The J12 is a watch designed at its very core to be ahead of its time. For one, when it was conceived back in the year 2000, it was difficult to imagine a haute couture house like CHANEL creating such a serious and technically challenging timepiece. Secondly, for a watch to debut in a material like ceramic, which until then was not widely used for watch cases due to its manufacturing complexity, was a bold statement on the part of CHANEL. Again, nowadays ceramic has been steadily gaining traction with most of the well-known watch brands having at least one reference in this scratch- and corrosionresistant, hypoallergenic material. Over the years, the ceramic J12 has slowly cemented its place as an icon not just in fashion circles but increasingly in watchmaking conversations as well. 25 years after the first J12, CHANEL is poised once again to introduce the latest evolution to this storied collection, for the first time taking the watch out of a monochromatic theme and introducing it in a brand new colour. As CHANEL puts it, “It’s not black. It’s not white. It’s Bleu.”

Perhaps one of the reasons that made the J12 so unlikely was also one of its greatest strengths. Coming from a fashion house and not a watchmaking name with a century or so of history since its founding, CHANEL was liberated from constraints while designing the watch. Its creator, the then chief designer of the brand, Jacques Hélleu, looked away from the elements familiar to fashion and instead turned his attention towards other things he loved, like automobiles and sailing. Thus, the use of a high-tech material like ceramic was chosen as opposed to the soft and feminine textile inspirations of high fashion. Today, the arrangement for CHANEL, at least for its watchmaking division, mirrors this type of independence. Yes, it is owned by the same company, but its watchmaking facilities sit separately in the cradle of Swiss watchmaking, La Chaux-de-Fonds, while its brain, is located in the heart of Paris, Place Vendôme. There the director of the CHANEL Watchmaking Creation Studio, Arnaud Chastaingt, inconspicuously gives life to all of CHANEL’s timepieces, enjoying the same freedoms of design as Hélleu once did.

ICON IN THE MAKING

Chastaingt has had an immensely important influence on the history of CHANEL watchmaking and the evidence is compelling. Since he took on the role as the director of the Watchmaking Creation Studio back in 2013, he has expanded the line of CHANEL watches beyond just the J12 and Première to include BOY·FRIEND, CODE COCO and MONSIEUR which have all since become staples of CHANEL watchmaking. On the more technical side, the facilities at La Chaux-de-Fonds have, under Chastaingt’s direction, created five in-house calibres bringing to life creations such as the MONSIEUR in 2016 with a jumping hour and retrograde minutes indicator, two skeleton calibres for the Première Camélia Skeleton and BOY.FRIEND Skeleton both of which have taken home respective awards from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).

Within the J12 collection, Chastaingt was the maestro of its evolution. In 2019 he orchestrated a complete redesign of the iconic J12. The changes were slight: a few millimetres more for the dial opening, slimmer typography, a refined bezel design, and a slimmer crown, but compared to the daunting prospect of redesigning such a recognizable icon, these changes were momentous in effect. Finally, the J12 was updated for contemporary tastes.

Following the aesthetic redesign there was also a push for the J12 to become more “serious” in the eyes of modern horology enthusiasts. First, they had to do away with cookie-cutter movements and instead assemble a true manufacture movement, the Caliber 12.1, through a collaboration and eventual investment into Kenissi. Then it was the introduction of complications into the collection like the in-house Calibre 5 which gave the J12 its first tourbillon. Before that, it was Calibre 3.1, an extremely skeletonised movement to complement the transparent nature of the sapphire J12 X-Ray. Today, CHANEL is positioned as a serious player in the current luxury watch industry. Through its partnership with Kenissi, they have even updated the smaller, 33 mm J12 watch with a manufacture movement, when many other of its contemporaries still rely on quartz movements at that size. Then there is the investment, acquiring stakes in not just Kenissi but also important pillars in independent watchmaking like MB&F.

BLEU, THE NEW BLACK

25 years is a long time to stay relevant, especially if one does not have hundreds of years of history to fall back on. Thus, for CHANEL, this year they have decided to unveil what can be considered one of the most fundamental changes to the J12 collection since it was created back in the year 2000. Ever since its inception, the watch has taken on a glossy black exterior. This was the original icon. In 2003 a completely white ceramic version of the J12 watch was introduced and this black and white monochromatic configuration was pretty much how it stayed throughout the years regardless of its function, movement and design inspiration. This year, for the very first time the J12 collection introduces colour. The choice of hue is blue, or more specifically, Bleu a colour exclusive to CHANEL.

We have been writing about ceramic for quite some time now because, as we have earlier established, it is currently quite a trendy material. And as simple as the introduction of a new ceramic colour may seem, the manufacturing process of the material makes it far more complex. Especially if, like CHANEL, there is a specific hue of Bleu that needs to be achieved.

“The duality of black and white is obviously an essential code in CHANEL’s aesthetic vocabulary. But colour has always been omnipresent in CHANEL creations. Blue has always been part of the House’s colours, imprinting its vibrations in fashion, fragrances or jewellery, but it is revealed today in a unique hue for CHANEL watchmaking. In optics, black and white are not considered as colours, they are shades. Black is the absence of colour and light. As such, I dreamed of giving a colour to black, illuminating it with blue. I dreamed of a blue with a rigorous elegance, not quite black and not quite blue. Five years of development were required to obtain this ceramic colour and the ultimate choice of this shade of blue was sparked by emotion.” Chastaingt explains.

