In Pursuit Of Creativity

Since the 1920s Maison Chanel has consistently created icons. From fashion to fragrance and more recently, timepieces. What is the secret to their success? We find out

- DANIEL GOH

When it comes to Chanel, they are in the business of designing timeless icons. This is not a statement to throw around lightly; but consider the Chanel suit and the perfume Chanel No. 5, both were created in the 1920s and nearly a century on these luxury items from the house of Chanel are still being made, with their original design ethos intact. And in a world where attention spans seem to get increasingly shorter, this is really saying something. So, naturally, when Chanel embarked on creating a timepiece, it was not entirely unexpected that it take on the same genre-defining qualities as well. We are talking, of course, about the Chanel J12.

Sure, the watch was designed long after the founder's passing but by then, the core values of Chanel's DNA had already been well established. The Chanel suit was the product of integrating masculine elements into feminine clothing and Chanel No. 5 was created to dispel the notion that an elegant woman needed to smell exclusively like a bed of flowers. The common denominator between the two? A pursuit of creativity, unshackled by conventional norms. And this is perhaps the reason Chanel's creations stand unmoved through the test of time. The J12 was cut from the same cloth, as it were. Imagine creating a watch with a material that was rarely used in the watchmaking industry, a material reserved for aerospace travel at that. This is the J12, unapologetically different and it is through this ethos that its legacy remains entirely secure, even more than two decades on.

INCUBATION IN CERAMIC