#Legend

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Worn as a watch or jewel,

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“ALL OF CHANEL’S elegance is based on an idea of timelessne­ss and lack of ostentatio­n. By mixing these codes together, we create a style.” So says actress and brand ambassador Anna Mouglalis of the elusive silver bullet that defines the Chanel universe through the ages. And she’s not alone in recognisin­g the stealth that comes from associatin­g with the house and the prescient mindset of its founder.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel launched the first luxury popup store as far back as 1929, when she opened an accessorie­s boutique inside her couture house. From the 1930s, further innovation­s followed – prototypes of quilted bags, jewellery, perfumes and more, until, in 1955, at the grand old age of 72, Chanel launched the 2.55 quilted shoulder bag with gilt chain and distinctiv­e clasp. The bag became an icon and was a rival to the Little Black Dress and Chanel No. 5 perfume. The codes of the house were embellishe­d and ever-present.

Such Chanel codes are not isolated moments, but a continuous narrative in the seamless evolution of the house, an interlocki­ng thread that bind into a timeless style, bookended by past and future simultaneo­usly. More than just a luxury brand, Chanel is a language, a semiotics of identity, meaning and aspiration – a Cocode. “At Chanel, one code always leads us toward another,” says Virginie Viard, Chanel's fashion studio director.

If the quilted bag became the indispensa­ble accessory for the Chanel outfit, then the codes of its iconograph­y have been reimagined in a different form today. But not as a bag. At first glance, it's a bracelet that sparkles around a wrist – a jewel. Look again and one recognises instantly the clasp of the 2.55 bag and two hands. The code of Coco, the code of pop-up, of accessorie­s, of quilt, of an It bag – all these elements have been distilled into this jewel of a watch. It's named a gospel organic: Code Coco. “The Code Coco is

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