The last really new J12 from Chanel Watches Australia was the Chromatic that aBlogtoWatch debuted around the world here. Back in 2011 when Chanel released the Chromatic it upped the ante for Chanel’s “ownership” of ceramic as a luxury material with a new metallic gray material that mixed ceramic with titanium. Chanel really started its own ceramic revolution with the original J12 watch about a decade ago. In black or white, it was anything but a polarizing design as the J12 is still beloved by many. With that said – even though I think the J12 is a fairly men’s watch – it was ladies who found it the most interesting.
Now, at the end of 2021 Chanel Watches Goldsmiths adds a new character towards the J12 collection with the J12 Moonphase. The added moon phase complication has been debuted in a range of models that span from a classic white J12, to a Chromatic model, and even a totally jewel encrusted limited edition model (actually two of them). Though for now, the J12 Moonphase will be available exclusively in the 38mm wide size. Let’s check out the new J12 Moonphase which offers a bit more than just a new complication.
Chanel produced a very lovely video to go with the launch from the J12 Moonphase collection. Unfortunately, it has hardly any to do with phases of the moon. Chanel is first of all a fashion company and they full-well know that moon phase complications are more emotional than practical. It's my job to don’t like “hand style” versus “disc style” moon phase indicators, but Chanel did a great deal here to make their moon phase indicator dial very beautiful, and easy to read. Borrowing from a number of classic timepieces, they use a serpentine-style hand against an aventurine dial. Aventurine is a sparkly blue stone that does a good job of mimicking the night sky. I was happy to see it used here and believe that it was a smart and high-class aesthetic choice for Chanel.
Though this does open up an interesting question. Why create a new collection of ladies’ watches that focuses on a complication? Over the last few years – especially high-end watch makers – happen to be pushing the idea that more and more women are interested in horology versus strictly fashion and aesthetics. While there are lots of very passionate female watch lovers, it hasn’t been my experience that a lot of women are too concerned with complications. So I find it interesting that Chanel Watches Australia sees a lot of potential marketing what is essentially a huge complication-focused product.
Though if you absolutely needed to go with a complication (aside from the time and date) that reside in a high-end fashion-oriented timepieces for mainly women, I believe a moon phase indicator is really a clever choice. It is an emotional complication helping to understand the phases of the moon – which controls everything from tides to perhaps tempers. What's further interesting is how the inclusion of the moon phase dial altered the long-lasting look of the J12 dial. This is extremely much a fresh face should you look at the details.
First of all, on the dial you have a new shorter seconds hand that tracks the interior scale and follows the hour hand as opposed to the minute hand. This of course is done to keep it separate from the pointer date hand. Chanel utilizes a hand rather than window to point the date, which again is new for the series and borrowed from more traditional watches. Another interesting change is to the bezel. No longer a rotating bezel, the now fixed bezel is thinner with either simple baton markers… or obviously diamonds.
Darn near every dip watch uses a circular screw-down caseback; it is simpler to make and quite robust. Chanel handles a 200m rating having a curved shape that keeps the eye slender. An impressive piece of engineering that virtually nobody will appreciate, and one of the reasons why you seldom see 200m evaluations less than 12mm thick.The bracelet includes a exceptional design also, the pins are snap-fit. Perfect end, even around the bits not normally visible.The J12 is really a joy to wear. That super low profile is great for long sleeves.The finish does, because you can see, reveal fingerprints because of the mirror finish and complete lack of pores or roughness. The bezel is slick, and I would prefer a lume pip, however it works for cooking and parking meters, my 2 main uses.The continuous changes as the light plays across the varied finishes are a delight.I had been anticipating a blingier watch, however in person it is really not. Difficult to explain, but the size and colour palette combine for a non-attention-getting watch. The weight feels exactly the same as steel, too.Of all the Swiss watch brands, Chanel is possibly the only one which could pull off introducing two new calibers, 12 months after the second, followed promptly by a quartz fashion watch designed following a handbag clasp, giving it a title such as Chanel Code Coco. There are many things to admire about Chanel’s watch division: the Premiere Camelia Skeleton, a new caliber created for a lady’s watch; the Monsieur Chanel, a fresh leap hour caliber made for a men’s watch (hands-on in platinum); and only the fact that Chanel made the investment to set a Swiss watch go back from the 1990s when its fellow style house brands were still licensing their names to makers of cheap fashion watches.
