Chanel J12 - Gem Of A Timepiece

Chanel watchmaking presents the clearest representation of its values in the J12 X-Ray – literally. This gem of a timepiece also gives us the chance to wax lyrical about the J12 overall

- Ashok Soman

There is a certain pleasure in discovery – it is the very thing that powers our ongoing quest to understand the world we live in. I mean that not only in the sense of finding a new species or developing a new technology. Instead, I would argue that we are connected to each other by a shared discovery of what it means to be human, and to live on this planet. This is not something that happens once – you can count on it happening all the time, in fact. Looking at a newsstand, you might discover all sorts of new things, even from brands that you know well, to use a very specific and rather biased example. It even applies to search engines, where you frequently arrive with a question in mind. Whatever results you get, those are all discoveries; to you, the seeker. They might be brand new and entirely unexpected.

When it comes to individual watches, you are likely to learn about a new model long after its debut. You might even discover a watchmaking brand centuries after it made and sold its first watches. It is not uncommon to learn the names of the great houses of horology before finding out anything about their watches. This is also not unusual in the world at large, beyond watchmaking. To use another example from bookstores, everyone knows Homer but only a fraction have read even one of the works in full.