24 JEWELS & TIME 2019/20
SPOTLIGHT
The Chanel J12 is one of the talking points
of 2019. Not only is the fashion house celebrating
the 20th anniversary of this immediately
identifi able brand icon, it has also given the
watch a timely update—one that improves
it substantially without changing too much
of its original aesthetics. The revamp also
spotlights how much Chanel has grown as a
watchmaker—an impressive advancement,
given that its watchmaking arm itself is
not much older than the J12.
When the J12 was fi rst created in 1999,
Chanel’s watchmaking department was
still in its relative infancy. While hardly
experienced in the fi eld of horology then,
the maison caught the industry’s attention for
being among the fi rst fashion houses to delve
into serious watchmaking. When it started
in 1987, it partnered with G&F Châtelain, and
later bought it outright when its owners retired
in 1993. At that point, G&F Châtelain—and by
extension, Chanel—was capable of machining
Text Nicolette WongTIES THAT
BIND
Chanel’s short years in
watchmaking belie the breadth of
expertise now gathered under its
roof. We chart its horological arm’s
growth in the 20 years since the
release of the original J12and fi nishing cases and bracelets, and assembling
the fi nal watch, but was limited in certain ways.
For instance, it could work with gold, but dealing
with more challenging materials such as platinum,
titanium, and special gold alloys only came later—
as did its ceramic workshop. The latter became
a necessity when Jacques Helleu, the brand’s
then-artistic director, created the J12. At the
time, Chanel’s movements still came from
other manufacturers, and the J12 housed
an ETA 2892 calibre, a Swatch Group
movement that is resilient and accurate.
Over the years, Chanel slowly
developed its watchmaking arm,
introducing new lines of watches and
fl irting with haute horlogerie complications,
again with the help of external movement
manufacturers. The J12 Rétrograde Mystérieuse
from 2010, for example, had a tourbillon and unique
retractable crown that used a movement from
Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi. In more recent
years, however, Chanel has gone on an acquisition