Explore Chanel

Chanel brought its own visual vocabulary to watchmaking with the Première in 1987. Its octagonal case echoes both the outline of Place Vendôme and the stopper of the Chanel No. 5 bottle. A spare dial, without numerals, keeps the shape in charge; the chain bracelet threaded with leather makes the connection to Chanel’s bags unmistakable.

The J12, introduced in 2000, took a different route: ceramic, a rotating bezel, and a distinctly sporting silhouette. Black came first, followed by white in 2003. Those polished surfaces became a signature of Chanel watchmaking. The later Caliber 12.1, produced by Kenissi, gave the automatic J12 a movement worth turning the watch over to see.

For a quieter expression, the rectangular Boy·Friend plays with dress-watch proportions rather than sporting cues. Its skeleton versions reveal another side of Chanel: architectural movements developed in-house, including Caliber 3. Open bridges and carefully arranged circles turn the mechanism itself into the design, without losing the collection’s restrained outline.