Chanel launches a new version of its J12 watches… in a made-up colour?

Chanel and elite watches go together like champagne and oysters. The same can be said for Arnaud Chastaingst (the man behind the brand’s watches) and making up new colours. After twenty-five years of trailblazing in the luxury watch world, Chanel’s J12 watch collection is finally over its traditional black and white colourways. Enter: the J12 Bleu. The collection isn’t just any blue, though — it’s a special matte blue ceramic that took the brand a casual five years to develop. According to Chastaingst, the whole idea is that it’s a “blue that is nearly black, or a black that is nearly blue”. He’s also referred to the final colour as an “ephiphany”, so it’s all very poetic. 

As much as we’re sure Chanel’s customer base appreciates the poetry, we’re sure they also appreciate getting exactly what they want (they’re paying enough after all). That’s why the J12 Bleu collection comes in nine different varieties. Different sizes? Check. Different detailing? Check. Different concentration of baguette-shaped sapphires depending how much you want to show off? Also check. There’s even an ‘X-Ray’ style, which is a really cool transparent version of the J12 that we can imagine any select it-girl sporting on her summer trip to Portofino.

Speaking of holidays to Portofino, it’s worth mentioning that the J12 Bleu collection is also water-resistant, so it probably is the perfect luxury watch for a summer vacation after all. Although, if you are actually planning to swim while wearing one of the sapphire-encrusted versions, you might want to reconsider your life choices. We all know what happened to Kim Kardashian’s diamond earrings, don’t we? Anyway, whether you’re a serious collector or just someone who enjoys window shopping for things you’ll never own, the J12 Bleu collection is worth checking out — if only to see what five years of research into the colour blue looks like.