A watch with 215 baguette-cut pink sapphires (3.82 carats on the case, and 8.30 carats on the bracelet) sounds flashy, but the gems in the J12 Pink Line are surprisingly discreet. The sapphires are set only into the sides of the case and the bracelet, so when you look at the watch dial-side up, you see only black—but not just a plain expanse of black ceramic. Chanel has faceted the ceramic into baguette shapes for the dial, bezel, and bracelet. There are 342 black ceramic baguettes set into the bracelet alone. The play of pink and black represent Chanel’s famous lipstick container, with a pink shade inside the tube. Chanel says it took more than 300 hours to position the pink sapphires and black ceramic parts, and a month-and-a-half to shape their openings. Longer, no doubt, than it takes to make a tube of lipstick. The creative ways Chanel continues to weave together its various product lines never ceases to amaze.
Case Size: 38 mm
Case Material: Steel with black coating and ceramic baguettes
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Strap: Steel with black coating and ceramic baguettes
Price: Limited edition of 12 pieces, price upon request
From the article by Paige Reddinger, Oren Hartov, Victoria Gomelsky, Carol Besler, Justin Fenner
