MASTER MECHANICS

The brand has taken these cues and created a
genuine diving timepiece - the J12 Marine -
whose design and performance are perfectly
suited for both deep sea diving expeditions
and evenings at the yacht club.
The J12 Marine is available in three versions
and two sizes: blue (available in 38 mm or 42
mm), black (42 mm) and white (38mm) and
not only looks spectacular, but can also resist
pressure equivalent to a depth of 300 metres
under the sea, a feat that few diving watches
can achieve.
Some of the most impressive features include
a date and immersion time reading on the
bezel; a highly resistant, mat rubber strap with
J12 MARINE
openings that allows the release of water;
black lacquered dial with luminescent hands
and numerals for perfect readability in darkness
and a sapphire crystal with blue antireflective
coatings on both sides.
The firework finale
Chanel doesn’t need to remind us how serious
it is when it comes to the technology inside its
ceramic cases. Its offering includes GMTs and
tourbillons, and the brand has partnered with
the prestigious Audemars Piguet for a unique
and exclusive automatic calibre, the 3125. But
for the finale of its 2010 introductions, Chanel
went one step further and joined forces with
the famous movement constructor Renaud &
Papi to create a timepiece that was like nothing
anybody had ever seen before.
Transforming time
One of the wishes of Chanel when starting
out on the project with Renaud & Papi was to
have a completely round timepiece, which
meant that the crown had to be relocated to
the back or the front of the case. Putting the
crown on the back has been done many times
europa star COVER STORY 13
before so the constructors decided to break
with all watchmaking codes and put the
crown directly on the front of the timepiece,
traversing both the crystal and the dial.
From a design point of view, the result was
visually stunning, but from a technical point
of view, it created all kinds of problems.
However, the great thing with problems is that
they can often translate into some of the most
intriguing solutions and this is what happened
with the Rétrograde Mystérieuse. The problem
in this case was that the position of the crown
(positioned between ten past and 19 past the
hour) blocked the minute hand from continuing
its journey around the dial. So the constructors
found a solution so that the minute
hand would reach the crown and then go
backwards all around the dial until it rejoined
the 20 minute mark. To avoid misreading the
time, a digital display illuminates when the
hand is regressing with the correct minute
reading. When the minute hand is advancing
normally the digital display turns off.
Like many of today’s unusual time displays, it
sounds complicated in words, but once you
get used to it, two hands can seem rather
boring in comparison!
Continuous inspiration
J12-mania has now been ongoing for over a
decade and there seems to be no end to its
success with a multitude of innovations within
one collection. The brand continues to challenge
the boundaries of watchmaking from
the materials, to complications and design.
Just as when it started, Chanel is not content
to stagnate, but instead finds inspiration year
after year. We can’t wait to see what this year
has in store! O
For more information about Chanel click on
Brand Index at www.europastar.com