In my short years as an 'aspiring' watch photographer, few timepieces have truly evaded a good picture as the Chanel J12 Chromatic. The rich universe of hues that emit from Chanel's new "chromatic" material are more or less impossible to capture in stills - as the colors mix and meld with the light so amazingly. It is a sin to evaluate this watch for yourself seeing it in still images alone.
I first wrote about and debuted Chanel's C12 Chromatic watch here. There is discussed the important of the new material and the history a bit. Over 10 years ago Chanel swept the industry with the J12 - and there has been no looking back. In white and black, Chanel has been experimenting in-house with the new tone and style to feature. What they ended up with is a metallic monolithic gray that has an amazing sheen to it. The gray is dark, but lively as it plays with the light. I expect it to turn into the T1000 enemy machine from Terminator 2.
Again, the new ceramic material is a skillful mix of traditional ceramic material with titanium. Together they are highly polished and tasteful. Chanel did however do something weird (for my tastes) with the collection. The larger version is 41mm wide versus 42mm wide as is the case with the standard J12 collection. Why? According to Chanel they wanted this version to have something a bit different. I get that, but I still don't agree with the logic. Anyone who has a Chanel J12 is into fashion and will supplement their wrist's "look" often. Meaning that the material on the J12 Chromatic is enough for people to want to get it. If they don't have a J12, it isn't because they desperately wanted a 41mm wide size - because 42 was too big, and 38 was too small. Plus, the smaller size might actually prevent some people from getting an otherwise great watch as they feel it is too small. I love the feel of the Chromatic on my wrist, but would love for a 43-45mm wide size.
Gray is a curious color for luxury and fashion, but it works. Gray is the color of rainy skies and concrete prisons. However, gray does have an interesting quality, that when it reflects light can look orange on the edges - which is very cool. In a high-gloss finish it looks pretty stupendous. Chanel even added other gray elements to the dial as well as a new brushed metal central dial.
Of the most interesting things about the J12 Chromatic is the weight. Still hard and durable, it is very light in weight - a property not common to ceramic items. The rich character of the color and the J12's enduring personality make this one of the nicest fashion watches around. Many people would be amiss by not having one of these in their collections.
See Chanel watches on eBay here.
See Chanel watches on Amazon here.
200CT DIAMOND CUSTOM BEZEL FOR 38MM CHANEL J12 WATCH $2,249.99 Time Remaining: 2h 52m Buy It Now for only: $2,249.99 Buy It Now |
Ceramic Black or White watch Bezel ring for Chanel J12 AUTOMATIC 42mm case GMT $40.00 Time Remaining: 6h 19m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 Buy It Now |
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Ceramic Black or White watch Bezel ring for Chanel J12 AUTOMATIC 42mm case GMT $40.00 Time Remaining: 6h 19m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 Buy It Now |
350CT WHITE CERAMIC CHANEL J12 AUTOMATIC DIAMOND DIAL 38MM H1759 WATCH sku45 $15,449.99 Time Remaining: 6h 21m Buy It Now for only: $15,449.99 Buy It Now |
AUTHENTIC CHANEL J12 AUTOMATIC Marine 38MM H2561 NEW BOX PAPERS Ret 5300 $4,134.00 Time Remaining: 9h 16m Buy It Now for only: $4,134.00 Buy It Now |
AUTHENTIC CHANEL J12 AUTOMATIC 38MM BLACK H1626 NEW BOX PAPERS Ret 6850 $5,343.00 Time Remaining: 10h 51m Buy It Now for only: $5,343.00 Buy It Now |
[...] is the peace of knowledge that you new watch will remain visually outstanding for a long time. UDPATE: Hands-on with the JC12 Chromatic watches here. See Chanel watches on eBay here.See Chanel watches on Amazon here. US AuctionsAustralian [...]
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[...] Chanel’s J12 Chromatic, high-tech ceramic version in silver grey tone was popular. The new version of Titanium ceramic gives a high-tech material with new dimension resulting highly polished smooth, gleaming surface, reflecting light with lightweight, super-material of scratch-resistant which offers a cloudy-sky grey hue. If it is polished with diamond powder it reflects light and ceramic will be warm to touch. Of late, ceramic is increasingly being used in the watch industry, which has high aesthetics influence. [...]
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[...] from these new Grand Prix Monaco de Historique watches, for me the famous modern gray watch is the Chanel J12 Chromatic (which I reviewed hands-on here last year). I have to agree that these gray Chopard watches probably go with a lot of outfits. I [...]