A pair of miniature Gabrielle Chanel figures reign supreme over this one-off chess set

‘I always knew one day I wanted to create a collection inspired by games, connecting Chanel and the watch world,’ says Arnaud Chastaingt, director of Chanel’s watch creation studio. ‘Chess is a traditional game, and there is a connection with the graphic world of Chanel – in the duality of the black and white, and also the fact that the objects are very essential. There’s no ornamentation. It’s like when you have a domino on the table, you quickly understand how to use it. There’s a minimalist simplification and functionality.’

The French house’s one-of-a-kind chess set draws on its high jewellery and watchmaking acumen, crafting a ceramic chessboard, in deep black and pearly white, that was two years in the making. It is populated with a cast of sculpted 18k white gold figures studded with diamonds, all familiar characters in Chanel’s universe. And how does it tell the time? In the base of the figure of the queen – represented, naturally, by Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel – is concealed a clock. A loop on the top means that she can also be hung on a white gold chain set with diamonds and onyx, which is secreted away in the chessboard drawer. In a neatly playful twist, the winner can, quite literally, wear time.

‘This chessboard is a metaphor for Chanel time,’ Chastaingt adds. ‘I played chess when I was young, and I think it helped to develop my imagination. For me, chess is like a little theatre. You play and you understand the power of the different elements. It offers you the opportunity to reflect. There are different actors, and they all have a different power.’

We recognise the actors here – Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite motifs, which often pop up across watches and jewellery. The king is a lion, the knight is Chanel’s distinctive quilted motif, the bishop a couture bust and the rook the Vendôme column, which stands outside Chanel’s Paris boutique. Each piece epitomises a sharp goldsmithing ability, and is shaped using the traditional lost-wax casting technique from bespoke moulds before being sandblasted, polished, rhodium-plated and set with diamonds

‘It is interesting for me that the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel is a guardian of time here,’ says Chastaingt. ‘You play chess, discover a watch under the queen, and the winner can wear her. The story doesn’t finish at the end of the game. In all nice stories, you have a secret.'

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This article appears in the June 2026 Issue of Wallpaper*, available from 7 May in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today