English version | Quality time

The years go by, but quality remains. And that's particularly true when said about the Première watch. Why? Because the Chanel watch that was born in 1987 doesn't get older, it just gets better.

Thirty-five years after its creation, the iconic piece imagined by artistic director at the time, Jacques Helleu, now enjoys a sort of relaunch of its original traits at the hands of Arnaud Chastaingt, director of the House's Watchmaking Creation Studio, and for whom this emblem represents the spirit of Chanel watchmaking. “Première was the first page of our watchmaking history. It was born from absolute creative freedom and debuted a vision, the Allure of Time in Chanel's measures”, says Chastaingt. “In 2022, I wanted the Première to find its place again and I wanted to put it at the center of our collection. This creation is our DNA and the Chanel code from end to end. Much more than a watch, the Première is a lesson in style.”

And to see it is to visualize the words of Arnaud in a piece that was, from the very beginning, an icon: when it hit the market in the 1980s, it did not just premiered the ticking sound of the French house - the name Première made and makes sense in multiple dimensions. It completely revolutionized the world of watchmaking, particularly amongst female target audience, because it freed itself from masculine codes for a model more adapted to the wrist of women, where it emerged over and over again from then on. Perhaps because, for once, it wasn't just a scaled-down version of men's options. Perhaps because, for the first time, it was designed from scratch for the ladies, followers of the Chanel philosophy or not, prioritizing elegance, timelessness, modernity - then and now, 35 years later. Helleu, who had joined the French house 30 years earlier to deal with “problems of taste”, citing Nicholas Foulkes in Chanel Eternal Instant, sought to create “a design that was strong, that was unique and that - more than launching a one-off collection - become an eternal reference”. Mission accomplished. Jacques, crossing innovation with tradition, imagined a silhouette that draws from other icons of the brand. Its octagonal shape is inspired by the silhouette of the also timeless (and centenary) Nº5's cap, which in turn is inspired by the shape of Place Vendôme, a famous geometry that Gabrielle Chanel contemplated from her suite at the Hotel Ritz. Its strap joins together, like the chain of the emblematic 2.55 bag, leather intertwined with yellow gold. On the dial, minimalism. Refinement. The essential, as has always been the hallmark of Chanel. An amalgamation of icons to create one more icon.

The years went by, but they not by the Première, as one would expect, whose lines defy the succession of time, because they have no expiration date. Because they were thought of without an expiration date. Because sophistication has no expiration date. It could be retro, revivalist, an antique, but looking at the Première is admitting that it has never been more current. It's putting it on the wishlist - without blinking or wasting time thinking about it. And isn't that the true spirit of vintage - to be synonymous with timelessness?

Translated from the original on The 20th anniversary issue, published november 2022.Full story and credits in the print version.