The Style Section Why The Platinum Monsieur De Chanel Is Worth A Revisit

Sometimes, writing about a watch is less of an intellectual exercise and more of a go-with-your-gut type of rumination. Neither is more virtuous, but I find that a healthy serving of inexplicable emotional attachment to a random inanimate object helps said object stick in one's mind. And I'm not talking about burying it in the "saved for later" folder at the back of your brain. I mean full-on pick-it-apart component-by-component obsession. This is what happened when I got familiar with the Platinum Monsieur de Chanel. I started to meditate on periods of fashion that would complement this watch: André Courreges' 1964 Moon Girl collection and 1960s ultra skinny gray three-button suits worn by Mods. I thought about Marcel Breuer Laccio tables and 1970s Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin Steel Drum Tables. It's a sensory exercise, a rifling through the reference cabinet in my brain. To each to their own!

The platinum Monsieur de Chanel with "Grand Feu" enamel dial was released in 2017. Originally billed as Chanel's first "men's" watch, I had never paid much attention to the Monsieur until last spring when Chanel opened its very shiny 5th Avenue watches and jewelry boutique. Having never seen the watch up-close before, I decided to try the Platinum case with diamond bezel… naturally. "Interesting," I thought. "Yes, very chic," I snapped a picture, posted it, and then casually handed it back to the sales associate before moving on to a Coco Chanel-themed charm bracelet. "Much more my style," and I continued yapping away as if chatting with associates in Chanel about diamond novelties was all part of a day's work.

Then I saw the watch again at a photo shoot. This time sans diamonds. Sometimes, you have to see the watch naked as god (the Chanel manufacturer) intended before you see the iced-out version. The 40mm x 10mm watch is overtly Chanel in its codes without being motif-heavy. It's aesthetically zen with its deliciously deep black enamel dial: an inky pool framed by a cool, smooth platinum bezel and decorated with perfectly painted white graphics. A very simple but effective Chanel play on the house's obsession with the dialogue between black and white, one of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's key visual pillars she created for the brand. The use of black and white sits neatly beside the little black dress, the quilted bag, the tweed suit, two-tone shoes, pearls, and Chanel No. 5 perfume in the Chanel design trope canon. 

The very angular hour window sits at 6 o'clock. Framed neatly in platinum, its size is certainly a statement, but it works. It's a "digital display" that looks retro-futuristic but is firmly rooted in a mechanical complication that dates back to the 1830s. Just above the hour window sits a running seconds subdial, which is neatly nestled into a retrograde minutes display. The minute hand travels through a 240-degree arc – quite long for a retrograde minute hand – and then jumps more than 180°. It can also be set going forward or backward. It's a technical watch, which makes sense because the movement you see here (caliber 1) was, in fact, partly produced by Romain Gauthier (Chanel became an investor in the high-end independent watchmaker and protegé of Philippe Dufour in 2011), though to Chanel's specifications.

The composition of the dial is extremely geometric; the squares and circles and sharp corners in the typeface used for the minute track, and the small black squares at the five minute marks (echoed by the ones in the sub-seconds dial), as well as the angular hands play against the circular forms of the minutes track and small seconds display. It's sharp but not too stark. The most eye-catching geometric element is the frame around the jumping hours display, which anchors the whole arrangement, and without it, or with something even a bit lighter, the dial would be much less interesting to look at (and do note that the shape of the octagonal frame is also supposed to reflect the overall plan of Paris's Place Vendome, just like the Chanel No 5 perfume bottle). And the asymmetrical type in the right hand corner seems to neatly balance out the whole design. Clever design by the storied French luxury brand Chanel. Makes sense, no?

This brings me to my next point about luxury houses making modern watches. For those who joyfully crest the waves of change in our industry, Hermès and Chanel have proven to make giant strides when it comes to haute horology. It's a mix of beautiful case design, the most meticulous attention to detail and material, and (in my humble opinion) unparalleled typography. The typography used by Chanel on the dial is clear and angular; it's elegant and decidedly masculine without feeling too industrial or brutal. Much like Hermès, who has paid attention to this sort of detail (notably with the Slim d'Hermès), there's no skimping on the visual language.  "In reality, only a small and decreasing number of watchmakers go to the trouble of creating custom lettering for their dials," explains Hodinkee-alum Liz Stinson. "More often, watch brands use off-the-rack fonts that are squished and squeezed onto the dial's limited real estate." You can read her extensive and well-researched article about typography here.

Yes, Chanel is a relative newcomer to the centuries-old Swiss watch game; the luxury brand only entered the market in 1987 with the quartz-powered Première watch. But it's worth noting Chanel's serious and continued connection to watchmaking. Chanel acquired Bell & Ross in 2001, became an investor in Romain Gauthier in 2011, and then collaborated with the brand on this very watch. Furthermore, they own a stake in F.P. Journe and have been in an industrial alliance with Tudor – via Kenissi – since 2018.

It's interesting to think that the first Monsieur was released in 2016, long before the jumping hours complication started trending on Instagram. Earlier this year, I tried on the Chopard L.U.C Quattro Spirit 25. A beautiful watch in its own right; I couldn't help but draw a comparison. What Chanel is doing here deserves a certain amount of praise. Showing us how to make an elegant dress watch that is modern and not tied to any sort of heritage. Chanel could have done the expected and released a stainless steel sports watch in 2016, in line with market demand. Instead, they decided to go with something far more traditional, a balance between a classic dress watch and their own style of modern design motifs.

I'm not saying the watch is perfect. Design appreciation is a matter of personal taste. But there is a certain type of bravery required to execute simple design. When brands panic, they tend to go rococo. They get flashier, busier, and more disposable by slapping on bigger logos and more useless bells and whistles. Okay, so it's $60,000 dollars and isn't a traditional mid-century size, but 40mm is a healthy in-between for the vintage enthusiast and modern consumer. Surely we can commend Chanel for leaning into their own codes, choosing less clutter, and ignoring the outside noise?