Baselworld 2017 Chanel Timepieces Timepieces

Baselworld Preview: Chanel celebrates 30 years in the Art of Fine Watchmaking

1989-carole-bouquet-premiere

 

2017 represents a very important milestone for the Luxury House Chanel. It marks the celebration of 30 years of excellence in the art of fine watchmaking – celebration that will reach its peak with the unveiling of new timepieces at Baselworld.

Italian version

Chanel entered, with a surprising move, in the fine watchmaking world in 1987, with the Première watch. Première is the first watch that Chanel creates exclusively for a feminine public, and it becomes an instant icon, thanks to its unique design, that recalls both N°5 bottle stopper and Place Vendôme.

1989-carole-bouquet-premiere
Carole Bouquet, N°5 and Première, for Chanel. 1989.
With Première, the watch becomes a true piece of jewellery that adorns a woman’s wrist going beyond its pure functional role. A timekeeper and, at the same time, a style statement.

 

And it is with the Première family that Chanel begins the preview of its new timepieces that will fully be unveiled at the upcoming Baselworld show.

Première is Rock and Red, a very easy-to-wear steel model with the elegant touch of the mother-of-pearl for its dial.

chanel premiere rock red
Chanel Première Rock Red

premiere_rock_red
PREMIÈRE ROCK RED
Limited edition to 1,000 pieces.
Steel case. White mother-of-pearl dial. Steel cabochon crown. Triple row steel chain bracelet interwoven with red leather ribbon. High-precision quartz movement.
Functions: Hours, minutes.
Water-resistance: 30 meters.
Dimensions: 15.8 x 23.6 x 6.2 mm.
Available in 4 sizes: XS, S, M and L.
 

The Première Family is also able to go beyond its original vision, by presenting the Première Camellia Skeleton.

 

premiere_camelia_skeleton
Première Camellia Skeleton.
18K white gold case (28.5 x 37mm) set with 92 brilliant-cut diamonds. Hands set with 17 brillant-cut diamonds. 18K white gold bezel set with 104 brilliant-cut diamonds. 18K white gold crown set with 24 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Black satin strap with 18K white gold double folding buckle set with 30 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Manual-winding mechanical movement (48-hour power reserve).
Functions: hours, minutes.
Total diamond weight: 5.54 carats.

This is a remarkable timepiece, equipped with the Calibre 2, the second in-house movement developed by Chanel and designed to evoke the Camellia flower’s shape. A delicate and stylised mechanism that comes to represent one of the Maison’s major icons.

 

Chanel Calibre 2 Camellia Skeleton
Calibre 2. Camellia Skeleton.
Manual-winding mechanical movement. Power reserve: 48 hours. Number of components: 107. Number of rubies : 21. Frequency: 28,800 vibrations / hour (4Hz). Motor unit: 1 barrel spring. Spring torque: 420 g.mm. Skeleton movement depicting a three-dimensional camellia flower.
Chamfered, circular-grained parts. ADLC (Amourphous Diamond Like Carbon) black endings and rhodium-plated finishes.
Anti-shock system on the balance.
Variable inertia balance.

The Première Camellia Skeleton offers increasing levels of preciousness, going up to a full pavé version.

 

Première Camellia Skeleton sertie
Première Camellia Skeleton.
Numbered edition.
18k white gold case (28.5 x 37mm) set with 47 baguette-cut diamonds. Camellia skeleton set with 246 brilliant-cut diamonds.
18k white gold bezel set with 42 baguette-cut diamonds and 52 brilliant-cut diamonds.
18k white gold crown set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds and 11 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Black satin strap with 18k white gold double folding buckle set with 30 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Manual-winding mechanical movement (48-hour power reserve).
Functions: hours, minutes.
Total diamond weight: 7.85 carats.

Première Camellia Skeleton full sertie
Première Camellia Skeleton.
Limited edition of 12 pieces.
18K white gold case (28.5 x 37mm) set with 47 baguette-cut diamonds. Camellia skeleton set with 246 brilliant-cut diamonds. 18K white gold bezel set with 42 baguette-cut diamonds and 52 brilliant-cut diamonds. 18K white gold crown set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds and 11 brilliant-cut diamonds. 18K gold bracelet set with 282 baguette-cut diamonds with 18K white gold double folding buckle set with 30 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Manual-winding mechanical movement (48-hour power reserve).
Functions: hours, minutes.
Total diamond weight: 22.7 carats.
 

The iconic shape of the Première watch informs also the all new BOY.FRIEND watch, launched in 2015 as an androgynous interpretation of the feminine timepiece, being a masculine watch in appearance, but totally dedicated to women.

The BOY.FRIEND Tweed is then presented in three sizes (S, M and L), and with a total black look: black guilloché dial – bezel with or without diamonds – a black spinel cabochon on the crown and black-coated steel bracelet with tweed pattern. A little black dress for the wrist indeed.

