Chanel has created a fascinating play on shimmering reflections with its new J12 Chromatic. This watch appears to have added a new shade to the palette of primary colours, thanks to the use of titanium ceramics. Hovering between black and white, this material boasts a unique set of assets. Almost as resistant as sapphire, light and ergonomic due to its thermal neutrality, titanium ceramics shines with such peerless radiance because of an exclusive polishing technique featuring diamond powder. Seven models of varying diameters (33, 39 or 41 mm) compose this line featuring two watches set with round and baguette-cut diamonds. Whether quartz-driven like the small model or equipped with a mechanical self-winding movement in the two others, the J12 Chronomat heralds an unprecedented new chapter in the ongoing Chanel watchmaking saga. A watch that reflects time, mirroring its ever-changing facets.

Architectural counterpart : Velodrome and Olympic Swimming Pool in Berlin, Germany, by Dominique Perrault Architecture

A project conceived and executed by Dominique Perrault, the Berlin Velodrome was built in the Prenzlauer Berg district. It features facilities designed to accommodate 5,800 seated spectators, and 4,000 in the Olympic Swimming Pool. The two enormous rectangles rising from the ground cover a total surface area of 110,000 square meters, and encompass a 450-tree apple orchard. The constructions were envisaged as a set of “hidden” buildings featuring volumes that merge into the surrounding landscape, almost as if they were “on tiptoe”. With this in mind, the French architect deliberately shied away from unduly bulky constructions and, by opting for gentler shapes and volumes, attempted to recreate the unity of the urban context and avoid accentuating the differences between the different shapes and sizes of other constructions in this part of the city.

The facilities created are not located underground, nor totally arranged above ground. They are distinguished by the presence of a steel wire mesh. Covering all faces of both buildings, these construction elements create shimmering reflections dappled across the surface of the water. A special device filters the daylight and reveals constantly changing luminous effects both by day and night.

In creating this construction, the French architect has made the most of the new technologies currently emerging. Like the Chanel J12 watch that uses titanium ceramics to create a “reflecting watch”, the materials and new technologies form the basis for a new way of envisioning objects. A constant modification of the appearance of this object aims to modify our daily relationship with forms and with the information that they convey to us. Basically, the above-mentioned construction and the watch attempt to create the illusion of perpetual changes in their appearance and of the identifying signals they send out. The representations perceived by the human eye are fleeting, shifting and rapidly replaced by other reflections of reality, thereby engendering an incessant consumption of successive images.