Everyone knows Steve Jobs who once said that “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In today’s highly competitive world, whether you have your own business, or you are working for one, it is crucial to keep on improving—or else, you run the risk of being left behind. As a global luxury brand, this principle could very well be what makes Chanel successful.
To demonstrate, the French brand is not really the first to come to mind when it comes to luxury watches. Surrounded by established, decades-old watchmakers, Chanel only made the leap in 1987 with the Premier, a women’s timepiece. It was almost 30 years after when the brand released its first watch for men—the Chapel Monsieur Watch.
Release Date and Price
Release date: 2016
Price: US$ 34,500
The debut of the Chanel Monsieur Watch came at a time when the watchmaking industry has shifted their focus to producing women’s watches. But Chanel, a leader and follower in its own right, delved into the men’s space driven by its desire to fully explore the industry. Taking five years to make, eight watchmaking specialists, and a stake in Romain Gauthier’s business, the Chanel Monsieur Watch excellently demonstrate how the French brand is not slowing down. Retailing at US$ 34,500, this watch is limited to only 300 pieces.
Specifications
- Case: 18K beige gold or white gold
- Diameter: 40 mm
- Dial: Ivory opaline with jumping hour counter, retrograde minute hand, and separated second indicator
- Crown: 18K beige gold or white gold
- Strap: Alligator strap in black with buckle
- Movement: Caliber 1, mechanical, manual winding
- Water Resistance: 32 meters
Pros
As the first men’s watch by Chanel, the Monsieur is a novel feast to the eyes. The front features an elegantly designed dial that separates the hour, minute, and second functions from each other. Aside from its entirety, even the caliber, being proudly developed in-house, the Chanel Monsieur Watch has a lot of distinct characteristics.
First is definitely the jumping hour window at 6 o’clock which immediately attracts attention even from far away. Second is the customized font for the numerals—Read: the brand actually created a font especially for this watch. And third is the beautiful back that showcases its mechanical technicalities.
Featuring an overall clean front look but highly organized chaos at the back, the black alligator strap is the perfect subtle addition to complete the watch. For a relatively newcomer in the watchmaking industry, the Chanel Monsieur Watch can actually be at par with ones produced by the experts. Among the 300 pieces, half are white gold, while the other half are beige gold.
Cons
While the Chanel Monsieur Watch is uniquely graceful and stylishly innovative, many find the numerals harsh and uneven looking. Moreover, if what you are looking for a dressier and more strikingly masculine watch that you can wear in formal occasions, then this one may not seamlessly work with every formal outfit you have in the closet. Conversely, this is great for everyday, casual wear.
Compare With
- Hublot Big Bang Unico Watch
- Cartier Santos Watch
- Roger Dubuis Aventador S Blue Watch
- Piaget Polo S Stainless-Steel Watch
Featured image credit: Chanel
Article image credit: A Blog to Watch
Article image credit: Hodinkee
Article image credit: Chanel
