The Chanel sales space at this April’s Watches And Wonders honest in Geneva took a darkish flip, fairly actually. Whereas lots of its neighbours opted for ethereal, luxurious interiors with harmonious paletes, Chanel opted to kill the lights, which solely amped up the thriller of the treasures it had displayed inside. On the centre of the cavernous, otherworldly abyss sat a ghostly blue disc of sunshine of ceiling top; gazing upon it was like being hypnotised by the unfathomable lens of the sentient pc HAL 9000, the principle antagonist of 2001: A House Odyssey. Besides the cerulean orb was not main you to your demise, however as a substitute focusing your consideration on the color that defines Chanel’s watch novelties this yr, and completely captures the aesthetic philosophy of Chanel: easy, elegant wearability.
Learn Extra: Chanel Dazzles with the J12 Calibre 12.1
Twenty-five years after the launch of the J12 assortment, and thru successive debuts of J12 watches in black ceramic and white ceramic, Chanel has lastly launched the J12 Bleu collection, outlined by a color wholly new to the J12 household: a shade unique to the maison that Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio, described as “a blue that’s practically black or a black that’s practically blue”. A powerful first for the J12 assortment, this matte blue ceramic now kinds the muse for 9 limited-edition J12 novelties — amongst them 5 high-horology timepieces — with numerous them adorned with blue sapphires.
Learn Extra: New Period in Luxurious Horology as Chanel Acquires Stake in MB&F
It could appear outstanding {that a} color this muted would make such an enormous splash, however on nearer examination, the joy is totally justified. The J12 assortment made its debut in 2000 in black ceramic, and the primary references in white ceramic adopted in 2003, and former releases of J12 have been nearly solely monochromatic, with a number of exceptions, such because the black-ceramic J12 Calibre 3125 of 2008 with its yellow-gold accents and the J12 Chromatic in 2011. An early (and presumably even the primary) look of blue within the J12 assortment was within the ceramic bezel of the Marine version, launched in 2010 to mark the gathering’s tenth anniversary. However by means of the a long time, J12 timepieces, whereas splendidly imaginative, have remained overwhelmingly black and white: as a bicolour fusion, such because the J12 Paradoxe of 2020, with a clear part of its white-ceramic case trying as if it had been dipped in a pot of ink; or as matching pairs, such because the Mademoiselle J12 La Pausa distinctive duo created for the 2023 version of the Solely Watch charity public sale. Chanel introduced this idea to the subsequent stage with its 2023 Interstellar capsule assortment, as exemplified by the J12 Eclipse field set (composed of seven watches vertically cut up between graduated compositions of white ceramic and black ceramic, going from all-white to all-black), the J12 Spatiotemporal pair (one watch is three-quarters black ceramic and one-quarter white ceramic, and the opposite is the inverse), and the J12 Cybernetic (a black-ceramic watch seems to be partially obscured by massive white-ceramic pixels.)
“…a blue that’s practically black or a black that’s practically blue.”
— Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio
Having confirmed its infinite creativity utilizing solely black and white, for the maison to enterprise into a brand new color after 25 years of monochrome is a rare step for the creative evolution of its watch division. Whereas black and white undoubtedly make up the spine of the maison, colors have all the time been current within the Chanel universe, in response to Chastaingt. Deep blue, particularly, has popped up in the home’s vogue and cosmetics pillars, and even on containers housing its jewelry from the Bijoux de Diamants assortment of 1932, in addition to serving because the inspiration for the Bleu de Chanel perfume line (whose moody marketing campaign, lensed by Martin Scorsese, was currently fronted by the maison’s perfume ambassador and actor of the second, Timothée Chalamet).
