To celebrate the J12’s tenth anniversary, Chanel is offering a totally new watchmaking complication where aesthetics bow to technical prowess. The Chanel Rétrograde Mysterieuse J12 features a specially developed movement which moves the crown from the side of the case to on the side of the dial to preserve the aesthetic curves of the watch.
Chanel Rétrograde Mystérieuse J12 - Black Ceramic White Gold
With the help of Guilio Papi, a new face of limited edition Retrograde Mysterieuse J12 watches with an even more complicated mechanism. These watches will be available as 10 limited edition pieces each in 18 carat gold and 18 carat pink gold. Laced with a tourbillon movement, the hands will run in the reverse direction between the 10 and 20 minutes each hour only to come back to its position after 10 minutes.
During this time, you can see the time in the digital display located between 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock on the watch dial. The dial itself is 47 mm in diameter made in black ceramic with an 18 carat gold bezel spotting ceramic inserts for hour-markers.
Chanel Rétrograde Mystérieuse J12 - Black Ceramic White Gold
The hands are Pierced skeletons in 18 carat gold. The case is made of dual-face crystal having an anti-reflective coating and a similar sapphire back case. The movement used is the Chanel Calibre RMT-10, designed exclusively for Chanel by Renaud et Papi. The crown on the mother of pearl is made from circular-grained steel made in black ceramic and spots a “Clou de Paris” pattern in 18 carat gold. The strap is has 46 black ceramic l inked hindges with a Chanel patented three-part folding buckle in 18 carat gold. The watch has water resistance up to 30 meters.
Simple to devise but perhaps not so simple to produce! All the more so as this sequentially retrograded hand, duplicated by a digital display of minutes, is an absolute first in watchmaking history. Just like the vertical crown built into the dial, which is deactivated by pressing it flush with the crystal or activated by finger pressure to “release” and manipulate it.
Not quite breaking with tradition, the J12 Rétrograde Mystérieuse opens up a new perspective on perpetually contemporary watches.
Chanel Rétrograde Mystérieuse J12 - Black Ceramic White Gold
Chanel Rétrograde Mystérieuse J12 - Black Ceramic White Gold
Chanel Rétrograde Mystérieuse J12 - Black Ceramic Rose Gold and White Ceramic Gold
