Iconic fashion brand Chanel first entered the watchmaking business back in 1987. Since then, it has limited itself to women’s watches but that changed at Baselworld 2016 with the introduction of the Monsieur de Chanel, its first men’s watch. The Calibre 1 that powers it is also Chanel’s first movement to be designed and built in-house.
Developed at Chanel’s plant in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the Calibre 1 comes with two complications, a jumping hour and a retrograde minute. Designed over the span of five years, the manual-winding mechanical movement consists of 170 components. A number of these, including some wheels were in fact supplied by Swiss watchmaker Romain Gauthier (known for the Logical One) after Chanel acquired a stake in that company.
The Monsieur de Chanel’s silvered opaline dial features the jumping hour window at the 6 o’clock mark. Above it and slightly off-center is a running seconds sub-dial. A retrograde minute display sits above it. Flip the watch over and it takes on a completely different personality with a black anthracite-coloured movement revealed in its full glory.
Chanel Monsieur de Chanel specifications:
- Movement: Manual Chanel Caliber 1
- Case diameter: 40mm
- Case thickness: 10mm
- Case material: Beige gold or white gold
- Battery/Power reserve: 3 days
- Complications: Jumping hour, retrograde minute
The Monsieur de Chanel timepiece will be limited to 300 pieces, 150 in white gold and 150 in Chanel’s own beige gold. The former will sell for €33,000 (about US$37,000 or CA$48,500) and the latter for €31,500 (about US$35,300 or CA$46,300) when they go on sale in June.