The need for speed
Chanel’s Monsieur Superleggera Edition nods to the racetrack – and the house’s heritage, says Mark Hamilton
Chanel has brought together two horological icons – the J12 Superleggera, which made its debut in 2005, and the Monsieur series, which marked the house’s men’s collection debut in 2016 – to create the new Monsieur Superleggera Edition. The watch is inspired by, and named for, the Italian coachbuilder that specialised in superlightweight aluminium bodies for racing cars of the mid-20th century.
The sporty yet sleek timepiece is powered by the manually wound Calibre 1, the first movement to have been designed, developed and assembled by the Chanel manufacture. Turn the watch over, and the sapphire-crystal caseback reveals the elegant and sophisticated calibre with its beautiful, openworked construction.
The dial layout, meanwhile, is inspired by a speedometer, with an instant jumping hour at 6 o’clock, a centered small-seconds and a 240-degree retrograde minute indicator taking up the top half of the face. All of these functions are set against a matte black guilloché dial, with the iconic Superleggera signature at 12 o’clock, rendered in a typeface that nods to Gran Turismo legends.
The whole package is wrapped in a tough, 42mm matte black ceramic case that comes equipped with a black nylon strap lined in red calfskin.
Monsieur Superleggera Edition, £30,500; chanel.com