Focus: Chanel

Chanel Code Coco
CASE : stainless steel, transparent sapphire caseback, waterresistant to 30m

SIZE : 38 x 21mm

MOVEMENT : quartz

FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes

DIAL : black, set with a princess-cut diamond

BRACELET : steel and black ceramic, steel rotating clap

Merging territories

 

While there are a number of connections between fashion and watchmaking, authentic bridges between these territories are few and far between. Although Chanel has been expressing itself through timepieces for over 20 years, it had never yet done so through proclaiming such intimate ties with its couture culture. Code Coco does not in fact embody this bridge in terms of its name, even though it is rare that the founder’s name be so deliberately used. In actual fact, Code Coco is all about the clasp : that of the 2.55 handbag worn by generations of women and now an unmistakable brand signature. Chanel has used the exact same version – in terms of shape, material and mode of operation – to fasten the Code Coco bracelet. That being said, this watchband is far more than just a means of attaching the timepiece to the wrist, since the clasp is placed directly above the watch hands, and just below a diamond. This tiny metal element – whose color and brilliance are picked up on the bezel and the edge of the bracelet – actually crosses right through the dial. The importance given to the clasp highlights the deliberate intention to consider the bracelet as the essence of the watch. Composed of tiny articulated black ceramic squares, it provides a pattern, a presence and an identity. The Code Coco is thus worn like a bracelet, fastens like a handbag and serves as a watch.

Journaliste expert en horlogerie et correspondant régulier de WorldTempus, David alimente notre rubrique technique.

Review overview
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