1. Gabrielle Chanel’s posthumous legacy
Gabrielle Chanel passed away in 1971, leaving a legacy of haute couture, fragrance, cosmetics, jewellery and leathergoods. But no watches. “Coco” was born at a time (1883) when a watch had yet to be worn on the wrist, surviving two World Wars only to see its mechanical movement replaced by a disruptive new technology: quartz. Under creative director Karl Lagerfeld, appointed in 1983, the house established a distinctly couture identity, this being the heart of Chanel. It would be another four years before the brand unveiled its first watch, in 1987. The aptly named Première is still part of the collections.
2. Behind the scenes: Paraffection
Appearances really can be deceptive. A street in a less than glamorous part of Paris, with barely a passer-by, is home to Paraffection, a subsidiary set up by Chanel in 1997 to encompass the specialist ateliers whose skills are central to the house’s creations, but which are often ill-equipped to thrive in a capitalist economy. By taking over these fragile firms and bringing them together, Chanel safeguards them (against bankruptcy and financiers). At the same time, it allows them to go on working for other brands, thereby encouraging creativity. A worthy initiative all round.
3. Did somebody say J12? The J12
is Chanel’s most iconic watch, almost a household name. But how exactly did it get that name? In a book about the J12, we learn that Jacques Helleu, who joined Chanel in 1965, was in Hyères, in southern France, watching yachts in training for the America’s Cup. One of these J-Class boats in particular, the J12, stuck in his mind. Further inspiration came from the last ever yacht owned by Giovanni Agnelli, the Avvocato, with its all-black hull, mast, sails, even its dinghy. In Helleu’s eyes, black was the colour of strength and energy. To this day, the J12 comes almost exclusively in black or white.
4. Very Vendôme
On November 18, 1997, Chanel opened a stunning new showcase for its watch and jewellery collections inside a mansion house at 18 Place Vendôme; an occasion marked by the presentation of the 18 Place Vendôme fine jewellery collection. The same Place Vendôme would inspire a famous Chanel watch—the Boy-Friend—introduced almost 20 years later with a case whose contours are those of the Parisian landmark.
5. Breaking the mould
Unisex watches are all the rage, boosted by the popularity of vintage timepieces and their moderately sized cases. Yet we tend to forget that, at Chanel, the concept goes back more than 20 years. The J12 in black ceramic, launched in 2000, was already a unisex watch. Debuting in 2015, the Boy-Friend is also both masculine and feminine, in particular the Medium and Large versions.
6. A dive watch...by Chanel!
Not many people know that in 2010, the J12 reconnected with its nautical inspiration as the J12 Marine dive watch. Despite its many desirable features, the J12 Marine didn’t enjoy the success it deserved. The new Millennium Watch Book, out soon and available for pre-order, makes amends.
7. 35 years for Chanel Horlogerie... and 75 years for Châtelain
In 1993, just six years after the launch of its first watch collection, Chanel acquired G&F Châtelain SA (now Manufacture Chanel) in La Chaux-de-Fonds, leaving no doubt that the house was serious about its watchmaking. A specialist in the manufacturing of cases, bracelets and in gem-setting, Châtelain went on to develop a workshop where it produces ceramic components. As with its Paraffection subsidiary, Chanel continues to allow Châtelain to supply other brands, thus stimulating creativity.
8. A movement manufacturer: Kenissi
What do Tudor, Breitling and Chanel have in common? The answer is Kenissi, a name taken from the Ancient Greek, meaning “in movement”. The company was set up in 2010 by Tudor, joined in 2016 by Breitling and in 2018 by Chanel. They are the trio behind a decentralised and, importantly for Chanel, outward-looking specialist manufacturer of precision calibres. The first Chanel movement to come out of this collaboration is the 12.1, which powers the new automatic J12.
9. Chanel x Marino
In 2003 Chanel made its debut at Baselworld, at that time the biggest watch fair in the world. Its stand, a lesson in sobriety in graphic black and white, was the work of Peter Marino, with whom the brand has a longstanding collaboration. The New York-based architect is also behind the Chanel building in Ginza and masterminded the renovation of the Tokyo boutique in 2017. He has designed numerous other retail spaces for Chanel, including in Istanbul, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Nanjing, New York, Miami, Osaka, Seoul and Singapore.
10. A design studio
Chanel gave a certain creative independence to its watches in 2013, when it set up its own Watch Creation Studio. The man at the head of the newly formed entity, Arnaud Chastaingt, had spent the previous ten years at Cartier, in exactly the same position with special responsibility for jewellery and fine jewellery watches. “Only one brand could have made me leave that job,” he declared in 2019, “and that was Chanel.”
11. GPHG: patience rewarded
Chanel is a frequent contender at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). Its first participation was in 2005, when it entered the J12 Tourbillon and the J12 Superleggera. Neither was shortlisted. It returned the following year with a J12 Haute Joaillerie… again unsuccessfully. And so it was every year until 2012, when finally the sumptuous Tourbillon Camélia claimed the Ladies’ Watch prize. This would be the beginning of a string of awards, for Artistic Crafts (2013), Jewellery Watch (2016) and a hat trick in the Ladies’ Watch category (2017, 2018 and 2019), making GPHG history as the first brand to achieve three consecutive wins in the same category.
12. A leonine symbol
Every Chanel watch with an in-house movement—such as Calibre 1, released in 2016 in the Monsieur—is hallmarked with the head of a lion, a favourite animal of Gabrielle Chanel who famously declared, “I was born a Leo and, like the lion, I use my claws to defend myself, although believe me it hurts me more to claw others than it does to be clawed.” Her headstone is carved with five lion’s heads while collections such as Sous le Signe du Lion and Constellation du Lion continue to reference the king of beasts.
