Exploring the Iconography of Chanel Watches and Jewelry
Chanel looks to the future by constantly re-inventing its past.
Few houses are as iconic as Chanel. From a quick glance, you can recognize a Chanel creation, which is no small feat for a brand that produces everything from tweed jackets and two-tone slingbacks to high horology watches and lipstick. How has the maison developed this signature look? By continually referencing its iconoclastic founder, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel.
Madame Chanel was renowned for singular vision, weaving her personal symbols into designs both subtle and bold. Today, the maison continues to draw upon her world, continually finding new ways to honor her heritage.
Jewelry was always close to her heart. She was known for draping herself in ropes of pearls and bold pieces. She adored costume jewelry and once declared, “Jewelry is not made to give women an aura of wealth but to make them beautiful.” When introducing fine jewelry in 1993, Chanel looked directly to her iconography: stars, the zodiac, lions, flowers, and, of course, her fashion designs. One of the most famous is the Camélia collection, which features beautiful camellia flowers — the designer’s favorite. She was so enamored with the blossom that she wore silk and real camellias pinned onto her clothes. She adored the camellia’s quiet elegance; the flower has no scent, which allowed her beloved Chanel No. 5 fragrance to stand out. Today, the Camélia collection includes everything from minimalist bracelets to diamond-set sautoirs and high-jewelry masterpieces.
Chanel’s fashion and accessory designs are her most enduring legacy, and the maison found ways to translate her sumptuous fabrics into elegant jewelry in the Coco Crush collection. They transformed the quilting from her interior design and fashion pieces into modern, elegant jewels. The collection debuted in 2015 and somehow makes polished gold look soft and curved. The pieces feature sharp incisions that evoke the quilted weave of Chanel’s handbags, but there’s a voluminous roundness to the quilting that is reminiscent of fabric that softens the look. The way the Coco Crush collection translates the softness of fabric into the permanence of gold is a perfect example of how the maison immortalizes its couture into jewelry. For the collection’s 10th anniversary, Chanel introduced a new pavé diamond-setting technique that replaces diagonal lines of quilting. It’s elegant and chic, and is particularly striking in the maison’s signature 18k beige gold, a warmer color that is very distinctive.
When designing Chanel’s first watch in 1987, Artistic Director Jacques Helleu wanted to make it as quintessentially Chanel as possible. He was the head of perfume and beauty in addition to watches and jewelry, and worked closely with Karl Lagerfeld as well. The result was the Première watch, which was reimagined in 2022 as the Première Édition Originale. This watch set the standard for emblematic watches for prestigious fashion houses and how they integrate a maison’s codes.
The eye first goes to the unique octagonal case, which mirrors the shape of the stopper of a Chanel No. 5 bottle, down to the beveled crystal. This octagonal shape is inspired by the aerial view of Place Vendôme in Paris, one of the city’s most beautiful and luxurious plazas. Madame Chanel lived at The Ritz on the Place, and designed the stopper after her beloved home. The bracelet is reminiscent of the brand’s handbag chains; the double chain bracelet has ribbons of black leather woven through golden chains. The sleek black dial is devoid of numerals and indices, with just golden hands for the minutes and hours, the Chanel logo, and a discreet Swiss at 6 o’clock. The watch has a strict color palette of black and gold, which are the two hues most closely associated with the maison.
Although the Première was Chanel’s first watch, its most famous is undoubtedly the J12. While today it looks like a great unisex watch, it was revolutionary when it debuted in 2000 and set the benchmark for how a fashion brand could approach horology. First, it wasn’t a traditional jewelry watch that one expects from a fashion house. Second, it was crafted in ceramic, which was an unusual material for the time. And finally, it had a “large” unisex size. The all-black watch was an instant success, sported by countless celebrities and fashionistas. Through the years, Chanel added more versions, including an all-white model, watches with diamonds, and spectacular high-jewelry versions. There are also several playful, limited-edition watches featuring Gabrielle Chanel.
This year, to celebrate the J12’s 25th anniversary, Chanel added its first new color in more than 20 years: matte blue ceramic. This unique hue is exclusive to Chanel, another way of setting its watches apart. Its researchers spent five years creating this scratchproof, durable material. It’s not just any blue; it’s a liminal shade, like the inky blackness of deep water. “I wanted a blue that has a rigorous elegance, a blue that is nearly black or a black that is nearly blue,” says Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of Chanel Watchmaking Design Studio. There are nine J12 Bleu in the collection, ranging from sportier time-only models to jewelry watches set with blue sapphires.
Throughout its watch and jewelry collections, Chanel shows how visionary and ahead of her time Madame Chanel was. Chanel’s motifs, from the humble camellia to her iconic fragrance bottle, will continue to shape the maison’s creations and the luxury world.