Creation. It was the most-used word during my conversation with Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the CHANEL Watchmaking Studio, at Watches & Wonders Geneva. Perhaps there was a lack of vocabulary to express what Chastaingt truly meant; after all, he is French and speaks a romantic language. There is a possibility he is referencing the French word “création”, the feminine noun used to describe the act of bringing something into existence. Had I spoken French, I am certain the nuances he was trying his hardest to convey to me would have been all the more impactful. Throughout our conversation, you could tell he was a deep thinker from his responses, and for a moment, I wished I could have spoken French to pick his mind, even for these 30 minutes. Interviews, especially at the beginning, can be awkward and tense. The moment of silence after the pleasantries can be deafening and unnerving, even. However, our conversation about my expedition to Boncourt, Switzerland, to visit another brand’s ceramic manufacturing facility right before Watches & Wonders helped us click from the get-go and naturally ease into the interview about the CHANEL J12, which, by coincidence, is also made of ceramic.

This year marks an important one for the CHANEL J12, one of the watchmaking icons from the turn of the year 2000 millennium. The focus and key messaging are on the watch’s fluidity for men and women alike. Rather than defining watches through masculine or feminine codes, CHANEL approaches them as creations, fluid objects that naturally belong on any wrist shaped by proportion, movement, and personal expression. The CHANEL J12 was the brainchild of Jacques Helleu, who began his journey with CHANEL in 1965 as the Artistic Director of perfumes and beauty products. Making the leap from the house’s legendary N°5 perfumes to watch design might seem like an impossible leap, but that did not deter Helleu from debuting CHANEL’s watchmaking journey in 1987. In fact, it reinforces Chastaingt’s statement about crossing boundaries within CHANEL. “Even though we’re born from fashion and couture, we’re a house with diverse creations; we don’t think in terms of categories,” Chastaingt shares. With the responsibility of elevating CHANEL’s watchmaking vision resting on his shoulders, Chastaingt talks us through the qualities of an icon, developing the CHANEL Watchmaking Studio’s design philosophy and Gabrielle Chanel’s perpetual influence to this very day.

You have spent 13 year shaping watchmaking at CHANEL. How has CHANEL influenced your design philosophy and vice versa?

I have a very long story with CHANEL. Since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by this house, which, for me, was the ultimate house of luxury. CHANEL was a dream for me, and you can’t imagine how happy I was when they offered me the opportunity to be director of CHANEL’s Watchmaking Creation Studio. It was very easy for me to work for CHANEL because it’s a house of creation with a deep respect for savoir-faire. We share the same philosophy.

And to your question about my influence on CHANEL. Well, the story of CHANEL is so long, and I’m just writing a little part of it. I have to know my place and be humble in relation to the house’s history. My objectives and goals were to elevate CHANEL’s vision when it first entered the watchmaking world in 1997. We were a couture house without any classical codes of watchmaking, with a vision to realise a creation that is CHANEL. Style and excellence are part of CHANEL’s DNA, and my job is to develop this equation with the freedom that is offered to me in this role.

If you could remove all technical constraints from watchmaking for a moment, what would a purely “emotional” CHANEL watch look like?

I would say if you’re a designer, it’s nearly impossible to separate yourself from technicalities. However, I feel it’s important to keep a certain distance at times. I’m fascinated with ceramics, as I shared with you earlier, but I don’t want to fully understand it because it can break my naivety and creativity. I’m not a technician, and I don’t want to be one; my job is to dream without constraints and inspire. I’m very fortunate to have an exceptional technical team that loves creation and understands that they’re at the service of creation. A watch is very complex and full of constraints, and even though my ideas are audacious, the team sees them as opportunities to showcase their savoir-faire rather than as challenges to overcome.

The CHANEL J12 has become one of the most recognisable watches of the 21st century. In your view, what defines a true icon?

