertise slowly folded into Chanel’s repertoire, Arnaud Chastaingt now had the freedom to explore creativity in entirely different ways. In 2020, Chanel combined the black and white pillars of the J12’s design into the J12 Paradoxe and even made a fully transparent watch with the J12 X-Ray. Through Chastaingt’s redesign of the J12, the Chanel Watch Creation Studio now had a firm grasp on all of the core recognisable elements of the J12 and with it the ability to push the boundaries of its design without ever changing what the watch stood for. After all, it was always going to be a J12.
Stargazing
Chanel has continued to look for new inspirations, building off the success of its 2020 J12 Collection. In 2021 they were inspired by the 90s electro sound, while in 2022, they focused on mechanical innovations by launching their first in-house flying-tourbillon movement Calibre 5. They also brought Kenissi’s calibre into their smaller range of 33mm J12 watches. This year they looked literally to the stars for inspiration. With the theme “Interstellar” this capsule collection combines science fiction, space and time travel for a collection that is truly out of this world. The Chanel J12 Cybernetic, one of this year’s watches that has been launched successfully without using complicated movements, is able to capture the attention of its audience. The concept of the watch is to combine the iconic J12 with an ostentatious pixel display, almost as if they were invading other parts of the timepiece.
Chanel has always used black and white together, but to be able to design a case with pixelated graphics that is highly irregular took some technical expertise. Ceramic is a material that is more difficult to work with than metal alloys, despite its lighter weight, higher corrosion resistance, and harder surface. It is difficult to machine a material so hard into this shape. Then, to make sure the edges do not scratch the skin it is necessary to refine and polish everything to keep the shape while still being comfortable to wear.
This effect is achieved by using a combination of white and black varnish on the bezel, while the dial uses a white varnish combined with contrasting black lacquer. This watch is also available in a Hyper Cybernetic with precious stones. Instead of white ceramic for the case, white gold has been used instead to accommodate 116 brilliant cut diamonds. This J12 Cybernetic, like all modern J12 watches is powered by a manufacture Calibre 12.1, which has been certified Chronometer by the COSC. The watch is both precise and beautiful.
Classics Return
For an artist, inspiration comes from everywhere, even in the strangest of places. For Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, it is safe to say Place Vendôme in the centre of Paris held a special place in her heart. From the 1920s onwards she called Place Vendôme, more specifically the Ritz Hotel, home and around this time, the legendary perfume, Chanel No. The Chanel No. 5 was sold in an entirely new bottle that had a shape that reminded of the octagonal outline of this very square. The Chanel No. 5’s angular bottle is even more pronounced when combined with the fact that most perfumes of the time came in round ornate vials.
As you might imagine, when Chanel decided in 1987 that it was the right time to get into the watchmaking industry, the first watch, designed by the legendary Jacques Helleu again, had to draw inspiration from an element inherent to Chanel’s core design principles. The shape of the Première was based on the cap of the Chanel No. 5 bottle and by association with the shape of Place Vendôme. Even the strap of this watch is inspired by another Chanel icon in their collection, the Chanel 2,55 Flap Bag. When the Première debuted in 1987, it was a watch that women could call their own. Fast forward to 2022, the collection is still very much alive and, in fact, has taken on a life of its own through various interpretations that range from the playful like the Première Robot to the complex like the Première Camélia Skeleton. Last year however, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the very first Chanel timepiece, they made the Première Edition Originale, a re- issue of that very first watch from 1987.
The watch offers the same octagonal shape of Place Vendôme, and the same metal and leather double chain strap, but all of it is further refined for the audience of today. The steel case and strap have been coated in a brilliant 18ct gold, which contrasts beautifully with the dark leather strap and dial. It is equipped with a quartz high-precision movement, and it is also water resistant up to 30m.
This year, Chanel has also announced Lily-Rose Depp as the new muse for the Première Édition Originale. Depp, who is not new to Chanel, has long been an ambassador of the brand. In 2015 she was only 16 when she starred in her first Chanel campaign. Since then, she has represented the brands on numerous occasions including as the face of the Chanel No.5 L’Eau for a younger millennial audience. Depp’s 8.4 million Instagram followers are proof that she is an inspiration for the younger generation. Since her first minor appearance in the movie Tusk (2014), and her appointment as Chanel brand ambassador in 2015 she has since ventured into fashion modelling and has appeared on the cover of several of the world’s most high-profile fashion magazines. Additionally, she has also continued to expand her acting capabilities by appearing in the historical epic war film The King playing Catherine of Valois opposite Timothée Chalamet as Henry V. Most recently she made her TV debut starring in the HBO drama series The Idol alongside Canadian singer The Weeknd.
This article appeared first in WOW Autumn Issue 70
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