The one to watch

The past three decades have seen Chanel steadily establishing itself as a watchmaking force to be reckoned with. Timothy Barber finds out what’s next for the venerable house

2019-10-26 -

To long-term observers of the Swiss watch industry, it was hard to know which of two major announcements by Chanel last winter was the more unexpected. In September 2018 news broke that the luxury giant had acquired a minority stake in F. P. Journe, the revered maker of artisan haute horlogerie and a stalwart of independent watchmaking.

This was followed in January with the announcement that Chanel was joining forces with Tudor to invest in a new manufacture of watch movements, going by the mysterious name of Kenissi. Such a convergence of two of the biggest independent names in global luxury – Tudor coming under the custodianship of the Wilsdorf Foundation, the guardian of Rolex – could cause a “small earthquake in the Swiss watch industry”, according to the Swiss newspaper Le Temps.

If it has, the shockwaves have yet to reach Nicolas Beau, Chanel’s international business development watch and fine jewellery director. While it might appear that the brand is on manoeuvres in the watch world, he says this is business as usual.

“We don’t have the ambition to become a watch group – each time we acquire some know-how, it’s to develop it to the benefit of Chanel as a brand,” he says. “Watchmaking is long-term. We don’t want to work with suppliers who could go bankrupt or end up with another group, so it’s a way to secure the future. We always think it’s better to take a share of one of the best companies, instead of trying to reinvent the technology ourselves.”

On the fashion side, Chanel has been acquiring ‘know-how’ at an accelerating rate over the past 25 years, investing in a slew of métiers d’art companies ranging from silk makers and costume jewellers to the Parisian embroidery workshop responsible for its famous tweeds. The same strategy applies to watches.

Having entered the watch business in 1987 with its Première women’s model, Chanel acquired a large watchmaking factory, G&F Châtelain SA, in 1993. Following the success of its famed J12 launched in 2000, the brand developed its own hi-tech ceramics facility, rather than relying on suppliers, and has also added jewellery workshops.

In 2011 the company took a stake in Romain Gauthier, a small but highly advanced, and verticalised watchmaker that produces its own complex and exclusive timepieces, and supplies immaculately made mechanisms and components to others. Its input has been clear in the Monsieur range of men’s watches Chanel has been producing since 2016, as well as certain complications in its women’s lines.

While investing in Romain Gauthier was for the specific purpose of elevating Chanel’s top-level watch output, Beau describes its partnership with F. P. Journe as a more open-ended prospect. The firm, founded in 1999 by watchmaker François-Paul Journe, produces around 900 watches per year, many of them regarded as modern marvels. Beau says there are no current plans for Journe to create movements for Chanel, but suggests there are artisan skills, such as dial making, that may be of use in the future.

“Gauthier is a satellite for Chanel, but F. P.

‘We continue making what we think are beautiful objects, which happen to give time’

Journe is more in-between,” says Beau. “François-Paul is an incredible watchmaker and entrepreneur, and he’s fiercely independent. There is incredible savoir-faire there that’s interesting for our creation team – if you put a few brains around a table, there’s no one better to have.”

According to statements made by F. P. Journe, at least part of the motivation for accepting Chanel’s investment is in ensuring a future for the marque once its founder, who is now aged 62, decides to retire. With Kenissi, however, the activity is all about starting something new and moving away from the traditional suppliers of volumemade movements.

Currently with a factory based in Geneva, Kenissi, according to Le Temps, is expected to open a larger factory in Le Locle in 2021. Already producing Tudor’s highspec automatic movement, Calibre MT5612 (which it also supplies to Breitling), as of this year, Chanel has started using a proprietary Kenissi calibre in its upgraded and redesigned J12 ( from £4,675). Beau entertains the idea that other brands could be supplied in the future, saying: “The purpose of that company is to produce the best automatic movement for Tudor and Chanel. If other companies want to purchase movements from Kenissi, they can – provided Tudor and Chanel agree.”

A potential client, one would imagine, is Bell & Ross, the French maker of stylish aviation and diving watches, which is part-owned by Chanel owners the Wertheimer brothers. While Bell & Ross watches are also made at G&F Châtelain, Beau states that the process is a separate operation to what he terms “the Chanel galaxy”. For one thing, that galaxy is a largely female one – Beau states that only 20 per cent of Chanel watches are aimed at men, though with both the J12 and the 2015launched Boy.Friend lines (this year’s version shown left), it’s inarguably been among the most forward-thinking houses in viewing timepieces as a unisex option.

“We continue making what we think are beautiful objects, which happen to give time,” he says. “In 30 years, we’ve been able to build a serious business in watchmaking, controlling the entire manufacturing – that’s interesting, bearing in mind we are facing companies that are hundreds of years old. Whether we acquire more all depends on what our creation team brings in.” chanel.com