Compromise, in a creation, isn’t a synonym of success. When I think of [iconic] creations, I know they are born from real creative acts. The CHANEL J12 was born out of Jacques Helleu’s obsession. There were no compromises, marketing briefs, or market research about what women wanted in their watches. He wanted a black watch that was 38mm. I wasn’t working for CHANEL at that time, but I was surprised to see CHANEL break any sort of codes or norms about women’s watches with the CHANEL J12, and it became more than a watch; it was a lesson in style. And of course, after the watch’s success, and based on the authority of the black or white colour palette, it’s recognisable on the wrist.

The CHANEL J12 evolution is subtle across proportions, finishes, and details. How do you recognise the moment when a change is “just enough”?

I don’t know, to be honest; It’s just a feeling. I recall working on the classic CHANEL J12 in 2019; it was my most passionate and also my most difficult creation to date. The CHANEL J12 was very important for my career because I had a crush on it when I was a student. So when I started working at CHANEL [gasp], the CHANEL J12 was more than an icon; perhaps it was the creation that showed me the watch world could be a territory for designers. I remembered this project because, three years earlier, I had thought it was simpler for me to start from scratch rather than rework an icon like the CHANEL J12.

Do you feel it’s a burden or a responsibility?

It’s my responsibility; my obsession is to ensure the CHANEL J12 stays desirable and contemporary, both today and tomorrow. While I was reworking its design, I quickly understood humility would be the key to my creative process. I had to put the brakes on whatever design dreams I had. I thought to myself, “I wanted to change this or that — no. Humility. The icon is bigger than I am.” My creative approach was surgical, like a surgeon rather than a designer. We were focused and identified the CHANEL J12’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure it remains contemporary.

There’s a quote behind you that says, “In the greatest strength lies softness”. How do you think this statement resonates with Gabrielle Chanel’s personality?

It’s a definition that she can give herself. She was obsessed with comfort her whole life. I think she was dreaming about the comfort that men had during her time. The sensuality of ceramics makes the J12 a comfortable watch, and there’s comfort in knowing that it’s unbreakable [slams wrist on the steel coffee table], unlike a steel or gold watch.

CHANEL is, first and foremost, a fashion house. How do you navigate the intersection and boundaries between fashion and watchmaking?

I see limits and boundaries as the enemy of creation. I love the fact that we’re special and born different from the other maisons you see here at Watches & Wonders. Just as you have people from all walks of life in the world, we’re proud of our roots in couture and culture. Beyond couture, we have a philosophy and heritage that is the equation I mentioned earlier: style and excellence. We have to stay within the equation, regardless of what objects we’re designing for CHANEL.

Even though we’re born from fashion and couture, we’re a house with diverse creations; we don’t think in terms of categories. If you recall, one of my creations last year, the J12 Blush, was inspired by makeup. Perhaps someday, watches can inspire fashion, and fashion for jewellery. We don’t think in terms of categories; we’re just a house with different creations.

If you could design a watch for Gabrielle Chanel herself, what would it be like?

It’s difficult to answer your question, but I’m sure Gabrielle Chanel will refute the definition of a watch as an instrument of measuring time that you have to wear on the left wrist. When I started at CHANEL, my first task was finding the watches she wore. We managed to do that within our beautiful patrimony. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the watch’s design because it was always facing the other way in the photographs. What we knew, though, was that the strap was white, which wasn’t a classical option back in those days. And from there, we understood it was a masculine watch, and for a woman to wear one was a courageous act of liberty.

That is why, at CHANEL, if I want to wear time on a ring, on a belt, on a glove, under the Queen chess piece, on a necklace, or on an earphone, even though I can’t speak for Gabrielle Chanel herself, I’m sure she would be proud of the fact that we kept that act of liberty in these creations.

This story was first seen on Men’s Folio.

For more on the latest in luxury watch reads, click here.

The post Behind CHANEL J12 with Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of CHANEL Watchmaking Creation Studio appeared first on LUXUO.

​