Chanel’s booth was an oasis of calm at Watches and Wonders Geneva this year, thanks to strict crowd control and colouration. You must be on the guest list for a meeting or booth tour to enter; otherwise, you can stand on the sidelines and look in. I had done that before, until I learned the protocol.
Thankfully, both this year and last, I was able to cross the threshold and immerse myself in what Chanel’s president of watches and fine jewellery, Frédéric Grangié, calls the house’s third primary colour: blue
From a distance, the booth design resembled a moonscape to me; the featured watches were arranged like planets around a circular form in the inky depths, outside traditional glass cases, all the better to admire them. However, upon closer inspection, the focal point was a deconstructed watch case on the floor, with the dial projected against the wall. Impressive.
And that colour? Reportedly five years in development by Arnaud Chastaingt, the director of Chanel’s watchmaking creation studio, this unique shade — “too blue to be black, too black to be entirely blue” — now firmly resides in the iconic J12 realm. According to Vogue Business, the watch model accounts for half the house’s watch business, and there’s potential for growth.
The aesthetic surrounding the J12 Bleu interpretations, in deep blue matte ceramic with or without blue sapphires, which we’ll detail in a later story, was the perfect foil for the bursts of colour in the Chanel Blush Watch Capsule Collection. Designed to capture the essence of Gabrielle Chanel’s beauty universe, the releases are all limited editions in line with the House’s policy to stimulate desirability.
A century ahead of her time, the French couturier and fashion designer revolutionised the world of fragrance and beauty with the launch of N°5 and an exquisitely minimalist makeup line in the 1920s. Encased in sleek black lacquer, her powders and lipsticks seemed to defy colour conventions, subtly concealing to reveal. It is this nuanced duality that Arnaud now brings to watchmaking.
“The visual language of Chanel Beauty creations is both fascinating and graphically very inspiring. I am drawn to the authoritative elegance of these objects – their sophisticated architecture, their striking, deliberate geometry; the depth of black lacquer that intensifies the richness of a crimson hue or the softness of a powdered pink. There is an aesthetic dimension akin to artistic composition in these Chanel creations. These palettes, pencils, brushes, pigments, and textures – so intrinsic to the art of fine watchmaking – inspired me to establish connections with artistic movements such as Dripping Art and Pop Art. Why not ‘put makeup’ on time to make it more beautiful? This vision of beauty became the heartbeat of the entire collection.”
Drawing inspiration from the palette crafted by Chanel’s Makeup Creative Studio, the Chanel Blush Watch Capsule Collection transforms colour into an artistic language. Each timepiece is a celebration of hue and haute craftsmanship, where blush pinks and bold reds are dusted, shaded, embossed like eye shadows, or splashed with spontaneity, turning pigment into a living, expressive material.
Through the virtuosity of the House’s savoir-faire – grand feu enamel, decal and pad printing, airy gem-setting, miniature painting and gold sculpting – colour becomes timeless. The artistry of the métiers d’art gives each watch a singular charm, elevating the icons of Chanel Beauty to the world of genuine high jewellery.
“Kiss Me” Secret Long Necklace
A symbol of Chanel Beauty, the lipstick becomes a high watchmaking marvel. This elegant long necklace features a yellow gold band set with beryls and a glossy black titanium tube that reveals a black lacquer dial. The hand-assembled chain is adorned with raspberry-pink rhodolite pearls.
“Protect Me” Amulet Long Necklace
This talismanic creation features Mademoiselle’s eye in grand feu enamel, surrounded by white and brown diamonds in snow-setting. The gold chain, set with diamonds and onyx, features a 0.7-ct central diamond, crafted to be worn close to the heart.
J12 “Dripping Art” Box Set
Five J12 watches become canvases for contemporary expression. In glossy black ceramic with splashes of grand feu enamel from rose beige to vivid pink, this limited-edition set reinterprets nail polish hues through the lens of the Dripping Art movement.
J12 Pink Palette
Glossy black ceramic meets a bezel and markers adorned with a gradient of pink sapphires, inspired by Chanel makeup. The hammered setting technique reveals both colour and craftsmanship.
Boy·Friend “Coco Art”
Pop Art takes centre stage in this striking piece featuring Mademoiselle in her mirror, captured in grand feu enamel. The blackened steel case is offset by 38 baguette-cut pink sapphires for graphic impact and refined femininity.
“Beauty Art” Mademoiselle Privé Pincushion
For the first time, Chanel Beauty icons appear on the oversized dial of the Mademoiselle Privé Pincushion “Beauty Art” watch. Beneath a curved crystal, enamelled makeup cases, sculpted gold necklaces, and pink sapphire-tipped hands evoke a couture dreamscape, framed by a baguette-cut sapphire bezel.
Handcrafted by Les Cadraniers de Genève, which F.P. Journe owns, and inspired by a photograph of Gabrielle Chanel preparing to go out, the dial is composed of 22 individual elements — a tribute to the métiers d’art. Each detail is rendered with extraordinary precision, showcasing the artisans’ mastery of miniature craftsmanship. Blush becomes a precious creation, with its silky texture and camellia embossing — one of the House’siconic symbols — reproduced using grand feu enamel and miniature painting techniques.
Achieving this delicate effect involves layering semi-liquid enamel with ultra-fine brushes, some made from a single bristle. Each petal is hand-painted with extraordinary precision.
Gabrielle Chanel’s signature vermilion red lipstick is also captured in miniature, its depth and shine faithfully rendered through multiple enamel layers, each dried before the next is applied. The hands, scanned from real models, cast in 3D, and engraved in 18-kt yellow gold, required 40 hours of meticulous work. Their sleeves, sculpted in a tweed pattern, are blackened and dotted with half-pearls, while pink sapphires crown the fingertips, mirroring those set around the bezel.
Eight months of research preceded the selection of materials and techniques. The dial’s surrealist tableau, featuring enamelled makeup cases, a diamond-and-pearl necklace, and golden hands, is the result of 200 hours of combined artistry. From enamel to engraving, each detail honours Chanel’s couture codes and the rare métiers d’art behind this extraordinary timepiece.
Through colour, texture and technical brilliance, the Chanel Blush Watch Capsule Collection redefines time as a canvas for beauty. In true Chanel spirit, these creations are not just timepieces – they are objets d’art.