Learn Extra: Chanel’s J12 Bleu, As Envisioned by Arnaud Chastaingt
To dream in color
Positioned within the twilight zone between darkish Prussian and black, this newly developed shade shouldn’t be instantly clearly one or the opposite, nevertheless it could possibly be perceived as both relying on the power and incidence angle of ambient mild, the encircling surroundings and textures, and extra. (If Schrödinger’s cat have been a color, it might be this one.) “I dreamt of giving a color to black, of illuminating it with blue. The ultimate alternative of this explicit blue was like an epiphany,” Chastaignt mentioned about his quest for a blue with “a rigorous magnificence.”
The director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio reportedly took inspiration from sources carefully related to Gabrielle Chanel herself, from her midnight-blue Rolls Royce to a robe by her offered within the 2020 exhibition Gabrielle Chanel: Vogue Manifesto within the Palais Galliera, and even the Jean Cocteau ballet Le Prepare Bleu for which she designed the costumes. With out sharing any visible references or Pantone color codes, he gave the Chanel Watch Manufacture free rein — and, crucially, no deadline — to analysis and materialise the blue ceramic of his goals. 5 years and no less than 24 iterations later, that has lastly turn out to be a actuality: a ceramic that maintains all of the superlative qualities of its predecessors, in a shade that’s neither too purple nor too yellow, however excellent.
Although manufacturers similar to Omega (with the Seamaster Cermet from the late Seventies), IWC Schaffhausen (with the Da Vinci reference 3755 from 1986), Rado (with the DiaStar from the Sixties, and the Ceramica in 1990) have been among the many earliest adopters of ceramic in watches, when Chanel entered the sport with the J12 assortment in 2000, that transfer offered a big enhance to the perceived preciousness and desirability of ceramic watches. With this J12 Bleu cohort of novelties, Chanel is reinforcing the connection between its J12 assortment and ceramic, and for good motive. Moreover being light-weight, with a smooth wrist-feel that brings an attractive chill on first put on, the fabric affords a bunch of technical benefits: it’s seven instances stronger than metal and but noticeably lighter, arduous and sturdy, immune to scratches and to excessive temperatures (its melting level is roughly 2,000 levels Celsius), antimagnetic, non-oxidising and thus corrosion- and rust-proof (therefore it doesn’t develop a patina), hypoallergenic and colour-fast, boasting presence with out heft, and sweetness with out decline.
The method of transformation
From manufacturing to meeting, the brand new matte blue ceramic J12 Bleu timepieces are solely crafted by the Chanel Watch Manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland; particularly, the in-house creation of ceramic is undertaken by G&F Châtelain, the practically 80-year-old producer of watch instances, bracelets and clasps that Chanel acquired in 1993. The difficult, exacting course of of manufacturing high-tech ceramic begins with zirconium oxide, with the mineral powder mixed with pigments and adhesive binding brokers, and the ensuing uncooked materials is subjected to warmth and strain to create the preliminary molded form.
After debinding, which removes the binding brokers by submerging the molds in a fluid tub and dissolving the binding brokers, the molds are despatched for sintering, or fusing in a kiln at extraordinarily excessive temperatures, usually round 1,400 levels Celsius for zirconium oxide-based ceramics. Throughout this stage, the mould shrinks in measurement, and the extent of that should be meticulously calculated and accounted for. After the ceramic items cool, consultants refine every ingredient’s surfaces and form by means of exact mechanical processes, earlier than sharpening and smoothing.
Reaching a matte end calls for further steps within the manufacturing course of, similar to sandblasting. Ceramic watch components and their actions additionally endure testing for shocks, each direct affect and oblique G forces, in addition to for tolerance of environmental modifications, temperature extremes and swings, magnetic fields, vibrations, compression, twisting forces, water resistance and extra.
The outcomes of such demanding precision may be seen in one of the excellent J12 Bleu novelties this yr. Restricted to 55 items, the J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon is outstanding despite (or maybe due to?) its subtlety: Constructed from extremely resistant matte blue ceramic, the watch options 34 baguette-cut blue sapphires on the bezel, totalling roughly 4 carats; an openworked darkish blue dial; and Chanel Manufacture’s Calibre 5 manual-winding motion with flying tourbillon, which is highlighted by a 65-facet solitaire diamond within the centre of the flying tourbillon cage, an unique lower conceived to maximise the gemstone’s brilliance.
