There is a holy place that no one has quite yet reached. A place where metal is totally wear-resistant. Where a material like steel would display the same metallic goodness we all love without ever looking scratched, worn, scuffed, or bent. This place is an alcove in the horological fountain of youth – the promised land where watches live forever. Joking aside, this is a serious issue. Buy yourself a close-to-$8,000 steel Rolex Submariner and you’ll get some of the best metallurgical work in the market. Spend a few days with that new Submariner and it might start to show signs of wear with haste. Darn, no more new car smell…
For me, luxury is about things lasting and quality. Screw rare hides, I want things that look nice and will fare as well as Indiana Jones did in the refrigerator after the atomic explosion in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie. Why is that so hard? One of the best materials out there in terms of wear resistance is “high-tech” ceramic. The spacey material used for industrial and high-end watch purposes has little to no relation with our coffee mugs. I think that the two only share being baked. In the 1980s Rado started using a ceramic material for watch cases and bracelet. The material was innovative for being really hard to scratch, and not loosing that glossy luster. Though you were basically limited to shiny black.
When the original Chanel J12 watch debuted in 2000, it really popularized ceramic in a big way. What was their secret? Simple really. Rado was always avant garde in their designs. While the watches had good guts, their designs prevented them from being too mainstream in the Western world. The J12 for was lack of a better term… a modified Rolex Submariner homage, with a classy dial in black or white ceramic. Finally, a fit fashion watch with world appeal. This wasn’t a crappy plastic watch that came in “fun colors.” It was a well-made watch with a mechanical movement in a material that felt great. Still… if you wanted the durability that ceramic offered, you are more or less stuck with glossy black or white.
Since the 1980s, models may also be supplied with a lock in the shape of a double CC logo. These are called “Classic Flaps.” The bag is quilted, a pattern intended to give it shape and quantity, and this design element is reflected from the bracelet of the watch, a design used previously by Chanel Watches For Sale Replica in both its timepieces and fine jewelry collections. This cross-referencing of Chanel design codes frequently appears in Chanel timepiece collections, by the tweed-patterned straps of this Boyfriend collection to the Camelia, Coco’s favourite flower, depicted on numerous dials and at the motion itself of the Caliber 2 in the Premiere Camelia Skeleton. If anybody has the right to introduce an eye inspired by a handbag, it’s Chanel.The Chanel Code Coco in stainless steel.The Code Coco’s elongated case includes upper and lower squares divided by a centre portion that resembles the clasp on the 2.55 handbag. From the basic steel variant (H5144) without a diamonds on the bezel, dial or bracelet, the top dial is simply set with a single princess-cut (square) diamond, while the lower dial tells time, and the dials are black lacquered. It’s priced at $5,000.
Then watchmakers started to experiment with forms of matte or brushed ceramic. The idea was to try and emulate the finishes that could be achieved with metal. This is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t offer a metal looking watch that will last forever. There are many people to whom the allure of a $10,000 watch becomes more immediate if they know that watch will look cherry for decades.
The latest step in that direction is being offered again by Chanel Watches Shop Online Replica for 2011 with their J12 “chromatic” watches. The Chanel J12 Chromatic Ceramic Titanium Watch. Mixing titanium and diamond power into the ceramic compound mixture, they are able to get an only slightly glossy version of the J12 that has the color of titanium. Finally, ceramic looks more like metal, with the same durability properties. “Ceramic Titanium” as they call it is a bit like the next step in the evolution of wear resistant compounds that will help high-end watches cosmetically last much, much longer. If you need any more proof that ceramic is really the key material of the next decade, just look at all the high-end brands that now rely on the material for at least parts of some of their watches.
The 2011 Chanel J12 Chromatic will more-or-less mirror the other collections in sizes and variations. The larger model is the 41mm wide men’s model that contains an ETA automatic movement. There are also a 38mm wide version with the same movement. This model will also have optional an baguette or round-cut diamond covered bezel (with matching diamond hour indicators). Below that, is a 33mm wide model that contains a Swiss quartz movement.
Together, the collection is not something that revolutionizes the Chanel J12 line, but is a further evolution in the concept and a step closer to ageless metal. I truly feel that in the near future when buying a high-end timepiece, part of that investment is the peace of knowledge that your new watch will remain visually outstanding for a long time. UDPATE (01-11-2014): Hands-on with the JC12 Chromatic watches here. www.chanel.com
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 Authentic CHANEL J12 Chromatic H3401 Ceramic Titanium Diamond Womens Watch 34615 $3,800.00 Time Remaining: 30m Buy It Now for only: $3,800.00 Buy It Now |
 CHANEL Premiere L Watch H0001 Quartz black GP gold plating $982.00 Time Remaining: 1h 43m Buy It Now for only: $982.00 Buy It Now |
 Chanel J12 Automatic Black Ceramic 18K Yellow Gold 42mm H2129 $10,900.00 Time Remaining: 2h Buy It Now for only: $10,900.00 Buy It Now |
 CHANEL J12 TITANIUM CERAMIC FACTORY DIAMONDS CHROMATIC 38mm PAPERS H2566 $12,500.00 Time Remaining: 2h 8m Buy It Now for only: $12,500.00 Buy It Now |
 Chanel J12 White Ceramic 33mm Factory Pink Sapphire Bezel Ladies Watch MINT $5,499.00 Time Remaining: 2h 25m Buy It Now for only: $5,499.00 Buy It Now |
 CHANEL Premiere L Watch H0001 Quartz black GP gold plating $891.00 Time Remaining: 2h 59m Buy It Now for only: $891.00 Buy It Now |
