Crowning Glory A decade on from its launch, the iconic Chanel J12 has come 6 a long way and for 2010 has been re-invented with the introduction of the AP Renaud et Papi collaboration TRM. James Gurney ST1128_QP44_Complete_02.indd 58 26/08/2010 12:33 Upgrading | 59 To give an uninterrupted case edge, the crown of the TRM was moved to the top of the dial, creating a whole new set of problems for the team at APRP to overcome. Yours for £210,000. ST1128_QP44_Complete_02.indd 59 02/09/2010 12:09 60 | Upgrading The caseback of the TRM. The TRM dial, featuring the unusual positioning of the crown. Chanel’s next step was to stay that way. The result was the obvious really – especially Calibre 3125, based on an existing AP with the aid of hindsight. movement and the only movement Having created a genuinely Audemars supplies to a third party. iconic watch design in This particular J12 was almost the J12, the design team painfully severe, the gold detail utilised the model’s in the images being much more apparent ability to support discrete in the flesh. Given that the a near endless succession 3125 was born of a certain mutual of colour and gemset admiration and that for Chanel the variations. Impressively, watch was a statement of credibility the J12 has never been seen as well, guessing the next stage as either exclusively male or hardly needed vast expertise in the female, that bias only coming watch business. with obvious cues – add a GMT movement to the black ceramic If AP does not supply its movements version and you have quite a to other houses, its subsidiary, AP masculine watch. Horological Renaud et Papi, certainly does, Giulio purity may not have been Chanel’s Papi’s business being one of the first priority, but then which of its guns for hire that have driven the immediate competitors was even creative surge in the watch business offering an automatic GMT whether over the past decade or so. APRP from ETA or anywhere else? conceives, designs and produces both movements and modules for a blue- In 2005 Chanel showed that the J12 chip client list that stretches from could even carry off a tourbillon, quite Richard Mille to IWC via Lange and the feat given how common it is to Parmigiani, so it was not exactly hard see these movements shoe-horned for a journalist to work out what was into designs that simply cannot on the agenda when the call came support the complexity. Then 2008 through in January to visit Chanel in saw Chanel offering a J12 for the more Paris and preview an important new discerning, based on a newly forged watch, their immaculately glamorous TRM with rose gold accents. partnership with Audemars Piguet, HQ in the Place Vendôme being worth a similarly independent, privately the trip even without the promise of owned company with serious intent horological fireworks. ST1128_QP44_Complete_02.indd 60 26/08/2010 12:34 Upgrading | 61 the advantage of creating a really Guessing games The 2005 J12 Tourbillon - the world’s first Knowing a little of Giulio Papi’s serious set of challenges to meet and grand complication in ceramic. £120,000. creativity, the time spent on the train overcome – the perfect APRP project over to Paris guessing what might that resulted in the J12 TRM. be unveiled was almost completely wasted but nevertheless enjoyable. The most obvious drawback to We managed to rule out a simple devoting dial real estate to the crown tourbillon (no point), sonnerie (ceramic is that it reduces the space available would be a poor sound conductor we for the hands, the easy and, therefore, thought), yacht chronograph and instantly rejected solution, being to others. The only element we felt offset and reduce the size of the certain of predicting was the amazing hands. Instead APRP developed coated bridges that seem to exist as a a way for the minute hand to test of APRP watchmaker’s dexterity remain the ‘correct’ size for (one false breath and a frighteningly the dial, by introducing a expensive component becomes junk curious retrograde function. to recycle). Essentially the minute hand travels normally Once arrived and small talk disposed until ten minutes past of, the watch was unveiled and as the hour at which point can be seen from the images, it is it is about to come truly original. The idea emerged that up to the crown, the the J12’s form would be improved hand then reverses if the crown could be done away over a ten minute with – something along the lines of period until it reaches the LeCoultre Futurematic of the the twenty past the 1950s (one of the first production hour position whereupon automatics, the Futurematic’s crown it continues as normal was hidden to emphasise that it was for the rest of the hour. self-winding). After playing with During this period a digital various ideas, Giulio Papi settled display at six o’clock comes on the idea of having the crown into play showing the minutes mounted on the dial side, popping up eleven to nineteen. Written only when needed, this of course had down, this barely makes sense, but ST1128_QP44_Complete_02.indd 61 26/08/2010 12:34 the watch is beguiling all the same impossible to achieve. The twin as this process never appears other mainspring barrels are, for example, than seamless. coated with a black PVD, circular grained above and satin-polished on The heart of the sides, the black PVD Titanium the matter power reserve bridge has chamfered Even more appealing is the and sanded surfaces and even the detail of the mechanisms balance is blackened. Less apparent that make all this possible. but particularly impressive is the Normal crowns use a monobloc ceramic mainplate with its system where one step polished angles and surfaces, ceramic engages the winding both being an essential code of the J12 system and following steps and extremely hard and unforgiving to A collaboration with AP in 2008 the time and date. With the work on. resulted in the Calibre 3125 and allowed Chanel to create the dream TRM’s vertical crown, this would be of a haute horlogerie automatic movement with three hands, difficult, so once the crown is popped Only 20 black ceramic TRMs are being going back to the deepest roots of out, you press either the bezel made together with a white ceramic traditional watchmaking. £18,900. lozenge at two o’clock (to set the time) version, which is, if anything, even or four o’clock (to rewind the watch). more breathtaking. Unfortunately, Simple and neat on the surface, but the white ceramic version seems to wilfully complicated to make function have suffered from heavy handling with the desired resistance and at Baselworld and has had to return feel – you can almost feel the shame to APRP. when they admit that rewinding the mainspring to its limit, which gives ten Naturally overshadowed by the launch days running, is probably easiest with of the TRM, but perhaps more in the tool they supply. keeping with the J12 spirit is the J12 Marine also launched this year and, The key components are, in the perhaps surprisingly, the first true best APRP tradition incredibly over- diving watch in the line. With a good engineered, coated with PVD type rubber strap, 300m water-resistance treatments and then finish to levels rating and uni-directional bezel, the J12 is certainly equipped properly, but more than that, it is the smartest variation on the J12 design since the Superleggera. 8 Innovation and uncompromising quality are the t h a t hallmarks of Frédérique Constant. Driven by an the PVD unparalleled passion for precision and crafts- m a k e s manship, our watchmakers manufacture Geneva a l m o s t , timepieces of contemporary, classic design and but not quite, exceptional value. The über cool Marine, the first J12 diver’s watch Maxime with 300m of water resistance. From £3,500. Sporty and ultra light, the Superleggera concept was inspired by 1950s racing cars. £4,600. Manufacture For information and to order a catalogue, please contact us: Automatic Argento Fine Products T. 020 7722 24 38 [email protected] Further information: www.chanel.com www.frederique-constant.com ST1128_QP44_Complete_02.indd 62 26/08/2010 12:35 Maxime-FC-QP.indd 1 4/21/2010 4:20:35 PM.