Watches & Wonders 2026: Chanel’s $4 Million Chess Set Is An Homage To Coco Chanel – And Yes, It Tells The Time

While I suspect that it would make more sense to many of what in business one calls “the stakeholders” if I covered some of Chanel’s many series produced new pieces from the show first, I am afraid I have to admit to finding this one irresistible. I should say by way of background that Chanel defies the conventional notion of a fashion watch brand, and has done so for many years; the J12 alone is a classic of modern watch design and was a pioneer in the use of ceramic for both cases and bracelets, and the company has had partners for the creation of high complications which have in the past, included collaborations with Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi, like the 2010 J12 Rétrograde Mystérieuse. Their watchmaking invariably makes a strong statement about the company’s identity and design history, and various schematic representations of founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel have been produced in horological forms, including the delightful (I think) J12 Mademoiselle character watch.

The 2017 J12 Mademoiselle

There are inevitably more than one major talking or “halo” pieces from Chanel at Watches & Wonders but this time around I think they have really outdone themselves. Called simply, “The Chessboard” this is about as far from a tournament approved standard Staunton chess set as you can get: the board itself, which has black and white squares measuring 3.4cm square, is made of black and white ceramic, enclosed by 516 brilliant cut diamonds, and has chess pieces whose designs have been reinterpreted through the lens of Chanel’s design history. I’m an enthusiastic if disorganized lifelong player (my inability to accurately calculate risk/ benefit ratios is very much on display, especially in the middle game) so Chanel kind of had me at “Chessboard.”

I have never seen anything remotely like it, at least not in the watch space, although you’d think given the fact that time management is an essential element of tournament chess, something chess related would come along from a watch brand at least once in a while. The kings are in the shape of lions, in either white gold or black ceramic, and each one is snow set with brilliants (142 for Black and 764 for white; and I should emphasize, that’s just the kings) – Coco Chanel was a Leo and identified strongly with the sign; the lion as a motif has appeared many times in Chanel’s jewelry. The bishops are reinterpreted as “couture busts” (dressmaker’s dummies, but hey, as far as I’m concerned Chanel can call ’em whatever they want) in ceramic or white gold, also diamond set. The use of white gold for White, and black ceramic with white gold ornamentation for Black, are carried through the other pieces as well, including the relatively conventional knights, and the rooks, which are in the shape of the column at the center of the Place Vendôme in Paris. The column is bronze and was originally installed by Napoleon, to celebrate his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz; it’s made of melted down enemy cannons, and the Chanel boutique at 18 Place Vendôme is right across from it.

To attempt to list all of the attributes of this piece of drop dead opulent exotica would be to exhaust the vocabulary of superlatives – this thing is as over the top as it gets but it also has what, under the circumstances, I’m hesitant to call a quality of reserve and even restraint, although God knows those qualities are not inimical to the notion of luxury. Maybe it’s the monochrome palette that keeps it from seeming gaudy – for sure, it would give a very different impression if instead of using diamonds, Chanel had used, say, rainbow sapphire settings (and colored gold).

The party trick for The Chessboard, is hidden in the bases of the two Coco Chanel queens. Each base contains a small quartz watch movement; the dials are 25mm in diameter and water resistance is, believe it or not, 30 meters. Each of the queens can be worn as a pendant watch on a chain made to match The Chessboard. The chain is in 18k white gold, and set with 268 brilliants, with 40 onyx beads, 2 onyx cylinders, and a brilliant cut center diamond; the chain is 320mm overall.

This is definitely one of the wildest talking pieces at the show and frankly it’s one of the most breathtaking horological unique pieces I’ve ever seen, both in conception and execution. Price is not provided in the press release, but the Financial Times says four million of your favorite dollars, and hey, they would (presumably) know.

The Chessboard raises so many questions, like Who is the lucky owner? and, What happened to the molds for the ceramic pieces? and Whomever owns this, can I come over for a quick game? My father used to bang his chess pieces down on the board in order to attempt to break his opponent’s concentration (when you are six and you are the opponent, it is an especially annoying habit) and boy, we’d have had to keep him away from this one. A perfect centerpiece for a high powered luxury Cabinet of Curiosities.

The Chanel Chessboard: 37.9cm x 37.9cm overall; white and black pieces in diamond set white gold or black ceramic with white gold accents; kings in the shape of lions; queens in the shape of Coco Chanel; rooks in the shape of the Place Vendôme column; bishops in the shape of dressmaker’s dummies. How many diamonds, you ask? 9236 brilliants total, for a total carat weight of 110.94 carats. 

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Chanel watches, as well as for Chanel fine jewelry, although, to be frank, we may not be able to hook you up with this one. But hey, you can ask!