Top Gear

Chanel takes its mechanical pursuits to the next level with a second proprietary calibre developed just for women. And it debuts in the watch that started it all, the Première.

- Kenny Loh

In its 30 years since the debut of its first watch – the Première, in 1987 – Chanel has mastered virtually every métier in the fine watchmaking dictionary and added new techniques to the lexicon of dial decoration. Its Mademoiselle Privé tickers, for instance, have been jewelled to recall the stained glass windows in the Aubazine orphanage where Gabrielle Chanel grew up; adorned with sculpted hard stones to depict beautiful Chinese coromandel screens; enamelled by Anita Porchet and also embroidered by the legendary Maison Lesage.

In the same three decades, Chanel has also graduated from quartz to mechanical movements and complications. It’s a commitment to use topend Swiss movements and collaborate with renowned specialists such as Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi for highly technical pieces. But it’s a show of force when a brand devotes itself to creating in-house movements.