ith the J12, inspired by the silhouettes of the America’s Cup sailing yachts, Jacques Helleu, Chanel’s artistic director for perfumes and beauty products as well as watchmaking and jewelry at the time, invented an unprecedented time-keeping device in which technique is exclusively at the service of a design that is elegant, noble.
By transforming ceramic into a precious material, the J12 established new foundations for the luxury sports watch and became the first watchmaking icon of the 21st century.
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- Left page: Jake Davies wears the J12 Chronograph watch in black highly resistant ceramic and steel. Claudia Schiffer and Jake Davies photographed for the publicity campaign for the Spring-Summer 2008 Ready-to-Wear Collection. © CHANEL / Photograph Karl Lagerfeld / 2008. Right page: J12 Calibre 12.1 watch in black highly resistant ceramic and steel. © CHANEL / Photograph Guido Mocafico / 2019.
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- J12 Calibre 12.1 watch in black highly resistant ceramic and steel. © CHANEL / 2019.
Beautifully illustrated, this book by Nicholas Foulkes looks back at the fabulous destiny of the J12 and celebrates twenty years of a watch that embodies the unique and avant-gardist vision of Chanel in the world of watchmaking.
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- Left page: J12·20 watch motifs. © CHANEL / 2020. Right page: J12·20 watch in white highly resistant ceramic, steel and diamonds. © CHANEL / 2020.
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- Left page: Bella Nong wears the J12 Calibre 12.1 watch in white highly resistant ceramic and steel. Cittá Bella Taiwan, July 2019 © Photograph Chou Mo. Right page: Adut Akech wears the J12 Calibre 12.1 watch in white highly resistant ceramic and steel. Chaos SixtyNine, The Chanel Issue, July 2020 Courtesy Chaos SixtyNine magazine © Photograph Luigi and Iango.
Retail price: €80