THE ART OF DETAIL
With its simple name – a capital letter coupled with a number – the J12 has symbolised the modern sports-style watch since its launch in 2000. The ceramic model is made for both men and women and has taken on a new lease of life with a redesigned shape and a new automatic mechanism.
There is nothing harder for a designer than to work on an existing piece, and the task becomes even more perilous when it is an icon like the J12, first launched in 2000 in a black version, then released in white three years later. And yet, Arnaud Chastaingt, the director at Chanel’s watch design studio, has risen to the challenge with panache, since the aesthetic changes made to the new J12 are very discreet. Discreet, but wonderfully apt. You just need to place the two watches side by side to notice the differences.
Elegance is not something flashy or tawdry. It is subtle and harmonious, while imposing its own character, just like the J12, with its remodelled ceramic case, feeling so soft against the skin. With an androgynous diameter of 38mm, the monobloc body is topped with a rotating steel bezel featuring fewer notches. The typeface for the figures (now made of ceramic) on the hour rim is also different, and there are new hour and minute hands, coated in white or black Super-LumiNova®, while the second hand is slimmer. The date is still at 4.30. The strap has seen a few changes, too, and now has more rounded and longer links.
And with a new body comes a new heart: the J12 is now powered by the calibre 12.1, an automatic movement developed by Kenissi, a new manufacturer in the Chanel stable. This sparkling mechanism features a distinctive, open-work rotor providing an impressive power reserve of 70 hours.
The J12 is available in a Phantom version, where the time elements blend in with the white or black ceramics, and a version with indices set with 12 diamonds.
Price: 5,300 EUR (classic version) – 5,500 EUR (“Phantom“ version) – 6,500 EUR (version with diamond indices)
By Sharmila Bertin