Chanel and Only Watch, a Première

Since 1987, the “Première” watch, an alliance of the olfactory and the visual, is inspired by the Chanel N°5 bottle stopper as well as the Place Vendôme. In 2012, Chanel re-issued this watch designed by its immortal founder, even referenced in the dictionary, as the word “Premier/ère” is defined as «Which precedes others in time, space and rank; principal, superior… what has been done, produced or made first; first in ranking. In transport, the most comfortable class. In Haute Couture, the head seamstress of the atelier. In watchmaking, first watch exclusively created for women by CHANEL in 1987».

Chanel Première Flying Tourbillon for Only Watch 2013

This is a reliable definition since it has been inscribed in a dictionary and not in some unsubstantiated press release.

Beauty through a screen

This white gold piece all but exudes its heritage through the unreachable stylistic codes inspired by the Gabrielle Chanel universe. One of the world’s most famous places, rhyming with France’s and the rest of the world’s luxury centre, morphs into simplicity and rigour in the context of colours and its materials’ genuineness. It is only on the occasion of its 25^th anniversary, in 2012, that the Première Tourbillon Volant was manufactured. It is a timekeeper which has as main role women’s accessibility to the universe of watchmaking complications. In the course of the same year, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) paid tribute to Premièrein its «Ladies’ Watch» category.

Zoom on the dial of the Chanel Première

Concerning its motorisation, the spectacle offered by the Tourbillon’s course, subtly suggesting a camellia, opts for the aesthetically sublime over the successfully micromechanical. Even if its calibre was produced in association with the motorist Renaud & Papi AP RP SA, the Audemars Piguet advanced research and development division, its visible part juggles with canopies and fans.

The engraved back of this Pièce Unique

It stands as a screen sprinkled with diamonds, between the ultra-complexity of its mechanism and the ultra skilled of its setting.

When the Première performs only once

This Première proposed to the research against muscular dystrophy is composed of two special features. Feature one: it is the case and the bezel that are now in black ceramic, fetish and signature material of the current Chanel watch range. Feature two: in line with the quest for ultimate sobriety, the setting has been delimited to the piece’s flanks. This secret and low profile culture may well be under the spotlights at the auction bid thus making Première even more desirable…

The Chanel Première will not miss its appointment with collectors