Chanel is anticipating a bit of post-pandemic decadence with a new watch collection which zings with neon hues. Director of watchmaking, Arnaud Chastaingt, has infused collections including the J12, the Première and the Code Coco with lighting bolts of neon.
‘I wanted to create an immersive capsule collection inspired by electronic music culture,’ Chastaingt said upon introducing the models. He was inspired by the rave culture of the Nineties for watches which zing with a rainbow of bright hues. ‘The musical movement created a radical new visual universe which was a reflection of the night life and its atmosphere,’ he adds. ‘Electronic music transcended the frontiers of music and created an aesthetic culture.’ The new collection borrows these vibrant codes, juxtaposing the bright pops of the rainbow with deep black for a graphic contrast.
In the Première collection, a black lacquered dial is inscribed with the Chanel logo in neon pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange or red, matching a triple row steel chain woven with a matching colour. In the J12, the bezel is set with baguette-cut rainbow sapphires which loop their hypnotic way around a matte black dial. The Code Coco goes for full on block colour, its calfskin leather strap crafted from quilted neon pink. In the J12 Electro Star, the rainbow sapphires are set into the side profile, making a colourful contrast against the diamonds.
On the Boy-Friend Electro watch, a dash of electro pink hidden in the lining of the bracelet lets a robot on the dial drawn in diamonds take centre stage. ‘In the 1990s the electronic music movement developed its own unique graphic universe inspired by the graphic codes of digital and electronic art - reflected here in the pixellated pattern of the robot,’ says Chastaingt. ‘At Chanel the complexity of fine watchmaking far surpasses the purely technical aspects.’
INFORMATION
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