Among the fashion savvy and even some of those label indifferent people out there, who does not know the name the signature double “C” logo stand for? Today, the label Chanel has achieved the status as one of the most recognized brand in terms of haute couture fashion, bags, luxury watches, and accessories. Chanel merchandize is very much sough after, toping the list of one of the most counterfeited luxury products. The Parisian fashion house over the years has built a very strong reputation, specializing in luxury items like handbags, perfume, cosmetics, fashion, and watches.
Coco Chanel started her career in fashion in 1910, opening a small shop on a small apartment in Paris. This was famed as the humble start of what is know known as one of the largest fashion label in the world. The House of Chanel has enjoyed a number of great and very profitable successes, several losses and downfalls, but still remains as one of the sought after brand of luxury goods. Coco Chanel called for new designs and has successfully put her everlasting mark in the fashion industry. Her style of ground-breaking originality, effortless perfection, class, and elegance has inspired and is still inspiring a lot of designers globally. This is why in 197, Chanel Creative Director Jacques Helleu, adopting Coco Chanel’s philosophy, designed and introduced to the public ‘Premiere’, the first Chanel watch. The Premiere watch was proven to be a great success.
The design of Premiere speaks very much of Chanel: the octagonal shaped case resembles the bottle of the Chanel No 5 perfume) and bracelet takes inspiration from the leather chain strap of the famous 2.55 handbags. Since then, Chanel decided to expand its line of luxury watches and in 2000, the first models of the Chanel J12 watches were introduced to the public. In an attempt for further expansion and following the business inclination for bigger fashion houses to buy other fashion companies, Chanel bought Bell and Ross, another famous manufacturer of luxury watches, in 2001.
The year 2005 marked Chanel’s glorious and successful attempt to combine fine jewelry with the art of watch making. Chanel designers came up with the J12 line. The line quickly gained fame as fine jewelry watches. Noted feat is the integration of the tourbillon (known as the most complex and sophisticated mechanisms in watch making) in Chanel watches. Chanel even asked help from Swiss watchmakers and the brand came up with then now famous ‘CHANEL O5-T.1′ movement. Exclusive to Chanel, the mechanism has the features including an 18-K white gold bridge, optical glass cage, and an ultra-thin 2mm think bottom plate.
Bordering more in fine jewelry watches, Chanel launched the Chanel J12 Haute Joaillerie in 2006. The impressive watch is a combination of 597 baguette-cut diamonds set in white gold, 18K white gold bracelet, and a scratchproof ceramic plate. In 2008, Chanel launched another watch in collaboration with Audemars Piguet
Chanel is known to be worn by the social elite and celebrities including Jeanne Balibar, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Aniston, Kirsten Dunst, and many more.