Five years to create this particular shade of Bleu is not long if you consider the process of making ceramic. Unlike traditional cases in metal alloys, which are usually forged into solid tubes before being cut and milled into specific shapes, ceramic components are pressure moulded into their final form. Then, the entire component has to go through a sintering process which means it is heated at extreme temperatures so the material can harden into the finished product. To bring colour to ceramics, pigments are usually added to the mixture before being injected into the mould. The heat oftentimes alters the colour of the pigments so depending on how high the temperature goes, how long it stays at that level and perhaps even how fast the temperature drops along with how long it is cooled can affect the exact shade of the final product.

It is worth noting too that the combination of parameters during the sintering process can also affect the integrity of the ceramic meaning that there are constraints to how much the engineer can alter in the pursuit of a specific colour. An added layer of complexity to this process is also due to the J12 having a fully ceramic bracelet. There is a reason why it has taken most other brands so long to be able to offer ceramic bracelets. Unlike the case of the watch which is usually in a fairly large block, the bracelet is made of tiny little components that are assembled together. Smaller components mean less surface area and this could also affect the sintering process and, in effect, alter the colour of the end product. So for this, the engineer then has to rework the formula and retweak the parameters to ensure that in the end, both the bracelet and case match each other perfectly.

If you are looking intently at the images thinking why does a simple colour change give this J12 such a drastically different look, it is because that is not the only ‘first’ for this new J12 bleu. Since its creation, the J12 has always had a glossy finish and this is the first collection to offer the J12 with a matte tone. This finish along with this darker shade of bleu really gives the J12 a completely distinguished look and feel. It is right that CHANEL insists the J12 Bleu is not black or white.

It is really impressive how on the surface all the codes of the J12 are visible in plain sight but together with the Bleu and the matte textures the collection takes on an entirely different demeanour. This could very well expand the clientele of the J12 to a whole new segment of watch enthusiasts, one which perhaps felt that the glossy black and white was a tad too elegant and required something a little sportier and more dynamic.

SHADES OF BLEU

This is not to say that the new Bleu can’t be dressed up to be elegant or sophisticated. The beauty of debuting a new colour in such a well-established collection like the J12 is that they have ample room to fan out. The new Bleu encompasses eight J12 watches. Where the standard 38mm J12 with the matte Bleu ceramic exudes a more dressed down, sporty charm, Something like the J12 Sapphire indices, like the one we put on the cover of this issue, or even better yet, the J12 with the fully paved sapphire bezel will look right at home at a gala dinner. The use of sapphires really offers a natural fit with the J12 Bleu collection and because the Bleu colour surrounding the sapphires is of a darker shade, the precious stone itself takes on this more subtle gleam.

The availability of both the 38 and 33mm sizes in Bleu ceramic with or without the precious stones means that there is ample choice depending on wrist size. Although traditionally 33mm was marked as a ladies’ size, one could argue that these days it wouldn’t be remiss to see a man, maybe with a smaller wrist, rock a 33mm watch with the same confidence. This brings back the J12 to its original ethos where it was designed to be a unisex timepiece, unconstrained by traditional gender rules. And of course, with each iteration having its own manufacture movement – Caliber 12.1 and Caliber 12.2 – the only real difference is which size fits better. And with both these movements Chronometer certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC), they always run within a deviation of -4/+6 seconds daily.

On the top end of the J12 Bleu spectrum, sits the J12 Bleu Diamond Tourbillon watch. The J12 Tourbillon with the Calibre 5 movement always had this gigantic diamond sitting on the tourbillon cage, mesmerizing the wearer as it gracefully rotates with the spinning of the tourbillon complication. However, with the J12 Bleu, the contrast that this 65-facet solitaire diamond offers with the darker Bleu, and even the 34 baguette-cut sapphires set on the bezel, makes it look like a beacon in a sea of navy.

Lastly, although it is not made with ceramic, the J12 Bleu X-Ray is worth mentioning. Because of its transparent nature, the blue of the J12 finally allows light to penetrate its material resulting in a new shade of blue, inspired by the colours of the sea and the sky on a clear day. The case and bracelet for this masterpiece took over 1,600 hours of work meticulously sculpted from a single block of synthetic sapphire. This material is another brilliant one for watchmaking, one with its own set of wonders and complexities. So much so, that perhaps it should be a story left for another day.

The J12 Bleu represents a grand step forward for a collection that has essentially remained steadfast in its demeanour for the last 25 years. Now that we finally see the J12 in colour, it opens up the possibilities for what comes next. We have seen some pink utilised in the collection, but this was achieved through the use of precious stones. Do we finally see a pink ceramic J12 soon? Or does this open up the J12 to even more of the brand’s emblematic colours? Don’t hold your breath, however, because if it took five years to perfect the new Bleu, who knows when the next colour will arrive. As Voltaire once said, “Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.”