Chanel J12
Watchmaking meets the world of jewelry
22 years ago, Chanel created the Chanel J12 ceramic watch and has been an icon in the watch world ever since. It owes its design to the inspiration of fast racing cars and sleek IACC yachts from the America's Cup. One of these racing boats, the J12, was the namesake of the Chanel J12 ceramic. Creative director Jacques Helleu was inspired not only by the motorsport world, but also by Mademoiselle Chanel's love and favor for the color black. The white counterpart joined them in 2003.
Originally intended as a men's watch, the Chanel J12 was very popular with women thanks to its robust and scratch-resistant ceramic and its sleek design and size. What was also unique was that the Chanel J12 was the first Chanel wristwatch with an automatic movement from Eta. From the automatic movements with a diameter of 33 mm, 38 mm and 41 mm, to quartz movements with a diameter of 19 mm and 29 mm, it can adorn every wrist. The brand new J12 uses the automatic movements called 12.1, which are produced and installed by Kenissi SA, a subsidiary of Rolex, where the in-house calibers for Tudor are also created.
In this development, the new head of design, Arnaud Chastaingt, who took over from Jacques Helleu, who unfortunately died in 2007, subjected around 70 percent of the watch to a remake or further development. At first glance the two versions appear very similar, but only upon closer inspection do the subtle differences become apparent. A finely geared glass edge and the more cambered bezel inlay, as well as the railway minute track in the dial center, were subject to further development. However, the J12 has received the biggest development in the watch world on the “back”. Due to the slightly thicker caliber 12.1 and the development request, Chanel decided on a monocoque construction. The biggest difference is the visible back, through which you can admire the exceptionally designed rotor of the exclusive automatic caliber 12.1. These changes will allow the J12 to take further root in the watch world.
