Chanel Première, J12, or Monsieur de Chanel ? Chanel ceramic, Chanel Chromatic titanium, ceramic & stainless steel, or yellow gold? With or without a diamond dial or diamond bezel? For ladies or men?
Let us guide you.
What are Chanel watches?
Gabrielle Chanel’s fashion company forladiesfounded in 1910 quickly established the use of fine materials, avant-garde designs, and the colours black and beige as House codes. Redefining Parisian elegance, MademoiselleChanelsoon followed with innovative perfumes, and jewellery boasting pearls anddiamonds, but it was not until 1987 that the House ofChanellaunched the firstChanel watch, forladies, aptly namedChanel “Première”.
In the year 2000Chaneltook thewatchworld by surprise with a unisexwatch– the “J12”. Round, chic, sporty and sleek, created for both men andladies, water resistant to 200m, it especially brought a high-tech material –ceramic-- into the spotlight with its case instainless steeland intenseChanel black ceramicand matching bracelet. Due to the resounding success, the J12 inChanel white ceramicwas launched three years later.
In 2008, a collaboration withAudemars Piguetboldly confirmedChanel’s position in the FineWatchsegment with the exclusiveautomaticJ12ChanelAP-3125 calibre running three hands and a date inside a 42mmChanel black ceramicand yellow gold case.
Research to create new materials resulted in the “J12Chromatic” intitanium ceramicwith a novel colour and unique brilliance that captures the changing effects of light, or the more recently developed 18K yellow gold alloy known as theChanelBeige Gold for a subtle gold colour, seen with theChanelJ12-365 in Ceramic and Beige Gold.
In 2016,Chanelintroduced the “Monsieur de Chanel”watchequipped with the brand’s first totally in-house movement –ChanelCalibre 1, followed in 2017 by Calibre 2, aChanel automaticmovement in the shape of a camelia –Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite flower -- to run the “Chanel PremièreCamélia SkeletonWatch” forladies.
Chanel watchesare made in theChanelworkshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds,Switzerland, combining the best of creativity and design from France with the highest level of Swiss watchmaking expertise.
Everything you should know about Chanel Première
Designed forladies, recognizable with an octagonal-shaped case inspired by Place Vendôme in Paris (like the bottle stopper ofChanelN°5 perfume), this firstChanelwatchmodel was created in 18K yellow gold with a black-lacquered dial and equipped with a quartz movement. The line now also includesstainless steeland gold models with or withoutdiamonds, enhanced with a multitude of straps and bracelets in gold and/orstainless steeland leather, and white mother-of-pearl or black dials, in sizes ranging from 22 x 16 x 6.2 mm to 28 x 20 x 6.6 mm. “ChanelPremière”watchesare equipped with quartz movements, with the exception of the new “Première Camélia Skeleton”, aladies’watch that boasts the fine watchmaking movementChanelCalibre 2.
More about the J12 line, in Chanel black ceramic, Chanel white ceramic, and the Chanel J12 Chromatic in titanium ceramic
Designed for men andladies, the J12Chanel black ceramicand the J12Chanel white ceramicmodels, equipped with high-precision quartz orautomaticmovements, come in sizes from 33mm to 42mm. An interesting line extension includes a chronograph, a diving model, a GMT model, and theChanelJ12 Tourbillon launched in 2006. In 2017, forladies, awhite or black ceramicandstainless steel38mm model with unidirectional rotating bezel features a silhouette ofGabrielle Chanelon the dial. The retail price for this “Mademoiselle J12” limited edition of 555 pieces each is EUR6900.
The J12 Chromatic is crafted in a new material –titaniumceramic– that has to be seen to fully appreciate its unique reflection of light. Launched in 2011 with a grey dial in atitaniumceramicandstainless steelcase, a blue dial version with matching blue alligator and nylon straps is equally superb. A model intitaniumceramicand white gold case withdiamondbezeland indicators also exists.
If you’re a fan of lots of diamonds, the J12 line includes high jewelry pieces. The J12 d’Exception, or “J12-XS High JewelryWatches” come in white gold or white gold and white ceramic, with brilliantly coloured gemstones ordiamonddial,diamondbezel, diamond-set case and bracelet. The white gold model Reference H4937 in a numbered edition, completely set with brilliant-cut diamonds, is sold at a suggested retail price of EUR100,000.
The first in-house movement, for Monsieur de Chanel for men.
This first movement fully created byChanelmanufacturer is dedicated to the “Monsieur deChanel” line, for men. CALIBRE 1 is a manual-winding mechanical movement with double complications of Instantaneous Jumping Hour and Retrograde Minutes, and small seconds. The digital hour display took 5 years to develop. Presented in the 40 mm round case x 10.4 mm thick specially developed for the MONSIEUR collection, thisChanelwatchis water resistant to 30m. It is available inChanelBeige Gold or white gold with an ivory dial, or in a Platinum version with a blue “Grand Feu” enamel dial or black dial.
