Chanel reaches for the stars with its Interstellar collection

THE heavens have always been inspiration for fine watchmaking; the same goes for Chanel’s design universe.

It all started with the Parisian fashion house’s founder Gabrielle Chanel, who was particularly fascinated with stars and comets. The cosmic influence is prevalent everywhere from perfumes to bags and fashion wear. Now, Chanel has unveiled a line of watches aptly called the Interstellar Capsule Collection.

To create this exclusive collection, Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Chanel Watchmaking Creation Studio, put himself in the shoes of a movie director. “I had the most incredible backdrop against which to invent the stories that I was going to entrust to my ‘actresses’”.

The actresses, of course, were the watches – and his muses the watch icons of Chanel: J12, Premiere, Boy.Friend, Code Coco and Monsieur. These were reinterpreted through the lens of “science fiction, space and time travel” and presented anew with “a pixelated motif, a circuit board design, phosphorescent effects, a star charm and a 3D robot” – not counting also the “limited editions of Haute Horlogerie (high-quality watchmaking) pieces”.

J12 Hyper Cybernetic

Two cases – one in matt black ceramic, the other in white gold set with diamonds – come together in a meticulously crafted pixel pattern, for a stunning and original take on the iconic J12. The pixelated motif contrasts with the black of the bezel and dial, cut out of the white gold of the case. The idea, according to Chastaingt, is to produce “the illusion of time passing, a border between reality and fantasy”.

This 38mm timepiece, certified for chronometric performance by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), is powered by an automatic movement with 70 hours’ power reserve. It is a limited edition of 55 pieces. There’s also a ceramic version, minus the diamonds. This is the J12 Cybernetic which is also a limited edition (number of pieces not available).

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Price: S$99,300 (Hyper Cybernetic), S$20,000 (Cybernetic)

J12 Eclipse Box

A set of seven watches transitioning from full white ceramic to full black, “recounting the gradual disappearance of one planet into the shadow of another”, each piece is unique and available only as a set.

Precision is a challenge in the making of these seven watches, which mimic the time lapse of an eclipse. The ceramic bezel parts are firstly machined to produce the baguette-cut effect. Then, sections of each colour (black or white) are cut out and added onto the bezel. Similarly, the ceramics are also added one by one onto the dial, which is composed of five circular rows.

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Time-telling showmanship

The bracelet is a mix of matt black and white ceramic links, each cut with razor-sharp precision. In short, the J12 Eclipse Box set is also a showcase of Chanel’s mastery of ceramic know-how.

Price: S$330,750.

Mademoiselle J12 Cosmic

All that glitters on the 18K white gold watch, sparkling with 46-baguette diamonds on its bezel, could not distract from the arresting silhouette of Gabrielle Chanel on the dial. Donning a black-and-white evening gown, set against the diamonds glowing like stars in the night sky, the lady floats through the night – the effect achieved by laying Mademoiselle on a sapphire glass, on top of the dial.

The numerals that usually mark the hours have been removed to make room for the scene, but time hasn’t stood still. Guided by a self-winding movement nestling beneath the dial, Mademoiselle’s arms now animate the movement of time. The watch is a limited edition of 55 pieces.

Price: S$211,700.

PREMIÈRE Hyper Lucky Star

A lucky charm in the shape of a star on the wrist. Indeed, any lady would feel lucky to have it on her wrist. The limited edition (55 pieces) white gold watch is paved with diamonds, all the way down to the bracelet. Even the white comet charm dangling from the crown sparkles with six diamonds.

If you count them all, there are 284 brilliant-cut diamonds on the watch, including those on the lucky star. The dial itself has 116 diamonds, while another 162 are on the bracelet.

To pay tribute to the Chanel’s first high jewellery range launched in 1932, the Bijoux de Diamants collection, the fashion house’s watchmaking director Chastaingt wanted the watch “to express the freedom of movement to follow the lines of the body”. Hence the use of the “Tennis bracelet”, which is a supple construction that allows the watch to perfectly fit the wrist, following its curves smoothly.

Price: S$172,000.

Monsieur Tourbillon Meteorite

The Interstellar Capsule Collection is largely for women, but men are not forgotten. Chanel’s Monsieur line got a flying tourbillon for the first time, powered by a new movement designed and assembled in-house. Lest anyone forgets that it’s a Chanel creation, the fashion house’s emblematic lion’s head carved from titanium that pokes out prominently from the tourbillon’s cage should serve as a reminder. Encased in ceramic and steel is a dial cut from a block of meteorite found in Sweden, making each of the 55 limited edition watch distinctive from one another.

Price: S$158,800.

PREMIÈRE Robot

A robot on the wrist? This watch is precisely that – a watch with a case shaped like a 3D robot in yellow gold, black ceramic and blackened titanium, sparkling with diamonds. The quartz-driven timepiece, in a limited edition, is worn with a rubber strap that has a velvet touch. Price: S$36,400.

J12 Cosmic

A luminous take on the J12 in white monochrome, this quartz timepiece features cosmic symbols that appear on a phosphorescent white dial, enhanced by the brilliance of 12 diamonds. The dial, which glows in the dark, is framed by a 33mm white ceramic and steel case, mounted on a white ceramic bracelet with steel triple-folding buckle.

Price: S$11,050