A trip to La-Chaux-de-Fonds: the aristocracy of hands, in the sign of Coco

The centre of the Chanel world, you know, is Paris. With two locations in particular: Rue Cambon and Place Vendôme. Rue Cambon is a narrow street that crosses the shopping street Rue Saint Honoré, where, with the purchase of the entire palace at number 31, Mademoiselle Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's legendary adventure began (a palace that is still the emblem of the fashion house today). Place Vendôme needs no introduction; it is one of the most famous squares in the world where, between one luxury boutique and another, stands the entrance to the Ritz, the five-star hotel often linked to worldly events, where Mademoiselle herself lived for years. A square with a particular octagonal shape, a design reproposed not surprisingly by Chanel on the iconic cap of the N°5 perfume. And then on the case of her first watch, the Première, launched in 1987. This is a model that marked the beginning of a liaison with the world of hands that, year after year, has grown in prestige and authority. Also thanks to the Chanel Watch Manufacture in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, perhaps the most important satellite revolving around the world of the French maison. An imposing 14,000 square metre building where almost 500 people work, divided between 60 different professions. It was originally founded as G. & F. Châtelain, a factory founded in 1947, specialising in the finishing of gold components, the production of metal bracelets and the setting of precious stones for jewellery. In 1993, it was acquired by Chanel, which had decided to rigorously enter the sector. A production site that then evolved thanks to modernisation work carried out in 1997 to make it 8,000 square metres in size. This manufacture, following the introduction (and subsequent success) of the J12 watch in 2000, then integrated in-house machinery and professionalism for the production of ceramics, the material that more than any other identifies what has become the brand's hero product, and in 2012, from 8,000, it grew to the current 14,000 square metres.

Da sinistra: dai disegni realizzati nello Chanel Watch Creation Studio di Parigi inizia il percorso produttivo che porta alla realizzazione di modelli nella manifattura in Svizzera. Un J12 sottoposto a un test anti shock. Un moderno macchinario presente in manifattura.

Outside the manufacture, visitors are greeted by flags waving the name of the maison. Inside are the various departments that, united, allow the creation of Chanel's watchmaking, which is developed in three pillars: the J12, the Première and the Haute Horlogerie. Before the manufacture goes into action, the input must come from Paris, from the ideas born in the Chanel Watch Creation Studio directed by Arnaud Chastaing. Ideas that are often surprising in terms of technical and aesthetic solutions (just look at the Couture O'Clock capsule collection presented in 2024), which then, thanks to the verticality of the skills present in the manufacture, become reality. It starts with the technical department, an area in constant contact with the Chanel Watch Creation Studio, which first makes 3D drawings of the models conceived in Paris, then produces files with all the possible technical indications that the other areas need to precede the work, as well as prototypes to give a first tangible idea of the watch to come. At this point, the areas where metals and, above all, ceramics are produced come into play. For the latter, state-of-the-art machines transform an initially raw material into that fascinating and resistant material (shiny or matt, depending on the version) used above all for the J12 family: a production process in which Chanel is a leader, perfected over 12 years, and which only three watchmaking companies in Switzerland, including Chanel, are able to handle in-house (the other two are Rolex and a site owned by the Swatch Group that makes ceramic for the subsidiary Rado). From the work of high-tech machinery, to the silence of the various workshops.

Da sinistra: Un test di resistenza su un modello della collezione Première. L’incastonatura di una pietra preziosa su un quadrante. Il movimento a carica manuale con tourbillon Calibro 5 di Chanel, realizzato in-house.

The one dedicated to the setting of precious stones is a true excellence with a team of almost 25 craftsmen. Then there is the one where the watches are assembled, but above all the one where those movements destined for haute horlogerie models are developed and assembled (each of these mechanisms features the stylised image of a lion, one of the symbols of the maison), such as the sophisticated Calibre 5. At the end of the path that sees the birth of a Chanel watch are the final finishing touches and quality tests, the latter carried out in an in-house location that has been in operation for five years and is able to verify the watch's resistance to shocks, thermal shocks and water resistance. The movement components are not produced in-house at the Chanel Watch Manufacture; they are commissioned from high-profile specialised partners: a strategic choice that allows the brand to be more flexible in the creation of its various timepieces.

Da sinistra: l’inserimento delle parti in pelle nel bracciale dell’orologio Première. Un momento della rifinitura di una cassa.

Without forgetting the investment made in 2018 that led the maison to become co-owner of Kenissi (a major Swiss manufacture in Le Locle specialising in high-performance mechanical movements) or that of 2024 with the acquisition of 25% of the independent watch brand MB&F in Geneva, it is the Chanel Watch Manufacture that demonstrates more than any other how firmly Chanel's flags are planted in the home of world watchmaking.