 

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BOY∙FRIEND TWEED BLACK
MEDIUM SIZE
Medium size (26.70 x 34.60 x 7.33 mm).
Steel case. Steel bezel set with 64 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.71 carat). Black guilloché dial, date counter. Steel crown and black spinel cabochon. Black-coated steel bracelet with tweed pattern.
Steel folding buckle.
High-precision quartz movement.
Water-resistance: 30 meters.
Functions: hours, minutes, date.

Chanel would not be the same, in the watchmaking world, without its disruptive J12, launched in 2000 as the first timepiece using the high-tech ceramic as a precious material.

Another iconic creation of the Maison that is being celebrated along time with limited editions, multiple variations and exceptional pieces.

 

 

In 2017, Chanel J12 goes back to basics with two variations, one in black, and one in white, recapturing the essence of the black ceramic watch launched in 2000, and of the opalescent white model, launched in 2003.

 

j12_black_w
J12
BLACK
Black high-tech* ceramic and steel.
Self-winding mechanical movement.
42 hour power reserve.
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date.
Unidirectional rotating bezel.
Steel triple-folding buckle.
Screw-down crown.
Water-resistance: 200 meters.
Diameter: 38 mm.
Also available in 42 mm (self-winding) and 33 mm (quartz).
*High technology. Highly scratch-resistant material.

j12_white_w
J12
WHITE
White high-tech* ceramic and steel.
Self-winding mechanical movement.
42 hour power reserve.
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date.
Unidirectional rotating bezel.
Steel triple-folding buckle.
Screw-down crown.
Water-resistance: 200 meters.
Diameter: 38 mm.
Also available in 42 mm (self-winding) and 33 mm (quartz).
*High technology. Highly scratch-resistant material.
 

Chanel does not only mean technology and avant-garde. It also means fashion, and haute couture.

Impossible not to think of the marvellous embroidery work of the Maison Lesage, that makes every haute couture creation a masterpiece in its own right.

To the refined savoir-faire of the Fine Watchmaking Métiers d’Art belong one-of-a-kind pieces that demonstrate, with their exquisite dials, refined movements and artisanal techniques, that nothing is impossible within the realm of artistic expression.

 

chanel-16-12-05-geneve11433_hd

 

The jewellery watch collection, Mademoiselle Privé, let us enter Coco Chanel’s private world by sharing her most beloved symbols and objects. All this comes to life in artistic creations where the finest master artisans express their unrivalled skills and know-how.

 

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MADEMOISELLE PRIVÉ
DÉCOR AUBAZINE
Limited and numbered edition of 5 pieces.
18K white gold case (37,5mm diametre) full set case with 552 brilliant-cut diamonds (~3.03 carats). 18K white gold crown set with 1 diamond (~0.19 carat). Dial set with brilliant-cut diamonds, baguette-cut diamonds and specifically-cut diamonds (~2,68 carats), black rhodium plated white gold threads. 18K white gold hands. Black satin strap with 18K white gold folding buckle set with 80 brilliant-cut diamonds (~0.48 carat).
Automatic movement. 42-hour power reserve.
Functions: hours, minutes.
Water-resistance: 30 meters.

Last but not the least, Chanel has some novelties that will please the masculine taste, too.

Monsieur de Chanel was launched in 2016 as the first watch from the Luxury House tailored specifically for men. Along with this timepiece, Chanel also created its first in-house Haute Horlogerie movement, the Calibre 1, with instant jumping hour and retrograde movement.

 

monsieur-de-chanel-watch-front-w
MONSIEUR DE CHANEL
Limited edition to 100 pieces.
Diametre 40mm. Thickness 10 mm.
Platinum case.
Black grand feu enamel dial with a retrograde minutes counter, a jumping hour window and a small seconds counter.
Rhodium plated hands.
Black alligator strap.
CALIBRE 1. Jumping-hour: manual-winding mechanical movement with two integrated complications : instant juming hour and 240° retrograde minute.
Fonctions: hours, minutes, small seconds.
3-day power reserve.
Water resistance: 30 meters.
Platinum weight: 65g.

Nothing of all this existed before, and at Chanel they are very proud of this ability of theirs of giving life to a creative vision.

A vision that looks forward envisioning timepieces that stay stylistically true to Chanel’s essence. A vision that continues, after thirty years, the same passion and desire to design and create iconic codes of elegance.

 

 

Material courtesy of Chanel

 

 

 

2 comments on “Baselworld Preview: Chanel celebrates 30 years in the Art of Fine Watchmaking

  1. Pingback: GPHG 2017: and the Winners are... | HIGH JEWELLERY DREAM

  2. Pingback: J12 UNTITLED by Chanel – tribute to an icon | HIGH JEWELLERY DREAM

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