Learn Extra: Chanel Watchmaking Combines Couture With Horological Precision
Chanel’s first in-house flying tourbillon motion, the Calibre 5 was developed over three years by the haute horlogerie workshop inside Chanel Watch Manufacture, and is made up of 172 parts. Measuring 28.40mm in diameter and 6.25mm in thickness, the motion beats at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vibrations), and supplies a variable-inertia stability wheel, shock safety system, and energy reserve of 42 hours.
On the aesthetics entrance, the watch’s fastened bezel and 38mm case are partially crafted from metal with black coating, which is identical materials that kinds the triple-folding buckle. The perimeters of the case and bracelet bevels endure sharpening by hand for eight hours, to amplify the interaction between contrasting textures. And Chanel’s in-house gem-setting experience is on full show by way of the blue pure sapphires of a vivid, uniform shade that the Chanel Watch Manufacture and Creation Studio decided in collaboration. All these minute particulars come collectively to make up a timepiece that’s the epitome of juxtaposition: between dynamic blue and muted blue, between plush velveteen and easy silk, between the sombre and the scintillating.
The J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon is much from the one spotlight of the collection. Within the footsteps of the clear, colourless J12 X-Ray launched in 2020 (and the following J12 X-Ray purple version and pink version) comes the J12 Bleu X-Ray, additionally in blue, however long-established from sapphire crystal as a substitute of matte ceramic, with a lighter shade of blue chosen to evoke the ocean and sky on a transparent day.
Restricted to 12 items, this watch consists of particular person components hewn from a single block of artificial sapphire, taking 1,600 hours to craft and sculpt the case and bracelet alone. An astounding 196 baguette-cut blue sapphires may be discovered on the bezel, as hour markers, and alongside the size of the bracelet down the centre. Its fastened bezel, fingers, and non-screw-down crown function black-coated white gold, and the identical materials present in components of the case and bracelet. Contained in the 38mm case beats the Calibre 3.1 manufacture manual-winding skeleton motion, with the plate, timer bridge and gear-train bridge made out of colourless sapphire crystal to present the looks that the motion is floating in a vacuum.
The J12 Bleu collection additionally consists of two watches imagined and offered as a pair. Each are restricted to 12 items, and product of matte blue ceramic, with varnished dials adorned with hour markers of blue sapphires, and bezels, non-screw-down crowns, and components of their instances product of blackened metal. The J12 Bleu 42mm Sapphires options 170 baguette-cut sapphires, and runs on the Calibre 12.1 manufacture self-winding motion with black coating and a date window between 4 and 5 o’clock, whereas the J12 Bleu 28mm Sapphires bears 196 baguette-cut sapphires and is powered by a high-precision quartz motion.
The remainder of the collection is made up of the J12 Bleu 38mm Sapphires, restricted to 100 items, powered by the Calibre 12.1 self- winding manufacture motion and adorned with 58 baguette- lower blue sapphires on the bezel and dial, and a quartet of limited- version J12 Bleu in 33mm or 38mm, with Calibre 12.1 or Calibre 12.2, with or with out blue sapphire or diamond hour markers.
With the J12 Bleu, the cosmos of the Chanel J12 watch assortment has simply gained a number of new stars. Whether or not the introduction of matte blue ceramic is a touch on the permeation of this hypnotic shade throughout the maison’s timepiece collections or extra new ceramic colors to come back from the Chanel Watch Manufacture (or each — we is not going to take sides), the outcomes can be undeniably and unmistakably true to the ethos of Chanel.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #78 Imaginative and prescient 2025 Challenge cowl story
For extra on the newest in luxurious watch reads, click on right here.