Chanel has its own ideas about fine watchmaking. For example, when the J12 turned 20, in 2020, it released an X-Ray version whose bracelet, case, dial and movement bridges are made entirely from sapphire: a world-first. Reprising the concept as part of the 1990s-themed Electro capsule collection, this new J12 fuses twelve colours into a circular gradient of 58 sapphires that illuminate the bezel. Each colour band has a matching baguette gem-stone sapphire hour marker on the sapphire dial. Carrying on this total transparency, the 158 components in the manual-winding, in-house, skeletonised Calibre 3.1 (55 hours of power reserve) include a motion-work bridge and train-wheel bridge in sapphire, creating the impression that the movement is floating in the air. This X-Ray Electro confirms the J12 as a twenty-first century icon.

J12
2019