Head Of The Pride

The lion, one of the more recently adopted emblems of Chanel, rears its majestic mien in the latest iterations of Monsieur de Chanel, discovers CANDICE CHAN

- Candice Chan

WHEN CHANEL INTRODUCED its first in-house movement (Calibre 1) through its first dedicated men’s line (Monsieur de Chanel), it disclosed a nugget of information: The lion, beloved by its founder and eternal muse Gabrielle Chanel as a talisman of strength, would be present in all of Chanel’s future in-house movements. True to its word, all three of them — beginning with the Calibre 1 and including this year’s Calibre 3 — feature a small lion motif attached to one of the bridges.

For the last two years, the lion was like a guardian angel, hidden in the movement or discretely placed on the crown or the buckle, faithfully safekeeping Chanel’s passage through time. All that has changed: At Baselworld 2018, the maison threw the spotlight on the majestic beast, adding four models to its Monsieur de Chanel collection.

The first two are new variants of the Monsieur de Chanel timepiece. Presented in the proprietary beige-gold or white gold, they retain familiar features such as the slightly domed sapphire crystal, specially designed numerals, oversized jumping hour indication and retrograde minutes display.